One of the greatest obstacles faced by thousands of returning veterans who are transitioning back into civilian life is in finding long-lasting gainful employment, according to Kevin Humes, the President/CEO of American Veterans Alliance/American Alliance for Disabled Veterans (501 C-3) and co-founder...
Negotiation is something that home-based or other small business, business opportunity or franchise owners need to contend with, like it or not. Unfortunately, far too many of them think it is okay to just wing it. They don't take the time to refine their skills in this area. As a result, they are doing...
If you’re a mom (or even a dad) who is currently making the job of raising kids your full-time job and who is also wrestling with the idea of buying a business opportunity or franchise, the recent raging and politically charged debate about what constitutes a “working” mom may hit close to home. Personally,...
According to a classic proverb, “the best things in life are free.” When starting your new home-based or other small business, distributorship, licensee opportunity or franchise, the Internet can be your best friend. One of the great things about the web is that there are a ton of small business management and marketing tools that can help you and that are completely free!
Below are 20 no-cost, online business tools you should know about:
Yousendit.com― This service allows you to send large files to anyone you want. With the free, basic service, you can send files up to 2GB to clients, a business partner, your marketing director or anyone else.
Oovoo.com ― Are you working with clients around the country? No problem! Conduct your business meetings online with this video-chat service. The two-way video chat is free, and you can upgrade to have the ability to speak with six people at once.
ADrive.com― If you need more storage but want to save money, ADrive allows you to store 50GB for free.
Mint.com― An entirely free service, Mint provides help with personal finances, money management, budget planning and also has financial planning software. While it is currently designed for personal use, the company is working on a small-business solution. If your business opportunity is small enough, then Mint could work for you right now.
BlogTalkRadio.com― BlogTalkRadio gives anyone, anywhere the ability to host a live, Internet talk-radio show, simply by using a telephone and a computer. Small business opportunities can utilize the platform as a tool to extend their brands ― for free!
Doodle.com― An online scheduling service, Doodle is designed to take the annoyance out of finding the right date and time for a group of people to schedule a meeting. The free, online coordination tool requires neither registration nor software installation.
Google ― There are tons of ways that Google can help out your business free of charge, but the main tools you should know about are: Google Docs― Share documents and spreadsheets online with anyone you wish; Google Calendar ― Combine multiple schedules into one place to make planning office meetings easier; Google Analytics ― Allows you to analyze your website visitors and see how they interact with your site; and Google Alerts― Set up your name or business name as a Google Alert and you can get an e-mail every time someone mentions your business name online
Blogger.com― Okay, so this is actually another offering from Google, but it has its own independent name. This free weblog publishing tool allows you to create your own blog for sharing text, photos, videos and whatever else you like that's related to your business.
Wordpress.com― While this is another blog tool, it is also a publishing platform that allows you to create a professional-looking website, for free!
Dropbox.com ― A file-hosting service, Dropbox uses cloud computing to enable users to store and share files and folders with others across the Internet.
FreshBooks.com ― Send and manage invoices online, as well as accept online payments. The FreshBooks service is free for up to three clients.
FaxZero.com ― Send a fax to any fax machine in the United States (including Puerto Rico) or Canada for free. All you need to have is a valid e-mail address; no fax machine necessary.
MyLiveSignature.com― Spice up your posts, e-mails, blogs and other digital content with a free personal signature.
NoAdWare.net ― Download the software and scan your PC for free to see if it is infected with adware or spyware.
Rank Checker ― A free search engine optimization (SEO) tool that allows you to see how your website ranks in the crowd. A free keyword tool is also available to see what words make your website pop up first.
Pandora.com ― Sometimes music can boost your spirits, especially if you’re working on your own at home. Pandora allows you to listen to a variety of free tunes on your computer anytime you want. The service will also make suggestions based on your rankings for specific songs and play new songs you might never have heard of.
Addictomatic.com― This is a search-engine aggregation that helps you monitor your online presence all over the social web for free.
Slydial.com ― If you don’t have time for a chat but promised a client a call, this free voice messaging system connects you directly to someone’s mobile voice mail, without the risk of them actually picking up the phone.
Meetup.com― See who is meeting up where and find groups that can benefit from your business opportunity.
Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn ― These three social-media sites are here to stay, so jump into the free, social networking pool immediately and get the word out about your business.
Looks like all a working mom wants for Mother’s Day this year is a little flexibility!? And let’s just preface this whole discussion with an important disclaimer: All Moms are working moms!
But for our purpose here, we’re talking about moms who have a job they do to earn money in addition to the incredible...
...and you will eligible to win more than $50,000 in cash and prizes!
BlackEnterprise.com has joined forces with worldwide technology and business solutions leader, Dell, to host a FREE...
The U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) ongoing series of FREE computer security workshops for home-based and other small business, business opportunity and franchise owners starts today in Tulsa, Okla. Designed to help small businesses identify...
Before you submit your final return for 2012 by April 17th and given that you are a home-based or other small business, business opportunity or franchise owner, are you sure you have made the most of your potential tax breaks this year?
In his
Ed Lewellen is the Senior Vice President of Talent Acquisition for Employers Edge, Inc., a company that uses its own highly successful and proven business model to improve the performance of other companies―coaching,...
HOT OPPORTUNITY!
View Our Video...Part on-line magazine, part community blog, and part destination site, CityStir is your best business opportunity for 21st Century economy!
Color Glo International is a restoration franchise focused on restoring and repairing damaged, dirty, faded or mismatched upholstery found in homes, offices, automobiles and commercial aircraft. Color Glo’s proprietary process uses specialty formulated, water-based, and environmentally friendly products for on-site re-conditioning of items in need of repair. Color Glo Franchise: Specialists in Color Restoration and Repair!
Color Glo provides a uniquely effective solution for repairing, cleaning, and restoring valuable fabrics and materials to achieve a like-new appearance. Our franchisees are trained to expertly handle leather, vinyl, velour, plastic, carpet and various types of fabric. In addition to material restoration, our franchisees offer a deodorizing service for our clients.
