Boeing to chop 10,000 jobs. Starbucks closes 300 stores & cuts 6,700 jobs. Caterpillar laying off 2,000 more workers. AOL axing 700 jobs in cost cutting move. U.S. Postal Service considers cutting delivery to 5 days. Circuit City lets 34,000 people go & enters liquidation. Intel fires 6,000 workers. Economy shrinks at fastest clip since 1982. Recession appears to be picking up steam.
We all know that America is going through an economic crisis and most of us have probably been affected by it in some way. Times are indeed tough.
But as mom entrepreneurs, we’re a tenacious bunch who isn’t likely to give up that easily. We’re going to keep building our businesses, even if we have pinch pennies, go at a slower pace and do much of the work ourselves.
Here are 22 free things to help you manage your business and your life.
1. Jott.com–capture thoughts, create to-do’s and set reminders with a simple phone call. Jott captures your voice, turns it into text and sends it where you want it–helping you stay on top of everything.
2. ClearCheckbook.com–an extremely easy to use tool that helps you balance your checkbook and manage your money. Think of it as an online checkbook register with the added bonus of viewing reports, setting budgets, creating reminders and more.
3. The Mogul Mom’s H.O.D.–a directory of mom entrepreneurs who want to help & be helped through a bartering system. The H.O.D. helps you find the help you need, offer the help you can give AND get some free publicity for your company.
4. BoutiqueUp! Daily–a resource site for mom-inventors, product developers, boutique owners, and others to connect with retailers who are looking for new products.
5. Evernote.com–allows you to easily capture information on the web, your desktop or your phone and makes this information accessible & searchable anytime, from anywhere.
6. 250 Business Cards from VistaPrint.com–what’s not to love about free stuff? Get 250 business cards free from VistaPrint.com–you just pay for shipping. They have lots of other free stuff too, like rubber stamps, pens & checks.
7. Twitter.com–create a free Twitter account and enjoy the fabulous exposure it gives your business & increased traffic to your website or blog. Twitter is a wonderful place for mom entrepreneurs, offering community, help, information and fun.
8. TwitterFeed.com–once you’ve immersed yourself in Twitter, take advantage of TwitterFeed, a free service that “feeds” your blog to Twitter. Every time you post a new article, TwitterFeed sends it straight to Twitter where your followers will see it.
9. Blogs–free blog services like WordPress & Blogger give you the perfect forum to tell the world about your business. Unlike websites, blogs can be updated easily & quickly and allow you to build great relationships with your customers.
10. The Mogul Mom’s free advertising–every month, I give away 3 free 125X125 ad spots as my part of the H.O.D. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to advertise your business! The ads show on every page of my blog & offer great exposure for you & your business.
11. Photobucket.com–Keep all your pics and videos in one place – room for up to 10,000 photos and hours of video for free & share with everyone you know by email, IM or mobile phone. Make slideshows and mashups with music, special effects, captions, and more. Link to your profile, blog or website.
12. HARO–Help A Reporter Out is a free service that lists reporters who’re looking for sources & gives you amazing opportunities for FREE press!! If you’re a blog writer, you can also post a query if you’re looking for sources. Sign up and get your business in the media!
13. Google Analytics–Google Analytics offers a host of compelling features and benefits for website & blog owners.
14. Dealigg.com–touted as a “social bargain hunting” site, Dealigg.com has loads of coupons, freebies, deals & discounts from hundreds of stores. You can save a ton of money on things for your business & your family at Dealigg.com.
15. MomGenerations.com–Audrey McClelland, mother of 4 & former Donna Karan assistant, serves up 365 days of fashion advice for moms & offers great product giveaways!
16. Microsoft Office Online–Microsoft’s site offering tons of great Office how-to tips, like creating an electronic business card, help with Powerpoint presentations and much, much more.
17. Alltop.com–like a digital magazine rack, Alltop helps you explore your passions by collecting stories from “all the top” sites on the web & groups these collections into individual Alltop sites based on topics such as moms, startups and blogs. Use Alltop.com to keep abreast of all the top news in your industry.
18. iTunes Podcasts–with more than 3000 free podcasts (Internet radio broadcasts), you can listen to some great interviews with entrepreneurs & learn all kinds of new things for your business.
19. WholeFoods.com–trying to plan healthy meals for your family on a budget? Let Whole Foods do it for you with “The Whole Deal”, a week’s worth of budget-conscious family meal plans that offers recipes & ingredients lists–and usually keeps each meal to under $15!
20. Google Docs–Google Docs, a free service from Google, lets you create documents, edit them, give select people access to them (even if they’re across the world) and store them securely online so you don’t have to worry about losing them.
21. YouTube.com–I recently asked my programmer how to install a new plug-in on my blog & he told me that whenever he doesn’t know how to do something, he searches for it on YouTube.com! You can find out how to do just about anything on YouTube.com–from techie stuff, to cooking, to arts & crafts, to writing a press release, to tightening an American Girl doll’s limbs. Take advantage of this fabulous & free website!
22. The Mogul Mom’s free coaching for subscribers–when I first started The Mogul Mom blog, I offered coaching at $75 per hour. Then, I realized I was charging the very people who could probably least afford it & decided to give FREE coaching to any mom entrepreneur who subscribes to my blog by email. So, sign up & get all the help you need from someone who’s been there, done that.
Take your business to the next level with The Mogul Mom. For more information, visit my website at http://www.TheMogulMom.com or email me.
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Please don’t use Vistaprint or recommend it to your readers.
Using Vistaprint could very likely lead to you being signed up to FAKE discount clubs and hundreds of dollars benig taken from you Visa/bank without your knowledge or permission.
I have a huge blog post with all the details of all of the different scamming sites Vistaprint and Adaptive Affinity run and how best to get a refund.
http://www.hubbers.com/index.php/i-got-scammed-by-vistaprint-and-adaptive-marketing-and-adaptive-affinity-ltd-and-amazon/
If you don’t believe me check this blog and the scores of comments form people who have been ripped off!
http://www.thegeneva.com/vistaprint-scamvprewards-scam-warning/
Or try Googling “Vistaprint scam”
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=vistaprint+scam&btnG=Google+Search&meta=
You can also sign this petition!
http://www.petitiononline.com/mod_perl/signed.cgi?stop1111&1
Hubbers, I’m sorry to hear your comments on Vistaprints. I’ve been using them for a few years now and haven’t had any problems. I was referred to them by other indie artists and they’ve been happy as well
.
And thank you for posting this great resource list to make our money go a little further.