The rise of mobile technology for small businesses

With the seemingly endless sea of apps flooding the market, business owners are streamlining their processes by prioritising mobile-first practices in and out of the office.

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IN 2018, 90% of executives admitted to using smartphones for business when in the office.

In 2018, 90% of executives admitted to using smartphones for business when in the office.

This means, nine out of ten business leaders would rather hire, communicate and generate revenue using mobile apps as opposed to roaming around the office for answers.

To those running small businesses, this is no surprise.

With the seemingly endless sea of apps flooding the market, business owners are streamlining their processes by prioritising mobile-first practices in and out of the office.

Take one of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs, Taryn Williams. Taryn founded WINK Models in 2007, before launching theright.fit in 2015.

A global marketplace connecting talent with brands and clients, Taryn relies on three apps for organisation and communication with her staff, talent and suppliers.

“Slack is for communication, Trello is for project management and Jira is for product management and development,” Taryn says. “I set up my Trello board with daily, weekly and monthly ‘to do’ lists so I can easily see the status of any project and assign things to members of my team.”

While 25 per cent of SMEs are seeing big gains from mobile, Taryn believes communication apps should be used in moderation to continue boosting productivity, enhancing efficiency and seeing growth.

“It’s easy to spend all day replying to emails, whatsapp messages and slack alerts,” Taryn adds. “I set clear rules about what each communication channel is to be used for and what face-to-face meetings are required, so you’re not spending all day drowning in background noise.”

While this rule stands when she’s on the road, Taryn still needs to be across the fast-paced, daily happenings of her businesses.

“I’m away a great deal for meetings and events,” Taryn says. “Being able to keep in touch with my team, my clients and up to the minute overview of key business metrics is imperative for me to do my job.”

As for using her device as an exclusive tool, Taryn surprisingly believes it’s a struggle in the tech world.

“I love having two big screens to work from and having multiple tabs open at once - so I personally don’t think I could do it!

“I’m sure that it may work in some industries, but running a tech company really does require more than you can access on a smartphone.”

Originally published as The rise of mobile technology for small businesses