It’s not my style to post too many of these reference style entries. For one, there seems to be more than enough of them peppered across every possible social network on the internet. I think the other day I caught a headline for one blog post being linked on Twitter that read, 5 ways to never get mad again. Never get mad again? Unbelievable! Who knew using a new Facebook app, or Twitter tool could alleviate all my frustrations for a lifetime.
So, with a thoughtful consideration of your time, and of how numerous such lists are, here is a short scribble of things that every internet business owner should use daily.
Basecamp
No other software has helped my business grow as much as Basecamp by 37 Signals. When Corena Golliver, a peer in the online writing biz, informed me of the powers of Basecamp nearly 3 years ago I was instantly hooked. The key to this software is its simplicity, everyone in my organization (800+ people) use it almost exclusively to converse about projects, upload files for sharing, and of course get paid.
Do yourself a favor and check out Basecamp today by clicking HERE.
Google Docs
I’ve purchased more copies of MS Office than probably anybody else in the Carolinas these past five years. As a content producing company we rely on MS Office heavily for keeping everything up to industry standards. However, when it comes to information sharing, keeping track of everything from what our contractors are owed this week to what our staff is doing for vacation next Christmas Google Docs is the tool to use.
The magic of Google Docs is in the sharability of the program, anybody with a free email account from Google can create, manage, and share documents, spreadsheets, and more. Collaborative editing in real time is another game changer for those that want a leg up on the competition, and aren’t able to physically huddle around Candy’s iMac monitor at amazingly grey cubicle number 8.
Check out Gmail and Google Docs HERE.
PayPal
Many people hate PayPal. Our business has processed 7 figures worth of payments with them and they still give us a hard time when a gentleman of Nigerian decent orders a few thousand articles. How dare them! Well, ok, some of our deals do look a little shady at first blush. PayPal in all honesty is the absolute best solution to processing payments online for those not wanting to get a merchant account.
If you are one of the few people that haven’t tried PayPal I encourage you to sign up for free even if you have nothing to sell now, you can always figure that part out later. If you have tried PayPal and written them off like many people have in the past, it’s time to give the ole PP another look. Check them out HERE.
Reseller Hosting
When I first started building business related websites in the early 2000’s I signed up for a hosting plan that cost $50 a month with a well known internet marketer. Guess what? I got ripped off. Hosting should cost you little to nothing. We use a company called Host Nine which provides what is known as reseller hosting for as little as $19.95 per month. What is reseller hosting? It’s an account that allows you to create hundreds of hosting accounts for the websites you build, as long as you are in a niche industry even the smallest reseller account ($19.95 monthly) will net you half a century worth of websites hosted each month. Why? Because most websites are lucky to get 20 unique visitors a day, if you can average many more than that for each site and still not pay a dime more to host them. Even if you setup just 40 sites on the smallest plan it’d be like paying 50 cents per website in hosting fees each month, not bad!
The only way we could build dozens of websites each year and host them without fear of bankruptcy is with an affordable hosting plan. A web business is cheap if not free with the right hosting pay (Host Nine) the right payment processor (PayPal) and the right niche (your expertise) marketed where people spend time (Twitter and Facebook) online. The first step in that process is affordable hosting.
The hosting business is all about ignorance. The less you know about web hosting the more you end up paying. The more you know, the less you have to pay. Get educated on the possibilities of reseller hosting by clicking HERE.
Good People
What I use proudly everyday is good people to represent my company, our various brands, and the work we do in the community. With great people in my home office, and around the country, I am able to honestly tell people we are the best choice for their internet marketing needs and mean it.
So there you have it, enjoy the advice and send me a link if you come across that dubious “never get angry again” list.
FTC MANDATED DISCLOSURE
In light of the recent FTC mandated compensation disclosure I’ve taken the time to list out the little penance I might receive from people reading this blog post. I am an affiliate partner with 37 Signals, the company that owns Basecamp. If you sign up with their service I’ll receive a small commission each month. Host Nine is also a partner of mine, and any purchase with them will result in a small commission paid to my company. I do not own Google stock, nor am I an affiliate seller of their free services. PayPal and Rufus Space Industries, INC. conduct business together but are not affiliated in any type of profit sharing way. Good people don’t pay me anything to mention them, I actually pay them.
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