I know my blog is all about bootstrapping but there are somethings that you just cannot live without, such as the “Crackberry” otherwise know as the Blackberry. This device has truly changed my life. Now, I have heard all of the horror stories about how addicting it can be, and I will not argue with that. But remember, you are a business owner, not an employee. You should love what you do, and you should always be there for your business.

The Blackberry actually un-tethers me from my office. I travel a lot and even driving around LA before I had my BB, I would get stressed out on the amount of emails that were piling up on my desk. With my BB I now can quickly answer people and delegate tasks to my team from anywhere in the world. I kid you not, I was replying to emails from The Great Wall of China last October. Some people might think that is sad but remember, I love what I do. Standing on the Great Wall while being able to get things accomplished was an amazing feeling. I climbed all the way to the top, took a ton of pictures, and was able to really learn about the history of the Wall and was still able to respond to clients who were up at an ungodly hour back in the States.

Issuing Blackberries to your key employees is extremely important, because if you truly want to succeed everyone in your company needs to be in constant communication with fellow employees, clients and partners. As far as costs are concerned, you can get the BB service with unlimited data for $45.00 per month. It will also cost you another $10.00 per month to use it with your hosted Exchange (see my article: Hosted Exchange, the only way go!). Below are the main reasons why you need to get BB’s for yourself and your management team:

1. Contacts, calendar and tasks are updated in real time so you have the latest information and everyone is on the same page.
2. Backup: If anyone loses their device the data can easily be restored on a new device you just got. Screw SIM cards!
3. Features: You can add great apps like Google Talk for instant messaging or Google Maps for directions.
4. Instant: Email comes in real-time so you can quickly respond and show your clients how important they are to you.
5. Ease of use. The BB has the best user experience of any phone. The whole thing is designed so you only need one hand to find and do things such as place a call or send a text message/email.
6. The BB works everywhere! I have used it in South America, Asia, Europe and even in Malibu.

With good comes the bad. Here are some negatives issues with having a BB:

1. People in movie theaters will get mad at you because its bright and they are not flies
2. You cannot get the carrier to give you insurance (because it’s considered a computer) so you need to go through an outside company and it can be more costly.
3. Your wife or girlfriend will give you grief because the BB will get as much attention as them.
4. The BB data plan does not cover text messaging. Still haven’t figured this one out, its pretty lame.

Still, the positives clearly outweigh the negatives here. To get the best possible deal, go into a Cingular store and order a few of them at the same time. Also, sign up for a family plan so everyone shares minutes and text messages. And if you are traveling make sure to sign up for an international data plan so you don’t come home and see a $1,303.39 phone bill. It’s another $15.00 per month, and you can use the web and send email as much as you want. Being able to Google things on the road is extremely helpful.