Essential Tech for Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurs share what tech tools they can't live without.
We asked a few of the entrepreneurs featured in this issue (including a couple of the freelance writers who helped make the issue happen) the same question: What piece of technology can't you live without? To avoid a page full of iPhones and BlackBerrys, we excluded the ubiquitous smartphone and made them think hard. Here's what they came up with.
I can't do without my laptop. With wireless internet access, it keeps the lines of communication open for me.
--Peter Taunton, Snap Fitness
No. 1 would be my laptop. I can't get any work done without it. No. 2 is my MP3 player. I use it to listen to books on tape from the library on my commute. It helps me utilize that part of the day and keeps me off the phone while driving.
--William Carey, Dixon Golf
I can't live without NetSuite. It does all of our business functions: accounting, inventory management, our sales are entered through there. It replaces programs like Excel and ACT. NetSuite integrates our stuff from different applications--out on the cloud--and puts it all together. We can get information in real time.
--Ava DeMarco, Littlearth
GPS. I love the fact that it tells me what time I will arrive so I can plan my trips.
--Irina Cochran,Terrapin Tool Co.
It would have to be my noise-canceling headphones, to convey to my ears the soothing musical tones I often crave as background when I'm writing. They also help drown out the sound of howling youngsters.
--David Port, freelance writer, author of Caveman's Guide to Baby's First Year: Early Fatherhood for Modern Hunter-Gatherers
I can't live without a stereo. Work doesn't get done without music to energize the process.
--Jason Ankeny, freelance writer
To find out what pieces of technology are a must for any new business--no matter its size--read "10 tech essentials" by Jason Ankeny.
