Technology makes this a great time to be a small business. Rapid advances of technology have made it easier for small business owners to compete with the "big boys" on a newly leveled playing field.

From online postage to inexpensive accounting programs to easy web hosting and development, small businesses can operate nimbly, effectively and on par with larger competitors.

Want a great example? Barbara Heinrich, owner of Local Motion in Minneapolis, built her own mobile-phone application through BuildAnApp to display her hours, location and pictures of new arrivals. Several services have cropped up recently to help small businesses develop iPhone applications so that they can participate in the mobile market including:

• Swebapps.com
• Mobileroadie.com
• Kanchoo.com

If you are looking for a tool to maintain regular contact with customers that are on the go, you should probably check out one of these tools. Remember, you don’t have to be Southwest, CNBC or Amazon to have your own iPhone app.