Why Your Business Should Use Google Apps

Google Apps, free web apps provided by google have become very popular for personal use, but not as much so for business use.  Why?  Well, this is mainly because most people think that they have to have a GMail, or GoogleMail, account in order to use these services, but they are wrong.

You can actually sign up for a Google ID without a GMail account, the only thing is, you won’t be able to use GMail to check and respond to the email you have on your domain, unless your host supports POP3 access to the select few ports that GMail offers.  For people and businesses who use BlueHost and other hosts like it, which use port 26, and an obscure SSL port, the option to simply use GMail isn’t available.

This is where Google Apps comes in.  You can sign up for a free account for your domain, which gives you Google Docs, Google Mail, Google Talk, and Google Sites, all on your domain.  This means you’ll be easily able to use GMail with your own domain to check and respond to all of your email.  The additions of Docs,  and GTalk are all pluses, because they allow you to collaborate with other people, whom you will be able to add account on your domain for.  The best part of all of this, is Google Apps for your domain is free up to your first 50 users, and for most small businesses, this is not a problem, but for those businesses who do need more users $50 per year isn’t all that much at all.  Plus, you’ll be getting top notch support from Google with any problems you might have, as they give you a telephone number to call, instead of waiting for email support in the free version.  Another thing I noticed is that you can’t use GMail Themes in Google Apps, but I’m hoping for that to change soon, once they become more stable.

There’s isn’t really much to setting up Google Apps, either, so if you’ve set up your own hosting, and have bought a domain, and know how to set nameservers, you’ll be able to set them up fine, and you’ll be up and running in no time.  Google does provide pretty clear instructions, and I was able to set it up even though they didn’t have specific instructions for BlueHost, and I by no means consider myself an expert.  So, what are you waiting for?  You can be using Gmail to read and respond to emails on your own domain today!

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4 Helpful Tips For Starting A Business

Starting a business is very hard, regardless of whether you are an extremely self motivated person, with a lot of time and resources at your disposal, it’s hard, and you can’t deny it.  Aside from the basics, like time and money, here are 4 things that you really need to keep in mind, no matter what your situation is.

1. 

   You mush believe in yourself and your company and/or brand.  This belief is imperitive, as it will keep you going, and working, even when times are tough, and believe, they’ll get tough sooner or later.  Plus, if you don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect a potential client or customer to believe in you?  Another word of adive comes into play as well, here.  If you aren’t passionate about something, don’t start it.  If you don’t like programming, don’t start a programming consulting business.  That way, it will be easier for you to believe in yourself, and finish what you start.

2. Don’t fall victim to temporary distractions. Trust me, you’ll always be able to find an excuse why you couldn’t do something that seemed insignificant at the time, but if it’s relative to your business, you had better do it, because if you keep allowing distractions and excuses to rule you, you’ll eventually run yourself into a whole, and ruin your business and the dreams you had for this business.  Lot’s of successful businesses started out with a tight budget, which just proves that persistence and working hard goes a longer way that a huge wad of cash.
3. Remember, starting out small isn’t bad.  In most cases, it’s wonderful.  You won’t get ahead of your cashflow with your spending, and you’ll be able to expand when needed.  You’ll also be making a consistent, and proportional income, which will grow as your business grows.
4. Don’t give up! I know, everyone says it, but it’s true.  Many people fail before they get things right.  Look at Thomas Edison, and how many times he failed before any of his inventions worked properly.  Of course, he had those Eureka moments, but that was because he hard been consistently working hard, and that hard work paid off.  The same will most likely happen to you.  You will have to go through and try different payroll systems, and invoicing techniques until you find the one that works the most efficiently for you.  I can’t stress the “for you” part of that sentence enough.  Even though something works for someone, it might not work for you, so please keep that in mind, and remember, only you can keep you going.

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