Helpful Apps All Entrepreneurs Should Download

As an entrepreneur, your time is money. With all of the emails, messages, expense accounts, important documents, and everything else you have to take care of, it can be difficult to keep your affairs in order.

Luckily, smartphones have made it much easier for entrepreneurs to keep their hectic lives a little more in check. But a smartphone is just a rechargeable talking device if it isn’t loaded with the correct apps.

To figure out which apps you should download so that you can become a more productive (and thus wealthier) entrepreneur, we reached out to real-life business leaders to hear what apps they rely on to stay ahead of the curve.

Dropbox

As an entrepreneur on the go, you need to be connected to the important files and documents you use to conduct business.

“Every entrepreneur should have DropBox downloaded. It is the easiest way to share files across networks and coworkers. You can share any form of file from .pdf to .jpeg to .png to mp4. Plus, it is free to use,” says Brandon Adcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Nugenix.

Dropbox has been an industry leader in cloud sharing before even Apple jumped into the mix with its offerings. It is a simple cloud-based file-storage service that allows you to access any file that you have uploaded with anyone else who has an account or directly to Gmail, or any other messaging software that connects with it.

Bonus points for its inclusion of a document scanner, which allows you to comment on different files you have scanned and share with anyone, Dropbox user or not.

Evernote

“Entrepreneurs can be struck with inspiration at any time,” says Trisha Bantigue, CEO of Queenly.  “It’s impractical for me to carry a notebook everywhere I go, but I always have my phone on me. Evernote makes it easy for me to scribble down any thought that I might have as I go through the day.”

There is a free version of this note taking app on the web, iOS, and Android. You can sync files, save a whole webpage if something on it sparks an idea or you want to use it later as a resource, create to-do lists, record helpful voice memos if you need to take a note hands-free, and even capture photos.

There is also a helpful search feature so you can track down something you wrote months ago and reference it in a jiff. This is a great app for those in creative industries or anyone looking to keep track of ideas.

Trello

Trello is a project planning app you can use to manage all of your projects. The app is made with collaboration in mind making it a perfect tool for those entrepreneurs that are also managing a team. You can quickly see who is working on what and allocate tasks to different people.

“I love Trello. Not only is it great for my work, but I can also use it in my day-to-day to plan things like vacations, follow application statuses, or weekend activities. It’s my go-to for organizing my day,” says Dylan Trussell, Co-Founder of Culprit Underwear.

Ross Rojek, CTO of GoLocalApps, adds that he “prefers the app for the various boards it could set up.” Something that makes it a great tool for both your daily needs and your company’s. The app is great at helping you to visualize what needs to get done on any given project by organizing tasks into “cards”, lists, or boards. You can assign each card, list, or task to any given employee, and then they can check them off as they go.

LinkedIn

If you aren’t on LinkedIn, you aren’t in business. LinkedIn is the networking website for business people and entrepreneurs looking to build a business or expand their reach. It has recently been expanded to help companies hire and find the right people. “LinkedIn gave us an opportunity to reach a targeted audience of professional women,” says Krista Neuhaus, Senior Director of Global Digital Marketing at Kate Spade New York.

But beyond being a great place to post a job and expand your business, LinkedIn allows you to search for people based on all sorts of professional variables like industry, jobs, location, qualification, and many others.

“Having LinkedIn makes it easier for me to stay in touch with other people in my field and build out those relationships which in turn can lead to business deals and future opportunities. It also helps me keep on top of important business trends and news,” says Andre Ferenci, CEO and Founder of Comrad Socks. “I can’t imagine being in business without it!”

Pocket

Ever see an article or video and tell yourself you are going to get to it later but then life happens and you forget all about it? Pocket helps you keep all of these in one easy-to-access place. The best part is: you can use it offline.

“I love the bookmarking system that makes it easy to organize and tag everything so I have a tidy reading list, not a bunch of open tabs on my phone that I have to scroll through and are gone forever when I accidentally delete one,” says Seb Evans, Co-Founder of Banquist.  

Pocket also allows you to view your saved items from any surface you download them on.

Buffer

If you are an entrepreneur who is running a business of your own, chances are you have several social media accounts across different platforms. Buffer helps you manage all of your accounts at once. “I love Buffer because it allows me to schedule my posts for posting at optimal times,” says Joel Jackson, Founder of Lifeforce. “I can manage all of my accounts from this one app instead of having to continuously switch back and forth between them all.

Additionally, Buffer can promote your business on social media and bring in new clients.

Wunderlist

Everyone can benefit from a clean and organized list. Wunderlist helps you upgrade your lists by allowing you to sync them across all platforms and devices. You can then share them with coworkers when working on projects.

“[Wunderlist] is perfect for my work because it allows me to set reminders for upcoming project deadlines. I love that I can add images to them as well to make things even more clear to my team,” comments Kashish Gupta, Founder and CEO of Hightouch.

1Password

How many times a week are you prompted to log into a website but you can’t remember the password for the life of you? That’s where 1Password comes into play. This app keeps your information safe and all of your passwords in one place. “I could not get through a week without 1Password. I am so forgetful and would forget my information on every website I use. With 1Password I only need to remember the one password for the app and it will autofill on any app or website. I love it,” says George Fraguio, Vice President of Bridge Lending at Vaster.

Beyond remembering your current passwords, 1Password will also grade your password and suggest incredibly strong ones for any new website you sign up for.

CamCard

If you think that business cards are relics of the past, you would be wrong. Many business people and entrepreneurs still rely on that small piece of cardstock to make an American Psycho-­style impression on the person who receives it. Much to Patrick Bateman’s chagrin, the days of having to keep physical business cards are behind us thanks to CamCard.

“I used to go to a lot of conferences where people were handing out cards left and right. Invariably, I would lose a few by the time I packed up, which is a big deal because that lost card could easily translate to thousands of dollars in revenue if that person was a possible lead,” Ben Teicher, President and CEO of Healthy Directions, told us. “Now, I just take a picture of any card I’m given and all of the details get loaded into the app.”

CamCard takes the information from the picture and syncs it to your phone contacts and email accounts. It is highly accurate and near flawless. You can also sync information to business sites like Salesforce, Outlook, and other CRMS.

Audible­­

Last but not least is Audible. Most entrepreneurs are incredibly well-read but also very busy. What gives? Where are they getting all the time to read and absorb all this new information? Enter Audible. Audible is an app that lets you listen to audiobooks on the go. That means you can crush books while doing chores, working out, or while working.

“Audible is great. I am a voracious reader, but I don’t love sitting down with business books because they can be really dry. With Audible, I am able to save my nighttime reading for fiction and my daytime listening for self-help and nonfiction. It’s a great way to sneak in some pages throughout my day,” notes Sheila Chaiban, CEO of One Ocean Beauty.

Audible requires a subscription, but OverDrive is a library-based alternative that uses your library card.