According to news websites and reports, more than 4.6 billion people have smartphones or other mobile devices. Part of that may be due to the fact that some people have more than one mobile device or cell phone, but that is still an enormous large number.

As a business owner, this number may get your creative juices flowing, thinking how you can use this technology to grow your business. There are many ways you can reach your potential customers through smartphones and other mobile devices.

Social networking – Social networking isn’t just for the laptop or desktop computer anymore. You can connect with your prospects whether you are out and about or they are. In fact, consider creating interactions where you encourage your prospects to connect with you from their mobile devices. Ask them to upload photos or to post status updates when they are out.

Group texting – Instead of, or in addition to asking people to subscribe to your email list, ask them to sign up to receive text messages. You then have their permission to connect via text. Consider your audience and the type of message subscription service you can create. For example, if you are a personal coach, you might send motivational or inspirational quotes to your subscribers each morning.

Make your website mobile ready – The reason some websites look terrible on your smartphone and others look excellent is because of the technology being used. You can make a few small changes and have a mobile-ready website or blog. Once it’s ready to go, promote it and ask people to view your site on their mobile device and share their experience.

Blog – You can record video posts from your mobile device and instantly post on your blog and/or YouTube. You can also write blog posts using a blogging application for your smartphone.

Games and downloads – Consider offering mobile technology to your prospects. You can create an application or a game that they can download for free. Ringtones are one type of download. However, you can also offer documents and videos.

In addition to the many ways you can reach your audience through mobile devices and smartphones, there are ways you can monetize the experience, too; for example, by using AdSense for Mobile. As the technology continues to grow and improve, there is no doubt that more opportunities to market via mobile devices will continue as well.

Until recently, it wasn’t possible to run your business from your phone. Now you can do just about anything with the help of applications (apps) for your smartphone.

Writing/Editing

There are a number of apps that let you view and edit documents directly from your smartphone. One of the most popular is called Documents to Go. It lets you view and edit documents right on your phone. You can also find text-based writing tools like PlainText and iA Writer that are free and easy to use.

Desktop Communication

You can use the GoToMyPC app to connect to your work computer. This makes it easy to access your work files directly without planning ahead. You can also use apps such as Dropbox and CloudTalk to share and store information that is accessible from both your computer and your smartphone.

Communication

With Skype, you can have voice chats (and video chats if your device has a camera) with customers and contractors. You can also use dictation applications such as Dragon and QuickVoice to record your thoughts or create business content or documents.

Payment and Invoicing

PayPal offers a payment application that is easy to use and lets you send invoices and manage your account from your smartphone. Many banks also offer applications that let you manage your account from your phone. Intuit, the makers of Quicken and QuickBooks, also have a payment processing application called GoPayment that you can use on your smartphone.

Blogging

If you like to blog on the go, check out the WordPress application that makes it easy to write, edit and publish blogs from your smartphone.

Social Networking

There are myriad applications to manage your social networking for both Facebook and Twitter. You can post pictures, comments, and stay in touch with your friends from just about any mobile device. For Facebook, check out Friendly and the iTunes Facebook app. For Twitter, check out the HootSuite application.

Organization

Then there are the wide number of organization and brainstorming applications that you can find to not only grow your business, but also to manage it from your phone. Check out MindNode for mind mapping applications. Evernote and One Note are both fantastic note- taking, clipping, and organizational tools.

And don’t forget the basics. You can access your Google accounts with Google applications, which means you can check your AdSense earnings, analytics, and your email, too.

Smartphone applications make owning and operating a business easier than it has ever been before. You can network, invoice, pay bills, brainstorm, publish content and launch new products, all from your phone.

Going green is good for the environment, and in most cases it is also good for your budget. In fact, establishing a few green or environmentally-friendly business habits can increase your income and your bottom line. Here are a few green business tips to consider adding to your weekly or monthly routine:

Sign Up for Electronic Statements

Every bank and financial statement that you receive in the mail uses paper and ink, which contribute to toxins in the environment. And that statement has to travel from the company to your mailbox; that trip produces emissions. When you sign up for electronic statements, the documents are delivered to you via email. That means no paper, no ink, and no transportation. If that doesn’t convince you, then know that many financial institutions and utility companies charge a fee for printed statements. If you sign up for electronic statements they waive that fee.

Be Frugal with Printing Paper

Most small businesses consume much more paper than they realize. If you print your receipts, contracts, documents and other important files, that is a lot of paper. Whenever possible, use the other side of the paper as well. Consider getting a printer that prints on both sides (duplexes).

Build an Electronic Library

Each book on your shelf was created with paper and ink. Again, this contributes to toxins in the environment and a reduction in trees, which help eliminate toxins from the air.

Also, each book needs to be shipped from point to point, causing emissions and fuel consumption. Since ebooks don’t need to be shipped and they don’t need any ink or paper, they are environmentally friendly. (Ebooks also generally cost less than a printed book.) If you absolutely need to have a book on your book shelf, consider buying a used one.

Finally, in addition to avoiding the use of Styrofoam cups in order to protect the environment, as well as the avoidance of unnecessary electricity usage, recycle or sell your used gadgets and electronics instead of throwing them away. Open that junk drawer or storage box and jump online. You can sell your collection of old cell phones, MP3 players and cameras. And for those you cannot sell, find a recycler who will take them from you, or donate them to a worthy cause. It just doesn’t make sense to throw them away when you can help someone out or make money from used items.

If you want to succeed as an entrepreneur, there are a few core skills you must have. The majority of these skills aren’t things that are taught in business school, but skills that need to be perfected in the real world. Fortunately, once you develop these skills, they can be applied to just about any venture on which you embark.

Leadership

John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Fund, the largest mutual fund in the world, defines leadership as knowing what is worth doing, as opposed to management being knowing how to do it.

Leaders needs to be able to decide what is important and what will actually impact the company’s bottom line. They need to be able to make decisions about when to go for profits and when to sacrifice profits for long-term values. They need to be able to identify what is best for everyone involved, including shareholders, employees and clients, and make business decisions for the greater good.

A manager is someone who understands things such as time management, project flow, tracking employee performance and so on, but they aren’t necessarily the right people to steer a company.

A good entrepreneur needs to be a great leader. It also helps if they are a good manager.

Persistence and Patience

In “Good to Great,” one of the most highly acclaimed business books of the century, Jim Collins studies eleven public companies whose performance consistently beat the market average for fifteen years in a row.

One of the key factors he found was persistence and patience. He likened it to a giant spinning metallic flywheel. If you had to take this giant metallic wheel and make it spin, in the very beginning it won’t budge at all. You can put in immense amounts of effort, only to find it still not moving.

Yet once it does start moving, slowly at first, then faster and faster, it will build up momentum until it starts to move on its own. At that point, it would actually be harder to stop the flywheel than to push it faster.

Building a business is like that. In the beginning, you will be swimming upstream, but as momentum builds, it will get easier and easier. The answer is to have the persistence and patience to stick it through.

Team and People Focus

“Take my 20 best people and, virtually overnight, Microsoft becomes a mediocre company.” — Bill Gates

Whether it’s Bill Gates or Mark Zuckerberg, one thing is consistently clear across the most successful companies: a relentless drive to hire the best people. More than anything else, the success of your company is going to be based on the kind of people you hire.

Aim to hire people who are smarter and more competent than you. Don’t try to hire a team that you can lead, but a team that can lead your company and you to better results than you alone could create.

These are a few of the key skills every entrepreneur needs. These skills aren’t developed overnight, but they are skills that anyone who is committed can gradually learn.

Life sometimes gets in the way of business. Financial difficulties, family challenges and health concerns can all distract you from your business, yet business must go on. So how do you set your challenges and concerns aside and stay motivated and focused during difficult times?

#1 Create Goals

Goals help you stay focused and motivated. The trick during difficult times is to make sure the goals are easily attainable yet still move your business forward. For example, if you are dealing with health problems then you may prefer to break your day up into smaller segments. A goal such as creating an information product or writing your content for the next month is something you can tackle in small sections of time.

However, launching a new website may not be something you want to tackle when you are under the weather. Also, while outsourcing to contractors can definitely ease some of the burden, if you have to micromanage the contractors, you are creating too much work for yourself. Find contractors that can take the project and run with it. At the same time, choose goals that you can tackle easily in smaller segments of time.

#2 Work on What You Love

Ideally, everything you do for your business is something you enjoy. However, many business owners still manage some tasks that are not their favorite responsibilities. When you are dealing with a difficult time, it’s the perfect time to find someone to manage those tasks and to focus your attention on doing the tasks you love.

For example, if you love to blog and communicate with your audience, then set aside time each day to manage that responsibility. Having something to look forward to will help you get through the difficult times without your business suffering.

#3 Cut Yourself Some Slack

If you put too much pressure on yourself to do and be a superhuman, you are going to burn out quickly. Everyone has difficult times. If you accept that you may have to cut back a bit or get help during this trial, you will be much more able to focus on your business when you have time to. Stress and pressure are a guaranteed way to lose focus and concentration.

#4 Change Your Schedule

Often, difficult times throw a wrench in your routine. Suddenly you are not able to work when you normally do. This can make concentrating and focusing difficult. Instead of struggling to try to maintain the same schedule, create a new one. Adapt and be proactive. For example, a sick family member can consume your day. Instead of struggling, get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later during the day. Create time to work so you don’t have to find time to work.

#5 Mind Your Health

Above everything else, it is important to take good care of yourself, especially during difficult times. Manage stress, get good sleep, exercise, move your body and eat healthy foods. These will all help you focus and concentrate when you have time to work on your business.

Planning ahead for difficult times can also lessen the impact. Make sure you have a good support system. Also a savings account that can provide you with several months of income can also lessen the stress during difficult times. Outsource, automate, and remember how important it is to take great care of yourself.