People who run a business alone often want it to appear bigger than it really is — as if it has teams of employees and unlimited resources. This is now more possible than ever thanks to some tools solopreneurs and other small businesses have at their disposal, giving them the reach and capabilities of far bigger companies.
Although technology can be a game-changer, David S. Garland, a business owner who is author of “Smarter, Faster, Cheaper” (Wiley, 2010), cautions it can also become overwhelming. Tools, he said, should be “simple, functional and really help the business.” Here are some of the tools and strategies he, Mr. Hale and others use to emulate — and compete against — much bigger companies:
Batchbook, which is a customer relationship management software for small business, MailChimp, a Web-based e-mail marketing platform that automatically generates and sends a follow-up e-mail to every lead, and Tungle.me, a free calendar-management tool that lets you create a calendar page that syncs with your calendar program and shows clients open times in your schedule without revealing information about other appointments, allow any small business to compete with larger companies and appear bigger than they are.
To read more of this article by Eilene Zimmerman click on the link below:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/business/smallbusiness/03sbiz.html?_r=1
