Running An E-Commerce Business With No Computer (Cell Phone Only)
My backpack was stolen and my laptop was inside. I was left with only my cell phone.
At first, I was in a state of shock. I thought it would be impossible to continue working without my computer. (This would have huge implications for my life!)
But, with only my cell-phone (which I am using to write this blog post) I found that almost everything is still possible.
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I can log into my desktop bank website to make international wire transfers (I just needed to find the correct ‘desktop friendly’ link.)
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The Google Sheets app allows me to edit my online spreadsheets. (When the ‘desktop’ GSheets is truly necessary, I can ‘Request Desktop Site’ inside the Google Chrome App)
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Skype calls and PayPal payments, of course, can be sent from the phone.
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I can still log in to Amazon Seller Central and bulk-edit PPC bids!
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The Alibaba app allows me to continue speaking with potential suppiers.
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Microsoft Excel even has an app for editing files in Dropbox!
Generally, everything is do-able on the smaller screen.
You just need to find the workaround, and sometimes the same task takes longer. (Two thumbs + pinch-and-drag is not efficient!)
Finally, what about tasks that are really a pain, or impossible, to do from the cell phone? (Say, making edits to massive Excel files or testing software meant for desktop.)
Simple, train someone who has a desktop how to do it. (Probably, it would have been good to outsource the task long ago anyway!)
With all my files saved in the cloud, a willingness to work on a small screen, and others who I can ask for help when a desktop computer is truly needed… I’m pleasantly surprised how un-problematic the theft of my computer has been, even though I used it every day for work.