photo credit: Dave Kinsella

As a freelance web developer and internet marketer, there are several tools that I utilize on a regular basis to make research, marketing, and overall web developing much easier. Below I go over everything that I use either daily or very often. Maybe you already use some of the same tools but if not, hopefully something on the list can help you out as well.

Web Developing

Browser - Firefox is my browser of choice because of all the plug-ins available for it.

Web site display - Browser Shots comes in handy for checking the display of your web sites in multible browsers.

Billing - I have been using Billing Orchard for years. It is great for keeping track of billable hours and sending out invoices.

Web hosting - I use both Dreamhost and Hostgator. I like them both but if you need a reseller account, go with Hostgator.

Text editor - I use a Mac and use Textwrangler which is a free text editor.

FTP - Transmit is the FTP client I choose but it is only available for the Mac. If you use the Firefox browser, you can use a free FTP client plug-in called FireFTP.

Marketing

Page rank checker - SEO for Firefox displays the page rank in the search engine results. SearchStatus sits in the bottom of your browser and tells you the page rank of each site you visit.

Quick backlink checker - Yahoo! Site Explorer can give you a quick glance at the number of backlinks pointing to a specific web page.

Backlinks in depth - I use SEO Elite to go more in depth with backlink checking.

Keywords - Keyword Elite can generate keyword lists and can be used hand in hand with SEO Elite for research. I also use the Google AdWords: Keyword Tool.

Niche sites - Sometimes I build a niche site from scratch but most times I install Wordpress because it saves time and has some cool plug-ins for SEO purposes.

Screencasting - When I need to make screencasting videos, I use Screenflow which is only for Mac. Camtasia is a popular software for Windows users.

Those are the tools I use regularly and I will add to the list when I come across more. What online tools or software do you use often?

Does it sound crazy? Well, you did read the title right, I have created a new web site called 5 Dollar Templates in which I sell web templates starting at $5. These aren’t the kind of templates most people would probably be interested in because they aren’t for Wordpress or for building massive content sites.

These templates cater to the internet marketer who needs a mini-site or a one page sales page or landing page.  The very basic templates will start at $5 and more complex will be a little higher in price, however, there will always be templates available for $5.

I think these templates will work out great for the beginner marketer or for anyone who just needs something quick to get a site up.  I think eventually I will also offer template bundles as well as sales on the higher priced templates.

I just launched the site as of this writing so you will need to check back later on to see other new templates that will be added.  You can visit the site below:

5DollarTemplates.com

I am excited to announce the launching of some basic web help tutorials that I put together for anyone who wants to manage their own web site(s) or at least understand what is going on even if they outsource the work.  I feel that anyone who owns a web site should have the basic knowledge necessary to stay in control of crucial things like their domain registrations and hosting accounts.

Even if you plan on outsourcing the web development work, if you are new to the web, don't allow someone else to have control over your sites.  I hope the tutorials I've created are helpful to people who are new to the web site building process.  You can get the url of the tutorials as well as stay up to date when new ones are added by subscribing to my free newsletter located to the right.

Enjoy the videos!

I was stumbling through some Web sites and came across a great resource for some of the most common self-employed questions. If you're new to self-employment or even been doing it for quite some time, you have probably run into some of the typical tax questions:

• How does the IRS define self-employment?
• What can you deduct as a business expense?
• What are travel expenses?
• How does estimated tax work?

The site below has a great archive of articles relating to the questions above and more. Check it out:

Tax and Money Info for the Self-Employed

I received my first issue of Revenue magazine on Friday. I totally forgot that I had signed up for a free subscription several months ago so it was a nice surprise when I received it in the mail. I browsed through it and read a few articles that immediately caught my eye. They were interesting and informative. I even found them to be great motivational tools. When you are running an online business, you really need the extra push sometimes to work on your projects.

Even the ads are interesting and I found myself visiting advertiser's web sites to find out more about them. I suggest subscribing to this magazine if you are interested in internet marketing. Even if you are already an experienced internet marketer, you will enjoy reading it as well.

Podcasts are a great way to learn more about the topics that interest you. I listen to several web and business related podcasts. I am always in search of new podcasts because each owner adds new episodes on different schedules and I always need something to listen to. I was excited when I learned about Startup BizCast. Startup BizCast is hosted by Steve Mullen who is also owner of EndGame Public Relations, LLC.

What makes this podcast so cool is that the tips and advice about small business are coming directly from the owners of small businesses. Steve is an awesome host and his experience as a former radio journalist comes through. Check out the first two episodes and feel free to leave your feedback. I suggest subscribing to the podcast as well. You are sure to learn something new with each new episode.

You can learn more about Startup BizCast by visiting www.startupbizcast.com.

A couple years ago, I had a passion for juice. I loved freshly made juice so much that I wanted to learn how to open a juice bar in my area. While that was my passion at the moment, I was also still a full-time employee and had big dreams about being my own boss. One thing I knew for certain is that I wouldn't be able to talk seriously to anyone about the business until I had a business plan to follow.

I decided to search around for how to write a business plan and everything I came across seemed way too long and complicated. I ended up purchasing Palo Alto Business Plan Pro (the version I had at the time was 2005) and it was a good purchase. I'm sure 2007's version has way more features. The software was great and it guided me through each section of a business plan providing examples and definitions of what I was filling in and why. Once I felt my plan was good enough, I scheduled an appointment with a Score counselor in my area to help review it with me. I can't say enough about Score. They provide such a needed service for aspiring small business owners.

We met up at the Chamber of Commerce office in my area and he reviewed my plan and told me what needed to be fixed and what additional steps I could take to get the business off the ground. I am not in the juice business now but it was a valuable learning experience. I think sometimes we get so caught up in diving head first into a start-up that we forget to step back and really make a plan for our business.

Business plans are beneficial and you don't necessarily need to write one up simply to secure financing. Having a business plan to follow can keep you disciplined to meet your long term goals. You can always edit your plan to suit your current needs. A good business plan serves as a guide to help you meet your expectations for your company's future.

Tags: business plans, business plan software, business planning, business plan example

Drop shipping is one of the best ways for many people to begin working for themselves. The convenience of using a wholesaler that provides drop shipping can save time and money for any online business. You don't have to deal with shipping issues, storing inventory, and you can have a wide range of items for sale at once. These are great advantages but there are some areas to be aware of before utilizing a drop ship service.

If You Like Control, Think Twice
While not having to store inventory is a big benefit of drop shipping, sometimes giving up that control can have its downside. For instance, what if the drop ship company you are using happens to go out of business? You are left with no inventory at all for your business and possible customers who are expecting items that won't be shipped. It is a quick way to lose your business and have angry customers as well. Your best bet is not to depend solely on one drop ship company and utilize various resources.

Changing Inventory Without Notice
Most wholesalers can and will change their inventory without notice. I have experienced such a situation when I placed a specific item on sale and once it was sold, I went to the drop shipping service to complete the sale and the item was replaced with a different model. I offered my customer a refund but sometimes that does not always satisfy them. They are expecting what they ordered and when you don't come through, they see your business as having lousy service, regardless of refunding their money.

Become Familiar with the Drop Shipper's Policies
Get to know your drop shipping representative and ask them if there are any items that have special circumstances. I once sold an item of relatively high value only to find out it wasn't shipped. I contacted my representative as to what was causing the delay only to be told that the particular item is not allowed to be drop shipped. I had to have the item shipped to my business address and then ship it out myself to the customer. It delayed the order tremendously, again causing my business to look bad.

I still highly recommend drop shipping for online businesses. It is important to know the details of the business so that you experience as few problems as possible. I also recommend having more than one provider of goods in case one wholesaler goes under, your inventory will not be wiped out in an instant.

Onesource offers a great software program that lists legitimate wholesalers who also drop ship, as well as a marketing tool that provides instant market research to help you evaluate your competition. Learn more by visiting here.

Now a days you don't need to be a web developer to get a web site up fast. If you are unable to outsource web development work or don't have the time to learn how to develop sites on your own, you can get a web site up quickly using the options below.

Purchase a Domain Name
First off you'll need to register your domain name. You can research different registrars, however, GoDaddy will probably be a good place to start. You can purchase a domain for around $10 or less.

Purchase a Hosting Account
You will need to buy web hosting and I recommend Dreamhost simply because I have been using them for 4 years with no major issues. They have great customer service and "one click installs" for software such as Wordpress and Zen Cart (shopping cart software.) Setting up SSL certificates is easy and they give you more than enough space and bandwidth than you could possibly use. Just be sure that any hosting company you choose has PHP and MySQL installed and is using either Linux/Unix servers.

Setting It All Up
Once you have a hosting account you will need to change the DNS with your domain registrar to point to your hosting provider. You will get that information from your hosting company and updating your DNS is just a matter of typing it in and saving. It will take a few hours to propagate on the internet but for the most part, you can begin setting up your site.

Use Wordpress
Wordpress installation is really easy. Following the installation instructions will have you up in no time. You will first need to have created a database for Wordpress to use. You can do this through your web hosting's web panel (most come with one for users to use.) Install Wordpress, choose from the hundreds of free design templates available on the web, and you have your very own web site.

Wordpress is typically used for blogging but it is one of the quickest ways for non-technical people to get a web site up fast. Not only that, but depending on what you are using your site for, using Wordpress can be a great way to earn income online.

Most every site I build is run on Wordpress. I can get sites built quickly and not worry about designing anything but a custom header image. It is a great CMS (Content Management System) and saves me tons of time. It lets me focus on other important aspects of the sites such as content and traffic building.

One of the most popular businesses that I see people run today are their very own online stores selling items they purchased wholesale or by drop shipping. Being a freelance web developer, I have been involved with several e-commerce sites and have installed shopping cart software. After these sites are up, it is amazing how many sales are produced on a daily basis due to great marketing online and offline. Now, of course the key is having a good product that brings back repeat customers. The online stores I have dealt with have exactly that. Their customers come back again and again. Luckily for them, they produce their own products, however that means more overhead costs. For the average person looking to have their own online store produces a lot of questions:

• I'm not tech savvy, how can I build an online store?
• What can I sell?
• Where do I find wholesalers?
• How am I going to store inventory?
• I don't want my cash tied up in products - what if they don't sell?

These are legitimate concerns but thanks to companies like eBay, PayPal, and OneSource, a bulk of those worries are gone! Let's take a look at how you can have your own online store up and running:

eBay & PayPal
The worry of not knowing anything about the web is not a problem. You can set up your own online store using eBay. You have the option of selling products via auction or their "buy it now" feature. Transactions can be handled securely through PayPal. The hassle of finding a merchant account is no longer an issue because it is already taken care of! The best part is, you will have access to millions of customers who visit eBay every day in search of products that you can dropship (we'll get to that in a second!)

What to Sell
One of the biggest obstacles for new online entrepreneurs is finding products to sell and real dropship/wholesale supplier lists. Most of the ones you come across in the search engines are bogus. Thanks to a company called OneSource, you have one central place to go to find a ton of products that companies will dropship for you! Dropshipping means you don't have to purchase products up front. You won't have your cash tied up in products that may not sell and you won't have to worry about storing them. When someone places an order from your online store:

1. You collect the payment
2. Submit the order to the dropship company
3. The dropship company sends the product(s) to the customer
4. You keep the difference!

If you were to set up an online shop the long way you would have to deal with finding a decent web programmer to set up shopping cart software, pay monthly fees for a merchant account (to accept online payments), web hosting, SSL (to encrypt sensitive data), storage fees (inventory), and buying wholesale products up front that may sit for months at a time.

Dropshipping is the way to go and utilizing it along with eBay and PayPal makes owning an online store a lot easier. Check out the OneSource web site. They offer a ton of free resources and you can have a store up and online in no time!