Google Voice features that will help your small business
I’ve written about Google Voice in the past and wanted to give an update on some of the new features that are available with the 100% free service. Google Voice is a phone service that gives you a phone number, call forwarding, typed out voicemail, and a phone system that integrates with your email.
I do all of my business via my cell phone. I have a regular local Montana phone number and I use it with my family and friends. A few years back I set up a Continue reading
Fun with the Green Screen
Videos are an excellent way to share information with potential customers. In addition to sharing information, videos also help with search engine optimization, building trust with your customers, and helping others visualize an item before they order it. The setup I will explain is affordable, professional, and will give you the ability to create full body shots.
There are a couple of companies that do a great job with product videos. Zappos .com and Disount Mugs .com both have product videos for about everything on their website. The videos have helped me get a good look at the products and make me comfortable with what I order. Both companies use a clean white background to film their products videos with. Continue reading
Big Commerce Shopping Cart Review
There are hundreds of shopping carts to choose from, which makes it a very time consuming process to find the best cart for your business. Over the years I’ve used Pinnacle Cart, X-Cart, Shopify, and a few other carts. The carts have some great features, yet none of these carts had all the features I needed and the customer service may not have been up to par.
A few months ago I was out to breakfast with a fellow entrepreneur and very successful internet retailer. He switched over to a full service shopping cart named Big Commerce and has been thrilled with it. He explained how they are using cutting edge technology to integrate the cart with mobile devices, Ipads, and other tablets. The cart also integrates with newsletters (such as MailChimp and Icontact), RSS feeds, Facebook, and many marketing tools that help get your product found by potential buyers.
Click here to try BigCommerce – the best way to sell online!
I ended up taking the plunge and purchasing Big Commerce after a free 15 day trial. It was extremely easy to setup, had all kinds of templates, and has a very detailed backend that is great for the logistics of your business.
The templates and easy drag and drop features make it easy to create an online store and eliminate the need to learn coding. Big Commerce has a feature that allows you to create contact forms and custom forms for your business. Continue reading
Using Quickbooks on your Mac Computer with Logmein.com
Accounting is a very important aspect of every small business. Thanks to Quickbooks Pro from Intuit, I’ve been able to keep tabs on my small businesses in a very efficient manner.
About two years ago I started using Mac computers and fell in love with their operating system, sleek design, and engineering. So much so that I ended up purchasing Microsoft Office, design programs, and movie editing software for the Macs. I also bought Quickbooks for Mac thinking it would be a great program.
Well, I found that Quickbooks for Mac still lacks many of the features, capabilities, and functionalities that the PC version has. So much so that I quit using the Quickbooks 2011 Pro and went back to using the PC version. The problem I had with this is that I had to carry two laptops around because I had to do the bookwork using my PC. The other option I found was to use the online version of Quickbooks which has a monthly fee that I was not real keen about.
Long story short, I heard about a free program called Logmein.com. Logmein allows you to access any computer that you own as long as it is turned on and has internet access. Thus, I now have a PC on at my home office 24/7 with internet access. I can quickly use Logmein’s remote connection to log into Quickbooks on the PC from my Mac. So, whether I am at a clients business, on the road, or at a coffee shop; I have the ability to create invoices, send bills, etc all from my Mac computer.
1. To set up Logmein, first go to www.logmein.com
2. Create a free account and follow the instructions to install the software on both computers.
3. Log in from your Mac and work on your accounting! Yeah yeah, I know you are probably not that excited to do accounting, but at least this solution allows you to do it from your Mac.
Screenshot of Logmein.com above
Screenshot of what the Mac screen looks like while using Logmein.com to access the remote PC running Quickbooks.
Please post any comments, questions, or other solutions you’ve come up with.
Pete Sveen
How to Create a Video Studio to Showcase your Products or Services
Videos are an excellent way to share information with potential customers. In addition to sharing information, videos also help with search engine optimization, building trust with your customers, and helping others visualize an item before they order it. The setup I will explain is affordable, professional, and will give you the ability to create full body shots.
There are a couple of companies that do a great job with product videos. Zappos .com and Disount Mugs .com both have product videos for about everything on their website. The videos have helped me get a good look at the products and make me comfortable with what I order. Both companies use a clean white background to film their products videos with.
After doing research on how to create the perfect white background for my product videos, I finally found an answer. The solution I found fit my budget and provides me with the professional look I am going for. Let me come out and say that I am by know means a film expert. I simply bought the kit a few months ago and have been figuring out how to film as I go.
