December 18, 2009
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Affordably Build Your Brand
FedEx Global Brand Management Director Monica Skipper shares a cost-effective way to build a bigger brand for your small business.
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More and more individuals are making the switch from PC to Mac. Even in the business world, more employees are requesting the option to work on a Mac, and plenty of businesses are full-Mac shops. For small businesses especially, the ease of use, ability to run Windows if you need it, and added security (spyware, malware and viruses just don’t exist on the Mac the same way they do on Windows-based PCs) can make a compelling argument for running Mac OS X.
And while the Mac might be best associated with creative work, there are plenty of great business and productivity apps available for the platform too. Here are five applications that can help boost your business productivity.
OmniFocus – There are lots of good all-around task management applications for Mac OS X, but OmniFocus is one of the best for the small business owner. Building heavily on David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” book and methodology, OmniFocus makes it easy to capture and define tasks from practically any application so that you can keep things organized and focused. You can automatically sync with iCal and sync your OmniFocus database between Macs or your iPhone or iPod touch. The companion iPhone app makes it easy to keep track and add new items to your inbox while you’re on the go. [$79.99]
TextExpander – If you find yourself typing many of the same words or phrases every day, you need to look at getting a text expansion program. Programs like TextExpander (my favorite) work by automatically inserting predefined text after you hit a set of keys. For instance, if I want to write “With best regards” I can just type “wbr” instead. You can see how New York Times columnist David Pogue uses text expansions in his workflow here. [$29.99]
Evernote – Evernote isn’t a Mac-specific tool, it’s a service you can use on the Mac, PC, from the web and on a ton of mobile devices. Evernote lets you capture content from almost any place, organize it and then access it later from any device. It’s a great add-on to any professional’s workflow. [Free; premium option is $5 a month/$45 a year]
BusyCal – BusyCal describes itself as iCal Pro and that’s exactly what it is. Using an interface that is similar to Apple’s own iCal, BusyCal lets you seamlessly share enhanced calendars across your local network and sync with Google Calendar. Need to make a change to a group calendar? Do it on BusyCal and it will be instantly updated everywhere. You can also embed graphics, to-do lists and sticky notes. It syncs with Google Calendar without limiting you to 5 shared calendars, which is a nice touch. [$40 per computer, 20% discount when buying multiple copies]
Bento – Bento is from FileMaker and is designed as their personal database tool. It’s also a powerful, easy to use tool for small businesses that want to create attractive and robust databases. Using Bento you can use pre-defined templates or create your own to link together different documents, photos, videos and contacts. You can use Bento with your existing spreadsheets for beta data-entry, searching and to add related-data fields. The latest version of Bento also lets you share with up to 5 other users. [$49/$99 for Family Pack (5 licenses)]
Image courtesy of iStockphoto, s_christina
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Jill Fehrenbacher 2 years 5 months and 5 days ago
These are great suggestions! I just might give one a try..But I do wonder if there are any free alternatives with which I could get started. Any suggestions, fellow readers?