BlackBerry for Small Business

October 28, 2008 by Katie Skow
Filed under Biz

I made myself a very public promise earlier this year. I promised (see post: To be or not to be…connected 24/7?) that I would never own a BlackBerry. That was March. Flash forward to October…I now own a BlackBerry.

I suppose you could say I have had a change in heart and philosophy about

those things. For most of this year, my old (basic) cell phone was like the cat with nine lives. With each drop, I knew the moment of life-altering decision making was slithering closer: get another basic phone for calls only OR go nuts with a mega phone. I kept going back and forth before I finally decided to go completely loca with a BlackBerry. Here’s why:

There are days when I’m out of the office for hours at a time with no internet access. When I come home, I often spend several hours reading and catching up on email. Life Post BlackBerry: when I get home, my computer often stays off. I’ve already had an opportunity to reply to all or most emails throughout the work day.

If I forget to print directions to where I’m going or have an impromptu rendez-vous, this creates frantic phone calls to my husband or friends hoping someone can Google the directions. Life Post BlackBerry: Although I don’t have the GPS feature, Google Maps is on my phone and seems to know my location within 3100 meters. I can quickly sort out my own mess.

Countless times, I’ve wished I had a camera to capture and share funny or unbelievable moments with the world. Life Post BlackBerry: I take pictures or video and send them to family, friends, and post on Facebook. One of these days I’ll start posting directly to my blog.

I’m a text (SMS) idiot. I prefer a qwerty keyboard because I hate pressing #1 three times when I want to find the letter “C.” Life Post BlackBerry: Simplicity with 1/3 the amount of button tapping.

As a bargain shopper, I want to know if I can get a better deal. Before buying a book, for example, it’s good to check if I can find it cheaper from a place like Amazon. Now that I have Internet, I also save gas. Life Post BlackBerry: In the few weeks that I’ve owned the phone, I’ve saved myself at least $50.

…and for many more reasons I love my BlackBerry. But, the #1 reason: As a small business owner, I feel having a super mega phone has given me QUALITY OF LIFE and PEACE OF MIND.