Tips for Taking Your Business Portable

Jennifer
November 9, 2009

One of the benefits about being self-employed or working from home is that you don’t have to be tethered to a cubicle. And in this recession, it pays to be able to work from anywhere and be connected to clients.

Savvy web workers know how to access the Internet in most places and are already sold on a laptop or netbook that suits their performance needs, but here are apps, tools and gear that can make business on the road a lot easier. Hongkiat.com recently compiled a handy list of free portable applications for bloggers and designers. In addition to showcasing apps such as GIMP Portable, Portable Safari and IrfanView – which I only discovered last year and quickly fell in love with – it also lists portable applications for general business purposes. So this list is helpful for people in noncreative fields as well. You’ll find OpenOffice.org Portable, ToDoList and 7-Zip, which Hongkiat claims has an even better compression ratio than WinZip. Since creative professionals tend to be Macaddicts, Webdesigner Depot offers 13 iPhone-specific apps, including Caliper, which is a measuring tool, and ColorExpert, which lets you grab, identify, capture and showcase your chosen colors. There are different kinds of tools that make portability easier that are not found on a computer or a smartphone. I’m talking about actual physical stuff. Swissmiss identifies a number of handy toys for the road, such as Hotel in a Bag, which looks like a bundled-up sleeping bag and unrolls into a mattress. Then there’s the Laptop Drybag, which is a waterproof bag that’s not only attractive but also has a nice handle – perfect for when a water bottle unexpectedly leaks! What’s your most valuable tool that helps you out on the road?

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About Jennifer Moline

Jennifer Moline writes for the PsPrint Blog as well as maintains its Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google Plus and Pinterest presences. She also guest-blogs for such notable graphic design blogs as Fuel Your Creativity and Inspiredology. She’s previously written about technology and small business for news websites, magazines and newspapers. In her off-hours, Jennifer can be found roughing it in the mountains or tucked away in a movie theater.

Anonymous's picture
January 07, 2016 03:21 am #

[...] whether you can temporarily relocate your business. This is where portability comes in. If you haven’t graduated to a smartphone such as an iPhone or a BlackBerry, now is the [...]

Anonymous's picture
January 07, 2016 03:21 am #

[...] Tools Can You Not Live Without?” mentioned Fotografix, FileZilla Portable and ToDoList, while “Tips for Taking Your Business Portable” included Caliper, ColorExpert, OpenOffice.org Portable and 7-Zip. In theory, these applications [...]

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The PsPrint Blog is a resource for graphic designers, freelancers, small business owners and fans of print marketing. You'll find helpful techniques on printing everything there is to print, including business cards, postcards, brochures, stickers, invitations, greeting cards, door hangers, magnets and more. The PsPrint Blog shares creative ways to improve your design and layout skills, and useful tips for marketing your business in any medium. We also like to have a little fun, sharing design inspiration and spotlighting some our favorite customers' printed pieces in our "Hot Off the Press" series.