Mini-Biz Buzz

Wufoo is an Internet application that helps you to build online forms. I can’t even remember how I came upon this site, but when I did, I knew immediately it was pretty cool.

Wufoo allows you to design a form and put it on your website. As people fill out the form(s), the data is collected and stored for your use. All you need is a browser and an Internet connection and you can start using it immediately. They have a lot of templates and themed designs, or you can build a custom form. I logged on and it’s pretty simple to use. And for the record, if I think it’s simple, it’s really simple.

Here are just a few examples of form types - Contact Form, Mailing List, Survey, Job Application, Workshop Registration, Event Calendar, Customer Management, Invitations / RSVP, Online Orders, Address Book, Personal Journal, and Media Collection. The possibilities are endless, but the ones listed will get you thinking about what you may need.

Once you create your forms you can place them on your website. When you’re ready, you can take a look at the data you’ve collected by creating reports. Or if you prefer, you can have the entries emailed to you, or you can subscribe to an RSS feed and export them as an Excel document.

Like I always suggest, start with their free service and if you like what they do and it helps you out, you can upgrade. They have for-fee plans from $9.95 – $199.95. And if you’re wondering what’s with the name, they tell you that on their FAQ page.  Check them out here Wufoo.com

Having a small or micro business does not mean you only do business locally. With technology advancing everyday, the smallest of businesses can have customers around the country or on the other side of the world. Depending on your industry, it may be necessary to meet with your customers in person. And as your business grows, it may be the best way to cement relationships with your clients, because video conferencing will never replace face to face meetings.

Last week I learned about something that will help you to move around the state, country, or the world. Tripware, an MS Outlook plug-in, is a travel tool for small and micro businesses. It allows you to book airline, hotel, and auto rentals, all in less than 2 minutes. Then your itinerary is put in your calendar. Any travel changes will be made there, as well.

Using advanced algorithms (don’t worry if you don’t know what this means – the Tripware people do), Tripware analyzes your travel habits and recurring behavior, thus automating your business travel as much as possible. It will save you trouble and money by eliminating the need of a travel agent, executive assistant, or separate tools to book and manage travel and appointments.

Tripware's features include “one click” booking, identifying airline/hotel preferences, trip schedule preferences, tie-ins with reward programs, pre-travel reminders, ability to book multiple travelers, expense report management, sharing itineraries via email, and more. Later this year they will offer enhanced functions, including the ability to drag and drop changes to meeting and travel schedules, and the ability to book international travel. This is a lot! And it will allow you to spend less time dealing with your travel and more time running your business.

You can download the necessary software from their website. Tripware charges a nominal fee per booking, starting at $5.00 plus a small percentage of base fare. It is very affordable. You can check them out here Tripware.com

Lastly, I asked them if this could also be used for personal travel, and the answer was yes. And they are currently working on even more features for personal travel. So when you find a tiny sliver of time for yourself and your family, you can easily book that much needed vacation.

In keeping with the “get your info out there” theme, I want to tell you about a few websites that offer e-businesscards. You can share all of your bio and contact information in one package, from your computer or your phone. The best thing is, you don’t have to worry about your info being misplaced or lost in a stack of other cards. Here are two I liked, but there are more out there if you want to search online.

The first is BusinessCard2.com. This site allows you to assemble all of your contact information into one package. You can easily manage your online brand and get it to the people that matter. You can then post your e-business card on your social network pages, blog, or company website. This service is free, I think because it is a beta version. I’m sure they’ll have an upgraded, for-fee option later. This site is very easy to use and I set up a business card with them. I have a feeling they will have very cool developments in the near future.

The second site, MyDropCard.com, has all of the basics that BusienssCard2 offers, but they have additional options. You can use your mobile phone to capture the info of people who respond to your e-card, and you can access the data of who is opening your card and what they’re looking at. As I always suggest, start with their free service. This allows you a single profile and lets you drop up to 5 cards a month. If you like how this works, you can upgrade. For $4.99/month you get 2 profiles, a customizable card, 25 drops per month and more. For $9.99/month you get 5 profiles, a customizable card, unlimited drops per month and more. Read more about them here. If you're interested, you can sign up here.

As you join more social networks and create more online properties, these services will help you to manage your online presence.

Unless you rent beach umbrellas or sell popsicles, most businesses tend to slow down during the summer months. Don’t despair. Use the time to reorganize your office, or organize it for the first time.

There is a definite connection between our personal environment and our mental state. A cluttered home or office reflects a distracted and cluttered mind. The more you ignore the physical clutter, the more difficult it becomes to focus and think clearly, and then more clutter, and then more indecision.  It starts to snowball and becomes increasingly difficult to regain control of the mess.

There are several factors that contribute to the clutter, but mostly it's due to hanging onto useless or outdated information. Information is necessary to all areas of our lives, but there are ways to identify and weed out the unnecessary things and organize what’s left. It doesn’t matter whether you have lots of data on your computer, tons of paper on your desk, or both, you must clean it up.

To save you from wading through the gazillions of “get organized now” sites on Google, I will give you two to check out. The first is http://www.justorganizeyourstuff.org/ This site gives lots of tips on getting organized, explains the root emotion that keeps us from clearing the clutter, and offers some affordable products to organize the stuff you keep.  The site is fun and very helpful.

The second site (I learned about it from the first site) is called zenhabits.net.  It is now one of my favorite sites, EVER! The link will take you to 72 Ideas To Simplify Your Life.  Do yourself a favor and cruise around the rest of this site when you have time. There are hundreds of articles, many with a “be positive & stay true to your passion” theme – which you know is right up my alley. zenhabits.net

Everything goes in cycles, with ups and downs. The longer you are in business, the clearer you’ll be on which are the busy seasons for your company/industry. When you’re in a natural lull, be grateful for the time and use it to clean house and streamline your procedures. That way, you are ready to hit the ground running when things pick up again.

Last week I received 1,000 promotional postcards for my book. I was all set to distribute them in several cities around the country, when I noticed that I had approved them with the word “thruogh”. What in the world does “thruogh” mean, anyway? It means I should have had someone proofread the artwork before I submitted it. Ugh! My replacement order is on the way….

Besides the very obvious tip of having a second person proofread your work (don’t get lazy about it!), I think online printing companies are the way to go. You can save a lot of money by using an online printing company, and the standard turn around time is usually under a week – faster if you pay for expedited shipping.

There are a lot of companies to choose from, but the two I use the most are www.printsmadeeasy.com and www.gotprint.com GotPrint is slightly more affordable and has more options (they offer flyers – PrintsMadeEasy doesn’t), but I think PrintsMadeEasy is a tiny bit more user friendly. No matter where you get your printing done, though, have at least one other person (preferably two) check your work.

It’s kind of a mantra for people coaching small business owners – Using a PO Box gives the impression that you’re an amateur. Sometimes this is true, but not always. I use a PO Box for correspondence regarding my book. No one cares if I have an outside office or brick & mortar store for that. But if your business provides a service or a tangible product you may benefit from having a street address.

PO Boxes have perception issues, and if you use your home address you lose your privacy and your mailbox will become inundated with even more junk mail. There are a number of options, but below are my two favorites.

UPS offers a great mailbox service. I already love them for their super-speedy UPS Ground shipping, but now they have upgraded their mailbox service. Here’s what you get:

A real street address, not a P.O. Box, Secure mail with 24-hour access, Mail is held for pickup or forwarded, Notification through text or email when your packages arrive, Package delivery accepted from all carriers (Fed Ex, DHL, etc…) and held in a secure location for pick-up at your convenience or forwarded to you, Call-in MailCheck® - You can find out if you have mail without wasting a trip . Pricing will vary because the stores are individually owned. Check it out at www.theupsstore.com Click on Mail & Postal Services. Yes, I ♥ UPS, but….

I love EarthClassMail, too. They offer some of the same services as UPS Mailbox, but there is a fundamental difference that makes them green. They scan the front of the sealed envelopes and email the images to you. Then, for each piece of mail, you decide if you want it opened and the contents scanned and emailed (confidentially), recycled, shredded, sent to you, or held for safe keeping. Because of the large amount of junk mail sent out, especially to businesses, 50% - 90% of the mail you receive can be recycled. This is a-mazing! Check them out at www.earthclassmail.com

If you’re a bit of a control freak (I get it) then the UPS Mailbox option may be a better choice for you.  If you’re easy-breezy, then you might want to consider going green with EarthClassMail.  I love both of these alternatives to a standard PO Box.