I’m going to see if I can use Google+ instead of my. Click here to find out what I’m doing

I’m on vacation this week. My wife wanted to go to a restaurant with a catchy name, that we had driven by earlier. Before we went, I looked it up on Google places. The comments and ratings were not favorable. We didn’t go. Before social ratings we would have eaten there because, as vistors, we wouldn’t know about the restaurant before we ate there. It’s more important than ever to provide excellent service, since bad experiences are broadcast to a much wider audience.

Over that past year a number of ‘freemium’ services have been limited or removed. (Freemium is a method of selling web based apps where you get a basic version for free, and pay to upgrade for more features). Just recently Google, change the terms of is free version of Google Apps to include 10 users instead of 50 users.  Other freemium apps have been eliminated as well. (QuickBooks Simple Start online, and Working point also eliminated freemium in the past 12 months) .

Freemium apps have been a boon to small businesses, because you could get a basic set of functionality at no cost. In most cases the free version had most, if not all, the functionality you needed at a great price –free. If it was missing something, in a lot of cases you could work around it.

There are a lot of quality freemium apps out there, and thats the problem; of all of the freemium apps that I currently use, or that I have used (probably about a dozen),  I have only upgraded one of them to a paid version. That means that these companies are support infrastructure, security, and features for me, and not getting paid for it. With a conversion rate like that, I suspect that you will see less and less fremium services in the future.

Update: Added Zoho Books

Here is a a list of web based programs to help a freelancer run her/his business (This has a tech freelancer slant but should be usefull to anyone.) I was kind of disappointed that Free versions of QuickBooks Online and WorkingPoint are gone. Also before you use these tools read my posts on the risks of Web Based (Cloud Computing)

• Cloud Computing: The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
• Have A Backup Plan When The Internet Is Down

Domain Name: GoDaddy.
Cost: Less then $20.00 per year
Extras: Free Email Address, iPhone/Android App

Email Client: Gmail (Google)
You can have it pull and send your email from your GoDaddy Email account with POP
Cost: Free
Extras:  iPhone/Android App
Alternate: GoDaddy’s web email client
Cost: Free

Office Applications: Google Docs
Cost: Free
Extras: iPhone/Android App
Alternate: Zoho
Cost: Free
Extas: iPhone/Android App

Web Hosting: Blogger (Google)
Cost: Free
Alternate: GoDaddy Website Tonight
Cost: $5.00/month

Accounting: Quickbooks Online Simple Start
Cost: $13.00/month
Extras: Mobile freindly website
Alternate: WorkingPoint
Cost: $10.00/month
Alternate: Zoho Books
Cost: $24.00/month

Job Tracking: Zoho Support
Cost: Freemium*
Alternate: Zoho CRM
Cost: Freemium
Extras: Mobile friendly website

Time Tracking: Toggl
Cost: Freemium
Extras: iPhone/Android App

* Freemium means you get basic version with with less features or some/limitations but you can upgrade to get other features. Freemum versions are, however,  fully functional

I just created a new version of my business website, and it cost me nothing but time; and I don’t even have to pay a monthly fees. How did I do it? … Google. Heres a quick tour

1. The site itself (www.solutions4tech.com) is written  with Blogger. While blogger’s primary purpose is to blog (thus the name) its pretty flexible, and with some settings changes, it becomes a decent platform for a small  (less than 10 pages) website. You can tweak colors,layouts, and backgrounds. Even with your own domain the Blogger is still free.
2. My response form. I built this with the forms option in Google Docs. Each Submission writes to a spreadsheet that is also on Google Docs. There are a number of themes, so all I had to to was add the fields, and select a theme.  To publish it, I used the share option, chose to embed it, and pasted the html into my site.
3. The terms and conditions are hosted on Google Docs, its just a shared document. The reader even has the option of exporting to various formats like a PDF or Word  if she likes.
4. The Slide show is also also built with Google Docs. After I created it, I used the handy share option to embed it on my site just like the response form.
5. Behind the scenes, my email is through Google Apps Standard Edition. (Its free too!!)

Google isn’t the only company on the block that offers a suite of offerings for free that you can use to present and run your business. Check out Zoho, and Microsoft Office Live as well. The web is ripe with opportunities for you to put your best foot forward while spending  practically nothing. (You do have to pay for domain registration no matter who you use though.)

Now that I am an ‘Apple-head’ (big time iPhone user), I have discovered that the way I read emails have changed.

Since I only have a small screen, I read the screen full of information and then decide if the email is worth reading further. This means if you haven’t given me a reason to scroll down, I’m deleting your email. I’ve discovered that on a number of occasions, the important part of the email was out of view and I never read it. I suspect this may be true with others too.

So, in conclusion, make sure you either get to the point at the beginning of the email, or let the recipient know there’s more to read.

I’m getting out my Crystal ball today to make some predictions about the about the trends I see in the future and how they may effect small business.

1. Web Based Applications. I predict that in the next five years most of applications that you currently use on your desktop will migrate to the web. Currently accounting, office suites, email, and CRM applications have a strong web presence. In addition, companies like Google, Force.com, and Amazon are making infrastructure available for computer programmers. For the small business person, this is going to be one of the biggest boosts to growth. You’re not going to need expensive computers and networks, and you will be able to access your business applications from multiple locations. The technology barrier for entry will all but be eliminated in most businesses.

2. Cloud Based Infrastructure. There are currently a multitude of companies give you the ability to set up a server over the Internet and pay only for usage. I believe that the server room is soon to be a thing of the past for most companies.

3. Internet Everywhere (Mobile and Wireless). Mobile devices and Internet connectivity will become ubiquitous. (I’ve always wanted to use that term in a sentence). Both consumers and business will be able to access data from any location. Services like that Clearwire (high speed wireless Internet) will become common from cellphone and other providers. It will be important for businesses to embrace mobile technology to be successful.

4. The Death of the Phone Number As We Know It. (I’ve been predicting this for years, eventually I’ll get it right.) With the growth of Internet phone applications, Phone numbers will begin to fade away. Most calls will be over the Internet via Skype and Skype-like services. Phone numbers, where you have them, will no longer indicate your location (I already deal with someone who has a Texas area code but lives in Georgia.)

I’ve been using an iPad for that last 5 days. The model I’m using has 16gb with WI-FI only (no 3g wireless). During my time with the iPad, I’ve mostly used it  to connect to my corporate network via WI-FI and VPN. After the first hour of Apple induced euphoria, I came back down to earth and started to use it. Here’s what I concluded:

Pluses:

1. Size–its a lot smaller and lighter than my MacBook Air.
2. Battery Life– It can go nearly 2 days with normal use in WI-FI mode.(I didn’t have  the 3g model and I didn’t use bluetooth so those battery hogs could effect battery life if used). Its a lot longer then any laptop or even my iPhone, for that matter.
3. Screen. Crisp and Bright.
4. Applications. Lots of them, specifically for the iPad. You have the force of Apple behind it and, with that, tons of iPad specific apps.
5. App Store. The App Store is easy to navigate, and does a great job of differentiating iPhone apps from iPad Apps.
6. Email. If you like the iPhone email you’ll love the iPad Email

Neutral

1. Web Browser. The iPad size browser is great. Its easy to read, and pages display properly on it (with the exception of Flash*). On the other hand  some advanced web features don’t work on the iPad,  for instance, Regular Google Docs won’t work properly on the iPad, so you have to use the less powerful the mobile version.
2. Keyboard. It’s a lot better than the small touch screen keyboards, but you still wouldn’t want to type more than a paragraph on it.
3. iPhone Apps, Yes, they load and work, but they are the same size as the iPhone. If you want to make them bigger, all you do is zoom in. (Yes, they are bigger after you zoom, but they look hokey.)

Bad

1. No Camera (Supposedly coming later in the year). I would be nice to use Skype for with video.
2. No External Memory. You get what you get when you buy it, and its not easy to move data.
3. No Removable Battery. Someday you will need a new battery, but when you do you’ll have to send the whole unit away.
4. iTunes. You still have to manage the unit with iTunes. iTunes never made sense to me before, and still doesn’t now.

I think that the iPad is great tool if you understand its limitations. It’s great for entertainment, light web browsing, and checking email. If you travel frequently, but don’t need a full laptop, the iPad is very convenient.  Make sure, however, you test any sites you need to use before get one so you are not unpleasantly surprised.

* Flash refers to Adobe Flash, a tool often used to add interactivity and video to websites.  Apple does not support, or currently plan to support Flash  on the iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad

I’ve now caught up with the year 2010  and created a mobile version of this site. (Thanks to the WordPress Mobile Edition plugin.) Mobile computing via a web enabled phones is one of the fasted growing consumer trends. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve be in the car looking up stuff on my iPhone (while my wife drives).  If you are in the retail business, a mobile site is a great way to get to your potential customers while they are actually looking for your business.

Anyhow, enjoy the mobile version of the site.

What is your social media doing for you ?
You’ve got your Facebook fan page, a twitter account and a blog. You post blog updates, product announcements, and specials to Facebook  and Twitter. You have  links on your emails and website to your social media pages. You have social media covered right ?  No, all you have is yet another method of transmitting information to your existing customers and prospects, you could just as easily send them emails (and it would probably be more effective since tweets, and wall updates tend to get lost in the stream of information on social media sites).  If all you want to is be hip, and you have the resources to do it, this is fine. But, if you want to actually use social media to reach out to new prospects you need to make it viral.

How do you get social media to be viral and grow your business ?
You need to have some percentage of your tweets, and wall posting re-tweeted, recommended, and referenced so people who wouldn’t otherwise see them will. Thats the viral part. So how are you going to do this?  Build a relationship:

1. Don’t just tweet promotional info, nobody watches TV just for the ads (except perhaps the Super Bowl) They watch it for entertainment and information. Add personal, general business, and industry information that may interest your customers and prospects.
2. Get in the conversation. Reply to to comments, tweets/postings, answer questions, do it regularly and frequently (multiple times per day).
3. Manage your reputation, negative information should be responded to immediately. Figure out how to make your critics your fans.
4. Collaborate with others in your industry to extend reach. (Contests, cross promotions, recommendations, etc.)
5. Commit to it. Social media is a long term investment; If you drop it after a short time you won’t get a decent return.

As you can see there is a significant commitment of time and effort to get social media to work. But if your prospects and customers are using social media it can pay off.

Related Posts:

• A couple of great marketing resources
• There’s No Such Thing as Social Media