We essentially heard this cry from one of our recent clients. They had a website that was barely being held together with spit & bailing wire and was prone to crashing if looked at sideways. They had at least three different eCommerce solutions that didn’t talk to their website. Add to that two different membership management solutions and as if that was not enough, a completely separate email solution to send out their newsletter and other communications. I’m probably missing something on the list but you get the point.

In business, there are many times when you find yourself answering the same questions over and over. Some businesses put FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) on their website and that helps some.

But what about the people who insist on calling instead of checking your site?

Marketing your business these days is all about the content you produce that’s valuable to your prospects and customers. Some days the content creation flows like an over-the-banks river, other days barely a trickle. I’ve got a free solution for you!

Why, you may be asking.

There are the obvious reasons - to collect money and to create a community. Ah, but it goes much deeper than that...

In case you haven’t seen them, Cookie has done two iPhone commercials highlighting Apple’s “Hey Siri” functionality. I think they are very funny and very well done, but I love Cookie Monster (and cookies).

What makes these ads so cool…

There are so many ways to create and use video, that I’ll never get them all….but what I can do is to give you some examples of how to fit video into your business, and what technologies are used in those examples.

First, is what we did for the documentation of our JoomFuse product. We used screen capture recordings with voice over. We used ScreenFlow to record, edit, and highlight the resulting video and then export the resulting video (Camtasia is another similar product to ScreenFlow).

You can’t focus on a goal that you haven’t set yet or that doesn’t motivate you, so that’s the first step. What are you setting your goal for? Yourself? Your business? A new product or service?

We developed a simple tool to help our clients through the process, which we will share with you today.

My granddaughter and I love to read a wonderfully illustrated children’s book (more on the book later) about a little boy whose grandfather once sewed him a special blanket. Over time, the beloved blanket grew worn and well-used. The disappointed little boy went to his talented grandfather who cut the blanket down and made the child a new coat.

Time went by and the coat became worn so the little boy took it to his grandfather who cut it down into… well, you get the drift. Eventually the grandfather only had enough cloth left to make a button for the boy.

Are you as crazy busy, day in, day out, as we are? Work, spending time with family, getting the yard ready for summer, hobbies, exercise, household chores, travel… shouldn’t there be more than 24 hours in a day?? Focus, organization, and productivity have a huge impact on our lives and even our peace of mind. Take a look at these 8 amazing apps and tools.

If you are (or were) a fan of The Sound of Music, you might remember the lyrics: “Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start.”

The same applies in your business.

Too many business owners make the mistake of developing their product or marketing strategy before doing the first critical step…