3 Technologies Transforming Small Business

Ipad Cash Register

The following is a guest post by Gregory Lewis.

David had his slingshot. Small businesses have technology. Check out how these three tools are helping the little guys run leaner, smarter, and more successful small businesses.

iPad Cash Registers

By now, you know your iPad can do a lot more than play Angry Birds. But the iPad’s appearance as a super-smart digital cash register is fairly new. Frontrunners like Square were the first to bring credit card reading technology to iOS devices, making small business transactions as sleek and simple as the Apple products we love. These smart-registers have only gotten more advanced, with companies like NCR Silver POS offering bundled cash drawers, detailed analytics, and email marketing options. Your iPad can now serve quadruple duty as bookkeeper, profitability consultant, and email marketer–pretty neat, huh?

Crowdfunding

As commercial banks maintain hold of their vice grip on business loans, crowdfunding offers a new way for small businesses to raise money. Kickstarter kicked off the trend for small creative projects, but new business-oriented options have been catching like wildfire since the signing of the JOBS Act (Jump-Start Our Businesses Start-Ups) in April. The SEC has yet to rule on crowdfunding regulations, but that hasn’t stopped upstarts like CircleUp and Smallknot from getting the ball rolling.

Location-Based Marketing

Foursquare was the first major player in the location-based advertising game. Now, the horizons holds plenty of promising advances.

Check out Passbook, Apple’s built-in iOS application that stores coupons, gift cards, and tickets. One feature that’s gone under the radar, so to speak, is Passbook’s location capabilities: the app will alert you when you’re near a relevant store. Apple’s hardly the only one to hop on the bandwagon, with platforms like Geoloqi gaining ground on iPhones and Androids.

Gregory M. Lewis is a Brooklyn-based tech blogger, copywriter, and leading techSmith for MarketSmiths, a copywriter’s collective specializing in bite-sized, luscious, vivid copy for websites, books, blogs, & more.

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