Three Types of Technology Entrepreneurs Can’t Do Without

In the last two years, a record number of workers have quit their jobs. It’s a phenomenon that the media and business analysts have dubbed The Great Renunciation. At the core of the trend is a change in the way workers view their professional futures, brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic. But now that the pandemic is beginning to fade in the rearview mirror, it is becoming more apparent that many of the workers who are quitting have no intention of returning to the traditional workforce.

Instead, a significant number of them are choosing to start their own businesses. In 2021, a record number of Americans — 5.4 million total — applied for their own business identification numbers. And they’re doing it in large part because technology has finally made it feasible.

Today, a freelancer can take advantage of all the same tools and technologies that used to be available only to large corporations. And it allows them to handle all the hard work that goes into running a business without the need for a large support staff. However, if you plan to go it alone, you need to gather the right technology tools to get the job done before taking the plunge. To help, here are the three types of technology that no solopreneur can do without.

A unified communications solution

Although most people take it for granted, modern offices make communication easy. Today, every worker has access to a desk phone, instant messaging, email, and many other communication tools at all times. And that’s a skill that solopreneurs must develop for themselves. But they don’t have to spend a fortune to do it. They can add all of those capabilities through a Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) provider. That will give them access to all the voice and video communications utilities they would have in a corporate office at a fraction of the cost.

And, in some cases, those features can also be integrated into business-oriented email clients. Today’s Solopreneurs have their pick of email clients to fit their needs. There are multiple solutions for Windows PCs, or you can opt for an email client for Mac or iOS devices instead. In either case, they’ll have a solution that centralizes their email and communications in one place, making it easy to manage.

automation tools

One of the great challenges that every individual entrepreneur faces is that there are few hours in the day and too many tasks to fit into them. But today, they can reduce the demands on their time by turning to automation. Independent entrepreneurs can take advantage of social media automation tools and other automated marketing technologies to keep new leads coming in. They can also automate appointment scheduling and common accounting tasks, among other things. The result is that they will have more time to do meaningful work that keeps their bank account full and their business viable.

collaboration tools

Although most solopreneurs start their businesses with the intention of running a one-person operation, it is quite common that sooner or later they find themselves in need of help. That’s because no one person has all the experience and skills he’ll need for every conceivable job project. Eventually, they’ll need to collaborate with other freelancers if they don’t want to start turning down lucrative work.

And that means they should always have a set of collaboration tools ready in case they are needed. The good news is that several options fit the bill, many of which allow on-demand access. That means solopreneurs won’t have to pay for them when they’re not in use. And if they decide to expand their operation and hire some employees, they can turn to remote work software to train, and monitor, the people they’re hiring to perform specific tasks.

Ready to work

Of course, it’s worth mentioning that the technologies covered here aren’t all a solopreneur will need. Depending on your specific industry, there will surely be a list of other technologies that you will find indispensable. But no matter what kind of work they do, all three types of technologies mentioned above are a must. With them in place, a solopreneur can keep the wheels of their business turning and be ready to take on anything. And in a world where more and more people drop out of the nine-to-five rat race, it’s good to know there are options out there to help independent entrepreneurs succeed.