JuliannaThere are so many excellent low-cost and free tools kicking around on the Internet that I almost don’t know where to begin … Collectively these resources have enormous potential to facilitate your planning, cut costs and increase the efficiency your business especially when you’re getting started. As more utilities become web based, integrating multiple services no longer requires heavy investment.
Design related tools:
Cheapies
iStockphoto
iStockphoto boasts the largest online collection of royalty-free images, illustrations, flash files and more. Images are reasonably priced and start around one dollar (US), larger images cost more, however you save a bit of money when you buy bulk credits. iStockphoto is an indispensable resource for web, newsletter and print design projects.
Logo Yes
Logo Yes is a low cost, do-it-yourself logo design service geared towards small businesses. With a database of over 20,000 symbols created expressly for logo development, you can create an original professional quality logo based on your personal preferences.
Freebies
Da Font
Popular design site that specializes in fonts. Hundreds of different downloadable fonts, all free. Frequently updated. Click on a category to see dozens of fonts in that style, options range from “grafitti” to “typewriter” and everything in between.
Gimp
Gimp is an image manipulation program for photo retouching and resizing, image editing, graphics and logo creation. Gimp can also e used to remove unwanted image features and create simple animated images. The program is free and sometimes referred to as Adobe Photoshop light.
Operations related tools:
Cheapies
Blinksale
Created for professional service-oriented businesses, BlinkSale is a web-based application that allows you to send elegantly formatted invoices to your customers’ email, payment reminders, thank-you messages and track open, past-due, and closed invoices. Can integrate PayPal payment directly into your invoices.
QuickBooks
Inuit offers numerous user-friendly and inexpensive accounting software and financial management tools customized for different industries including contractors, manufacturers/wholesalers, nonprofits, retailers and professional services.
Basecamp
Basecamp is a web-based tool that lets you manage projects and quickly create client/project extranets. It lets you and your coworkers, clients keep your conversations, ideas, schedules, and to-do lists in a password-protected central location. Basecamp is exceptionally user-friendly and affordable. If you want to test it out, they have a free version that allows you to manage one project online.
Freebies
Ta-da Lists
Ta-da List is a free organizational tool that allows you to keep track of all your tasks. You can make task lists for yourself, or others, and subscribe to them via RSS if you are so inclined.
Google Docs
Browser based document collaboration and sharing tool with a sophisticated interface. Allows you to upload a Word/ HTML doc and save to your desktop, and you can edit your documents anytime, from anywhere. Collaborate by entering people’s e-mail addresses and publish to a website or blog easily.
PrimoPDF
You don’t need Adobe Acrobat software to create PDFs. PrimoPDF is a free service that allows you to create PDF’s from any application by ‘printing’ to the PrimoPDF printer. Covert documents from Word, Excel, PowerPoint and virtually any other printable file type.
Marketing related tools:
Constant Contact
A leader in web-based email marketing and e-newsletters, Constant Contact is a great fit for small-and-medium sized businesses. Constant Contact has over 100 template choices and requires no technical skill to use; also features excellent tracking and reporting to determine the success of your marketing campaigns.
Freebies
PRWeb
Get the word out about your new brilliant business venture. PRWeb pioneered free press release distribution for small-to-medium-sized businesses and corporate communications. The service provides free, wide-ranging exposure to media organizations, relevant business communities and the Web.
Other free Press Release services
Google Alerts
Another ‘can’t-live-without-it’ service provided by Google, Google Alerts keeps you in the loop about industry news and other relevant information to your business. Simply enter the terms you want to track and Google will notify you (by email) of the latest relevant news.
MarketingProfs.com
Marketing can be tricky for emerging businesses and determining where to allocate your budget requires strategic planning. When you are ready to begin work on a marketing plan, MarketingProfs.com offers a wealth of information. The site has an excellent archive of articles covering branding; search engine optimization; metrics and measurement; copywriting and marketing collateral development; consumer trend analysis, marketing theory and more.