An entrepreneur’s life is never dull. Whether you are starting your business, expanding or building to something bigger, you are likely on the road a lot. The airport is filled with busy entrepreneurs going from meeting to trade show to conference and back again. It’s important when you are traveling a lot to have the gear and apps necessary to make your travel life not just easy but comfortable.
Table of Contents
1. Gear up
Your smartphone, tablet and laptop are practically an extension of your body when you are an entrepreneur. It is essential that you have the right gear for your busy lifestyle. Your devices should have exceptional battery life, especially for those times in the terminal when everyone else seems to have gotten to a charging station before you. A mobile PC with a Snapdragon processor has an all-day battery life, is lightweight and can integrate easily with your other systems; all essential to a traveling entrepreneur.
2. Time management
Being able to manage your time efficiently is key to making flights, making meetings, and making that baseball game your son has on Tuesday. Use the apps for your favorite airlines, hotels and rental car companies often. Many companies integrate with each other — like Delta and Starwood Resorts for example — and you can earn points for both by using either. Use these companies’ apps and often you will get extra points for doing so, and then, extra rewards. Maybe save those rewards for an actual vacation one day.
3. Save early, save often
Basically, back up your stuff. Back it up to the cloud and back it up to a jump drive. Nothing is worse than arriving at a potential client’s office with a presentation all ready to go and all of a sudden, you can’t access the awesome infographic you created just for the occasion. Make sure you have more than one place you can go to in order to get those important things you need quickly.
4. Use your time in the air
If you are on planes or trains a lot, use that time. This is likely one of the few times when your cell phone isn’t blowing up with calls and texts. Take that time to either rest, read books and articles unrelated to your work, or to allow your creative juices to flow.
5. Don’t over gadget yourself
It is so easy to get every cord, charger, battery pack and other gadget for our traveling technology. But remember, you have to carry it all too. Upgrade your devices as needed and then part with the old. You don’t have to hold on to older stuff just because it was good to have once upon a time. Clear out that backpack and lose the gadgets and cords. And don’t bring everything on your trip if you can avoid it. Realistically, you just need an awesome laptop and a phone. You don’t need your Kindle or other devices. Get a Kindle app for your phone to read your book and forget about the rest!
It can be easy to get bogged down in the details of entrepreneurial life. Being an entrepreneur, though, is supposed to free you up to do those things you love to do. In the words of Ben and Jerry, “If it’s not fun, why do it?” Give yourself an opportunity to be successful in your business and in your personal life by using the technology that will work for you. If you have to spend too much time getting the technology to work — it’s probably not worth having. Travel can be simple and fun with lightweight, easy to use devices that make your job a snap and make you look like a hero to your clients.
About Carson Derrow
