Free Business Tools and Products for Small Businesses

In an attempt to gain new customers during this changing economy many businesses are offering special incentives, deals and freebies.  Small Businesses need to use these opportunities and make the most of the incentives being offered during this time.

Intuit is Giving Small Business a Boost

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well. Yes, small businesses everywhere are facing unprecedented challenges. That’s why we’re offering these easy to use business tools that you need right now.

Free Accounting Software
Intuit QuickBooks Simple Start – the easiest way to create invoices, pay bills & track expenses.

Cut Costs, Not People at Your Small Business

Faced with the need to cut costs, businesses of all sizes regularly resort to “reducing headcount.” But unlike their counterparts at large, publicly listed companies, owners and managers of smaller businesses have much more than today’s share price to think about when they have to reduce costs.

For a small business, replacing experienced, talented individuals will be both costly and necessary in the longer term. So, how can they cut costs in the short term without compromising their long-term interests? Here are a few ideas from Earthtone, an online print marketplace that small businesses use to save money by comparing quotes from hundreds of independent printers before choosing the one best suited to their needs:

Enlist your team’s help.
Your team can help you make your business more efficient. Maybe your team has identified a bottleneck that the management hasn’t seen. Perhaps they know how other businesses are cutting costs. Everyone’s incentivized to help you make the savings needed to avoid lay-offs.

Shop around for big-ticket purchases.
Whether it’s insurance, business travel or printing essentials like your business cards or your company brochure, using comparison sites like CompareTheMarket, Expedia or Earthtone can help you find the same product at a better price.

Connect over the Web.
You can use the Internet to shrink the cost of long-distance business. Services like Skype and GoToMeeting let you meet “face-to-face” with your counterparts in other cities and countries at little or no cost.

Get your services on demand.
You can avoid costly investment in things like e-mail servers, high-spec printers or expensive software by tapping into “cloud” or “as a Service” solutions. Microsoft Office Live, Google Docs and others specialize in providing the resources businesses need while helping them avoid unnecessary upfront investment.

Who is the Online YOU?

I saw a headline for an article the other day that made me laugh, “Make Sure Your Facebook Profile Doesn’t Lose You A Job.” And as silly as that sounds I am sure it is happening more and more often.

I think of too many young girls, taking too many pictures, showing too much skin, for too many wrong reasons. And I always comment of how “proud” their parents must be, I never thought how displeased their employer, or would be employer or clients, might be.

Do you know who you are online?

Who is the online you?

If someone didn’t know you, and wanted to find out about you, what would a google search say about you?

Dan Schawbel, personal branding guru, talks about the Six Free Tools for Online Reputation Management. And though I have googled myself here and there I didn’t realize Dan’s first free online tool existed:

1. Google—Google.com/alerts
Definition: Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results based on your choice of query or topic. You can subscribe to each alert through email and RSS.
Application: Many people use their RSS readers to view these alerts,
and PR agencies use alerts to track their campaigns. You can monitor a news
story, keep current with your industry and competitors, and see who is writing
about you, all at the same time.

So you have googled yourself, you set up your alerts, now what about that Facebook page?

Check out these top ten turn-offs for employers on social networking websites from the recruitment site www.onrec.com

1. References to drug abuse
2. Extremist / intolerant views, including racism, sexism
3. Criminal activity
4. Evidence of excessive alcohol consumption
5. Inappropriate pictures, including nudity
6. Foul language
7. Links to unsuitable websites
8. Lewd jokes
9. Silly email addresses
10. Membership of pointless / silly groups

One more thing not mentioned above is your comments and your friends; are you only as good as the company you keep?

Change your settings to have your comments pre-approved before one of your “friends” posts an embarrassing or inappropriate comment on your page. And don’t let your friends be upset if you do not approve their comment, and remember that your social site persona is a direct reflection of how the online world will see you.

I would also take a look at your “friends” pages as well. I have had friend requests from people I went to high school with that I have rejected because of the content on their page. I didn’t want their questionable or sexist behavior spill over to who I am.

And that could be more than your parents that you are making so proud; it could be your clients or your employer. And it could cost you more than your job.

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