My Technology Review
I did a seminar last week for a group of Realtors and was surprised that many questions related to technology and running a small business. So, I thought I’d throw together a list of the key pieces of technology that get me through the week.
1. YouMail : this is a great voicemail system. You can program an outgoing message for each caller (based on their Caller ID). This can really create an amazing impression when they get to your voicemail and hear, “Hi John! Sorry I missed your call…” Usually, a first-time caller begins their message with a little left-over laughter. Additionally, you can ‘ditch’ unwanted callers and retrieve your voicemails via email — which is easier to control and saves precious minutes on the cell plan!
2. The Voice Recorder. This is a must for my business. Seems that I have most of my brainstorms while driving. It can be difficult to remember these great ideas w/o a way to record them. I use a $40 Olympus voice recorder to take down these notes. Now, if they’d just make it water-proof for the shower!
3. Electronic Organizer. I know there are many out there that need to stick with the good old hand-written calendars. For the rest of us, I really recommend a Palm-based organizer (ironically, I’m on a BlackBerry…). This organizer easily syncs with Outlook. The part I like most is the drag-n-drop feature on the calendar. Need to reschedule an appointment? Just drag it to the new time and drop it. Done!
4. Other online tools.
a. Surveys. Create you own online survey with SurveyMonkey.com, ZapSurvey.com, or Zoomerang.com.
b. eNewsletters. I switched from ConstantContact.com to Aweber.com, but both work great and are easy to use.
c. Financial tools. I recommend QuickBooks online, PayPal, and Google Checkout.
How about you? What cool technology helps you run your business?
