Sunday, November 27, 2005
My online business toolbox
The web is a wonderful thing nowadays. I'm developing my entire business plan from home for free. This includes market stats, competitive research, retail locations, as well as the actual composition of the document itself. I'm going to list the various free online software I've been putting to good use to date.
Backpack. This is the glue that brings it all together. I maintain my todo lists and keep all my notes on my account. I keep all relevant links and sources there too. They make it easy to format all my data, most usefully in their simple table creation method. Furthermore, integrating Writeboard allows me to compose all my documents regardless of which computer I'm using. I'll of course use a word processor (Open Office) for the final product, simply exporting my Writeboard documents.
Google Local. I've composed a detailed map of Sudbury on my computer. Using Google I'm mapping out where all my competition is located, the population densities, average household incomes around town, etc, etc. Which brings me to...
My Sudbury. I intially wasn't fond of this website. However, it conveniently groups all the relevant local business recources in one location. I don't have to search for hours for statistics and market research, as it's all available there, for free.
Blogger. Of course, I'm using blogger right now to document my development process. This serves as an excellet repository for all my ideas, without clogging up my workspace. It will hopefully also serve as a marketing tool as I approach the grand opening. Blogs in general have helped me tremedously in terms of gaining a free business education. Thanks blogosphere.
Google Alerts. Using RSS I can now keep track of news on my competition, my distributors, possible opportunities, all without spending an enormous amount of time searching for the info. It comes to me. Now, I'm not saying this is effective for corporate espionage. But for small businesses, it's a great way to stay on top of things.
eBay. Now this is obviously an exception to my free rule. But, eBay is helping me raise my startup funds by letting me sell a bunch of stuff I don't really need (a couple of guitars, amps, maybe an old PC or two). Investors and banks like it when you invest some of your own money, and this is a painless way of doing just that.
Finally, Ruby on Rails. This framework is going to help me develop my entire inventory system and e-commerce. It's obviously just a component, but it's the key to my success I think. We'll see in the coming months how that goes.
All of this boils to me developing my business without spending a dime to date. This isn't because I don't think business development is worth the money, of course it is! But what kind of business person wouldn't take advantage of all the resources already at their disposal before coughing up the dough? ¶ 2:59 PM
Backpack. This is the glue that brings it all together. I maintain my todo lists and keep all my notes on my account. I keep all relevant links and sources there too. They make it easy to format all my data, most usefully in their simple table creation method. Furthermore, integrating Writeboard allows me to compose all my documents regardless of which computer I'm using. I'll of course use a word processor (Open Office) for the final product, simply exporting my Writeboard documents.
Google Local. I've composed a detailed map of Sudbury on my computer. Using Google I'm mapping out where all my competition is located, the population densities, average household incomes around town, etc, etc. Which brings me to...
My Sudbury. I intially wasn't fond of this website. However, it conveniently groups all the relevant local business recources in one location. I don't have to search for hours for statistics and market research, as it's all available there, for free.
Blogger. Of course, I'm using blogger right now to document my development process. This serves as an excellet repository for all my ideas, without clogging up my workspace. It will hopefully also serve as a marketing tool as I approach the grand opening. Blogs in general have helped me tremedously in terms of gaining a free business education. Thanks blogosphere.
Google Alerts. Using RSS I can now keep track of news on my competition, my distributors, possible opportunities, all without spending an enormous amount of time searching for the info. It comes to me. Now, I'm not saying this is effective for corporate espionage. But for small businesses, it's a great way to stay on top of things.
eBay. Now this is obviously an exception to my free rule. But, eBay is helping me raise my startup funds by letting me sell a bunch of stuff I don't really need (a couple of guitars, amps, maybe an old PC or two). Investors and banks like it when you invest some of your own money, and this is a painless way of doing just that.
Finally, Ruby on Rails. This framework is going to help me develop my entire inventory system and e-commerce. It's obviously just a component, but it's the key to my success I think. We'll see in the coming months how that goes.
All of this boils to me developing my business without spending a dime to date. This isn't because I don't think business development is worth the money, of course it is! But what kind of business person wouldn't take advantage of all the resources already at their disposal before coughing up the dough? ¶ 2:59 PM
