More Business Apps and Websites: Producteev.com

Vector notepad template (horizontal)Recently, the internet has been ablaze with new products and services designed to organize your professional life and make your business team more productive. In a sense, choosing your organizational platform is actually a new step—in and of itself—in becoming organized. In our most recent article on business apps and websites, we’ll try to cut through some of this clutter with a brief introduction to one of the most popular new productivity apps: Producteev.

What exactly does Producteev do? Well, it’s essentially a very fancy way of managing to-do lists. We’ve looked at similar office networking software, such as Yammer.com, in past articles. Producteev is somewhat unique in that it seeks to carve out task-management in general—and to-do lists in particular—as its niche and do it the best.

What does Producteev do particularly well? Producteev prides itself on two features: it’s easy to use and it plays well with others. This is important if you’re working with a team to accomplish complicated projects. Producteev credits its ease of use to its clean interface and use of labels and reminders, and it boasts task and file sharing, real-time tracking tools, and calendar, Instant Message, and email integration.

Pricing is based on the number of users in your “workspace.” The first two users are free. Beyond that, you pay a diminishing rate for each new workspace, beginning at $20/month for each new workspace.  In essence, that means that the more powerful collaboration elements will cost you more to enact in a larger workgroup.

In a rapidly growing and changing world of task-management services, Producteev is one of several new option worth considering.

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Google AdWords

Internet SearchBy now, most people are so used to seeing the “sponsored links” on Google searches (and Google products, such as YouTube, Gmail, and countless others) that they seem to merge with the modern landscape, similar to the billboards on a freeway or cityscape. In truth, this form of advertising, officially called “Google AdWords,” is a powerful and flexible new way to promote yourself or your business’s professional offerings. There are several key features to understand about Google AdWords:

1. You only pay when a user clicks on your link. Google played a major role in the now common “Pay-Per-Click” system, in which the advertiser pays when the user clicks on the ad and lands on their site. This gives the advertiser the ability to set a daily budget. When a certain number of clicks has been reached (each at a predetermined dollar value based on the popularity of the keywords used to target the ad), the ad is no longer displayed for the remainder of the day. This system allows the advertiser to know in advance exactly how much money to budget and how many visitors to expect on the site as a result of the campaign.

2. Google is a network. While we still often think of Google as a website, it is now a complex network, comprising not only the Google-owned sites mentioned above, but also independent sites that choose to monetize their services by reserving a space on their page for Google to display their ads.  The “Google Display Network” allows advertisers to choose what kinds of ads to display (text, picture, flash video, etc) based on the page context in which they will appear.

3. Google is scalable. Google offers viable marketing options for the smallest and largest businesses and everything in between. If your company or private enterprise is looking to expand its operating base, its likely that Google has something of value for you.

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FreshBooks: Is QuickBooks Still The Best Accounting Option?

stack of receiptsWhile there are many software solutions for personal and business accounting, QuickBooks has long dominated among the industry standards. However, in a trend we’re now seeing across many sectors and industries, new web-based startup companies—which are often leaner, cheaper, simpler, and more flexible—are giving the old giants a run for their money.

One hot new company is FreshBooks. Originally launched as “2ndSite” in 2003, and rebranded with its current name in 2006, FreshBooks is a Canada-based software solution that has been ranked as Canada’s #1 Web 2.0 Pioneer. FreshBooks is emblematic of the “Web 2.0” approach to doing business: They rely heavily on social media both in the functionality and marketing of their product, enabling users to join and take advantage of an online community; they have more flexible pricing options; they add a fun, creative, and artistic flair to the otherwise dry and boring world of bookkeeping.

FreshBooks mainly offers professional invoicing and receipt tracking, mobile phone integration, national and international payment options for your clients, which means that their services only cover a portion of what QuickBooks does. Most customers use FreshBooks as an add-on—not a replacement—to QuickBooks. However, whereas Quickbooks is a software suite that generally costs companies several hundred dollars to upgrade every year or two, FreshBooks has a monthly fee of $20-$40 depending on the scope of the services required. It should be noted that QuickBooks offers a similar, “QuickBooks  Online” program that starts around $13 per month, so if you’re in the market for online Bookkeeping, it’s definitely worth comparing QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, and FreshBooks to see which program or combination is best for your business.

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New at Work: How to Have a Fun Lunch

businesswoman eating sandwichYou’ve just begun your new job, and it feels a little like the first day of high school. You’ve had a couple awkward handshakes, some confusion as to where the best bathroom is, and worst of all, you don’t know who to eat lunch with. What if you end up eating alone in your cubicle or walking sadly to the most convenient (yet of course grossest) deli on the corner? Never fear. There are ways around this first-day plight. Some advice:

Initiate. Find out who’s on your level in the office hierarchy. Likely, your manager will introduce you around and you can then figure out who does what. Then ask them an intro question like, “What do you usually do for coffee around here?” Or, to address an earlier problem, “Where’s the best bathroom?” Once you’ve got your initial answer, ask, “What’s your typical lunch strategy?” Take it from there.

Offer suggestions. A little later in the week, offer your own two cents. “I read about this fantastic little Mexican place down the street from here. I can drive if you guys are interested in going.” You’re easily transitioning into a contributing member of the group.

Make other plans. If you don’t want to take the risk of getting left behind by your co-workers, make plans with others. Ask your sister if she wants to get a bite of sushi during your break, or volunteer to do the grocery shopping for your significant other. If no one asks, someone undesireable asks, or a cubicle-mate clearly takes pity on you, you can assert yourself as a capable being from the get-go. “Oh, I have plans today,” you can respond. “But want to have lunch tomorrow?” Now, lunches are on your terms.

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Business Apps and Websites: Expensify

stack of receiptsFrom their tongue-in-cheek motto, “Expense Reports That Don’t Suck!” to their easy-to-use website and mobile phone apps, Expensify.com is changing the way we deal with a very dry, serious duty: creating and filing expense reports.  If you’ve ever had to deal with tracking expenses for a business trip, managing multiple business accounts, or dealing with earmarked funds, such as tax-free donations to non-profits, you know what a time-consuming headache these expense reports can be.

Enter Expensify. Expensify is essentially a web-based application that syncs with your bank/credit card accounts and uses your smartphone in place of filing paper receipts. Expensify offers four essential levels of service, so there is a payment tier available businesses of many different structures and sizes:

The “Core” account is free. It allows you to take pictures on your mobile phone of any paper receipts you receive from business expenses. The software then scans these receipts and withdraws the pertinent information, such as price, expense category, date, and location. In fact, for expenses under $75, the program can create a digital receipt by directly syncing with your credit card, eliminating the need for paper receipts of petty expenses. There is an absolute limit of 10 receipt scans per month.

The “Professional” account allows you to pay for additional receipt scans ($.20 each), establish automated systems like gmail filters and sync with the Freshbooks software.

The “Team” account allows all of these rules and features to be shared among your entire team and takes care of automating all of your expense policies, as well as syncing with additional software options. The cost is $5 per team member when the expense report is created.

The “Corporate” account allows for very sophisticated integration into your company’s accounting software framework, as well as features such as digital signatures, corporate expense policy enforcement, and the ability to create automated direct deposits to reimburse your employees. The cost is $10 per employee per month.

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Tweet Etiquette

Modern Business Man TextingTwitter has quickly become one of the most-used forms of social media around. It’s an online platform that allows people to connect via 140-character posts. It is quick, streamlined, and a fantastic way to make professional connections. If you’re new to the service, you may not be aware of the basic Twitter guidelines. So, we’ve put together a quick and dirty list of dos and don’ts:

Do state your profession in your bio. When you follow people, you do yourself an easy favor by mentioning your job in your Twitter “headline.” If your workplace has a Twitter handle, link to them. For example, you might write, “Account Planner @favoriteagency,” in addition to whatever defining characteristics you choose to mention. If your Twitter objective is professional network expansion, you may decide to keep your bio simple, with only your job title. That can be enough, just make sure you’re giving potential followers a point of identification from the get-go.

Do follow accounts related to your field. If you’re all about video games, follow Kotaku or Ars Technica. If you’re an organic farmer, check out The Community Farm and Organic News. Chances are, there will be a long list of fellow businesses and individuals that connect you to your desired field. When you follow them, you’ll be instantly informed on your professional world as soon as you log on to Twitter!

Don’t overdo it. Aim to tweet three to four times a day. More than that, and you clog your followers’ feed. Less, and you become irrelevant. But still, less is better than more. Consider your audience, and avoid bombarding them with your thoughts.

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Diverting Gossip

women eavesdropping through a wallPeople talk. No matter how loving your workplace, you’re likely to run into a situation where one colleague talks negatively behind the other’s back. We all wish we’d left these situations behind with football games and prom queens, but inevitably, gossip seeps into most communities. Call it natural human curiosity and social engagement, if you will.

However, the presence of pervasive gossip doesn’t mean you have to participate. Instead, there are several ways in which you can divert the flow of salacious, snarky information in your office. Our guide:

Don’t laugh. Maybe sometimes, around the proverbial water cooler, you feel better about your gossip habits because you don’t actually contribute any mean tidbits. But if you laugh or react in general, you give the talkers reason to continue. Next time gossip rears its head, make your excuses and exit the space. It’s hard for people to reveal juicy details when they have no perceptive audience.

Keep it casual. If your office is home to a persistent group of gossips, you may realize their social group is not for you. Keep things cordial, hang out with them at lunch, but keep your more intimate or confidential conversations for a group of people outside of work. That way, you’ll be able to focus better in your professional environment, and you save yourself the bother of repeating all your social news twice!

Have a frank talk. This is the boldest move, but also possibly the most effective. Pull the primary gossip perpetrator aside and tell it straight: “I’d like to connect with you, but it’s hard for me to do that when I hear you making negative judgments about these people with whom we both work in close proximity. Can we talk without falling into that mode of conversation?”

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Finding A Mentor

MentorIn centuries past, skilled labor was learned through apprenticeship and guild systems in which younger workers were apprenticed to a master. This system is ostensibly long-gone in many, if not most, fields, but the principles still apply. No matter your field, you still need a grand master to guide you and a guild to support you, especially when you are in the early stages of your career. Here are some tips to find their modern equivalents:

Finding a mentor: These days, finding a mentor usually means identifying a more senior-level worker whom you admire. In most cases, experienced workers are flattered that you are taking an interest in them and asking for their advice. Try approaching the one who impresses you the most, and offer to do something for him or her in exchange for his or her advice. For example, you might say, “Mr. So-and-so, I really admire the work you do. As someone still in the early stages of my career, I could really use some advice from someone with your level of experience, and in exchange I’d like to take you out for lunch [or coffee, drinks, etc.]” If your potential mentor turns you down gently, ask if there’s another colleague they’d recommend that you ask.

Finding a community: Most professions have trade organizations of one kind or another. They may be unions, professional groups, industry organizations, etc. If there is no such group in your field, you can still join loosely affiliated groups or even your local Chamber of Commerce. The point is to acquire the support and expertise of a network in a related field.
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How To Apply When You’re Overqualified

ResumeOne problem that has increased dramatically throughout the recent recession is the epidemic of high-level workers who have lost work and have not been able to find lower-level work because they appear to be overqualified. If you find yourself in this difficult position—where you have to convince your interviewer that you’re looking to stay when in fact you regard the position as temporary—then consider our advice:

Redefine your presentation. The trick here is to match what you have to offer to what the hiring manager needs, rather than to fluff yourself up with all of your degrees, honors, and awards. You should certainly mention your work experience and your education on your resume, but put the focus on what you can do, not on what you expect from your prospective employer. This will certainly require preparing a new resume for each and every job you apply for.

Show off your versatility. Present your interviewer with specific examples of jobs where you demonstrated the flexibility and teamwork required to work in a variety of positions. Since you’re obviously downgrading your career, flexibility and teamwork will be major concerns for your prospective employer. The burden is on you to prove that you work well with others in a variety of positions. Always connect your qualifications to concrete job experiences and illustrate how well those experiences would carry over to the work you are currently applying for.

Expect less. Being overqualified means, by definition, that you’ll be getting paid for less than you’re worth. This is a painful and unfair situation, but in order to make it work, you must convince your interviewer that you understand the compensation involved and are nevertheless completely dedicated the job (even more so than another, younger worker, for whom the work would be a step up).

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Networking Tips (Part 1)

Business woman and virtual community.Everyone seems to agree that networking is an essential ingredient in landing that next big job offer, but there is persistent confusion about what exactly networking is and is not, and how to go about it. Here are some practical tips to set you straight on your path to successful networking.

1. Networking is a web, not a straight line. This model has several implications. First of all, it’s a two-way street. Often, approaching a potential ally is easier and more successful when you have something to offer them, rather than simply breaking down their door to ask them to help you. If there’s nothing that you have to offer a potential contact, for example if you are reaching out to someone who is much more established than you, there are still ways you can keep things mutual. At the very least, offer your services in a humble manner, and honor the other party for his or her expertise. Secondly, networking is community building, not simply trying to get things out of people. You will get much further if you ease yourself into a community by confidently, yet kindly, asking each contact if there is anyone else they can recommend to help you to attain your professional goals. Again, barging in and asking for something might close more doors than it opens, as will taking favors without offering anything back.

2. Make your presentation clean, clear, and professional. You’ve probably heard of the 30-second elevator speech, and it’s a great place to start. Make sure you can introduce yourself and make your pitch to anyone, any time, in under 30 seconds. Next, make a professional business card and a website that shows off your skills, portfolio, and CV. Without these basic components, you’re not yet ready to network.

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