Nearly a quarter, 23 percent, of Americans worked from home in 2014, according to a recent Bureau of Labor Statistics survey. If you’re one of the lucky few that enjoys the ability to work from anywhere you like, the following tools will help keep you productive -- no matter where you are:
1. Basecamp
Even on the road, you need to connect with your staff. Basecamp allows you to manage projects, communicate with your team and stay on top of who’s assigned to what tasks. Never be out of touch, no matter where you are.
2. Boomerang
When you’re working abroad, your time zone may not be lined up with your employees or customers. No worries -- Boomerang allows you to schedule your Gmail emails and send them out at specific times using Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
3. Dropbox
This tool should be a given, but I’ll say it. When you’re working abroad, you need a virtual location to safely store documents while allowing everyone access that needs it. Dropbox is that solution.
4. Join.me
A reliable virtual meeting and screen-sharing software is another tool you can’t do without as you run your company remotely. Join.me is intuitive and doesn’t require any downloads or subscriptions from you or your clients -- a big bonus in my book.
5. Narrow.io
This great tool allows you to grow your Twitter following quickly and easily. And that doesn’t mean fake, meaningless followers -- Narrow.io delivers a targeted Twitter following and makes it effortless to engage with them.
6. Trello
Tracking a project visually is important -- it can help lay out clearly where you are in a project and what step is next.Trello is a great tool for that. You can create tasks in various lists, drag them from one list to the next, assign them to team members and more.
7. Toggl
Looking to track your time but tired of using pen and paper? Toggl is a great tool that helps you understand where your time is going -- a must if you’re going to be productive remotely.
8. Skype
This is a well-known tool, but it’s one that’s essential for keeping communication going affordably. Sometimes you just need a voice-based or video chat. Forget high international phone rates -- Skype keeps you connected no matter where you are in the world.
9. Trade Ability
If part of your business involves moving products, even if you just need to ship once, Trade Ability makes it easy. This free UPS tool helps you estimate costs and makes you aware of duty fees and international-trade restrictions.
10. Evernote
Get tired of having papers everywhere and fear you’ll lose your key documents? Me too. Evernote is a lifesaver, especially since you can easily clip notes from webpages and emails.
11. Freemind
Freemind lives up to its name. An amazing mind-mapping software available for free, this open-source tool allows you to plan your work graphically. It’s a great tool for visual learners.
12. PayPal
This is another common tool, but it’s one that’s essential when you work abroad. No worrying about exchange rates, corrupt banks or mailing payments -- just use PayPal to securely send money wherever it needs to go. You can even get a PayPal MasterCard linked to your account to make purchasing easy as well.
13. Infusionsoft
This small-business email provider is an amazing solution for anyone, including those working from around the world.Infusionsoft allows you to automate huge portions of your business with customized funnels, email chains and more. It’s a huge lifesaver.
14. Zendesk
If part of your business involves providing customer service, you needZendesk. This is especially true if you work remotely. Zendesk allows you to track all interactions -- nothing is ever lost or hidden, no matter where you are in the world.
15. Time Trade
Having others able to set up appointments with you automatically is a massive time saver. Time Trade allows clients or colleagues to see your availability and syncs automatically wit
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