Running a small business isn’t easy! It’s hard to keep up with general administration tasks, stay on top of your finances, and even measure your marketing efforts. And lets face it, that’s just starching the surface… there’s a lot more that you have to do every day.
Luckily enough there are some useful web applications that not only will make your life easier, but they will also help you grow your business.
Simplify your daily life
From checking your email to dealing with employees, there are some things that you just have to do everyday. But by using applications such as Liquid Planner you’ll be able to do these things in less time so that you can focus on growing your company.
Google Calendar – keeping track of your daily meetings doesn’t have to be hard. Not only can you track your daily meetings, but you can share and collaborate your calendar with other co-workers.
Gmail – emails can pile up quickly, but with Gmail you can set filters so you don’t have to read useless emails. You can automatically filter messages that aren’t too important so that they won’t clog up your inbox.
Campfire – communication is an important factor to your company’s success. Through campfire you can communicate with everyone in one place and more importantly keep track of the conversation.
Liquid Planner – I can’t stress how important it is to get projects done on time. Liquid Planner will not only help you monitor your projects, but it will calculate the probability of you completing them on time.
Wufoo – whether it is registration forms or contact requests, Wufoo lets you create and manage forms with ease. The best part about Wufoo is that you don’t have to be technical to use it.
Dealing with finances is easy
You’re in business to make money, right? Well if you can’t stay on top of your finances you’ll soon realize that it is much easier to spend money than it is to make it. With the following applications not only will you be able to better manage your money, but you will also be able to save money without changing your spending habits.
Proposable – sending out proposals to potential clients is a pain. With Proposable you can create them with little to no effort and see if they are being read through their analytics features.
Freshbooks – once you have a customer you want to make sure that they actually paying. Managing a few clients is easy, but once you have a handful it gets to be a pain. With Freshbooks you can easily send out invoices.
Mint – not only is it important to track your business expenses, but it’s also important for you to track your personal finances. As an entrepreneur there may be times when you’ll have to go without a paycheck.
BillShrink – saving money doesn’t have to be hard. With BillShrink you can save money on gas, company cell phone plans, and even reduce credit card bills.
Recurly – not only is it hard to setup reoccurring billing, but it’s expensive. With Recurly, you can now charge your customers and manage a subscription based business with little effort.
Leverage the social web
Whether you love it or hate it, you have no choice but to embrace it. Everyone is leveraging the social web… just look at Facebook, it is now the second most popular website on the web. Here are some social applications that you should be using.
LinkedIn – networking is a key part in running a successful business. Even if you don’t have much time, through LinkedIn you can network over the web.
Twitter – reputation is everything. When you are small you have to please every one of your customers… even if they are wrong. Through Twitter you can see and respond to what people are saying about your company and your competition.
Hootsuite – managing all of your social profiles can be difficult, but through Hootsuite it’s easy. Hootsuite allows you to do things like schedule tweets on Twitter, track social statistics and even manage your brand.
WordPress – blogging is a great way to acquire new customers. By using WordPress you can blog to help new customers find out more about your industry, and the solution your product provides.
Get the most out of your day
There isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done. Although you can’t change that, you can try to be more efficient so you can get to the things that will help grow your business.
Ta-da list – if you don’t keep track of all the things you need to do, you’ll forgot to do them. Ta-da list is a free application that helps you keep track of your tasks as well as the high priority of each of them.
RescueTime – you can’t add more hours to the day, but you can get better at making the most out of each day. Through RescueTime you can monitor how you spend your time and optimize it to improve your efficiency.
43 things – you’ll get so wrapped up with running your business that you’ll forget about your long-term goals. It’s good to have them and with 43things you can record them so you won’t forget what’s important.
Make data driven decisions
The best way to track your growth is to monitor key metrics for your business. Through the following applications, not only will you be able to do that, but you will also be able to optimize your site to increase your growth rate.
Google Website Optimizer – spending money on marketing is great, but why not get the most out of your current visitors? Through Google Website Optimizer you can optimize your design to convert visitors into customers.
Google Analytics – keeping track of your website metrics doesn’t have to be expensive. Google Analytics is a free analytical solution that will track your website visitors and tell you if your getting a ROI.
Crazy Egg – numbers are great, but sometimes seeing is believing. Through Crazy Egg you can visually see where people click on your website.
Survey.io – if you really want to understand what your users are thinking of your company, you have to survey them. Through survey.io you can survey your customers in real time to get accurate feedback.
The new way to get things done
You don’t need to hire employees to get things done. Outsourcing is a great solution to get tasks done quickly and at an affordable price.
oDesk – hiring employees is one way to get tasks done, but in the early days of your business, a more affordable way is through oDesk. You can get almost any job done on oDesk at a fraction of the cost.
Mechanical Turk – if you have tedious tasks that need to be done on a budget and quick, Mechanical Turk is the place for you. Unlike other crowd sourcing sites, you can get the job done for pennies on the dollar.
Work doesn’t have to be boring
From sharing funny files with co-works or having fun, there are cool little applications that can make your day brighter.
Dropbox – setting up an internal network to share files with your employees is a cool idea, but it is expensive. Through Dropbox you can do the same thing without breaking the bank.
Pandora – all work and no play can make a miserable day. It’s always a good idea to have some music playing in the background. The cool part about Pandora is that you can create a music channel just for your personal taste.
Conclusion
There are tons of applications that you can use to grow your business, but the ones I mentioned above have worked well for me. If know of any other good applications that are worth checking out, mention them by leaving a comment below.
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Great list Neil, a few there I didn’t know about, so really valuable, thanks!
I’d take your Gmail and Google Calendar a step further and recommend entrepreneurs or those with their own domain sign up for Google Apps, so they get the benefits of the custom domain, and the features of Gmail and Google Calendar.
Not too mention Google Analytics to track the performance of their website!
You can’t beat a free analyzer that pretty much does everything for you.
Yea word on the street crazy egg is a lot better than Google Analytics…. but thats just the word on the street though
hmmm… word on the street is true
which one Neil is the free? because I’m having problem with google analytics it makes my site loads slower.
You can always use the one that’s 9.99… it’s a lot more affordable.
You’re absolutely right, google apps in general provide amazing tools for people to use.
Great summary Neil. I’m a big fan of a number of these sites, but there are a few here that I’m seeing for the first time. Definitely appreciate the referrals.
While some of these are powerful for businesses, it’s important that they know how to use them. For example, many website owners have Google Analytics on their site, but few know the basics of using the tool.
I spent about 15 minutes recently on a new client’s site and helped him eliminate nearly $3,000 in marketing expense that sent him only 21 visits and 0 customers in 2009. Lesson learned? Truly understand and leverage the tools (such as Analytics) you’re using to monitor your business.
wow! That wasn’t the wisest move on his part, but luckily you were able to get that taken care of.
Great list Neil, check out my list of things I couldn’t live without http://bit.ly/9czOpl
Thanks for sharing that Derek, all great tools
Hey Neil,
Really like this list of tools. I work at a startup of 4 people and I use a lot of these tools (especially Gmail, Google Calendar, Twitter, Wordpress and Dropbox) on a daily basis.
Would love for you to consider Sprouter.com next time you do a roundup of social tools for entreprneurs.
Cheers,
Erin
Thanks Erin, I’ll need to check that out.
Very useful list.Thanks for sharing.I am using some of them,glad to know there are more to learn about
There are many more out there, but I find these the most useful.
Very helpful. A few of my usual go-to tools and a few new ones.
Thank you.
Good, let me know how the new ones work for you.
Neil,
Awesome list.
Thanks for sharing your tools with us.
~Hoo
No problem Hoo, glad you found it useful.
Great post Neil..lists like this are extremely helpful. And I agree with Jon Tucker, google analytics and website optimizer are extremely powerful tools and should be a big part of any business driving traffic. The potential ROI with analytics/conversion optimization versus the cost is huge, and can easily save money that would have been spent on expensive marketing campaigns.
Looking forward to more posts like this!
It does take some time learning how they work and making the most out of them, but once you do, your sales can go through the roof.
Wow, this is awesome! Some of my favorites are on here (like Dropbox) but so many others I didn’t know about.
One other recommendation: JiffleNow.com. I can send my clients a link to my calendar and they can book an appointment with me right through site. I wish it synched better but it IS still in beta so maybe it will in the future…
JiffleNow is awesome! Definitely worth adding to the list. Then I have to add Skype and an internet phone to the list myself.
True, Skype is a very useful service seeing how so many people use it now.
That’s really interesting, thanks for sharing that, I’ll check it out.
What functionality does survey.io provide that Wufoo doesn’t?
They are just two websites that provide similar services but cater toward different types of sites.
I really enjoy your post. Very informative. When’s the book coming out?
Soon, I hope
Outstanding list. There are a few on here I did not know about which I plan to check out right now. Thanks for your help.
Good, let us know how they work out for you.
Well, I can say that Mechanical Turk is awesome!!! For about $5, I was able to get 10 people to review my new site and I can’t believe how thorough their feedback were. Wow…I used to work for a healthcare company and I did not get that type of feedback from physicians.
It’s great to hear that it worked out well for you. I suppose it was money well spent!
Great list. I am particularly glad to see your recommendation of oDesk. I had looked at them but have not used them.
Thanks also for several of the lesser-known productivity apps. Shame that one must log into each vendor’s site separately with no unifying package. Of course, that is where our suite comes in. Please take a look when you have a moment.
Thanks Al, I’ll be sure to check it out.
Mechanical Turk is a site I have not seen before. Looks interesting, my mind is running through possible tasks that I could list for people to perform.
Well glad I was able to introduce you to it, let me know how it works out for you.
Add google voice and the list is perfect!
Google voice is a great add on, would file it under google apps though.
You have also forget to mention ur new comapny KISSinsights in this list.
It is now
Hey Neil,
This was a nice list of really good applications.
Apart from some of these I even use FreeMind or other online alternatives to create mind maps and for Brainstorming with my team.
Regds
Chanda
Good for you, whatever can get you to leverage your mind for more powerful ideas is what you got to do.
This is quite a comprehensive list. I am intrigued that under leveraging social media you focused on twitter and linkedin only. I take it facebook is not really something you get excited about then, Neil?
It doesn’t provide the results that one would expect to have, so I find Twitter more beneficial.
Great list here Neil. I’m getting started on Mint now… Sweet!
Thanks for the post,
Garrett
Great, Mint is an amazing tool .
Great list, there are quite a few in here I hadn’t heard of so I will check them out Thanks.
Definitely check them out and let me know how it works out for you.
I am very happy when I see posts like this. All the tools listed are great assets for any business owner and can help a lot. Google Analytics is one of the most powerful tools for SEO.
Hey Neil
Such a great list of tools and applications, such of theses i used but such application i never use. I know all these applications but never used, but now i like to use and see the results.
thanks for sharing your valuable thought.
Good, at least you have a couple to use that can help you out.
Some awesome list there. It would be nice if you could have written paid or free infront of it.
Oh, lol, maybe for a future post I’ll consider that.
Great List Neil! This forms the crux for any kind of start up and would help the entrepreneurs to make best use of their time and as far as I know, most of these are free and the cost associated with others is not too much and is worth paying.
It should definitely be the starting point for someone for sure.
Neil, have you tried Tungle.me? It’d fit perfect in the first section of this article.
Hmm, I haven’t, but I’ll take a look at it.
Love the “Get the most out of your day” category!!! I will check those out. I will also check out Survey.io – however I highly recommend people hire professionals to create survey’s. I’ve seen really poorly written surveys -as someone who has a masters in psychology, I say, find someone who will make you a great survey so, you don’t waste time or tick off clients/customers with bad questions.
Surprised to not see: Constant Contact or iContact. Don’t like those?
Also for scheduling single appointments: http://www.timedriver.com
I need a good RSVP system for group coaching. I want to give more than one appointment like timedrvier and limit the number of RSVP’s. Anyone, have a suggestion? Thanks!
Great comments, too. I’m so much of a novice that this info is really helpful!
Cheers,
Lorin
Entrepreneur & Professional Moms Association
That’s really great advice on the surveys, and I do believe that there is truth to what you say about it.
Hey Neil,
Is this to say that if I signed up for all of these tools that I would be more productive? Somehow I feel I would be less productive
-Matt
You would be less productive… use what you think can help you become more productive.
Neil,
Great list! I bookmarked this page, although I use about 40% of the listed already, for some reason I keep forgetting about Google website optimizer.
Thanks,
James F.
Good for you, hopefully the other 60% help you make some more money in 2010!
For Presentations http://www.sliderocket.com/ is highly recommended.
Thanks Rohan, appreciate you sharing that link.
Great post Neil. I use many on the list myself.
Most people are now fascinated with facebook and social networking. A great tool to create your own social networking site is http://www.rsitez.com. It should definitely be added to the list.
I haven’t heard of it, but I’ll need to check it out, thanks.
I’m using like 8 of those..lol I feel so behind.
All great tools, I like that you added the Financial and To Do
Def a overall list for any business, work smarter not harder
Don’t be, you don’t need all of them, just some of them to help you out.
Cool. Dont forget you can make your own webpage at geocities.com – I’m over in the Area 51 neighborhood – drop on over and sign my guestbook!
lol… yeah can’t forget to do that!
Very nice tips, Neil! I am going to use this tools/sites/applications for the future
If it is not a problem check the program AceMoney for dealing with finances it is really nice! Thanks!
Thanks Skinner, I’ll take a look at it and see what it’s all about.
Awesome. Thanks for the list. There were several that I knew about and are using, but I need to investigate a bunch, like Liquid Planner and 43 Things. I am definitely bookmarking this page for future reference. Liked your graphics too — made it sink in better for me.
Yes, they are great tools for you to take advantage of and make big things happen with.
Good list you have there. I’m also totally dependent on those tools too and don’t know what will happen if I can’t access those tools one day.
lol… yeah being too dependent on those tools may not be a good thing
Neil,
Great list! I recently came up with a five app list of my “entrepreneur’s toolbox” on my personal blog: http://clayschossow.com/2010/02/my-entrepreneurs-digital-toolbox/. It was nice to see we shared just about everything (surprised not to see Evernote on your list!).
Thanks for posting!
Clay
Thanks for sharing that Clay, looks like we think similarly.
I am an odesk provider and I can really say that lots of people needs help everyday in there. There are always available jobs everyday.
Yes, very true, there is practically an unlimited amount of people who can use a job right now.
That is the best way and the first thing you must know if you want to make an online marketing. Also may I add here that joining a SEO competition will increase also your knowledge.
Very true as competition can help you experience new levels of knowledge.
You can also learn a lot in joining blogging competition
Yes, that will definitely speed up the process.
I agree – add Google Voice and the list is perfect.
Thanks for the great tips!
Yes, someone pointed that out before, same category as google apps I would say.
WORKetc is a single small business management application – takes over from several discrete tools, combining CRM, Projects & Billing. This video explains the concept better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvfVUrKLUXs
Thanks for that video Daniel, it helps.
Hiya Jon!
I agree with your observation, fortunately people still have to learn how to use their tools first of all, and how to interpret their data second of all. That is why they pay us to do it, because they just don’t know, and are quite often too busy to be really interested in knowing for themselves. It is easier to pay somebody to do it when you’re strapped for time.
Regards
Jacques
I agree with that… sometimes I would rather just pay someone to handle something for me simply because I don’t have the time.
I don’t really understand the use of linkedin.
It’s an interesting concept…. all about networking with like-minded individuals.
Wow, what an awesome list. I’m always looking for apps to make my day easier and more organized. I’ll be spending some time checking these out. Thanks for putting tham all in one place.
Yes, spend a little bit of time getting this in gear and you’ll be able to make your life a lot easier.
Neil,
DUDE! These are just awesome resources, especially with regard to the apps you listed under “Dealing with finances is easy.”
I have heard/seen many of the items you have listed, but it is most reassuring to know successful Internet entrepreneurs are using them to help increase their chance for success in this fast-paced world.
I can’t wait to try FreshBooks and Proposable.
Thanks for kicking ass!
Eric
Yes, they should definitely make your life a lot easier, let me know how it goes.
This is great stuff. I’d like to mention something additional to SurveyIO – there’s a really great free exit survey web app I learned about from AvinashK – 4Q – http://www.4qsurvey.com. It is one of the easiest things I’ve ever set up, I’d say less complicated than installing Google Analytics. It asks your visitors 3 questions – 1.) why did you come here, 2.) did you accomplish task, 3.) if yes, what do you like about the site? if NOT, why not.
The feedback you get is SO crucial. GA is great for quantitative statistics, but nothing compares to the qualitative feedback from people. If you only have a statistical tool like GA but not a survey tool like this, you are missing out big time. And its totally free, no strings attached.
hmmm. interesting concept, I like it! It’s crucial to understand those 3 questions.
Great post Neil. My addition to your tool list would be, I like “remember the milk” http://www.rememberthemilk.com/ for my action items it’s free and syncs with everything from my android phone , google calenders to my jott account. Good job keep flexing that big brain of yours.
hmm, that’s perfect for anyone who has that phone. Thanks for the share on that.
Wow, what a great list. I use amazon turk myself and I cant say enough about it. Its a great way to outsource small tasks for not much money. And of course word press is the best. Thanks for the list, I could use a few of them to make my life easier.
This is a great list. Especially for me considering I just quit my job to pursue my side business full time. I’ll have to bookmark this page and come back to it VERY soon.
Good, just be sure to come back to it and use the apps you find most useful.
Great list. Some of them I have tried before and do not rate them but I am off to try Hootsuite and Crazyegg.
Smart move, crazyegg will do wonders for you.
hey.. i have tried dropbox.. feels great.. to use such a free software…
Nothing beats free… expect some paid apps
I would like to add my favorite Music Listening tool:
http://www.grooveshark.com
Almost like pandora, but you get to pick the songs you actually want to hear, and if you register you have options to create playlists, widgets, libraries and more.
Enjoy
Thanks for sharing that, I’ve actually been looking for an alternative to Pandora too.
No problem, Grooveshark does have a radio feature as well.
I love music listening tools. Those are great escapes from every day stress and when you want to relax a little bit.
I agree… especially when you don’t have to constantly look for songs to listen to… then it just becomes annoying.
I just found this article on mashable about creating free usic playlists:
http://mashable.com/2010/04/11/playlists/
Thanks for sharing that Deyson, it’s a great article!
I could not live without Basecamp and Campfire.
Evernote is another good one to capture all those ideas very simply, and it syncs online, desktop and iphone all at once.
If you are using google already, the forms are a nice addition instead of having to use another program like Wufoo.
One thing I didn’t see – do you have any advice for CRM programs with sales tools. I’m using Sugar, but its clunky. I got an email from MyOlive, it seemed alright, but there’s got to be something doing it better than anyone.
Thanks
I haven’t listed any but the ones you suggested have some goo reviews. I’ll take a look at what else is out there.
Some good favorites Neil.
New one this week for me is KLS mail backup to save and upload to the cloud all my mail messages for archiving.
Basic set ups free!
Stay well
It’s always a good idea to back up your files, never know when things don’t work out.
Market Samurai is an extremly useful app for researching SEO competion.
I agree David, I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Like Mark Mathson said, I woul like to recommend the Google Apps Standard Edition for those companies that want to test the complete Google tools for Groups, Institutions and more. I’ve successfully implemented Google Apps to many of my clients:
http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/group/index.html
It’s a good idea, a ton of good stuff that really gets your business in gear.
One thing I didn’t see – do you have any advice for CRM programs with sales tools. I’m using Sugar, but its clunky. I got an email from MyOlive, it seemed alright, but there’s got to be something doing it better than anyone.
Nice tools. I will be using some of them from now on.
Good to know Deepak, hopefully they help.
So much technology! Thanks for keeping us up to date on what’s out there.
No problem Carol, hopefully it works for you.
So much technology!So much technology!
Yes there definitely is a lot of different tools out there to check out.
Wow awesome Neil thank you! This is so much good info, some of these resources I use but others I will have to check out.
Cheers!
Good, they will surely make your life a lot easier.
I enjoyed reading your list. People really need to save time, and these tips are truly useful.
Yes, as an entrepreneur, time can be your greatest asset or your worst enemy. it’s up you to decide on that.
This is a great list of web tools. I’m totally impressed for almost of your posts. I also noticed that you always communicate to all the commentators of your blogs. Not all web master do that. Very nice!
loved it!
Till then,
Regie
I try to give the readers what they want
Wow! thanks for your hard work compiling this list of sites. I used some of the sites on the list like campfire and hootsuite and they’re really useful for company usage.
Yes, they make your life a lot easier!
Hootsuite, Basecamp and Campfire are the top 3 applications that I’m using. Starting now, I’ll be using some of the apps from the list and will share my thoughts when I come back to this blog.
Thanks for sharing this bunch of useful sites. Basecamp and Campfire is really awesome and I’m using these two.
Great list of apps Neil! We use several for various business functions (Dropbox, KISSmetrics, Google Apps etc)- but there are several here I had never heard of and will definitely check out!
Thanks also for the listing Recurly, we appreciate it!
Tim
Of course Tim! These apps really do save a lot of time and clean things up don’t they.
Me!Me!Me!
Driver Fetch – download the latest drivers automatically
Windows Live Writer – blog editor, useful for posting to multiple blogs and
Media Cope – batch converts all types of files, videos etc
That’s all good stuff! Thanks for sharing it!
Is this can affect your reputation in Search Engine?
A lot of these can drastically help your reputation on the search engine so long as you use it the right way.
Love this list Neil, its amazing to think how many tools there are out there that will really help to save time and increase productivity.
David.
Yes, it’s really easy to get carried away with all the mess out there, but hopefully this helps filter some of the stuff out.
I just have to give credit to Neil for all his responses to the comments!
Love how you throw ‘Crazy Egg’ in the mix. Who created that?
Nice post sir.
Crazy Egg is an amazing app
Hey Neil,
Great list. A couple others we use over at Vidli…
Yammer – it’s like Campfire meets Skype.
Skype – oldy but a goldy
HarvestApp – good for managing developers
Business-in-a-Box – if you don’t have a GC on your team this will save tons of time
Tradeshift – Bonus website – I think this is going to blow away anything we’ve seen with online invoicing and payments. They’re in beta.
Yes! It’s good to have Pandora in the background. If you fancy a good ol’ entrepreneurial story you’ll like this NY Times article published today about Pandora.
http://s.nyt.com/u/OcP
Best,
Sean Murphy, Vidli Co-founder
VIP Beta Invite – http://vidli.com/SM1VIPQS
All great apps, thanks for sharing. Also great article on Pandora… it’s a fun music player isn’t it. You’ll hear many songs that you normally wouldn’t go out of your way to download, but appreciate listening to.
Nice List Buddy!
Background music is good to have. I have came across this grooveshark website (http://listen.grooveshark.com) which is good as well and is really fast in buffering.
Thanks for sharing that, it’s always good to have alternatives.
Thanks for sharing great list. Each & every lists are necessary to get online business success. Apart from them Google analytics is must necessary to monitors or reviews site.
There is a lot of junk out there so my intention was to filter it out and make it easier for you to get started.
You absolutely need to use that analytics tool. Also, take the time to understand the other features it has to offer as it drastically helps you increase conversions.
Awesome list Neil. I had never heard about a lot of them. These seem very exciting when mixed with the business. Great collection.
Hi Neil, I’ve just tried liquid planner and it was indeed helpful. Thanks once again for sharing this list of apps. Have you seen the latest tool in SEO I’ve found this from a friend of mind the IMAutomator. Just check it this app on Google.
I haven’t checked that out specifically, but I surely will. Thanks for sharing it.
the bad thing with this tool is that it doesn’t give the detailed report of the successfully submitted links
Thanks for letting me know.
Great list Friend! Did you try the tweetdeck ? it is easy to use and It is free too.
Yes tweetdeck is really useful that’s the one I’m using for my twitter account. In terms of managing followers I’m using buzzom
Tweetdeck is great! I haven’t used buzzom, but it you find it effective, I’ll take a look at it.
That is a great list of useful sites. I bought a motivational guide a few days back and they don’t teach you to use these sites to do better in your online business.
I can say that you told about all these sites out of your experience and all of these have actually worked great for you! Bookmarked it. Will definitely be using the ones I’m not using right now. Thanks..
You don’t have to use all of them, just whatever you find most effective and useful.
Hi Neil,
Amazing post. I have just started my company, Effex, specializing in website design and development. Have already started using Google apps and looking to explore the others u have mentioned here.
Thanks for the help!!!
Perfect, then this was the perfect post for you to make some effective changes and upgrades with your site.
I’ve just found out some problems of campfire in their chat section the messages was delayed. I guess it depends on your speed or so whatever.
It probably has to do with your internet connection.
Love this! Good to see you enjoy 37 signals products!
Absolutely Derek. Thanks!
Great ost and much greater list….. the best help list i have found in the web…that is in terms of help apps… Thanks bro… you got lots of readers here in the Philippines.
Thanks strayarrow, its always good to know I’m able to connect with people across the word.
I just started using paymo — it’s almost an exact replica of basecamp (used that at an agency) but is free (paid version has more functions, but if you’re able to pay, you might as well use basecamp).
Lol, yeah that would probably be a good idea if you’re going to pay for it. Thanks for sharing the free site though.
wow!! Great list neil ! What about Google reader? Do you use it or do you have any alternative for it?
I don’t use it but yeah I agree that its a great tool to use.
No, I think Google is the best among the other company offering a services
They definitely have a plethora of apps for you to choose from…free!
Nice list of tools Neil! Some of them like Google Analytics, Gmail, Website Optimizer, Wordpress, Twitter are being used by me on a regular basis. I was looking for something that can make online contact form for me and I just found Wufoo on your list.
Thanks again for this.
I heard FormSpring is good at forms, but they offer a paid service… Never heard of Wufoo, great its free!
Free is great isn’t it. It also depends on what your intent is with the forms.
Glad to introduce you to some more tools… just trying to make your life a little bit easier
In that case, each and every service of Google is very useful like Google docs, Google alerts etc..I think Google analytics and webmaster tools are the things which donot have any replacement..:)
I agree… they are an empire of goodies… making life easier 1 tool/app at a time.
I forgot to mention for me Odesk is the number 1 outsourcing website! their workers are really good!
Hmm… yeah there are a lot of talented people on that site.
why you say odesk is the best. how about rentacoder and getafreelancer ?
The other one’s are great too, just more experiences with odesk.
Twitter is one of the many social media marketing tools raved about online, yet you will discover that very few people actually know how to use it properly.
Well there are a lot of people that use it properly, but I think there are many more that have no clue with what they’re doing.
I agree only few knows how to use twitter to generate income most of them know twitter is only for socializing.
Which is what it’s intent is
. You really have to study the dynamics of it to make money.
Start with some of the free sites and perfect your process because you must have a follow up plan for your leads before you start generating them or you are just wasting time. That is where a good mentor can help you. Take care and I wish you much success.
Since there are so many to use, I suggest the same thing. See where it takes you and then grow from there.
Hi Neil,
I’ve found that gomockingbird.com is a great resource for developing nice looking mock ups for clients. It’s quick and cheap and easy to use!
Great find Dion. I will try that resource and see how is working.
Let me know how it is for you.
Thanks for sharing it, I’ll try to check it out.
I’m surprised that you did not mention Google Docs. I couldn’t live without it. Especially since my partners and I mostly work remotely. People should also check out services like mysurveysaid.com for polling, twitterfeed.com for automation, and plotonic.com for social media analytics.
Google docs is an amazing tool, definitely one to add to the list. I have it under the google apps. Thanks for sharing the others sites too.
Some great apps there, but I was wondering if you had a substitute for Mint.com for Canadians? It looks like an awesome tool, and keeping track of expenses is something I really need to start doing to grow my business.
I wish I did, but I don’t know of any substitutes.
Some more great information. Google related stuff has been the lifeblood of my business, especially for tracking an organisation.
I really liked the 43things idea though, quite often I get so caught up looking at the finer detail, that I forget about the bigger picture. Thank you specifically for THAT recommendation.
No problem bud, it will definitely change the way you do things.
that is great collection, some of them i am already using them and some of them dont need to use them.
Okay great… take the ones you’re not using and see what happens.
The Liquid planner and the Proposable was a very good tandem. Though I thought this was free after all but anyway thank you
Yeah, they are very useful tools, especially in the long run.
Gmail is by far the best email out there. There are so many things you can do with it
I agree, you can’t go wrong with the functions and flexibility you get with gmail.
Great timing on this ! I have recently started a freelance business and some of these tools will surely come in handy. In fact, i’m going to check out Wufoo right now…
Very awesome! Good for you. Let me know how it works out for you.
The way of looking at the what i cal ‘Startup Nightmares’ was so simple that while going through the slides it started sounding OBVIOUS…and that was the beauty of it…will definitely circulate the link around my team and others.
Perfect, it should definitely get their motor running.
I am starting an online graphic design business and i need a to find how i can have my own website, i am a beginner so i would like to know how to do all this, you know with the whole web making thing and just how to start an online businesses.
Create a wordpress blog… it’s the easiest way to start. Go to hostgator or godaddy and get it started.
The best app i have seen is Twitter feed, it so easy to use and it makes my time so much easier. I set up autoblogs with that program i swear it works wonders for my cashflow
I think it’s an amazing tool that allows you to save a lot of time. I’m happy to hear it’s working well for you.
Yes, it is very goo to simplify your daily life. There are tons of applications that I can use to grow my business. Now I will digg into them and pick a few to get started.
HP
Yes, most of these can simplify your life, but just don’t get carried away.
Awesome list. I must take a look at most of the resources that you have listed immediately as I have big problems with time organization and effectiveness. I tend to spend too much time on unimportant things and I also have not much success in planning.
Well, hopefully these tools help you speed things up. Just set aside some time to do it.
Hi Everyone,
Google has updated its Google Webmaster Tool and it was really cool, now it has a graph statistics.
Thanks,
Vins
Yes I’vc seen it, they’ve done a great job making it much easier to use.
I wonder what happened to Google Buzz? It seems it died already.I wonder what happened to Google Buzz? It seems it died already.
People just didn’t find it useful or interesting enough to use…. it was a flop.
What an excellent site Neil. You have put together a helpful collection of useful web 2.0 applications for setting up business. I have navigated the web2go( http://www.go2web20.net/ )site but was overwhelmed with all the applications so it is very helpful that you have recommended selected ones. Thanks!
No problem… I understand that sites like those can get confusing so hopefully the direction works for you.
Hi Neil, i read on some blogs that facebook is also a good tool that we can benefit while promoting our business? So what do you say? Can’t it be as useful as twitter?
Yes it can but if you don’t do it right, you’ll end up annoying people more than anything else.
I am an odesk provider and I can really say that lots of people needs help everyday in there. There are always available jobs everyday.
Yes they are and they just seem to be growing by the hour… great for you!
very true, at some points i dont give so much importance to the “social web” but i understand its important, i guess thats my weak point to work with, anyway thanks
Well the good news is….at least you’ve acknowledged what your weakness is. Now you can work on it!
Great post Neil..lists like this are extremely helpful. Google related stuff has been the lifeblood of my business, especially for tracking an organization.
Visiting this page gives me an additional clear outlook on dealing with finances positively.It is true that investing a new business online. At first carries a lot of expenses and it takes time to wait for the result . Thanks for a great suggestion.
I’m glad it does! Yes, in the beginning, it can be expensive, but read the other posts I’ve put up as they help you reduce the mistakes people usually make.
fantastic! Thanks a lot for this list. I found a few tools i didn’t know about, very useful.
No problem. If you know of any cool ones, feel free to share them with me.
hi neil im going to set up a small bussiness in really good market im really new at doing this can you give me a few tips?
Email me at neil@neilpatel.com and lets setup a time to talk over the phone.
Nice list, i’m currently using Gmail, Google Analytics, Twitter and wordpress. Some other applications also seems helpful for a student like me. And it’s strange i’m in web development and blogging for a long time and now i know about Google Website Optimizer from this post. Thanks for introducing.
Well that’s great, at least you found something extremely useful for yourself. Always glad to hear that.
Speaking of tools that help me grow my business, I used Basecamp before which helped me in qualifying leads and collaborating with my team. But when I started looking for other features such as viewing sales pipeline and automating convertions from leads to quote, project, or invoice I started looking for alternatives. Among the alternatives I tested was web crm http://www.worketc.com and soon enough, I signed up on their monthly subscription. Looking for tools that best fit your business is never easy, you always need to have a first-hand objective review of the alternatives –this I learned based on experience.
Thanks for sharing that, I’m sure it’ll help some of our readers.
Great list, Google and 37 Signals deserve mention for their superb products.
Absolutely! They’ve done an outstanding job.
which one Neil is the free? because I’m having problem with google analytics it makes my site loads slower.
That’s odd, it shouldn’t… maybe you can contact some support or something.
I agree with Neil. Google Analytics code never makes my site loading high. Might be something else the issue. You can contact web experts for the same.
Yes, that’ll probably be the best thing to do.
Analytics has never slowed down my site. Though if you are looking for open-source analytics try out piwik.org . It’s amazing.
Thank’s for that suggestion. I agree, it shouldn’t slow anything down.
An Excellent, no non-sense post that goes beyond the usual. This article proves how doing some research and providing real value is the no. 1 reason why people will link to you. Add to the above list a “directory of resources”and you’ve covered the gamut. Like they say “link-build it and they’ll come!” Thanks Neil.
No problem, now implement it in your own business and tell me what comes of it.
The list you have is absolutely great. New web entrepreneurs should be careful not to overwhelm themselves with a bunch of the services above. It can easily add up to more than $500 a month very fast (the mistake I made)
It can and you should definitely be very careful of that.
Without the organization of Gmail I would be screwed. Thank Google!
I agree that there gmail program is amazing.
Nice list, two others that are helpful to our business is SalesForce and RavenTools (more for an SEO or internet marketing)
Just got mechanical turk and it has really helped. I am still working on optimizing my usage of it but its nice. I use a lot of what is on your list. And yes all work is dull, Pandora has been a life savor at times. I fell like it knows me.
Pandora is great and so is slackers.com… it keeps you going especially when you get that 2pm nappy feeling
Great list – Thanks! Scale of what works for large companies to create cost effective solutions for medium business small business was much simpler when all you had to focus on public relations and advertising in local media, direct mail, e-marketing websites e-mail. Now, we try to scale the expanding universe of social media, SEO, and CRM. The strict budget. Small and medium sized businesses need all the help possible! Please add my name to the list of resources for small businesses.
I’ll consider you for the next time I do it.
This is a great list. Since finding it, I’ve used Wufoo, Ta-da lists, and Dropbox. They’re all awsome. I’d also recommend adding Basecamp — http://www.basecamphq.com.
Neil, which application on this list do you recommend/use the most?
Gmail. I use it every hour.
Awesome list Neil. I had never heard about a lot of them.
Those some great apps, i think today everybody has there own they like to use. I like gmail, gchat, and forums. Im pretty basic i like to get business done not wait around.
I think the chats definitely a great feature too
.
What a great list. There are a few in there that have helped me immensely, such as Mechanical Turk, HootSuit, and Dropbox which wasn’t on there. I need to check out a few that I hadn’t heard of yet.
These are definitely great products to help you get a competitive edge on things.
A nicely comprehensive article! However, I would suggest adding CheddarGetter to the “Dealing With Finances” section. CheddarGetter is a simple and flexible online recurring billing service, and can be used by a wide range of businesses. Its features include multiple pricing plan options, custom analytics, and a thoroughly documented API (among others). Best of all, it has a free membership available, and is really easy to use. I’d definitely suggest it!
Thanks Jessica, it is quite a useful app
It’s a good list of Web 2.0 sites. You can add some more like webs.com, weebly, livejournal, viviti for doing web 2.0 and posting your blogs.
You’re right, those are some great adds as well, thanks!
Applications are more useful but i couldn’t know to focus on which one
Just go with what you think will help your business. No need to add what’s not necessary.
This is a great list! I’d also recommend Trail Head for heat maps. The generated heat maps have been very valuable for me when figuring out where to place things on my site.
Glad you enjoyed the list. Crazy Egg is actually the most accurate tracking system on the market.
I frequently use all services of Google such as Gmail and calendar but the other services are also very useful for any business these services are included facebook , Twitter etc
Yes, I agree. Social Media is becoming the greatest resource for any business.
I use a lot of the products mentioned here in this list. Great list. I would have to say the two most important ones I use are dropbox and Freshbooks.
Both great products…
TrackMyHours is a very useful software for all those who wish to keep a track of their and their employees’ time.
Moreover, it is very cheap and comes with just $9 monthly subscription fee. I couldn’t get a better deal for my virtual staffing agency.
Thanks for the suggestion. Sounds like a promising tool, I will have to check it out.