Running a business from your phone.

[xelasnave]

I expect it is possible to run your business from a phone but I would love to hear from someone who has it wired.

My friend is a Shipwright and was asking about getting a computer and I said one could probably do it all on a mobile phone...all he needs is to be able to print out quotes, parts lists and some form of book keeping.

I purchased a cheap printer today with bluetooth so I expect if he had one in his shed he could print out quotes etc with Bluetooth.

Any help greatly appreciated.
Alex

[taminga16]

Alex, suggest to your friend that no matter which route that take it would be a really good idea to invest in a portable hard drive, 'Cloud' and device storage can be unreliable.
Greg.

[xelasnave]

Good advice. I think keeping hard copy is a good idea but then I come from another era...
Thanks for taking your time to help I greatly appreciate you doing so.
Alex

[floyd_2]

I’m probably a bit old school, but I’d shy away from doing everything on the touch screen of a phone. Give me a keyboard and mouse, and decent sized monitor any day of the week lol. I can see the benefits of being purely mobile, but the cost would probably be having to do it all using a screen keyboard and a phone sized monitor. I’m probably just getting old though mate. If he wants to take credit card payments on the go, I’m pretty sure that eWay still has a phone app for doing just that which is very convenient if he doesn’t want to have a mobile card machine.

[xelasnave]

Thanks Dean and having dirty hands a touch screen may be not possible most of the time so if you are going to clean up may as well go for keyboard and mouse..good point thanks.
Alex

[floyd_2]

The last computers that I grabbed for work and home have all been second hand HP Z240 and Z440 models from resellers. In my opinion they’re bullet proof and long lasting. So far we’ve grabbed 6 of them, and I’d buy the same again if I needed more. Of course, not everyone likes desktops. Many prefer laptops for the portability, or even iPads / tablets. So many choices these days. We use dial-in for work frequently using RemotePC which is a great tool and saves us from carrying laptops around.

[xelasnave]

Good advice and thanks.
Alex

[Stephane]

Alex, I originally ran my business from my laptop, but found myself using my phone more and more on the go. Slowly, I started doing all my accounting on my phone too until I was doing almost everything on it. The great advantage is being able to run things whenever and wherever I please. However, the drawbacks do outweigh the benefits as I have learnt the hard way: whatever I can do on a computer always takes me almost twice as long on my phone. Also, in the past year, my neck is inflicting increasing pain from looking down on average 6 hours day including weekends (yes, 6 hours, and yes I am ashamed!). Recently, I am forcing myself to use the laptop more and I am reaping time benefits as well as a healthier neck.

In summary, as much as it sounds awesome & convenient to run a business on a phone, it will have notable drawbacks.

Regards,
Stéphane

[xelasnave]

Thank you Stephane and forgive me for ommiting the accent..is that what it is????..my memory is fading and I am simply not sure..certainly I dont know how to use my keyboard to include it.

This friend of mine is a wonderful person and I want to see him get something that will make his life better and all the replies have been extremely helpful as they get me thinking deeply about making a system that he can use, will use and makes his life better.

He came up for a visit and just did not stop working so I wont stop working on setting him up with something perfect for him.

Alex

[pmrid]

Alex, as I am sure you will understand, phone screens are darned small and virtual keyboards even smaller. Those factors combined with the dangers of predictive spelling and a phone that is smarter than the user, there are many pitfalls. A larger screen, as in an iPad for example, coupled with a bluetooth keyboard can overcome many of those obstacles.

[Stephane]

Alex, it is indeed an accent - specifically an acute accent - but I don’t mind it being omitted. Actually on my visa it was left out as it is not officially accepted in English. Sadly though, whenever I am in a queue and my name gets called out, most of the time people read “Stephanie”, and then stare at their sheet when I get up, before getting all embarrassed and profusely apologizing. I’m so used to it now that I don’t even flinch; “Stephanie?”, “yep, that’s my name” lol.

[xelasnave]

OH I would play that for all it is worth..
" I had the sex change but my lawyer is still preparing my name change ..just call me Step but dont dare walk over me"

Oh if I had the time to list some more

It is funny the things one remembers, me at least, and no idea where stuff came from..like I can watch quiz shows and get almost everything correct but no idea how I know... When I was young (25 approx) someone could call a list of words, I asked for fifty which was not my ability limit but my patience limit...and I would call them back ...even in reverse order...and call them back months later..so I have been doing that again lately ...so to help me practice could you type a list of fifty words and I will call them back to you:P

But I can still do it is the point:eyepop:..
Alex

[xelasnave]

I recalled a 30 word list today that I put away a month ago ..no mistakes which made me very happy. It has gotta be helpful pushing your memory you could think.
Alex