Resources Rolodex

7

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In recent years I have tried and tested many, many tools and services to help me maximize productivity and grow my business (and my client’s businesses).  Below are ONLY those pre-vetted resources that I personally have reviewed and/or used which have not only made the cut, but I find to be the best, based on both what they offer and their value.  I share these shortcuts to success only with my private clients because by sharing these I will be saving you many, many hours of research and testing out the hard way.

Please note that some of these may be an affiliate link (*), which means I typically receive a small ‘thank you’ commission for making the referral. More importantly, note that I ONLY make referrals for pre-vetted resources that I have personally used and would recommend whether they compensated me something or not.

Now go spend that extra time claiming a new client or taking care of you!

AUDIO AND VIDEO

  • DRAGON NATURALLY SPEAKING – Does your brain move faster than your fingers? Skip the keyboard and use your voice to dictate emails and documents, launch programs and even control your mouse.
  • FREE CONFERENCE CALLING  – Need to put on a teleconference or just want to have a quick conference call with the ability to record it?  Free Conference Calling is your best bet and the name says it all – FREE!
  • JOIN.ME – Offers free screen sharing and internet calling as well as the ability to chat, send files and share control. This program is also compatible with tablets and phones.
  • JING – Skip the written list and just video your instructions. With Jing, you record your desktop for up to 5 minutes and can share your video with others.
  • SKYPE – The go to website for free video and internet phone calls also offers free instant messaging as well as pricing plans that offer your unique own phone number.
  • RING CENTRAL – Avoid the costs of hardware and maintenance of a landline and get the added convenience of a toll-free number all at a low monthly rate.
  • AUDIO ACROBAT – Record, upload, and download! Customize. You can also publish video players and themes, record conference calls, interviews, etc. Share your RSS feeds anywhere you would like, and escalate your online visibility!
  • VERVANTE – Vervante, supports authors and entrepreneurs and visionaries every step of the way from inspiration to creation to that glorious moment of presenting your audience with the customized, high-quality book or product you’ve been dreaming of.
  • VOCARRO –  The premier voice recording service.

BUILDING YOUR PRESENCE ON THE WEB

  • WIX – Create a free customizable website with dazzling flash templates. Publish quickly and update easily anytime. Wix is user-friendly and perfect for amateurs. You don’t have to be able to program to build your own website with Wix.
  • WUFOO – Create contact forms, online surveys, collect online payments and much more. Try out Wufoo for free and discover its easy-to-use features.
  • POWTOON – Cut your development time and budget, increase engagement, boost your SEO, and stand out from the crowd with PowToon’s quick and powerful animated videos editor.
  • CONVERTPLUS – Generate more subscribers & sales conversions using popups, header & footer bars, slide-in forms, sidebar widgets, in-line forms, social buttons — all in one plugin!

CLIENT CARE

  • ADOBESIGN* – Throw away the paper trail and go online. AdobeSign allows you to create e-signatures for your contracts and makes it simple to share your contracts with business associates and stores them for you.
  • HELLOSIGN – eSignatures Simplified
  • SHUTTERFLY– The leading Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, leveraging an innovative platform and manufacturing process to enable people to easily express themselves in extraordinary ways by turning their everyday pictures into innovative and stylish keepsakes.

COLLABORATION / FILE MANAGEMENT

  • DROPBOX – Access your files anywhere with Dropbox via your computer, tablet or phone. Dropbox offers a free service to store photos, videos, and documents that you can easily share with others.
  • CARBONITE – Don’t lose all your important documents if your computer fails. Carbonite automatically backs up your photos, business docs, and your other files online and encrypts them for your privacy. You can then access your files with any computer, tablet or smartphone.
  • ASANA – Teamwork without email! Asana puts conversations and tasks together, so you can get more done in less effort.
  • GO TO MY PC– Work on your Mac or PC from anywhere with free apps for iPad, iPhone, Kindle Fire and Android devices. Be able to access your files, network, email, and programs – even ones your device doesn’t usually support.
  • LOG ME IN – With remote access from LogMeIn, all your computers are just a click away! Securely connect to your PC/Mac from any computer or from your iPad/iPhone, also be able to access everything you need, from applications to files. Discover the freedom and flexibility to leave the office, without leaving anything behind.
  • SPLASHTOP – The fastest and easiest way to access all your applications on PCs, Servers, or Clouds. An affordable or alternative or add-on to RDP, Citrix, or VMware Zero coding, Zero training, Zero data leakage.
  • SQUADMAIL – Simple collaboration with shared email folders & Gmail labels that teams love to use.
  • TAPPIN – These days, your digital content can be stored on your home computer, work laptop servers, and various cloud services (e.g. salesforce.com) – just about anywhere. However, that content can be difficult to find, access and share with your friends, colleagues when you are carrying your laptop, tablet or smartphone. That’s the problem Tappin solves.
  • TEAM VIEWER –   Remote control any computer or Mac over the internet within seconds or use TeamViewer for online meetings.
  • TRELLO – Trello is the fastest, easiest way to organize anything, from your day-to-day work, to a favorite side project, to your greatest life plans.
  • 17HATS* – Organize, Systemize & Grow with 17hats. Take control of your day with our suite of business tools.

CONFERENCE / TELESEMINAR / WEBINAR

  • ZOOM* – Video Conferencing and Web Conferencing Service
  • INSTANT TELESMINAR– Email opt-in rates are plummeting. SEO and pay per click costs are rising. Competition for your prospects’ attention is growing…and for those who don’t adapt, it’s only going to get worse. The trick is to become more tangible and trusted…and Instant Teleseminar helps you both.
  • WEBEX – Collaborate with colleagues across your organization, or halfway across the planet. Meet online and share files, information, and expertise. WebEx solutions increase productivity and keep you connected.
  • GO TO MEETING – Enables you to show your screen and work face to face with video conferencing. Pick between VoIP or telephone audio, you can also join from a Mac, PC, or neatly any smartphone or tablet.
  • INSTANT CONFERENCE – Web-based moderator controls provide the conference call organizer with tools to manage the call in “real time”.
  • MAESTRO CONFERENCE – Social Conferencing sets the stage for a new era in communication, where the traditional, passive teleconference is transformed into an active, engaging experience where inspiring conversations happen. You control the format: 1 to 1, many to many or 1 to many. Maestro Conference is changing how the world interacts, forever.
  • SPEEK – Participants click the Speek link to start or join a call from their phone, web or mobile browser. You can see who’s joined, who’s talking, share files, use call controls and more.
  • WEBINAR JAM – Create your webinars “on the spot”, or schedule them for a later time. The system will automatically open the webinar room and notify all registrants, via email and/or SMS, at your appointed date and time.

CRM & DATABASE

  • ACT BY SAGE – Contact management and e-marketing fused together with intelligent advice that takes the guesswork out of building your business – so you can focus on what you love.
  • HIGH RISE – Save and organize notes and email conversations for up to 30,000 customers and contacts. Keep track of proposals and deals. Share status with your company, department, or team.
  • DRIP – Drip is the CRM Salesforce didn’t build. Our Ecommerce CRM – ECRM – is built for more sales, not sales teams.
  • ZOHO – With Zoho, you focus on your business while we take care of the rest with apps that help you get more sales, get paid, support your customers and make your business more productive.
  • BIG CONTACTS – Don’t let another customer relationship slip through the cracks! Get your entire team on the same page. In real-time information from any Internet connection. Stop wasting time with outdated or complicated systems.

EMAIL MARKETING

  • CONSTANT CONTACT* – With email and event marketing, social campaigns and other great services Constant Contact helps grow your business through subscribers.
  • AWEBER* – Spend less time marketing and more time growing your business with automated follow-ups and quick, easy design tools – plus so much more. With the best delivery in the business, AWeber gets your email newsletter where it needs to go. We’ve helped 120,000+ businesses already – see what we can do for yours.
  • MAILCHIMP – Online email marketing solution to manage contacts, send emails and track results. Offers plug-ins for other programs.
  • ICONTACT – iContact is the email marketing solution to grow your business. Regardless of skill-level, you can experience the difference.
  • ROBLY – Upgrade your branding with Robly’s designer email templates and save money on email marketing.
  • SIGNALS BY HUBSPOT – Signals gives you invaluable context in the sales process. Now you can know exactly which buyers are interested in your product.

GADGETS & GIZMOS

  • POWERSTICK – Charge your portable devices and take your media and files anywhere.
  • AVIARY – Bring creativity to your fingertips with powerful tools and creative supplies that give you everything you need to make beautiful photos in seconds.
  • MAIL MONITOR – Every tool you need to ace email deliverability all in ONE place
  • MOPHIE – Feel secure knowing you are protected with extra power all day, every day.
  • PINGDOM – The trusted industry standard for powerful and easy-to-use web performance monitoring service.
  • PDFAID – At pdf aid you can find all the tools needed for Pdf manipulation.
  • TELEPROMPTER APP – Is great for presentations, lectures, broadcasters, filmmakers, musicians & singers, business professionals, or any public speaking!
  • JPEG MINI – Your Photos on a Diet. Reduce image size by up to 80%, without compromising quality
  • TEXT EXPANDER – TextExpander lets you instantly insert snippets of text from a repository of emails, boilerplate and other content, as you type – using a quick search or abbreviation.
  • MINDMEISTER – MindMeister is an online mind mapping tool that lets you capture, develop, and share ideas visually.
  • CAMCARD – Scan, manage, sync, and exchange business cards
  • MY PINTEREST BOARD – http://www.pinterest.com/UpscaleYourBiz/gadgets-and-gizmos/

GRAPHICS & STOCK IMAGES

  • COLOR COP – Use Color Cop to identify the hex color code for any color on your screen.
  • PIC MONKEY – Ads-free photo editing plus a kingly hoard of primo effects, supreme fonts, exclusive designs, and more.
  • QUOZIO – Turns meaningful words into images within seconds. Then share ’em on Facebook and Pinterest.
  • FIVERR – The largest marketplace for services, starting at $5.
  • SHAREABLELINK – Share Other’s content and bring traffic to your site
  • FOLLOW UP THEN – The simplest way to schedule an email reminder
  • FOTOLIA – More than 20 million cheap royalty-free images, vectors, videos. Fotolia the image bank for your publishing and marketing projects.
  • SHUTTERSTOCK – Search millions of royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, and vectors. Get inspired by ten thousand new, high-resolution images daily.
  • MIGHTY NETWORKS – Where creators can build a community & get paid
  • MORGUEFILE – Looking for high-resolution stock photos for your illustration, comp, or design needs? Search MorgueFile for free reference images.
  • PIKTOCHART – Piktochart is an easy infographic design app that requires very little effort to produce beautiful, high-quality graphics.
  • PIXABAY – Beautiful free images.
  • STOCKSNAP – Beautiful free images.

MAGAZINE / TV

  • MSNBC YOUR BUSINESS – Excellent resource for Entrepreneurs. Add it to your TV Playlist immediately.
  • BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK – A weekly business magazine published by Bloomberg L.P.
  • FAST COMPANY – Fast Company inspires a new breed of innovative and creative thought leaders who are actively inventing the future of business.
  • SUCCESS – Success Magazine is your leading source for news and information for the entrepreneur, small business, and home-based business owner.
  • INC. – Inc. Magazine is where you can get advice, news, and tools to help your small business grow.

MARKETING

  • VISTAPRINT – Are you looking for affordable but high-quality custom products to promote your business? Vista Print offers an extensive array of products including business cards, bumper stickers, and banners to help you market your brand.
  • MOO* – High-Quality Custom Business Cards, Letterhead, and Postcard Design.
  • TRILOJEE – Easy marketing solutions to help small business owners grow their sales!
  • SLIDESHARE – Offers users the ability to upload and share publically or privately PowerPoint presentations.
  • WISESTAMP – Professional email signature to grow your business.
  • PODCAST FACTORY – Direct response Podcasting.
  • LEAD PAGES (.NET) – Lead Pages software is the world’s easiest landing page generator.
  • ZAZZLE – Visit Zazzle to find customized products to help create your brand.
  • TEACHABLE* – Create and sell beautiful online courses. Your skills and experiences are unique and valuable. Easily build a beautiful course website, share your knowledge, and be rewarded for it.

MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES

  • HIGHTAIL – This is the professional way to securely share your files and folders with anyone from any device.
  • PREZI – Design and create a presentation software that is helping millions become better presenters.
  • VISUAL BEE – Visual Bee takes a plain PowerPoint presentation and automatically enhances it, creating an exciting and powerful showcase.
  • TIME ZONE CONVERTER – Find the time difference between several cities with the Time Difference Calculator. Provides time zone conversions taking into account daylight saving time (DST), local time zone, and accepts present, past, or future dates.
  • BING TRAVEL – An online travel site that takes it one step further than all the others. They have a tool called Price Prediction that lets you know if the price of the fare you’re wanting to book is likely to drop.
  • ALLTOP – Create your “personal, online magazine rack” with your favorite blogs and websites. Whatever your interests are Alltop probably has it covered. They even provide custom URLs that you can share with others.
  • FEEDLY – Feedly reader keeps up with all of your favorite websites for you. They create a feed you can scroll through to keep up to date on your interests.
  • EBATES* – Earn cash back for every purchase you make online. Depending on the retailer you can earn up to 25% cashback while shopping from home.

ORGANIZATIONAL TOOLS

  • TEXT EXPANDER* Don’t waste time typing out things you’ve already worded perfectly. Capture the important pieces of your emails, directions, messages, and data so you never have to retype them again. Recall your best words. Instantly, repeatedly. CLICK THE LINK TO SAVE 20%.
  • EVERNOTE – Similar to One Note (MS Office), but in my opinion much better. Evernote keeps all your “stuff” in one spot and helps to bypass what I call the bookmark “dump zone”.  They even have a mobile app!
  • ROBOFORM* – Trust the number 1 rated password manager that serves millions worldwide. Roboform remembers and stores your passwords so that you can easily and securely log in to your favorite websites.
  • LAST PASS*– LastPass is there when you need to log in, generate a password for a new site, or complete an online order.

PAYMENT PROCESSING

  • GREEN BY PHONE – Green is the fastest check processor in the industry. Process and receive in your account within the same day.
  • PAYPAL – Accept all forms of payment, anywhere you do business, with low U.S. swipe fee of 2.7% and no long-term commitment.
  • QUICKBOOKS ONLINE – Track your money and import your bank, always be ready for taxes. QuickBooks makes accounting easy.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

  • BASECAMP* – Manage your projects in a convenient, central location that can be accessed by you, your team, and your clients. You can keep track of project discussions, files, and events all in one place.
  • CENTRAL DESKTOP – Is social collaboration software, online project management, and SharePoint alternative for businesses.
  • WORKFLOWY – This is an organizational tool that makes life easier. It’s a surprisingly powerful way to take notes, make lists, collaborate, brainstorm.
  • WUNDERLIST – This is the easiest way to share your to-do lists. Whether you’re planning an overseas adventure, sharing a shopping list with a loved one, or running your very own business. Wunderlist is here to help you achieve great things.
  • SMART SHEET –Is an intuitive online project management tool enabling teams to increase productivity using the cloud, collaboration, & mobile technologies.
  • TEAMWORK* – For the project management power user, Teamwork Projects has everything you need to track a project from start to finish.

SCHEDULING

  • TIMETRADE – Never miss another appointment again. Time Trade lets you log available times for potential appointments so your client can pick the time best suited for them. This hassle-free program integrates with Google and Outlook.
  • TUNGLE.ME – Tungle Me, enables users to schedule meetings across organizations, calendar systems, and time zones.
  • BOOKING BUG – Booking Bug is an online scheduling, booking, reservation, and appointment system for any business.
  • SCHEDULICITY – Enables you to book appointments online and even detects your location to show results near you.
  • SCHEDULE ONCE – More than 70,000 customers trust Schedule Once to power their online scheduling.

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • NUTSHELL MAIL FROM CONSTANT CONTACT – Are you having trouble keeping up with your social media? This service delivers a summary of your brand’s activity on social media sites directly to your inbox.
  • HOOTSUITE – Schedule your social media updates in advance on this site. You can use multiple accounts across multiple social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can program your tweets or status updates around the clock or months in advance.
  • BIT.LY – Offers URL redirection service with real-time link tracking.
  • CONTENT DJ – Social Media Editorial Calendar with Content Recommendations. Easily publish to Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, and more.
  • GOOGLE ALERTS – Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your queries.
  • MASHABLE – Mashable covers the top social news on topics like Facebook, YouTube, Gmail, Twitter, Amazon, Pinterest, and More.
  • NETWORKED BLOGS – Read your favorite blogs and news all in one place.
  • WILDFIRE – Wildfire provides powerful, easy-to-use social media marketing tools for pages, messages, ads, promotions, monitoring, analytics, and more.
  • RAFFLECOPTER – Allows you to create and launch effective giveaway promotions & sweepstakes, across your website, blog, and Facebook page in under 5 minutes.
  • MEETEDGAR* – No more social media babysitting. You plan Edgar’s posts. (It’s that easy.)
  • SOCIAL OOMPH* -Boost your social media productivity — it doesn’t have to be a manual time-consuming process!
  • HOPPER HQ – Instagram Scheduler.

TIME MANAGEMENT

  • TODOIST – Get your to-do list done. This quick, user-friendly task manager features calendars, reminders, mobile access, and Gmail integration.
  • MY CLIENT SPOT* – Do you need an easy way to track time and manage budgets for your clients? My Client Spot can do it for you! File sharing, calendars, and the ability to post comments on projects are some of the many features that will keep your projects on time and billed correctly.
  • PAYMO – Track your time while you’re working online or by phone. Paymo’s project management tools, as well as their invoicing, will keep you organized and efficient when billing clients.
  • E.GGTIMER – Everyone needs a virtual egg timer. Set it for any amount of seconds, minutes or hours and it will alert you when your time is up. It’s a great tool to stay on task and get things done.
  • NOW DO THIS – NowDoThis is a one at a time to-do list.