Resources Articles
February 3rd, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Wunderlist
Still looking for a way to get organized? Some “organizer” applications take more time to learn than the tasks you actually need to get done. Or maybe you need to organize a project—and that means you need to organize your team as well. Wunderlist offers the solution to both your problems by making the interface simple and allowing you to share task lists with friends, partners and associates. You can print tasks, send them by email or share them in the cloud. Reminders will keep you on schedule; a drag and drop feature lets you organize your tasks easily. Use on the Web or from an app on your mobile device.
Tags: small business resources
Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business | No Comments »
February 2nd, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
e-SignLive.com
No one likes to wait for the signed document to show up in the mail, but a live signature is still required for many business contracts and forms. e-SignLive.com offers a free high-tech solution and an alternative to the pen-on-paper signature. Signers can sign from any device, and there’s no software to download. You can even have multiple signers, and everything is customized to the authentication level you require. If your business requires similar documents be signed over and over, you can create a template to use multiple times. Also, set a due date so signers know when the signature deadline is coming up.
Tags: small business law, small business resources
Posted in Business Law, Compliance, Resources, Small Business, small business, Technology | No Comments »
February 1st, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Experiment.ly
An online ad campaign shouldn’t be planned with the attitude, “Let’s throw something out there and see what sticks.” Experiment.ly lets you test and measure the performance of many aspects of your ad campaign before you sink unnecessary dollars into your efforts. You can test anything–buttons, text or images–and there’s no need to get a designer or programmer involved. It’s easy to use, with drag and drop features, so you can quickly create different versions of an ad and see which version tests the best. A free version can get you up to 5,000 unique visitors a month. Other payment plans exist if you want a more extensive campaign.
Tags: small business advertising, small business marketing, small business resources
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Search Marketing, Small Business, small business, Technology, Web Design | No Comments »
January 31st, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Digital PR Guidebook
PR News Online has compiled more than 300 pages of social media ideas and tactics in a downloadable guide aimed to help anyone with a desire to improve their social media prowess and become an expert at today’s hottest marketing method. Learn how to master Facebook, integrate mobile into your marketing plan, use SEO to boost your press releases and more. Find out whether you need to add video to your marketing strategy and how Google + fits into the social media playing field. Chapters also include case studies, SEO and content curation. Downloadable and print versions are available for $399.
Tags: small business resources, social media
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »
January 30th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Codecademy
Ever wish you could just code your own blog or website without having to call in the tech team? Started by two guys who were frustrated by having to learn programming, Codecademy teaches coding the way it should be taught–by actually having you do the coding. Courses range from “Basic Functions in JavaScript” to “Hello, New York,” which is a quick course in the basics for even the busiest of New Yorkers (assuming New Yorkers are the busiest people on the planet). Encourage your employees and fellow business associates to sign up and you can encourage each other and check up on each other’s progress.
Tags: small business resources, small business technology
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January 27th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Lookout Mobile Security
With the world going mobile at an increasing pace, the threat of malware crashing your phone is increasing, too. All you have to do is visit a “bad” website from your smartphone or download a malicious app, and you could become a tech hostage to the scammers who attacked your phone. Lookout Mobile Security can help you identify threats before you visit a site you shouldn’t and also backs up your data to the cloud in case you lose your information (or actually lose your phone). You can also erase your entire phone’s contents remotely if your phone is stolen or lost.
Tags: small business resources, small business technology
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January 26th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Strutta
Starting a business page on Facebook is easy enough, but getting people to come back to it again and again is another story. One way to increase traffic is to offer promotions and hold contests on your Facebook site, and Strutta can make that happen. You can upload your own photos, videos, audios and text to create a promotion; then consumers can share your promotion and encourage others to participate. You can use the promotion on your website, too, and Strutta also includes an app that makes it easy to spread the word via Twitter or Facebook. Plus you can capture important data from the customers you’ve engaged.
Tags: small business marketing, small business resources, social media
Posted in Marketing, Resources, Small Business, small business, Social Media, social media | No Comments »
January 25th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Jobvite
Job recruiting by social media is the latest trend, and social media tool Jobvite allows you to source and weed through referrals, social networks and the Web to find your perfect candidates. The Web-based structure also allows you to do things such as check and track referrals from your smartphone so you don’t miss out on a prime prospect. Search hundreds of sites for potential employees, post job openings on your company’s Facebook page, and make it easy to allow current employees to refer their friends and associates. Then check your personalized dashboard to see what recruiting methods are working the best for you.
Tags: small business hiring, small business resources
Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Workforce | No Comments »
January 24th, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Wave Accounting
For many businesses just starting out, and even for those running operations with just a few employees, hiring an accountant is an unnecessary expense. Wave Accounting is a free online accounting solution that can help you with features such as unlimited invoicing, expense tracking, reporting, personal finance and more. Perfect for businesses with less than nine employees, Wave Accounting gives you multiuser and multi-business access and eliminates the pain of manual entries for many business transactions. To enable the solution for free, Wave offers business suppliers a place on their site to offer you other needed business solutions.
Tags: small business accounting, small business resources
Posted in Accounting and Taxes, Compliance, Resources, Small Business, small business, Uncategorized | No Comments »
January 23rd, 2012 :: Maria Valdez Haubrich
Office2 HD
Getting used to your new iPad and can’t wait to try out all the nifty apps available to you? If you’re looking for an app to help you read and/or create a word processing file, slide deck or spreadsheet, check out Office2 HD. You can also work on an important PowerPoint presentation right from your iPad with Office2 HD. The app lets you work with Google Docs, store and transfer files, save files in a PDF format and print wirelessly. And, if you connect an external keyboard, even text-heavy editing becomes a breeze.
Tags: small business resources, small business technology
Posted in Resources, Small Business, small business, Technology | No Comments »