Starting and running a small business is one of the most challenging things a person can take on. In a large company there is the luxury of a specialist for every task. The entrepreneur has no such luxury. Everything from accounting to legal to technology must be learned. Sometimes not mastered, but at least learned to an extent that you can hire someone to clean up your mess.
Perhaps the most important quality in an entrepreneur is the ability to know one’s own limits. Few can master everything but we can get a pretty good handle on it. For my business it has been fun learning a bit of everything but also a huge relief as I hand things off to the lawyer, accountant, and developer. In our role as small business technology coaches and consultants we advise a lot of clients in many industries and many stages of business. We often see the same problems and we even fell into some of the same traps ourselves. What we are providing here is a list (current only as of today) of some of our favorite tools for the DIY entrepreneur. Some of these are permanent solutions and sometimes these are good startup and interim tools. How and when they are implemented varies from business to business.
Domain Names and Web Hosting
One of my favorite places for both domain names and hosting is MyHosting.com based in Toronto. Great service and very good prices. There are many hosts so I encourage you to shop around and read many reviews before committing. Do not decide based on price and popularity.
The Safe and Profitable Web
Safe Surfing: Do yourself a huge favor and stop using Internet Explorer. Seriously. There are several very safe, fast, stable alternatives including Firefox, Google’s Chrome, and Opera.
Passwords: You’ve heard this but statistically speaking you aren’t listening. This is getting serious. Change your passwords, make them strong, and keep them safe. Here is a great article by John Pozadzides on LifeHacker. Use a utility like RoboForm, KeePass, or LastPass. Mac users have the best with 1Password by Agile Web Solutions.
Email: Gmail is a favorite choice for many. It has many strengths including security and the ability to use it on any computer. It is also very nicely integrated into Google Apps which will be discussed elsewhere. If you use Gmail we suggest you still use your own domain name for branding. So gsawyer@sawyertraining.com rather than gsawyer@gmail.com. Both will work in the Gmail application. For some a more robust Personal Information Manager such as Thunderbird is a better choice.
Networking and Identity: are essential in any business. Of the many many Social Media tools available the one that stands out as premier for the entrepreneur is LinkedIn. For some it may be a tool for generating customers, for others it is more useful for peer-to-peer networking. In either case LinkedIn is a useful tool. Some have expressed concerns with issues such as identity theft and personal information used against them by employers. Properly used (and assuming proper safeguards by the service) no Social Media should put uses in jeopardy. However, if you use weak password, click indiscriminately, fail to keep your computer and account free of virii and maleware, or post compromising pictures of yourself you will probably suffer no matter what network you are on.
Another useful tool for identity and networking online is Flavors.me. Slick, clean, easy, and free, Flavors.me is a simple way to get a web presence without necessarily building a whole website. In fact, many types of businesses today would be better off simply engaging and utilizing Social Media rather than a traditional website. Basically, why spend the time and money to build something if it will add no more value than what you can use for free. Social Media gives you instant marketing channels and simple set up. For example, consider using Flavors.me as a home page (for a small fee you can get the premium service that allows you to use your own domain) and link from there to your LinkedIn (about us page), a Facebook Page (marketing), and Etsy (sales). There is even a contact link at the bottom so people can send you a note. Is it the same as a professionally design website? No. But it is very quick and simple and a great way for many entrepreneurs to start without a huge investment in money or energy until they can get a full-fledged site up. Indeed, the investment in Social Media marketing can do no harm.
Business Continuity
This is one of the most heart wrenching stories we hear: the business owner who’s computer died and lost everything. Don’t let this happen. Computers do die and attacks happen. You can’t afford to loose your work and your business. Do you leave your shop unlocked when you leave? Do you leave home with the stove burning? We are in a digital world now whether that means one old computer in the shop or a Cloud Server and Social Media Marketing. Safety and security are essential. So what are the threats and how do you mitigate them? Good maintenance can save you significantly in repair costs to boot.
Virii and Maleware: These can wreck your computer, steal your data, turn your computer into a criminal zombie, and much more. Use an anti-virus software and keep your computer cleaned up. We suggest Avast! free version. You will need to register it but be sure to select only the free version. We also suggest a nice little application called CCleaner. CCleaner is a free tool that cleans the histories, cookies, and other junk from your computer. Cleaning will speed up your computer, help it run faster, and can make it more stable. CCleaner also includes a registry cleaner which can help eliminate or reduce little Windows issues.
Backup: There are several options here. We typically recommend using a service like Mozy or DropBox to automatically backup your files off-site. Three very important words here: automatically, backup, off-site. Automatically, because you will forget. Backup, because you care. Off-site, because if your office burns down with your backup external drive inside what good is that? Mozy and DropBox are two different types of service but can accomplish similar things. Mozy is strictly a backup service. Your files are stored securely and safely until you need them. DropBox adds the additional feature of being able to access your files anytime through any web browser. Both have free price levels and additional services for the paid levels.
Office Productivity
Word Processing, Spreadsheets, and Presentations, oh my. We suggest skipping the ubiquitous Microsoft Office in favor of a less expensive but equally powerful alternative. Two come to mind as very strong competitors. Google Apps Standard Edition is a sufficiently powerful and feature-rich suite for most small businesses. The Premier Edition adds some features useful primarily in an enterprise setting. Indeed, Google Apps has begun to gain some traction in the enterprise market and is leads the field in cloud-based business suites. Google Apps provides the core requirements with a word processor, spreadsheets, forms, presentations, and a basic drawing tool. Files can be shared and collaborated on with granular security. In addition Google Apps is completely hosted making it available from any browser on any computer. Once HTML 5 is fully available there will also be the ability to use Google Apps (and other tools) when disconnected from the Internet. To make the deal even sweeter, Google Apps integrates Gmail, Google Calendar, Contacts, a simple site building tool, and allows other third-party applications to integrate such as TimeBridge. With all of this, a low (or free) price tag, and Google’s stability and security you can see why it is become a major player.
Even with all of those tools many of us still rely on OpenOffice.org. OOo is an Open Source office productivity suite featuring a very mature set of features rivaling Microsoft Office almost point for point. OOo is a more mature suite than Google Apps and includes word processors, spreadsheets, presentations, a very nice drawing tools, and a database application. OOo is very easy to learn and use with a user interface almost identical to Microsoft’s Office 2003.
If you find you can’t choose between OOo and Google Apps don’t worry. They are both standards compliant and talk very politely to each other. In fact, we use both in our office and they function quite seamlessly allowing us to make use of the best features of each. For those that do more than their share of presentations try out Prezi. I may never go back to PowerPoint.
George J. Sawyer III is Technology Coach & CEO of Sawyer Training, Inc.
We are pleased to announce our new Director of Sales and Marketing who comes on-board this week. Darren DeBerg comes to us with extensive experience in the B2B world including stints at Gateway, H.J. Heinz, and Nielsen Media Research. Darren holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of South Dakota and is an accomplished photographer.
His email is ddeberg at sti.st and can be reached at 612.234.1298.
