Gadzooki

Calculating Where Your Money Is Coming From and Going To

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One of the great things about technology today and the gadgets that you have to be able to access it on the go is the fact that you can know where your money is coming from and going to in real time. There are several different applications, devices, and software packages that can help you get a handle on your finances.

Online and on your devices you can find mortgage calculators, budgeting apps, bank software, and a plethora of digital payment services that all allow you to efficiently understand income, expenses, and everything else you might want to know about your financial portfolio. [Read more…]

Using Gadgets, Devices, and Software To Improve Business Communications

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working on the go

Even the theory of business communication is tough to wrap your mind around. When, where, how, why – what are all of those rules when it comes to being professional? Are there differences between how big companies and small companies operate? Those are questions that every business person ponders. But, lucky us – new tech in the form of gadgets, devices and software are here to help us out.

But if you want to make the most out of modern communication opportunities, you have to recognize global trends, embrace the mobile revolution, use project management software, allow remote work to happen naturally, and use time-stamping to help you out.

Recognizing Global Trends

When it comes to business communication, you can’t go too far wrong by at least recognizing global trends at the beginning of your analysis process. In other words, look to see what other successful businesses are doing in terms of contact points. What are the major forms of communication? The idea of email revolutionized nearly every industry. And now that everyone is connected all the time via mobile gadgets, it’s more important than ever that you use electronic means like that effectively.

Embracing the Mobile Revolution

Many people still aren’t aware that more people use phones than desktops now. Yes, as of a few years ago, more people connect to the web via their pockets than they do via their offices. That fact alone is of incredible importance, because it means that on a physical level, you’re dealing with a smaller screen, and on a theoretical level, your communications are going to have to move more toward bite-sized as opposed to long and detailed.

Using Project Management Software

And there’s no need for your company to run any sort of proprietary method for internal business communications anymore either. There are inexpensive but super efficient project management systems to install on main systems and on mobile devices, so now every aspect of your business communication will be entirely in sync as long as there’s any phone network available to all members.

Letting Working Go Remote

And gone are the days where people have to come into a building to do their work as well. No more fighting traffic, having to dress up, or dealing with office drama so long as you can get your work done from home. If you want better communication, allow people to communicate from their home or remote environments where they’re comfortable.

Time-Stamping Efficiency

New apps on your phone allow you to time-stamp everything as well. And that means not only things like send and receive times, but also how long it takes to do things, and what percentage of your day is spent doing different activities. The more you know about your personal time structure, the better your communication pathways will be.

Gadgets, Wearables, and Clothes: Fitting In Time For Fitness

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If there’s one type of gadget that nearly everyone can enjoy to some degree or another, it’s a fitness gadget. These can come in the form of wristbands, sensors, apps for your phone, or any combination of those together. And you don’t’ have to be a health nut to appreciate the data that these devices give you.

With a small cost and a tiny bit of effort, you can track how much you move, how much you exercise, how many calories you’re burning, and/or how well you’re performing certain physical functions. Pretty much sounds like a win for everyone! [Read more…]

Ways to Use Your Phone To Aid in Living A Healthier Lifestyle

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With all the options that are available in the world, it can be hard to make the right decision on anything. Life used to be a lot simpler. If you needed milk, you went out and milked the cow. You didn’t have 20 grocery chains to choose from, you didn’t have 10 different brands to choose from, and you didn’t get to choose between full fat, nonfat, 2%, 1%, organic, almond, rice, hemp, or soy.

Choice in life is a beautiful thing, but when faced with too much choice, many people decide not to choose at all. They think that they can have it all. In some ways this is true, but in other ways, not so much. One part of life where this is evident is personal health. Health and food was straightforward once upon a time. You grow the wheat, you grind the wheat, you make bread and you eat it. [Read more…]

Anyone Can Be An Artist: Great Creativity Apps

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Adults often forget the great lesson of elementary school art class, that – as the famous artists that work with Turnaround Arts and Park West Gallery always teach – anyone can be an artist. Instead, work and daily responsibilities tend to dull the creative tendencies, resulting in an attitude that art is best left to kids and “real artists.”

Luckily, the increasing popularity of adult coloring books is bringing a little creative energy to those who thought their days of arts and crafts were behind them, and apps are even letting us take those projects on the go. Here are 5 of our favorites, for both the serious artist and the margin doodlers among us. [Read more…]

Inventory Problems? The 3 Tech Tools Can Help

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Inventory management is central to any good business. Without proper tracking, sales flow is disrupted, products run out or pile up, and profits drop. These tools can also help measure employee performance. That’s why it’s vital to have high quality, intuitive inventory tracking tools.

With the wide variety of inventory management tools on the market today, your business can choose between independent tools and phone apps compatible with your primary device. Here are 3 options to consider to smooth sales and keep business on track. [Read more…]

Setting Boundaries and Goals With Digital Devices

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Digital devices are great for helping set particular kinds of boundaries and goals. Because of the power and size of new smartphones and tablets, you now can have a personal organizer and assistant on hand at all times, and it can make you a better person, if you let it.

Specifically, you can use your tech for working with addiction, getting yourself to be more on time, sequencing out your educational goals, setting your social boundaries, and even paying attention to how engaged you are with the world around you. And, the more you practice these techniques, the better you’ll get at them. [Read more…]

4 Ways To Promote Your New App Idea

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In the world of gadgets and gizmos, phones and tablets are currently king, which means that if you can design and market the right app, you can potentially make a good chunk of change. However, even with the best idea and product, nothing’s going to make it very far without the right marketing and promotions.

And since there are so many people making so many different apps for so many different platforms all the time, how can you differentiate yourself? How can you succeed in the chaos and the madness? Consider the four following ways that deal with throwing a physical event, getting sponsorship from companies or celebrities, and utilizing services like YouTube to promote it. [Read more…]

Three Tech Must-Haves to get your Business Started

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Thinking about starting your own business this year? Is this the year you take control of your income and build your own means of income generation? Even if you have no idea how to begin, technology has made it so much easier to start and run a business. Here are some great gadgets, gizmos and devices that will make your job easier. They may even make your business more successful.

tech-gadgets-for-business

Business Plan Software

Planning out the business you want to start makes sense. It will also be required should you seek funding. You will be glad you spent the time to write it out, as it will clarify the steps you wish to take in your business. It will help you set your business goals and the steps to reach those goals. Programs like LivePlan will walk you through the steps. According to their website writers, it is packed with easy-to-follow instructions. It has over 500 business plan samples and helpful advice. The software walks you through each step of creating a business plan. When you are finished with the plan, it will even help with the steps you need to take after the business plan is written. [Read more…]

Tools and Technologies for Startup Businesses

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Not all who set up businesses succeed in what they do. Some fail because of their lack of a concrete plan while the others start out without the necessary tools to run their business efficiently.

Any entrepreneur starting a new business should be prepared well. In this age of the internet, it pays to be able to utilize the technologies and tools available to you. Many are free to use while some require a certain fee.

Website

For those who don’t want to be left behind, creating a website is essential today. This is the tool that will establish your internet presence and make people across the globe more aware of your products or services.

In line with this, you must choose a content management system (CMS) platform that will be easy to manage on the backend. WordPress and Joomla are the most widely used platforms these days. If you have the time and no budget to hire a technical person, do learn the ways to update the backend yourself.

Hosting

Along with the website, you need to get the services of a reliable hosting company. You need to pay for this to ensure that people can easily search your business and your site is up and running all the time. Make sure that technical support is also provided round the clock.

Analytics

This tool is free to use and is powerful in helping you keep track of your website traffic. Entrepreneurs need to monitor the statistics in order to come up with new ways to attract visitors to their website and eventually convert them into buyers. Google analytics is the most popular tool being used today.

Point of sale

A point of sale (POS) software is a requirement particularly if you’re into selling goods including digital products. This tool will help you process payments and issue receipts to every purchaser to legitimize your transactions. An advantage of using the POS today is you have the capability of gathering customer data and do a short survey through this software. This feature will help you better understand your target market and find ways to meet their needs.

Social media

This part should never be taken for granted. Social media is very powerful and you need to be on them to be able to interact with your target market. For startups, Facebook and Twitter are strongly recommended. Eventually when you have established your business, you can get on the other sites such as LinkedIn, YouTube, Google Plus and Pinterest.

About the guest author:

Teresa Te is a business blogger who has been writing recently about the evolving retail technologies such as the sage retail ideal for various enterprises.