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Om Malik has a great article up on his blog where he lists his 10 ‘must have’ apps for the Mac. His list includes a few applications that I would recommend for any Internet entrepreneur using OS X. One that I didn’t see on his list is Transmit, a great FTP client for the Mac. If you have ‘made the switch’, you should check out this list of great applications. In additon, let us know which programs you consider to be hidden gems.
Click to continue reading 10 Mac Apps You Can’t Live Without
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I think I learned a few things today about how to better handle my ever-so-daunting email inbox. I am the type of person that feels the need to respond to things as soon as they come in, which unfortunately results in constant distractions since I have my mail client set to check for new messages every 60 seconds. I get so much email that every 60 seconds I stop the work I am doing to reply to something, or read something else. If you find yourself in an email rut, here are a few things you can do to change your ways:
Shut off auto-check - Either turn off automatic checking completely, or set it to something reasonable, like every 20 minutes or so. If you’re doing anything with new email more than every few minutes, you might want to rethink your approach. I’m sure that some of you working in North Korean missile silos need real-time email updates, but I encourage the rest of you to consider ganging your email activity into focused (maybe even timed) activity every hour or three. Process, tag, respond to the urgent ones, then get the hell back to work.
Continue reading for more great tips. Do you have any of your own?
Click to continue reading Tips to Increase Email Productivity
Through the end of the day on September 2, Yahoo! Small Business will be selling .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .us domain names for the very cheap price of $1.99. Now, looking at the fine print, it appears that the number of domains Yahoo! is willing to part with for that small sum of money is just one. You must also be new customer, possibly never having purchased a domain from Yahoo! Still though, it’s a nice price to pick up your next domain at.
- The most popular domain name extensions
(.com, ,net, .org, .biz, .info, .us)- 24-hour toll-free customer support
- Domain name registration terms from 1-5 years
- Easy-to-use control panel with DNS management
- Domain forwarding so you can point to an existing site
- Email forwarding to a free Yahoo! email address
- Bonus starter web page to post online until you are ready for a web site
- Domain locking helps prevent unauthorized transfers
- Private Domain Registration helps protect you from spam by blocking your contact information from the public WHOIS database (+$9.00, at sign-up)
Click to continue reading Yahoo! Small Business Domains for $1.99
I can definitely agree with the statement that, after a little while, running your own business can be pretty lonely. Many people that I have talked to say the same thing, and the reason behind it is lack of human interaction. I see this happening on two fronts. First, while you are working, you are more than likely alone in your home office, or working closely with one other person. This means that while you work, you aren’t out building face-to-face relationships (even if you are communicating via email or instant messaging). Then, unlike working for someone else’s company, you don’t have the eight-hour day that ends with you going home and out into the world. If you are a true entrepreneur, you are more than likely soaking yourself into your work day and night, which even further limits the amount of face-to-face contact you can have.
Fortunately, there is some good advice out there on how to handle this phenomenon. First, as we have talked about previously, get out there and meet with your clients/customers/userbase/colleagues in face-to-face situations. Nothing beats that.
Read on for a few more tips on beating the home business blues.
Click to continue reading Beating the Home Business Blues
As an Internet entrepreneur, one of the first things you will want to look for is small business software. All programs are different, with varying features and price ranges, but there is a fit for any type of business. You can pick and choose if you want to go small scale, using Outlook for contact management and Quicken to manage your books for example. You can also go with software that combines many features into one package:
Core features of a small business software :
- Contact Management
- Sales Force Automation
- Inventory Management
- Purchasing and Vendor Management
- Productivity Tools
- Payroll and Employee Management
- Financial Management
- Time and Billing
- Fully integrated Web Store
- Order Management and Fulfillment
- Customer and Vendor Center
- Shipping Module
- Customization
Sit down and just write out your business process to see what types of things a software solution can help with. After doing that, choosing the right package should be simple.
Click to continue reading Choosing Small Business Software
If you have never given the Opera web browser a spin, now is the perfect opportunity. In an effort to commemorate their 10 year anniversary, the folks at Opera are giving away the software for free for a full 24 hours. From 12 AM Tuesday, August 30 to 12 AM Wednesday, August 31 2005 (PDT), just drop an email to registerme@opera.com, and you will immediately recieve a response with a registration code. This removes the mandatory ad strip from the top of the Opera browser. Opera is an excellent tool t use when building a website, as it is fast and conforms to every standard out there.
Click to continue reading Get Opera Browser for Free
Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Interaction, Even On The Internet
Posted by Andru Edwards Categories:
So, I am taking a break from packing as I prepare to shut down this iMac before unplugging it and putting it into its box in preparation of our move tomorrow. We are moving ourselves, along with Gear Live Media, from Olympia, WA up to Seattle, WA. The 60 mile move is due to the large community of technology and entreprenurial minded folks that I usually get to communicate with over email, but rarely get to see face to face. A few months ago, I realized the value of face-to-face interaction when I went to GnomeDex. Yes, email is a great tool for the Internet entrepreneur - but you just can’t beat the value of sitting down with someone to talk and share ideas.
Click to continue reading Nothing Beats Face-to-Face Interaction, Even On The Internet
Just found a great article which is basically just a checklist of what makes a successful entrepreneur. Thinking about the things I do and comparing it to the list, it is very spot on. It even includes a few things that I never noticed. If you have been considering going into business for yourself with the hopes of being a success, I would recommend check it out. Here is a snippet:
Skills of Successful Entrepreneurs
- Co-ordination
The ability to manage many different types of jobs and responsibilities at the same time.- Evaluation
The ability to examine important facts about the business and to determine the least risky way to proceed.- Organization
The ability to organize all the resources of the business in order to make it run in the most efficient manner.- Research
The ability to obtain all the necessary information to insure that the best possible decisions are made.
Check the list, and let us know if you think anything is missing - or if you can relate - in the comments.
Click to continue reading Successful Entrepreneur Checklist
If you are a small business owner without a website, Yahoo! is offering a simple solution if you are in their local small business index. It costs nothing to become listed, and now they are offering a free basic website as well. I am not sure what kind of domains Yahoo! will be using for the sites, so they may be long and unsightly - but regardless of the domains Yahoo chooses to affix, they are still a great free resource to local small business owners. The websites can have up to five different pages of information, and can be customized with a business logo, contact information, etc. Very cool.
Click to continue reading Yahoo! Offers Free Web Hosting for Small Businesses
The jury is still out on whether listing your site in free directories is good for your site’s search engine optimisation. Same people say Google ignores directories for rankings, some say that a few of the authority directories, especially DMOZ - The Open Directory Project, are important. There is even rumours that Google will penalise sites with a lot of free directory inbound links. My rule - list your sites in a few authority AND relevant directories but definitely don’t go for a blanket approach, quality over quantity.
Click to continue reading Free Traffic From Free Directories
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