Small Business Trends

Ever felt like you’d like the 911 status on your business, in one view, one place? All the vitals so you can see, at a glance, what’s going on in the different areas of your company? If you have wanted to combine your web analytics, CRM, project management, sales pipeline, customer support requests, to name just a few, then this Read More

Have you ever had your email program tell you that you’ve exceeded send or receive limit?  Essentially, the file you want to send or receive is just too big for the server to handle and it shuts you out or refuses to handle your message. This review of the online file sharing service YouSendIt is for you, then.

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Most email providers offer a free trial, but AWeber does not. That’s not a negative. In fact, by putting a value on their service, I believe that many people equate it with greater value. Charging for the service sends the message that AWeber is completely confident that you will love their service and will pull out your wallet to sign Read More

Every day, thousands of business owners buy software. Some are moving to the cloud and purchasing Web-based (aka SaaS – software-as-a-service) and often start with a free or low-cost trial. If you’re considering doing this, here are words of wisdom from 30-plus business owners, including some insights from software creators.

Jon Ferrara, CEO and Founder of Read More

Have you noticed lately that many laptops’ screens are almost as big as desktop monitors? No doubt you can find a small and lightweight one, but some of the least expensive laptops are huge. I went searching for lighter and slimmer solutions for the mobile small business owner. The Samsung Chromebook offers an interesting option and is the focus of Read More

Everyone talks about how important it is to build an iPhone or Android app, but it doesn’t look inexpensive or easy. Until now. I’ve been testing appsbar, a free Web-based app that allows small business owners create their own iOS or Android application.

I found appsbar.com when researching the digital coupon phenomenon (think Groupon and Living Social) and discovered a post Read More

Facebook Pages for Business are sometimes a black box. Facebook Insights gives you some sense of what’s happening, but to really dig in and understand how you can grow your business on Facebook, you need a more powerful tool set. This review of PageLever, which offers a deeper level of analysis of Facebook accounts and pages, should help in your Read More

The word “handmade” evokes feelings of warmth, of comfort, of craftsmanship. Earlier this summer, I mentioned some cool niche sites serving the artisan community in my 19 new additions to a large ecommerce list.  Amazon and eBay are certainly well known marketplaces among those looking to sell just about anything, but niche marketplaces and communities are growing quickly. Read More

When you’re on the road, whether locally or internationally, sometimes you just need that little device, gadget or thingamajig to make your work life easier.  These tools are not just for road warriors, but for anyone who appreciates elegant lifehacks.

Here are eight of my favorites:

Breffo spiders are absolutely amazing. Simple, but super cool. Read More

In late 2010, there were more than 3.7 billion searches on YouTube, which is widely regarded as the second largest search engine on the planet (and is owned by the largest). This should put video high on your small business marketing list, and this review of Avid Studio can help you create a professional video.

With today’s top quality and Read More