Utilizing technology, particularly the technology available to us online and for free, is paramount for any wannabe location independent entrepreneur. There are a multitude of services and online tools out there to help you become more mobile and start to embrace your very own Virtual Business Lifestyle. Instead of listing all of them down here, I thought it would be best to let you in on the five main tools I use personally, in order to remain as virtual as possible and work in a seamless way when I am traveling, or simply ‘out of the office’.
Download this post below to listen to on your iPod, iPhone or iPad, now. Don’t forget to subscribe to our iTunes Podcast, too!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 7:09 — 8.2MB)
Amongst other things, in this post, I mention:
Gmail & Google Calendar – The absolute necessity when it comes to cloud computing. All my email addresses (I have 5 different) go through my one Gmail account, and I can read and reply to them, along with making changes to my calendar (and sharing my calendar with my assistant and wife), from anywhere in the world, on any computer in the world.
Dropbox.com – A great free resource to share files throughout a number of different devices, real-time, and with a number of different people. You get 2GB for free and can increase that to 8GB by inviting friends! I use it with my wife for personal stuff, like photos when I’m traveling, with my PA for anything we might be working on together, and even my Marketing Team for collaborating on campaigns we might be working on.
Blackberry / iPhone, or other Smartphones – Essential for email on the go. Not strictly an online tool, but, let’s face it, no modern-day, savvy entrepreneur can be without one of these. I’m currently using Blackberry, but can’t wait for the iPhone4 to hit the Philippines in a couple of months!
Skype - Call other Skype users for free anywhere in the world (and even landlines and mobiles at great international rates) from any computer / device where it’s installed. You can also SMS, too. Plus, the ‘chat’ function is great for communicating when overseas in real-time, but at an affordable (free!) rate. I haven’t made an international phone call without using Skype for a long, long time – seriously.
GoToMyPC - Nowadays, you don’t even need to have your computer with you to be able to access it fully. Simply install this nifty piece of software on your regular PC or Mac, leave it at home / in the office (switched on) and then login at GoToMyPC.com whenever you want to get onto your computer, from anywhere in the world. You can literally use it in exactly the same way you would if you were sitting at it yourself!
As a closing remark, you’ll see in one of my past posts, where I show you my mobile office, for when I’m on the road (Note: I no longer use a PC – I switched to a MacBook Pro a couple of months ago), you don’t need to bring a lot with you to continue to work when traveling, in a seamless way – check out these business travel tips for more info, too.
I’ve even had people ask if they can come up to my office, when I’ve been working at a beach resort – now THAT’s being a virtual entrepreneur!
If you’re new to the blog, be sure to download my free eBook on working with virtual staff to create a more mobile lifestyle – and don’t forget to sign-up for our RSS feed, too – there’s tons of great stuff planned for the blog in the coming weeks and months ahead… Thanks for your support!
Related Posts:
- Business Travel Tips for Location Independent Professionals
- A Week in the Life of a Virtual Business Lifestyle Executive!
- One Week in my Virtual Business Lifestyle – Searching, Stressing (a little!) and Producing!
- Mobility Tips for the Traveling Entrepreneur – Handling Email, Phone Calls & More!
- VBL009 – How to Live a Thrilling Lifestyle, with Cody McKibben!
Most Popular Posts
- The VBL Community ‘Niche Site Project’… PLUS – Unveiling My Own Niche Site!
- How Much Do You Pay a Home-Based Virtual Assistant from the Philippines?
- Passive Income Streams – 6 Ideas for Online Money-Making Success!
- 6 Reasons Why People Will Unsubscribe from Your Blog, and How to Stop Them!
- Tim Ferriss – Still a Lifestyle Designer, or Just the “4-Hour” Guru?
About Chris and the VBL
Stay up-to-date! Subscribe NOW!
Haha, we have similar tastes in tools
By far, Dropbox has saved me soooo many times when working on a project – it’s invaluable. There’s nothing worse than forgetting to send over your design work or articles only to find out that email, post office or other services didn’t come through in time. Dropbox gets it done.
Likewise, I’ve been saved many a time with my blackberry. I’m not hardcore business professional but there has been times when I’ve booked hotels with it, checked order status and was able to get things out the door and record some of the best ideas I had when being miles away from the closest computer.
Like anything – use technology to improve your life, not just to make it into another daily task.
Hi I totaly agree. This is absolutely essential information if you want to start to be wherever you wanna be instead of being stuck behind the desk form 9 to 5.
Well with all mys best regards. Valerio
Hi Valerio
Thanks for the comment and feedback, buddy. Much appreciated.
Happy travels.
Chris
Hi Murlu
You’re certainly making the most of these tools, by the looks of things!
You’re also right – make the most of technology, but dont let it take over your life, or add to work load, thats for sure!
Thanks for the comment, buddy.
Chris
Great post!
I`m a triathlon coach from Brazil and have to travel a lot. These tools allow me to keep my business running even if I`m not in town.
My favorites are Gmail`s calendar sms notification, google docs and drop box. Just can`t live without them anymore.
Cheers!
Hi Rodrigo
Yes, it can become very easy to ‘rely’ on these types of tools.
Wow – a triathlon coach. Nice job..!!!
Safe travels, buddy.
Chris
Great tips! I love Skype for calling the Philippines. It is a great tool. Always great to see video on your site.
Hi Randall
Thanks for the thumbs up on the video. We’re planning on making it a stable diet, going into the future.
Yep – Skype is awesome!
Chris
I’m hearing more and more about dropbox, I think I’m going to have to get an account. The point you made about sharing photos did it for me. My wife often wants to post photos of our baby to share with family and friends, the problem is that iPhoto sits on my laptop. At least with dropbox she can access them herself.
My
My trusty iPhone developed a mind of it’s own and posted the comment before I’d finished it.
Last year my wife and I were going on holiday and we booked parking with the hotel prior to flying. The trouble was I was not happy that they couldn’t tell me where my car would be parked other than it would be up to 30 miles away. There was no way I was going with that so I ended up booking on site car parking from my phone. Sure it cost me extra but we saved a cab ride to tthe airport and I had peace of mind.
Hi Matthew
Yep – Dropbox is great. Enjoying it more and more recently. Really starting to utilize heavily now.
Thats a great story – location independent and using technology to make life easier and more enjoyable. Awesome.
Thanks for the comment, mate.
Chris
Great tools here Chris!
I use all of them except for gotomypc as I use teamviewer. Same kinda thing but free for personal use
I currently have a smartphone, a Nokia e71, but it’s not the greatest so am looking forward to my upgrade to the new Samsung Galaxy on Andriod! Can’t will be able to do so much more on the move.
Good luck with the iphone 4. Just remember hold it in your right hand not the left…..
Hi Ben
Yeah – I hear you on the iPhone. Question: Do I need to be standing on my head when I use it for calls…? (Which I do rarely!)
The Andriod platform is just killing it at the moment. Good luck with the Galaxy.
Thanks for dropping by.
Chris
I agree, DropBox is amazing.
I am just now using Skype more and more. I am a social media VA and many of my clients are now on Skype. I used to use Google Talk to communicate, but so many people are becoming familiar with Skype, I am now switching.
Plus I finally got a computer with a web cam. Now I can’t work in my pajamas anymore if I’m taking a call!
Hi Deborah
Personally, I never liked GTalk – just didnt ‘do’ anything for me.
Ah, working in your PJ’s… Thats what its all about.
Thanks for the comment, Deborah.
Chris
Dropbox is so essential, can’t stress that enough! I also use Google Apps, Skype and http://www.yuuguu.com is pretty cool too.
Hi Michelle
Yep – Love Dropbox. Use it every day, literally. YuuGuu is also very cool – and the freebie account is what most solopreneurs need, so its great value!
Thanks for dropping by!
Chris
I am a Dropbox and Skype fan!
I usually use my Dropbox account to transfer files to my VA and my partners. When you’re a location independent entrepreneur, you can totally use this. It’s just like copy-pasting from your computer folder to a Dropbox folder.
Skype is a great tool to talk to your clients, employees, friends, and of course to your family. But as a location independent person, I wish it could do conference.
Thanks for the other tools, Chris!