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5 Free Open-Source Software to Consider for Your Small Business

September 1st, 2010 by Erin Posted in Small Business | No Comments »

Budgets are tight. Small businesses are cash-strapped. So, why spend thousands of dollars on software for your office needs when you can turn to open source software for FREE?

What many small business owners don’t know is that there is free software that can help them operate smoothly – and professionally. I’m talking about email servers, HR software, word processing programs, graphic design software. Even antivirus programs.

Yup, all FREE.

Here are five open source software programs that are easy on the wallet and your operations.

1. OpenOffice

Kiss MS Office goodbye. This is your open-source alternative. It is FREE to download and use and it contains programs like word processing, spreadsheets, presentations – and more. It’s also available in many languages and works on common operating systems.

2. GnuCash

Get to know this software – fast.

GnuCash is a personal and small business accounting software that is FREE and available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Solaris, Mac OS X, and MS Windows. It’s easy to use and allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. Some have even called it “as quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register.”

3. OrangeHRM

This human resource management software comes with rich features and a friendly UI.  The system is backed by professional support services as well as a fast-growing and knowledgeable worldwide open source community.

4. GIMP

This is your alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

GIMP is an acronym for GNU Image Manipulation Program. It has many capabilities including photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.

5. Clamwin

ClamWin is a antivirus program for Microsoft Windows 7/ Vista / XP / Me / 2000 / 98 and Windows Server 2008 and 2003. ClamWin Free Antivirus does not include an on-access real-time scanner. You need to manually scan a file in order to detect a virus or spyware – which could be a good thing for Windows users who are barraged with automatic scans and updates.

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list of free open source software for small business. There are dozens more.

The bottom line is that you’ll want to save where you can now so that you can invest in specialized computer software down the road – and really take your business to the next level.

 Tags: accounting software, business owners, free open source software, free software, human resource management software, Small Business, software programs

Bloggers Pay Up in Philly

August 25th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Small Business | No Comments »

It doesn’t pay to be a blogger, at least not in Philadelphia. In fact, some bloggers have to pay themselves – and not just for a snazzy WordPress template either.

You know those little Amazon ads you find in the corners of blogs? You know the ones that link to books that people recommend? They’re helpful, sure. But buy one, and you risk holding some Philadelphia bloggers responsible for getting a business license.

Yes, you read that right.

Since a percentage of that Amazon purchase – or any purchase from an enabled advertisement –  is money in the blogger’s pocket, the city of Philadelphia considers that business revenue. Thus it is demanding that bloggers who report even a meager $11 in revenue pay to get a business license.

The license is $300 for a lifetime or $50 a year. And, the city only knows about the ads bloggers are placing on their sites if they report that income on their taxes.

Why a blogger would report $11 baffles me, but still… something is seriously wrong with this picture.

Sean Barry, a Philadelphia blogger, writes Circle of Fits from his free Blogger account. He earned $11 in profit over two years and received a letter from Philadelphia city officials.

Barry writes:

I never expected Circle of Fits to “make money” or be deemed a “business”… I put ads on it as an experiment, and I don’t ever expect anyone to click on them..I don’t even know how to put the time in to learn how to control which ones are being presented.

Bloggers are just a subset of workers affected by this regressive tax. According to the city’s strict rules, any freelancer based in the city qualifies as a business and needs to get the license.

It seems to me that the city of Philadelphia is trying to set a new precedent for microbusinesses.

Should a person who bakes and sells homemade pies out of his or her home be required to purchase a business license? Yes – definitely.

But to call a blogger who makes less than $20 over two years a microbusiness owner is just ridiculous.

This is the time to promote economic growth, not hit workers and entrepreneurs where it hurts the most.

 Tags: amazon ads, blog revenue, blogger, bloggers pay up in philly, business license, microbusiness, philadelphia bloggers

Keep the Tone of Your Emails in Check

August 4th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business, Software Development | No Comments »

It’s happened to the best of us. You fire off an email to a friend or colleague, only to have a snide reply sent back. Your email was misconstrued and now a potential business deal (or dinner date) has fallen by the wayside.

You ask yourself, what just happened?

It was the tone of your email, my friend. The recipient opened it, read it, and thought, “Who does this S.O.B. think he is?”

One wrong salutation, phrase or punctuation can – believe it or not – spark World War III via email. BUT, it can be avoided with a handy new tool I just discovered. It’s called ToneCheck by Lymbix.

With ToneCheck, a simple thought will no longer be interpreted as hostile, threatening or something far different than you intended. ToneCheck actually checks your outgoing email for any false “tones.”

Simply specify your “tone tolerance” and the program will flag any phrases or sentences that look angry – then, offers a substitute. And, get this, ToneCheck also flags lines that appear too “contented” or overly cheerful when you are actually trying to strike a tougher tone.

The program’s sensitivity can also be adjusted and it offers eight different ‘emotional ratings’  - like affection and amusement- to help you get the tone of your email just right. Anger, fear, and humiliation are generally the emotions users will try and avoid.

Lymbix has also developed a program which monitors your updates on Twitter for any unintentional deviation in tone. Brilliant!

You can download ToneCheck and use the service free for 30 days.

I’ve been using it for several days now and while I have ignored a few of ToneCheck’s warnings, the program has indeed stopped me from sending the wrong message on one occasion.

As the saying goes, impressions count – even when you’re trying to make one by email.

 Tags: business deal, download tonecheck, email program, email tone, misconstrued emails, tone of your email, tonecheck

Why Your Small Business Should Be on Facebook

July 20th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business | No Comments »

The land of status updates, Fan Pages and Farmville is even bigger than any of us ever imagined.

In some parts of the world, Facebook is more popular than search engines. That’s right, Facebook is bigger than Google!

That means, if you’ve ever had any doubt about what Facebook can do for your small business – it’s time to give the social network another look.

Here’s why.

According to the analysts at Hitwise, Facebook’s overall web traffic pulled ahead of Google’s for the first time in the U.S. in March of this year. They also found that people in the UK are visiting social networks more than they’re visiting search engines.

When compared to the Web as a whole, Google gets around 9.3% of all web traffic, while Facebook captures just over 7%. BUT, in the UK, Hitwise stats show that social networking sites accounted for .55% MORE traffic than search engines. An unprecedented finding.

Check out the graph below. Long term stats from Alexa show global page views for Facebook and Google are neck-and-neck.

What does this mean for you?

It means that not only are people using Facebook to socialize and network, but they’re using it to FIND CONTENT and LEARN about it.

Facebook’s “like” feature is a brilliant way to spread the word about businesses, products, and services. And, quite frankly, if no one “likes” you on Facebook – you’re out of the game.

Search engines are by no means on their way out. But, just like Facebook, they’re morphing into something different… something bigger. Both entities will probably look very different – again – in another five years. Until then, do yourself and your business a favor, and join the fray on Facebook. Set up a Fan Page and get yourself seen.

These stats speak volumes about what’s to come.

 Tags: facebook business, facebook google, facebook stats, fan pages, hitwise

What to Consider Before Developing a Mobile App

July 14th, 2010 by Erin Posted in Business, Small Business, Software Development | No Comments »

If your small business doesn’t have a mobile app yet… it’s time to start thinking about developing one.

In fact, some say the mobile app today is what the website was ten years ago –  one of those tools that’s almost a necessity for all businesses.

Of course, unlike a website, developing and designing an app is easier said than done. There are factors to consider. What kind of platform is involved? How will it be used? Who will use it? Is geo-location necessary?

These are all questions you – as a business owner – must take into account.

Thanks to Christina Warren’s article on designing mobile apps here are 5 things to consider before you begin the design process.

1. Mobile app or mobile Website?

Do you need a mobile application, a mobile website, or both? Before even starting the design process, you need to figure out what format or formats are best suited for your goals. Sometimes this can be really easy. For example, if you want to build a utility or game, you may be better served building a native application rather than worrying about how different mobile browsers will interpret your content.

Other times, the distinction isn’t as clear. For instance, at Mashable, we have both a mobile optimized website and applications for the iPhone and iPad. The mobile optimized site is available on a variety of devices, while the iPhone and iPad apps are designed to provide a more full experience to our users on those platforms. Because Mashable has a tech savvy readership, it makes sense for us to have our own standalone mobile app. However, depending on the app idea or business at hand, a mobile app may not be fitting.

Here are some questions to think about when deciding between an application and a mobile-optimized website:
Do you already have a full-featured website? If the answer is yes, how many of those features are you looking to integrate into the app? If your app is going to be largely a re-creation of your website, you may want to focus on creating a mobile site first.
Is this an app that can be used without an Internet connection? Some examples include note-taking or calculator apps. If so, a mobile application makes more sense.
Are you going to be integrating with other parts of the mobile operating system, like the dialer, the GPS and the mail client? If this is the case, consider building a native app.

2. Consider where the app will be used.

Once you’ve decided to make a native mobile app, you’ll want to consider where your application is most likely going to be used. This is important because where and how an application is used can directly impact how it can be designed.

For instance, if you have an application that is going to be used while walking around  a geo-location app or an app that takes advantage of a device’s GPS  making sure that core app functions are easy to see and access is very important.

Likewise, if your app is used to sell products or services, make sure that the price and the “buy” or “add to cart” buttons are large enough so that they can be easily accessed.

If you have designed an app that may be used while sitting on a train or in a stationary spot, make sure that text is readable and legible and that it is easy to move through content.

3. Be mindful of screen sizes.

Even on the same mobile platform, screen sizes and resolutions can vary based on device type. For instance, the screen size and resolution on the HTC Incredible is different than that on the HTC EVO 4G. Consequently, for an application to have a consistent look and feel across both devices and across a variety of other devices, user interface elements and graphics need to be scalable.

Likewise, the iPhone 4 sports a higher resolution screen than the displays on the iPhone, iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. However, because the big difference is in pixel density, the same amount of screen real estate is used. Basically, two pixels on the old iPhone displays equals one point on the new retina display. Josh Clark, author of the fantastic new book Tapworthy: Designing Great iPhone Apps, has written a must-read post about designing for the iPhone 4’s retina display.

The Android Developers site has a great guide for supporting multiple screens on Android and a look at how to best achieve screen independence so that your apps will run and display properly on a number of different display types.

The Android Developers site also has tips for how to test your app in different resolutions with an emulator.

4. Don’t stray from existing user interface conventions.

On desktop computers, there are certain user interface elements that make a Windows app a Windows app or a Mac OS X app a Mac app. There are user interface conventions tailored for mobile apps as well. While you don’t have to follow these guidelines 100% of the time, sticking with consistent methods of displaying data and interacting with content will make your app easier to pick up by end-users. Following these conventions will also ensure that your app is consistent with the other applications already on a mobile device.

Each major mobile platform has documented user interface guidelines. Apple, for example, has a very extensive overview of iPhone Human Interface Guidelines, detailing and offering examples of standard UI conventions that should be considered when building an iPhone app.

While not nearly as complete, the Android UI team has its own User Interface Guidelines, complete with overviews of icon, widget, menu, and activity and task design guidelines.

Likewise, RIM has a complete section on its site for UI Guidelines for BlackBerry devices, including sections on touch screen BlackBerry devices, the different theming systems available for BlackBerry, and how to handle the trackball or touchpad.

5. Design for touch.

In almost all cases, mobile apps are going to be used while in someone’s hand. Therefore, designing your mobile app around touch and ergonomics is very important.

Think about how you hold your phone in your hand. Now, think about where you thumb sits. That’s why many applications have main menus and selectors at the bottom of the screen and content near the top of the screen. Apps with that type of layout are designed for touch, and yours should be too.

Beyond button layout, think about how you want to indicate touch feedback  physically or visually. While the BlackBerry Storm tried the whole clickable screen thing, the truth is, haptic feedback (such as vibrations), while great for games or for alerts, doesn’t usually work very well for touch-based devices like mobile phones.

Instead, use visual cues to show that an item is either touchable or has been touched. For instance, think about how the various keys on the iPhone keyboard grow in size when you touch them. That increase in size is feedback.

Lastly, designing your apps so that they take advantage of gestures, like swiping forward and back, pinching to zoom and pulling-down to refresh, can add a lot of usability to your applications without taking up tons of space for a designated button.

Sure, when it comes to developing mobile applications – anything goes.

But with a little careful planning and ingenuity your next app won’t only be “new”…. it’ll be killer!

 Tags: designing an app, designing mobile apps, developing a mobile app, mobile application