10 Tools to save you time

10 TOOLS TO
SAVE YOU TIME
RADICALLY STREAMLINE YOUR BUSINESS IN THE CLOUD

PATRICK MCNEIL - CREATIVE FREELANCER CONFERENCE 2012

DISCLAIMER

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edtechie/5187412748/


URL AT THE END


WHO AM I?
I AM PATRICK MCNEIL
1. Find me on pmcneil.com
or on twitter @designmeltdown

2. I am a freelance writer, designer, teacher and
web developer

3. I have worked in the web community for around
12 years now

4. I love to write books, talk about design and teach
designers about the web

5. I have a particular passion for automation,
streamlining and efficiency


A FEW THINGS
YOU SHOULD
KNOW ABOUT ME


#1 – I’M LAZY

http://www.flickr.com/photos/danenestos/1286054130/


#2 – I’M CHEAP
THOUGH NOT QUITE THAT CHEAP

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jhansensnaps/4392207673/


#3 – I’M NOT SO
CHEAP WHEN IT
COMES TO LAZINESS

$400,000 Beer bot

http://www.therichtimes.com/400000-beer-bringing-bot/


#4 – I WANT TO
MAXIMIZE THE
BENEFITS AND
MINIMIZE THE
PAINS OF SELF
EMPLOYMENT

MY GOAL IS TO
HELP MINIMIZE
YOUR PAIN
OR AT LEAST AMUSE YOU A BIT


MY SETUP
IT’S COMPLICATED


WORKING IN
THE CLOUD
BASIC CONCEPTS WHEN WORKING IN THE CLOUD
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nirak/644335254/sizes/z/in/photostream/

DEVICE
INDEPENDENCE


PAINLESS
UPGRADES
MOVE TO A NEW MACHINE WITH CONFIDENCE


CLOUD FRIENDLY
CLOUD APPS ARE INTERCONNECTED

1. Data exchange between apps
2. Mac and PC
3. Devices – tablets, phones and more

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nadaabdalla/3114586/


LET’S START
WITH THE BASICS
THE NECESSARY STARTING POINTS FOR CLOUD BASED EFFICIENCY


EMAIL
THE MOST BASIC BUSINESS TOOL


USE IMAP
NOT POP3


#1 GOOGLE APPS
HTTP://WWW.GOOGLE.COM/APPS/
1. Custom domains
2. Fully hosted
3. Web based
4. IMAP
5. Extendable
6. Mountains of interconnections
7. It’s FREE


GOOGLE APPS
PRICING


ACCOUNTING

http://www.flickr.com/photos/venndiagram/4445273071/in/photostream/


#2 LESS
ACCOUNTING
HTTP://LESSACCOUNTING.COM/
1. Automation & integration
2. Affordable
3. Makes accounting not so bad
4. Makes tax time easy
5. iPhone app to capture
expenses


LESS
ACCOUNTING
PRICING
$30 per month
Use promo code “CFC2012” for 3
months free
(limited to the first 499 people)


#2.5 LESS TIME SPENT
HTTP://LESSTIMESPENT.COM/
1. Connects to Less Accounting
2. Limited connectivity
3. Simple time tracking


LESS TIME SPENT
PRICING
$7.95per month
100% free to paid Less Accounting customers


#3 HARVEST
HTTP://WWW.GETHARVEST.COM/
1. Time tracking and
invoicing
2. Tons of integrations
3. Many input methods
4. Invoicing and
payments


HARVEST PRICING
USE PROMO CODE “HOW” FOR 50% OFF YOUR FIRST PAID MONTH
(AFTER THE FREE 30 DAY TRIAL)


INVOICING

http://www.flickr.com/photos/industriarts/7338751868/


#4 FRESHBOOKS
HTTP://WWW.FRESHBOOKS.COM/
1. Awesomely simple invoicing
and tracking
2. Time tracking tools built in
3. Many interconnections
4. Includes many payment
methods


FRESHBOOKS
PRICING


#5 MINUTE BILL
HTTP://WWW.MINUTEBILL.COM/
1. Silly simple
2. Fill it out and get a PDF
3. Totally free
4. Great for those that
seldom invoice


GETTING SIGN OFF
GETTING A CONTRACT SIGNED

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aloha75/7282703370/


#6 SIGN NOW
HTTPS://SIGNNOW.COM/
1. Fast and simple
2. Many devices
3. Totally FREE


FAXING?
FOR THAT CLIENT

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31333486@N00/1977549318/


#7 HELLO FAX
HTTPS://WWW.HELLOFAX.COM/

1. Send & receive faxes
2. Free option
3. Great options for
heavy users


HELLO FAX PRICING


PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vfsdigitaldesign/5396691102/

#8 TRELLO
HTTPS://TRELLO.COM/
1. Organization and
task management
2. Simple, scalable
and enjoyable to
use
3. 100% Free


#9 TICKSY
HTTPS://WWW.TICKSY.COM/
1. A simpler support system
2. No frills means its easy to
get started
3. Ideal for an individual or
very small group


TICKSY PRICING
$5/user/month


A PAINLESS APPROACH TO

BUILD YOUR
SOCIAL
NETWORK
START AT THE PRIMARY SOURCE - EMAIL


#10 RAPPORTIVE
HTTP://RAPPORTIVE.COM/
1. Social connections
made easy
2. Connect when it
makes sense
3. It’s FREE


GET ORGANIZED
THIS IS NOT MY DESK

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sparkleglowplug/80287775/


#11 DROPBOX
HTTPS://WWW.DROPBOX.COM/
1. Massive integrations
2. Totally automatic
3. Decent free option
4. Nearly instant
backups
5. Share access
6. Send files


DROPBOX
PRICING


#12 EVERNOTE
HTTP://EVERNOTE.COM/
1. Capture everything
2. Get organized
3. Connections galore
4. Free version is
enough for many
5. File everything from
recipes to tutorials
6. This is one you have
to grow into


EVERNOTE
PRICING
$5/month or $45/year


#13 LASTPASS
HTTPS://LASTPASS.COM/

1. Password storage
2. All browsers and
devices
3. Encourages good
password habits
4. Synchronization!
5. Particularly awesome
when you get a new
computer


LASTPASS
PRICING
$12 per year (yes, per year)


#14 IF THIS THEN THAT
HTTP://IFTTT.COM/

1. Connection based
2. Automation magic
3. Totally free


FOR EXAMPLE


CONNECTS TO


#15 RIGHT INBOX
HTTP://WWW.RIGHTINBOX.COM/

1. Schedule emails
2. Open & click tracking
3. Free & paid options


RIGHT INBOX
PRICING


#16 JING
HTTP://WWW.TECHSMITH.COM/JING.HTML
1. Screenshots
2. Screencasts
3. Annotations
4. Instant uploading &
sharing
5. It’s free!


#17 GUMROAD
HTTPS://GUMROAD.COM/
1. Easily sell anything
2. Sell digital assets
3. Automates
delivery
4. Set it up in just a
few minutes
5. Pay as you sell


GUMROAD
PRICING
5% + 25¢ per transaction


#18 WUFOO
HTTP://WUFOO.COM/
1. Painless online forms
2. Prebuilt templates make it
even faster
3. Collect
data, files, contacts etc
4. Lot’s of third party
integrations
5. Even collect payments


WUFOO PRICING


#19 ODESK
HTTPS://WWW.ODESK.COM/
1. Outsource micro tasks
2. Not everything fits,
but when it does!
3. Pay for the value of the
task – from $1 to $100 / hr
4. Use other cloud tools to
track


PULLING IT
TOGETHER


THANKFROM THIS
VIEW THE LINKS
YOU
PRESENTATION, THE FULL SLIDES
AND ALL THE PROMO CODES:
PMCNEIL.COM


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