Free Tools

Some tools that may be useful in help running your business:.

Sell Online Books, Training Materials etc: YouPublish allows you to publish and sell any files (eg online books, video, lessons) BUT will take 50% of the price that you are charging, no fee if it is free.  You will also have to pay for all the transfer fee or cost incurred. Maximum upload of files is 100MB and is looking at increasing the size.

Online Event Registration: Eventbrite is an online event management and ticketing services. Eventbrite is free if your event is free. But if you sell tickets, they will collect a small fee per ticket.

Social/Business Networking Sites - Xing, Hi5, FaceBook, NetLog,: Though most of these sites are more for "social", there are increasing number of business people using it to promote their company or products. Xing is more for business.

Blog: Many young and inspiring entrepreneurs create their own business blog and have proven somewhat successful.

LogMeIn: Access your PC from anywhere. No need to take your laptop or files with you, with LogMeIn you always have your work PC at your fingertips.

Research/Survey Tools: Survey monkey is a free site that allows you to design and collate research information.

OpenOffice: Replace your Microsoft office with this free office solution.  Though not 100% compatible with MS office but for normal correspondence is suffice.

Freeware: There are many simple useful software that are available free on the internet.  You must try it out yourself and see which is more useful for you. A word of caution, installing too many will slow your system and some may have conflicts that will cause your system to hang.

Free E Tools: Add forums, counter to your websites.

 

Effective Use of Tools

IM (Instant Messaging): Skype, MSN/Live, AIM, Google, Yahoo, AIM, QQ etc

In this article, I will only discuss how to use IM, particularly as a business tool.  You MUST setup a backup procedure for keeping records of conversations as it may be needed when there is a business dispute. For MSN, you should download "Messenger Plus!" where you can set to save all conversation by customers in a folder in any designated drive eg "d:/IM Records/".  Messenger Plus (MP) also allows you to have multiple tabs in a single window especially useful when you are talking to several person. With MP you can add scripts like display changer and translator. The display changer is especially useful if you have a portfolio of photos on an event or designs to show your customers.  Your customers can view while chatting with you etc.  This is an extremely a good tool for friends to share photos of where they went on over the weekend, holiday photos etc. The photos automatically flips. The translator tool is not as useful for sentences but it does offer some help with simple words.

Skype does not have display changer but offers a host of productivity "add ons" like Yugma collaboration, Universal chat translator, Whiteboard, Chat recording etc. Yugma is especially useful when you want to show your customers or friends items on your desktop ie your friends can see real-time what you click, files open etc. Talk & Write, Whiteboard are programs that you and your friends can write and see each other's work.  Skype has better voice and video quality. But do not have multiple single conversations in one window.  I am also unable to create folders for chat history, therefore search of records many be of some difficulty in the future.

QQ is a very good tool if your target market is China but beware of virus that comes with it! As it is in Chinese, I have a hard time exploring it.  Yahoo has some useful features as it allows you to add friends from 'Live". It has some other productive tools that Skype & MSN don't have, like your contact's (friends) local time, map. AIM has other interesting "add-ons" but not all are free and it is not stated clearly.

My personal favorite is Skype as a business tool. MSN is next as it allows me to create my blog and is linked to the IM.  Sometimes, when chatting with new friends, you can just asked to click on the side to go to your profile which is also your blog.

With Skype, I can link to my partners, suppliers and customers worldwide.  For example, as I am working from home, I can talked to my staff, also working from home and with the supplier from China that there is a printing error. Or, I may be shopping along Orchard Road (Singapore) and there is a need for urgent meeting, I do not need to rush back to office, via skype we can have a conference all and virtually free as Singapore government provides free wireless internet connections!

 

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