Sisarina’s customers are not just case numbers in file folders. They are names and faces, brands and logos, all vying for a place in the online marketplace. Sisarina provides the tools they need to facilitate their marketing strategies. But it doesn’t end once a website is launched or a logo has been designed. The customer relationship that Sisarina builds is an on-going process.

We know that maintaining a website and a brand can be challenging, that’s why we strive to keep our customers up-to-date with web trends, tips & tricks and other helpful information. And we encourage our past, current and future customers to ask questions and seek Sisarina out for guidance.

This month, we are launching Sisarina Says. Now it will be easier than ever to keep up-to-date with blogs, tips & tricks and more. Visit our blog or follow on Twitter @SisarinaSays as Sisarina shares her knowledge about life on the web, new and exciting marketing trends and emerging topics.

Sisarina Says stay tuned!

Most every business aspires to be a well-oiled machine. Yet, passion and determination can only take a small business so far. Sometimes you need a little help. Sometimes you need a makeover.

Good thing then that Mosaic Technologies and the National Association and Business Owners and Entrepreneurs (NABOE) have partnered to provide one deserving business in Montgomery County, MD more than $50,000 in products and services.

From branding and websites to accounting and technology services, your business will receive a full package of tips and tools that can give your small business the boost it needs to get your cogs up to snuff.

Sisarina believes in helping our community and as a small business ourself we understand the challenges faced by our colleagues. We are proud that Sisarina is just one of the many local business donating their services to the Extreme Office Makeover. Sisarina will be providing a full CMS-based website to the lucky winner with all new graphics, social media capabilities, a news section that feeds to the homepage along with many other features that you can update yourself!

What are you waiting for? If you’re a business that’s been in operation in Montgomery County, MD for at least two consecutive years (as of November 30) and have at least three employees (home-based businesses are not eligible) you can apply.

Applications will be accepted through November 30, 2009, with the winner to be announced in February 2010. Every company that enters will receive a free technology analysis valued at $250.

Learn more at www.extreme-office.com.
 

Sisarina Inc, has announced the addition of Marisa Peacock as Senior Marketing Manager. This announcement comes in response to demonstrated growth at Sisarina since officially launching in early-2009.

"Marisa brings more than 6 years of experience in the areas of web and social media marketing to Sisarina,” said Melanie Spring, principal and project director, Sisarina. “We’ve secured some solid partnerships and momentum in the last six months. As such, we have positioned ourselves for a productive 2010 and Marisa’s marketing experience using social media and other innovative platforms to position organizations in the online marketplace will undoubtedly spearhead this momentum.”

Most recently, Marisa Peacock served as web and multimedia manager at The Madeira School, an all-girls independent school in McLean, VA. Prior to Madeira, she served as public information associate at Safe Kids Worldwide, a global non-profit dedicated to preventing childhood injury.

“I am honored to be involved with a company dedicated to helping small businesses reach their potential on the web,” said Marisa Peacock, Sisarina. “As Sisarina really comes into its own, we’re confident that we’ll continue providing creative and strategic web design, branding and marketing services.” For more information on Sisarina, contact info@sisarina.com.

There's no denying it. On any given day, information is tossed around and much of it requires you to synthesize and respond to it instantaneously. So what do you do if you don't understand any of it? Why, Google it of course!

While this may be the way that many in our industry of face-paced web marketers behave, Google isn't always the first line of defense for others. Yet, there is so much that can be learned from Googling, even if it means that you're doing it on Yahoo or Bing!

Searching online isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of curiosity. And being curious in today's web-o-sphere is currency. It's not just what you know, but rather the initiative you show about wanting to learn, that will make you a valuable asset for your company or cause.

Regardless of your industry, search engines can provide reliable and concise information that can help you throughout your day. From learning about social media or trying to find ways to clean your expresso machine you'd be surprised what you can find on Google and as a result, what information can be gained.

Using search engines effectively can take a little time. The more searches you do, the more you'll learn how to search and what words to use. Here are few tips to help search more effectively:

Start broad, then narrow in

If you don't exactly know what information you're trying to find, start big. Type in the general search term, scroll through some of your results. You may see a theme emerge. Go back to the search bar and add your additional search terms using the word "and" between them.

Ask a question

Don't be afraid to just type in exactly what you want to know. So ask away. Try to keep in concise and use active verbs, e.g., How to Tie a Bow; How to make a million dollars; Why is the Sun hot?

Don't Fear Wikipedia

Wikipedia is a free online encyclopedia that differs from other encyclopedias in a significant way: along with reading the articles in Wikipedia, anyone can add or edit articles however they like. However, recent studies suggest that Wikipedia may be as accurate as Encyclopedia Britannica. Articles are often added quickly and, as a result, coverage of current events and new technology in particular is quite extensive. Users can look at the changes made to Wikipedia's entries as new information has come to light. this can be done by clicking the entry's "history" tab at the top of the page.

Other people's searches

Lots of people are searching for the same thing. You can use Google Trends, a database of Google searches shows too see how often they’ve been searched over time, how frequently topics have appeared in Google News stories, and in which geographic regions people have searched for them most. There are even search engines that lead you to things you didn't know you were looking for!

Even if you only use search engines to satisfy random queries for celebrities or news of the weird, it will most likely lead you to other information that will be relevant to your business or interests. So get curious and start searching.

The countdown to a new year approaches. And while we spend our time frantically crossing off To-Do’s from our lists, buying holiday gifts and wrapping up loose ends, Sisarina suggests that you take the time to reflect on your company’s marketing, branding and website initiatives.

Learn from your Mistakes

At Sisarina, we believe in learning from our mistakes. Even superheroes like Sisarina make mistakes and reviewing them all is a great way to start a new year! Whether it’s a failure to promote consistent brand identity, or not posting regularly to your blog, facebook, or twitter pages, Sisarina can help you stay on track in the New Year.

But we also know ‘fessing up can be overwhelming and may discourage you from embracing the New Year, so let Sisarina offer you the following Web, Marketing and Branding Reflections.

Reflection #1: What Worked Well?

Take a moment to write down all the things that you or your business successfully accomplished via the web or marketing campaign this year. Did you sign up for Twitter, add a Facebook fan page, create a new logo? Then ask yourself and your staff:

• What made it successful?

Remember that success doesn’t necessarily equate revenue or sales, it can mean personal relationships, team building, company decisions, etc.

• How did these accomplishments make you feel?

Think back: did your heart swell with pride, did you feel satisfied or relieved, or confident?

• How much effort went into these accomplishments?

Was it a regular schedule, a planning meeting or helpful staff collaboration? Overall how much time went into creating and maintaining?

Reflection #2: What Didn’t Work Well?

Thinking back, what are the website and marketing decisions or outcomes that make you cringe, sweat or just want to hide under a rock? Then ask yourself and your staff:

• What made it fail or lose momentum?

Remember mistakes and failures don’t necessarily mean revenue lost or business lost. It can also refer to personal relationships, organization, company decisions and strategies.

• How did these mistakes or missteps make you feel?

Think back: did you feel disappointed, relieved, or insecure?

• How much effort went into these accomplishments?

How were decisions made? Who took ownership of the project? Was there a regular schedule or input from staff?

Reflection #3: What Would You Do Differently?

Using the information solicited from the previous reflections, answer the following:

For each of the successful accomplishments:

• What you would have done differently, if anything, to make them more successful?

For each of the scenarios that didn’t work well:

• What you would have done differently, if anything, to make it work better?

Do you notice any trends? When things worked well, did more staff time and input make a difference? When things didn’t go well, did they suffer from lack of direction or strategy? If so, use these trends to figure out what you need to do more and less of in the New Year.

As well, remember that Sisarina is here to help. If it’s a marketing strategy that you need or a website that’s easier to manage, contact us today. We have the tools you need to make 2010 a successful and spectacular year!

As many of your know, Sisarina recently celebrated our Grand Opening of our Bethesda office. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, got the tour and helped us in so many amazing ways.

But now it’s the day after.

As we clean up the place and get back to business, we’re left to reflect upon the true meaning of our grand opening. Wikipedia says that “A “Grand Opening” is a term used when a business, public office, or private association wishes to announce their official opening of their new location.”

Yes, we opened a new, beautiful office but we’ve been in business for quite some time. Perhaps then, our grand opening is Sisarina’s renewal. With a full staff and a central location from which to work, Sisarina is beginning 2010 with a renewed sense of purpose.

We’re only partially through the month and yet we’ve already met with a slew of prospective clients, launched some websites and are in the midst of some exciting new endeavors, including developing tools to help our clients work better and more efficiently.

As a part of our renaissance, Sisarina wants you to know that we’re about more than just great web designs. This year, we’re expanding our outlook to include customer and product development, creative community building and lots of strategic marketing campaigns.

We invite you to stop by our new office and ask that you keep Sisarina in mind when embarking on your next web-based adventure.

With so many social media platforms from which to choose and trends to track of, it's no wonder many of us are scratching our heads. From Twitter to Facebook to LinkedIn and beyond, how do you know which is the right fit for your marketing and branding strategies?

Above all, it's about engaging users. Knowing what questions to ask yourself before picking a platform and implementing a strategy will help you decide how to best engage your users. Sisarina answers three of the most common questions we get asked.

If you had to pick one social networking platform to focus your marketing strategy on, which would you choose and why?

First question, why are you limiting yourself to just one? If it’s a question of time and effort, there are a number of ways to manage most of them more effectively and successfully. However, you need to figure out your priorities and the needs of your users/audience.

If you were to pick just one social media platform, you first need to define what you want to communicate and why it’s important.  Then you should determine the behaviors of who you want to attract and who you currently attract with your brand.

At Sisarina we have a blog, Twitter feeds, a LinkedIn group and a Facebook Fan page, among others. We use each of them differently, tracking their impact and evolving our strategies as needed. Each of them tells us more about our users and how they interact with our brand and services.

How do I get more Twitter followers?

By engaging with others.

Chances are good that if you begin following others, they will start following you in return.  However, Twitter is not about quantity, it’s about cultivating user engagement. Sure, if you have a million followers, your message may theoretically reach more people, but you can’t possibly engage with every single one.

Start conversations by asking questions, posting thoughtful comments and informative links. And use hash tags (#) to keyword your posts.

By taking the time to engage with a few users, you’ll not only be able to make meaningful connections, you’ll start to develop your brand in a more appropriate way.

How do I know if my social media efforts are working?

Social media is not an exact science. We have yet to determine how many followers equal a sale, and I doubt we ever will.

Before you start tweeting or updating your Facebook Fan page, you need to ask yourself what you will consider to be a successful return on investment.

As you start out, that investment will be your time and effort spent engaging with users. What is that time worth to you? Sisarina can’t answer that for you. Is it a certain number of new visitors a month? Or a number of new Twitter followers or fans? Maybe it’s the number of individuals that Retweet a message or comment on your blog?

Social media is about being social. And being social is about interacting with others. If others are not interacting with your site, you need to revisit your strategy. Maybe you need to spend more time, or refine the content that you are sharing. If you set meaningful benchmarks from the beginning, you’ll be able to gauge your progress and evolve your strategies as necessary

Have a question for Sisarina? Submit a comment below.

When small businesses think about marketing, it’s not unusual for them to get consumed by analytics, whether it is the number of followers and fans or the number of unique visitors on a web site. Yet, rarely does psychology factor into the equation.

At Sisarina, we pride ourselves on being both small and resourceful. Our small staff ensures that every customer interaction is personable and dynamic. When we meet with clients, we ask questions about them, their company, and try to understand who they are. We also listen. We pay attention to their enthusiasm, the adjectives they use, and their body language. We also try to understand their needs as a user: how do they use the web and social media? How do they make decisions about where to shop and what to buy?

The information we gather from a simple client meeting can lead to an intricate understanding of how to appropriately design a website, write copy and strategize a marketing campaign.

Basic web analytics help, of course, but they don’t tell as much of a story as asking questions, listening and observing do. Sisarina also strives to empower our clients so that they can improve the way they talk about their company and their brand, as well as the way they interact with consumers.

Small business owners and entrepreneurs spend a lot of time focused on the bottom line. At Sisarina, we ask them to think about how their business makes them feel and how they want their customers to feel when engaging with their brand. As you can imagine, this can be an inspiring moment for many.

We believe that analytics and spreadsheets can only go so far. Because clients can be involved with many decisions during the design and marketing process, psychology matters. From color to keywords, being able to articulate its emotional impact can help guide the process in the right direction. It is our goal to ask the right questions so that we can help you market your business and brand so that it resonates positively with consumers.

Don’t women entrepreneurs deserve a “sisterhood”?

There’s the Ya-Ya Sisterhood. There’s the one about the traveling pants and the seven sisters. Yet, when it comes to women and small business owners, rarely do we refer to it as a sisterhood.

Maybe it’s a deep-seated need to be one of the boys, or a general insecurity to show our vulnerabilities, but some women have been shy to embrace their gender as an asset, not a detriment, when it comes to business.

This isn’t a call for femininity.

Rather, a call to join forces and share in our strength as leaders, decision makers and philanthropists in our communities.

Recognizing and connecting with other businesswomen can help create a support system, as well as a venue in which to seek advice and partnerships.

But building a sisterhood can be as simple as reaching out to organizations and charities that support causes that matter to women.

As sisters, daughters, wives and girlfriends, businesswomen share a unique quality for cultivating relationships with other women. Yet we realize that finding other women business owners may not always be easy.

There are many tools—online and off, that can be used to create a sisterhood of business owners:

1. Make it a Company Value

With four strong women at the helm (well, five if you count Sisarina, our imaginary name-sake), our business is based on the merits of sisterhood—that is, working to promote the shared conditions, experiences, or concerns of women. This, of course, doesn’t mean that we exclude men, or de-value their contributions.

Rather, it means that we are always looking for ways to support, promote and collaborate with other women.

Here’s a great read from Success Magazine on “good business,” i.e. business that makes a difference.

2. Create Networking Opportunities

Don’t underestimate your own community. If you’re seeking mentorship, invite a local businesswoman to lunch. There may even be a group that already meets – if not, start one!

Social events like Tweetups & Meetups are a great way to engage women entrepreneurs and other professionals in your area.

Using free online registration platforms, like Eventbrite or Tungle, can make organizing events much more manageable.

In addition, these events can help to raise money and awareness for organizations dedicated to improving the lives of women around the world.

Tip: To find the appropriate location for your event, meet with local restaurants and bars. Most likely, they’ll be open to offering specials exclusive to your event—after all it’s good business for them too and it helps to build good community relations.

3. Socialize Your Marketing Campaign

With many successful businesswomen using Twitter, build a few lists to follow (here are 9 reasons why you should be in love with Twitter lists), from women in your area to women you admire. Follow them, read their blog posts, ask them questions and share your links.

There are over 500 pages and groups for women business owners on Facebook. Join and engage with them online. It’ll be a good resource for making contacts and learning about events.

Just like their tagline, Relationships Matter on LinkedIn. You may learn that you share common connections with other women business owners. Having something or someone in common makes approaching others easier.

Join groups, share resources, ask questions and cultivate relationships.

4. Find a Cause

Passionate about breast cancer research or want to help women in Afghanistan? Whether it’s in your community or halfway around the world, there are many ways your business can support and promote social causes.

Offer to donate proceeds from your social networking events to charities – not only does community service feel good it can also help to promote connections with others.

5. Don’t Exclude Men

Owning a small business comes with its own challenges—many of which are the same if you’re a man or women.

Don’t exclude men from the conversation—their stories and experiences can provide valuable insight. Providing your own perspective can enlighten others as well as facilitate informative exchanges and business strategies.

The Bottom Line

Building a network of supporters is never a bad thing. Whether you find strength online or IRL (in real life), just knowing that there are others who you can turn to with questions or support can take some of the pressure off of being a business owner. As for many things in life, you will rarely find yourself alone.

So reach out and network, engage and cultivate relationships with others. You’ll find your sisterhood does make a difference.

Want more?

• Revisit Patricia Frame’s Women Grow Business series on capacity building
• Who knew? 10 things women can learn from men in business is a great read at Shine from Yahoo!
• How to give others the opportunity to help you, and contributor Thursday Bram ponders follow-up, the secret of networking, over at Grow Smart Business

This blog post was originally featured as a Women in Business guest post on Women Grow Business, Women in Business Community Blog Hosted By Network Solutions.

Think of all the times you’ve searched Google. Are you searching for information or for knowledge? If you’re not sure of the difference, we’re here to help.

What We Know v. What We Don’t Know

Sometimes we search for information we know we’re looking for and for that we employ machine-generated knowledge systems, like Google. But sometimes we search to discover information we didn’t know about at all, like we do on Wikipedia, a human-generated knowledge system, that is, a system populated with user-generated content, like blogs and other social media.

Discovering knowledge is much more complex because it relies on the creation of conceptual relationships which helps to improve the accuracy of a search by understanding searcher intent. With semantic search, if you search for two or more terms, you will find occurrences of a conceptual relationship, not just the terms scattered within the same document, like traditional machine-generated search engines provide.

Searching and discovering are equally valuable, but understanding what you seek to gain from each can help you know where to go to get the information that you need. To help guide you, here’s a list of a few semantic search engines that we think are worthy of discovery.

Worio

Worio is focused on finding the topics that are interesting, not just popular. Using what it calls a Zeitgeist Algorithm, Worio claims to pinpoint the “spirit of the times” by pulling out the key indicators that highlight the moment where interest was piqued.

Worio searches trending topics to find relevance. Everything from the words chosen to tag something, how it’s shared, tweeted and how they can be related, can shed light on what people are talking about.

Yebol

Yebol utilizes a combination of patented algorithms paired with human knowledge to build a Web directory for each query and each user. Instead of the common “listing” of Web search queries, Yebol automatically clusters and categorizes search terms, Web sites, pages and contents.

By providing users with a rich search experience, Yebol can help them quickly scan the results to find targeted information. 

Zite

Currently in private beta (sign up to be a tester), Zite combines news aggregation with social media. Zite generates recommendations based on the content, hashtags and links shared via Twitter and Delicious.

Generated from social media sites, blogs and a combination of methods, the recommended sites are presented to the user in a format that shows them the latest news as well as older items of relevance.

Enhancing the Search Experience

None of these sites claim to be the next Google, nor are they meant to be. Semantic search is a supplemental service. It enhances the search experience by providing users with different paths and resources that may not have been discovered through traditional search engines.

So the next time you go in search of information, ask yourself if it’s the knowledge that you’re after or just information.

On Thursday, April 1 Sisarina was interviewed by CNN’s Sandra Endo, a national correspondent based in Washington, D.C. Interested in learning more about how small businesses are surviving and thriving in the current economic climate, the women of Sisarina shared advice for balancing work, life and technology in our busy lives.

The segment is scheduled to air soon, but the Sisarina ladies couldn’t wait to share our insights. In a tweet after the interview, Sandra Endo highlighted our support for “tech free” days.

At Sisarina, we love technology and the convenience that social media platforms lend to our marketing efforts, yet we also love disconnecting and having a quiet moment. Perhaps just as important as being able to disconnect, is learning how to “uncondition” yourself to the sounds of text messages, incoming mail alerts and the other numerous sounds our gadgets make.

Additionally, Sisarina is very supportive of what we do outside the office. We have families, significant others and large (and small) dogs that require our attention. When life gets in the way of work, Sisarina supports us so that we can live in the moment and not have to feel torn between our loyalties to work and family.

As soon as the piece airs, we'll be sure to give you a full recap.

Humans are creatures of comfort.

We seek it in our friendships, our families, our homes, our jobs and more. Most of us tend stay within our comfortable circles instead of venturing out into the world to find new and exciting things.

As business owners we will fail if we don’t venture out. So I’m going to take you on a little adventure.

Get up and get out

As business owners, we’re the sales people. Although we don’t have to “sell” our services or products, we need to have people to talk to about them.

If you talk to the same people all the time, how will you get the word out?

Get out of the office: We all work a lot but we have to make time to get out and meet people or we’ll remain stagnant. Get out from behind your desk and TweetDeck and find people IRL (in real life).

Go to networking events: Find a networking event that is not focused on your industry.

Your potential clients will be there. They’re not typically at industry networking events.

Go to local events: Just because an event isn’t a networking event doesn’t mean networking doesn’t happen. Find events in your area that allow you to mix with your neighbors.

Get offline: When you go to any event, turn off your phone and put it away. You can’t engage people when you’re behind your phone.

Find a new circle

I recently joined @MomzShare as a sponsor because I met a bunch of really cool moms. I’m only a dog mom but nonetheless, they accepted me because they need someone who can offer the advice I give to my other clients.

Step outside the box: Find a group based on your interests or the interests of your friends. Go to a “boys club” event, hit up a local gardening club & grow from what you learn, or join a wine club.

Make friends with your neighbors: Take a plant to your office neighbor, a plate of cookies to your neighbors at home or plan a gathering for your neighborhood (office or home).

Try your friends: Ask your friends about their circles. I bet they have circles that don’t include you. Knitting, church groups, running clubs, etc.

Randomize your choices: Open the events section of your newpaper or favorite website & point. Keeps it interesting!

Go be proactive!

Here are some places you can get started: ProfessionalsintheCity.com, Meetup.com, Sisarina.com/Events, and http://voices.washingtonpost.com/goingoutgurus.

What can you add? And where will I meet you?

More from:

* Making your personal life work for your business from regular contributor and What’s Next, Gen Y? editor, Robin Ferrier
* Regular contributor Thursday Bram and the value of online connections

Image: modenaroid’s Flickrstream, Creative Commons
By Melanie Spring - as published in Women Grow Business (Original Article)

~from a Women Grow Business blog at Boot Camp

Once upon a boot camp the young entrepreneur with the growing company and the old advisor with many entrepreneurs as clients came together to talk about building a business successfully.

Here’s what you can learn from their mistakes.

Blunder #1: Being too cheap in the early stages

Whether you are an individual or run a company, you need expert advice early to set your business up successfully. A small amount of guidance can save you time and help avoid major problems later.

Talk to a CPA, an attorney, your local economic development agency, check out the SBA, and even experts specific to your business, and learn the basics.
Don’t wait until the government is after you or you are facing your first lawsuit.
Being a business owner can be downright scary. Spend a little upfront to reduce your risks – and raise your comfort level.

Blunder #2: Not learning all you can about marketing, branding, and selling

Selling scares a lot of us. Marketing sounds so expensive and confusing. And branding seems a little too hyped to be real.

Yet every solopreneur and entrepreneur needs to know how to use each of these effectively for their own work and success.

Fortunately, the resources to learn about these aspects of promoting your business effectively are easily available. Start with some self-education. There are a lot of great tools online and even at your local library.

Once you have a basic understanding, decide what is most likely to work well for you.
Define your needs and goals. Create a plan. Develop your materials. Hire those services you need for support.

Blunder #3: Not networking

Each of them told their friends about their new businesses. But that is not enough! You need to be actively engaging your network.

Take all that you learned in marketing and branding above and start actually talking to people about your brand and your new ideas. Ask for their ideas and suggestions. As you build, you can also ask for specific contacts and then referrals.

Get out there to relevant professional meetings and events.
Ask questions.
Make connections.
Go to local business events where your target clients are likely to be and do the same.
Learn about social media and how to use it effectively. This is a great way to build and maintain your networks while also enhancing your marketing. Develop a plan so it doesn’t become a time sink, though.

Blunder #4: Not knowing your full value

One realized her clients were frequently surprised at her business acumen – somehow they expect her to only know one type of thing. And so she realized she was not effectively conveying her full value to potential clients. The other’s staff recognized before she did what a great evangelist she was and how responsive potential clients were to her ideas.

It is vital that you figure out what makes you different and what added value you offer.
Talk with friends, past mentors, and others who know you well. Ask them for the 5-6 words that describe you and see which you can weave into your branding. Research what your potential clients are seeking. Better yet, tap into your strengths and present them as solutions to issues clients face.

Blunder #5: Not learning from your mistakes

All business owners make mistakes. We’re only human, even if we have to pretend to be superhuman. We mess things up and sometimes it takes us awhile to admit that we did. Many businesses continue to make the same mistakes instead of being open to realizing them and changing their ways.

Be a business owner who can see through pride, worry, excitement and exhaustion and see what needs to be fixed, where things could be better and how you could improve.
Be proactive. The more you learn about yourself and your business, the better chance you have to succeed.

These five tips are only the top of our list of unforced errors … but they are among the most dangerous to your future success – and the most common! If you are starting out, you can avoid them. If you are just going along or rebuilding your business, take 30 minutes a day for the next six weeks and start tackling them.

Lots of links to help you with whatever you’ve been needing. We’d love your comments and ideas!

• Resources for entrepreneurs
• Taxes and benefits guidance for small business and self-employed
• “How to” guides – a long list of topics and guides
• More resources for applications and services
• Going Green: The small business greening guide
• Government information, resources, and law links for entrepreneurs

Common Free Resources

• Google Apps – email through your domain, calendars, documents
• Google Voice – can forward to multiple phones & text/email you the written message
• Mint.com – keep track of all your finances in once place
• QuickBooks Online – allow access from anywhere to anyone in your company
• TeamViewer.com – free screen-sharing software (downloadable or thru browser)
• Aviary.com – stripped down design programs with ability to access from multiple locations
• DropBox.com – online files storage syncs with multiple computers

Patricia A. Frame is an experienced management consultant, speaker, and executive with expertise in human capital. Launching a new Women Grow Business series on human resources for small business, Patricia is founder of Strategies for Human Resources. She helps small to mid-size organizations achieve their goals through more effective human capital strategy and management. She can be reached through her website SHRinsight.com, where archives for her ongoing management series can be found.

Melanie Spring is the principal and project director at Sisarina Inc. An expert networker, Melanie and Sisarina connect individuals and companies with the tools they need to market and promote their brand successfully and efficiently. Connect with her on Twitter where she’s @sisarina.