15 Applications No Small Business Can Live Without

Small business owners often have to wear every hat; from marketer to webmaster, so when I came accross this article today, I thought that some of you might find it interesting. The article was aimed at online business, but I have used several of these applications in my day to day work at the chamber, and i belive small businesses in genreal could really work more efficiently with them.

Note: 

* Applications that I use

** Applications I have tried

1. WordPress* - Every online business should have a blog and WordPress is, by far, the most powerful blogging tool on the web today.

Alternative Resources:
Movable Type
Type Pad

2. Google Analytics* - Using a good analytics system is a must have for any online business. Spend some time learning how to read your site metrics and what they mean.

Alternative Resources:
Mint
Clicky

3. Basecamp* - Having a central place to organize and keep track of all your projects and notes goes a long way in making your life less stressful.

Alternative Resources:
Lighthouse
No Kahuna

4. Freshbooks - Because many freelancers are service oriented, it is essential to have some sort of invoicing system in place.

Alternative Resources:
Blink Sale
Ronin

5. Twitter* - Having a Twitter account is almost as important as having a blog these days. Twitter is easy to use and free to setup. Why wouldn’t you use it?

Alternative Resources:
Facebook*
Friendfeed**

6. Crowd Science - This is a cool tool that will randomly ask your visitors to take a poll to help you gather demographics about your visitors. It never hurts to learn more about your sites visitors.

Alternative Resources:
Get Satisfaction

7. Mozy - Its is never a bad idea to have some sort of backup in place. Mozy, makes backing up your files affordable and painless.

Alternative Resources:
iDrive
Carbonite

8. Google Webmaster Tools* - There are an amazing amount of tools here than can help you track your sites ROI, test designs, and much more.

9. E-Junkie - E-Junkie can be used for more than just selling products through affiliates, you can also use it to offer a reward system to your clients.

Alternative Resources:
iDev Affiliate 
All Affiliate Pro

10. Netvibes - It is easy to be overloaded with RSS feeds. Having a tool that lets you easily organize that information will make it easier for you to digest.

Alternative Resources:
iGoogle**
Page Flakes

11. WuFoo Form Builder - A good form builder app is always good to have an account with. You never know when you may want a new form, quiz, poll, etc.

Alternative Resources:
Form Site
Form Spring

12. Mail Chimp - Email campaign apps make it easier for you to send bulk emails to past clients, setup news letters, and send important notices to customers.

Alternative Resources:
iContact**
Constant Contact*

13. Skype** - Skype is the ultimate communication tool, especially if you have clients all over the world. It is the default IM/Phone choice for freelancers who work abroad.

Alternative Resources:
Sight Speed
Google Talk *

14. Alert Thingy** - Alert Thingy allows you to manage and update most of your social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, Basecamp, and more; all in one spot.

Alternative Resources:
Event Box
Friend Feed

15. Are My Sites Up - If you have a website, then there is no reason you shouldn’t sign up for this service. Its free and lets you know if your sites crash via emails and text messages.

I would like to add one more:

16. Google Apps  (For your Domain)* - Online, anywhere, company branded email, calendar, messaging, Intranet, & Google Docs.

Let me know what applications you use. I woudl love to hear from you.

Cross posted  @ http://blog.lakelandchamber.com