Colorado Bankruptcy Training

Tips to Reduce Your Overhead Costs to Almost ZERO

I am sure you have heard people say: “You get what you pay for.” This is the reason many of us are afraid to take advantage of free stuff. However, the internet changed all that. Excellent free stuff is offered by millions of companies. The reason being that they believe that once you try their products and services, you will sign up for other paid products and services they offer. It ends up being a win/win situation for both you and the company.

However, with so much free stuff out there it is easy to get overwhelmed. That is why I have taken the time to visit every website below and make sure it is something that could be useful for your business. Of course, I do not know exactly what tools you need, so you will need to select the free tools that benefit your particular business. Regardless, this is a great list to begin your search for good free stuff.

SUGGESTION FOR USE

Because many of the links below are for new technology, you may visit the website and have no idea how it would benefit you and your business. Therefore, I suggest you take the time and tour the website. Look for links or videos that show you how to use the free tool provided on the website. Most of them have an introductory video on the front page. Not only will you get an excellent free education in the latest technologies, but the door will be opened for you to learn new ways to market your business. Either way, you will be a step ahead of 90% of planet earth by taking the time to read, understand and learn about all the new business technologies provided below.

NATIONWIDE SEARCHES ON PACER

1. Visit https://pcl.uscourts.gov/search
2. Login to PACER with your login and password
3. Click on VERIFY LOGIN
4. Begin your exploration

COMMUNICATION AND EMAIL

Web conferencing; view and share your computer screen with others
http://www.dimdim.com

Voice to text service for creating notes, lists, emails and text messages
http://jott.com/

Talk face to face and send video messages
http://www.oovoo.com/

Instant message a group of people, chat and video call application
http://www.paltalk.com/

Send files to anyone with advanced options like password protection and certified delivery
http://www.yousendit.com/

WEB DESIGN OPTIONS

Joomla – used by the major Fortune 500 companies
http://www.joomla.org/

Joomla Training Videos
http://www.myjoomlacast.com/

Joomla Templates
http://www.joomla-templates.com/

Joomla PlugIns
http://extensions.joomla.org/

WordPress (Highly Recommended)
http://wordpress.com/

WordPress Templates
http://wordpressthemesbase.com/

WordPress Plugins
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/

WordPress Video Tutorials
http://www.youtube.com/user/mcbuzzvideo

WEB HOSTING OPTIONS

Blue Host (Highly Recommended)
http://www.bluehost.com

Host Gator
http://www.hostgator.com

E-COMMERCE SOLUTIONS

(Recommended) Electronic Payments Systems
http://www.eps-na.com/

CardService International
http://cardserviceinternational.com/

Google Checkout
http://checkout.google.com/sell/

2Checkout.Com
http://www.2checkout.com/

Volusion Shopping Cart
http://www.volusion.com/

PHP Shopping Cart Software
http://www.shop-script.com/

ONLINE COMPUTER STORAGE

Free 50 gig of online storage and backup for all file types
http://www.adrive.com/

Data compression utility. Create, open and extract Zip, TAR, GZip and 7-Zip.
http://jzip.com/

MEDIA AND VIDEO

Open source software for cross platform audio recording and editing
http://audacity.sourceforge.net/

Video blogging, podcasting and video sharing
http://blip.tv/

Radio network for you to host your own online talk show
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/

The next generation photo and video sharing
http://dropshots.com/

Media distribution services for blogs and RSS feeds
http://www.feedburner.com/

Automatically cleans your movies with advanced video technology. It makes movies from your mobile phone or digital camera look great.
http://www.fixmymovie.com/

Free image and photo editing software for computers that run Windows
http://www.getpaint.net/

Free video conversion platform
http://seesmic.com/

Share and embed slideshow or turn PowerPoint slides and PDFs into web pages
http://www.slideshare.net/

Video editing and video sharing that you can directly burn to a DVD
http://videospin.com/

MARKETING AND NETWORKING TOOLS

Blog publishing tool
https://www.blogger.com/start

Free social collaboration and networking for groups
http://www.collectivex.com/

Entrepreneur Magazine’s social networking site
http://econnect.entrepreneur.com/

Open source content management system for discovering, rating and sharing content
http://www.pligg.com/

An easy way to explore geographic data through maps, tables and reports
http://www.policymap.com/

Low cost Microsoft Word templates. Use these to design brochures, business cards, and much more. They are perfect for attorneys as well as virtual bankruptcy assistants.
http://www.layoutready.com/

A place to discover and support the hottest early stage companies and university innovation
http://younoodle.com/

An excellent place to learn how to market to your audience effectively through reviews and advising
http://yourpitchsucks.com/

OFFICE AND PRODUCTIVITY

A new online word processor, perfect for writing reports, proposals, and anything else you need to access online or work on with others. It looks and behaves like your normal desktop word processor, but it operates inside a web browser, so there’s no installation required
http://www.adobe.com/acom/buzzword/

Get a logo designed for your law firm or business for only $69.97. I have personally used the service and I highly recommend it. The designers are very good and provide fast service.
http://www.logo-design-studio.com/

Word processing software that can read and open Word files but you do not need Microsoft Word on your system. This is a robust “alternative” to Microsoft Word. Download a free copy at:
http://www.atlantiswordprocessor.com/

Create online databases on the web and share them
http://dabbledb.com/

Online invoicing and time tracking service
http://www.freshbooks.com/

Shareable calendar and schedule organizer
http://calendar.google.com

Collaborative word processor and spreadsheet applications
http://docs.google.com

A web based form builder. Build your form from easy to use templates and copy the code to your web page.
http://jotform.com/

Open source office software suite for word processing, spreadsheets and more
http://www.openoffice.org/

Purchase notebooks, laptops and computer systems in 3-5 monthly payments with no interest and no credit check. All you need is a credit or debit card and your monthly payments are deducted automatically.
http://www.qvc.com

A simple way to create and publish custom online surveys
http://www.surveymonkey.com/

Freedom to access all your documents and update them in real time from a variety of sources
http://www.thinkfree.com/

Web form builder for creating interactive forms.
http://wufoo.com/

Online backup for your computer. The first time you use this service it will take a LONG time to back up your system. Be prepared to let it run overnight.
http://www.carbonite.com/

Prove your typing skills and get a certificate for less than $10. This would be a good certificate to add to your portfolio.
http://www.typingtest.com/certificate.asp

A wide variety of office productivity tools including word processor, spreadsheet, online presentation, note taker, project management and much more
http://zoho.com/

OFFICE SUPPLIES

CD Duplication and High-Volume Printing
Beckman XMO
http://beckmanxmo.com/
Contact: Dave Schultz
376-D Morrison Road, Columbus, OH 43220
Phone: 614-864-2232

CD Jackets
C-Line Products
Self-Adhesive CD Holders
http://www.c-lineproducts.com/
search by Item No to find Item No. 70568

Green Packing Peanuts
http://www.uline.com
Item No. S-2573

Tyvek Envelopes Self-Seal
http://www.uline.com
Item No. S-5155

Tip: Order the envelopes with the packing peanuts and there is no shipping charge. Packing peanuts can also be purchased at any UPS store for about $40. Never purchase packing peanuts from Office Max or Staples because the cost is astronomical.

Click N Ship Labels
http://www.onlinelabels.com
Product No: OL159WX
Standard White Matte (do not get glossy or ink will smear going through the mail system)
250 sheets, 500 labels per box

Tip: The USPS also sells these from the USPS website; but the cost is much higher.

Static Cling E-Decals
http://www.edecals.com/custom/index.html
Design online and they ship to you for very low prices. Put your company name on your
motor vehicle windows.

Low Cost Office Supply Stores
http://www.paperdirect.com/Plastic-Envelopes
http://www.technologysurplusdepot.com/
http://www.wholesalewarehousesupply.com/
http://www.discountofficeitems.com/
http://www.cheapofficesupplies.com/

Cool and Weird Jewel Cases for CDs
http://www.sleevetown.com/super-jewel-boxes.shtml
http://www.blissweddingsmarket.com/store/000147.htm

CD and DVD Mailers and Wallets
http://univenture.com/

Mailing Lists for Marketing Campaigns
http://www.bestmailing.com/Business.aspx

Promotional Items
http://www.discountmugs.com/nc/category/promotional-pens/
http://www.inkhead.com/wedding-fans+church-fans-_ca-382-1.html
http://www.artpromos.com/dept.asp?id=9&pg=11

Collection Agency for Unpaid Customers
http://www.russellagency.net/home.html

Plastic Bags
http://www.janway.com/economy-plastic-bags.htm
http://www.absorbentprinting.com

Full-Color Bookmarks
http://www.onlineprinthouse.com

Blank Printable CD and DVD Media
http://www.discmakers.com

Memo Pads
http://www.adproductstogo.com/
Product ID No: NC52
Custom Printed Memo Pads, Size: 3.5 x 8.5, Cost: 24¢ each or
http://www.notepadsnationwide.com

Business Size Envelopes
http://www.actionenvelope.com/65912.html
Product: #10 Regular – 24#

Promotional Pens
http://www.amsterdamprinting.com/

PROJECT MANAGEMENT TOOLS

Remotely support and access digital information
http://secure.logmein.com

Easily manage your customers’ project info and allow your customers to see up-to-date project information at any time
http://projectstat.us/

Helps to keep projects organized, create milestones to stay on task and much more
http://project2manage.com/

The complete way to manage your tasks and never forget anything else again
http://www.rememberthemilk.com/

Social networking, wiki workspaces, weblogs, social messaging and spreadsheets
http://www.socialtext.com/

Build and host community oriented websites. Start a group today and enjoy the benefits of online collaboration tools such as discussion forums, calendar, wiki and blogs.
http://teamtask.com/

Free web conferencing tool that allows anyone, anywhere to instantly share their desktop and ideas online with others
http://yugma.com/

SECURITY

Open source laptop tracking and recovery software
http://adeona.cs.washington.edu/

Anti virus protection for your computer; much better than consumer software such as Norton.
http://www.avg.com/

Remove harmful adware, spyware, trojans, dialers and worms.
http://www.adware-2009.com/v2/

WEB TOOLS

Set up an alert for your name as well as your company and monitor your marketing progress. Also keep updated any time your name or company appears on the internet.
http://www.google.com/alerts

A platform of applications to integrate social features into a website
http://www.kickapps.com/

The world’s largest widget directory and gallery
http://www.widgetbox.com/

The world’s most comprehensive, information rich, easy to use, real-time Web tracking and analysis application
http://www.woopra.com/

Establishes connections to any PC all around the world within just a few seconds. You can remote control your partner’s PC as if you were sitting right in front of it
http://www.teamviewer.com/download/index.aspx

Lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings and even explore galaxies in the sky
http://earth.google.com/

A wide variety of cool Google applications for business
http://www.google.com/apps/

Firefox web browser. Much more secure that Internet Explorer.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/

Thunderbird email application. Much more reliable and solid than Outlook.
http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/thunderbird/