Sometimes tech evades the attention of a contractor. The brilliant side of running a company these days is that you can use technology to really identify ways to improve your business, specifically your marketing efforts. I'll introduce you to a few key tricks and tools I've used very economically to help my business.
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Sometimes tech evades the attention of a contractor. The brilliant side of running a company these days is that you can use technology to really identify ways to improve your business, specifically your marketing efforts. I'll introduce you to a few key tricks and tools I've used very economically to help my business.
- Crowdsourcing: Typically this is an online contest or contracting resource with a reward to the winner in which you determine the payout. I've often used a website called Hatchwise to host online design competitions for brochures and logos. There are other websites such as 99Designs for design help. The beauty of crowdsourcing is that you are able to tap into the collective creative potential of everyone registered to the particular website. You don't end up locked into the designs of one individual in your local community. There are also other websites such as eLance that allow you to use talent globally to get a multitude of things done such as website design, etc.
- Google Voice: I started my business years ago and originally used my personal cell phone number for the contact information. That was okay until I realized that I was getting tired of phone calls beyond business hours (whether I answered them or not). When you start growing your presence online, you will quickly see that you have to separate your personal cell phone from your business. Google Voice numbers are available free of charge. Calls to your Google Voice can be seamlessly forwarded to your cell phone whenever you want, along with tons of other options. In fact, while in Germany I used Google Voice to stay in touch free of charge with my family, employees, and customers via text without having outrageous data usage fees (which I would have had if I used my personal cell phone).
- OWLE Bubo: This little guy is amazing. Combined with your iPhone or iPod Touch, you can take some seriously good amateur photos and video. Add a microphone, light, or tripod and it can do it all. I feel that professional photography is best for your gallery on the website, but your Facebook fan page or your blog are a great place to host your basic shots. This thing can turn your smartphone (which usually produces slightly shaky video) into a pretty good filming device.
- Quickbooks Online: I started using Quickbooks years ago. At that time I was sold on Mac, and my wife was PC. I also had an office away from my house (where my wife does bookkeeping). Needing multiple copies of the software for different computing platforms and locations wasn't going to work … enter cloud computing. For $40/month we have the most updated software, available anytime anywhere there is an Internet connection, and with a smartphone app too. I can be doing jobs locally, e-mail estimates on the spot, and ask my wife to send invoices while she is visiting family in another state once the job is sold. That's amazing in my eyes.
- Wordpress App: If you have a smartphone and want to blog and generate good content, then you're in luck. This app is amazing and allows you to use those 30 minutes before your next estimate to share your thoughts or a project on your website. You can add photos and videos on the spot also. Although I'm mentioning Wordpress only, other apps exist for Drupal and Joomla blogging platforms.
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