As a small business owner, two things bring me down: 1.Tax Preparation Work and 2. Having More Ideas Than I Can Handle. The former is obviously more painful than the latter. And the latter only brings me down only because I cannot follow through with all the ideas.
But when it comes to things I love about being self employed, the list is endless. And one of my favorite "things" is finding geeky stuff that makes my "job" so much easier (which is also in line with my mantra to keep things simple).
Three of those things:
- MockFlow online wireframing software. I kid thee not. For the non-techie folks, a wireframe is basically a design blueprint for all parts of a website. It tells the designer what the components they need to include in their design efforts. As I build out a new website/company that is self funded, I need to keep a tight rein on our budget. This means that instead of having someone else building the wireframes for our site, I needed to learn how to create those wireframes. Serious design folks usually do this wireframe stuff in PhotoShop or other super expensive programs that require different skill sets. I needed a program that is easy to use and a inexpensive. After trying out a few, I landed on MockFlow. It's very intuitive and took me minimal time to learn. Also? The tech support crew (Hi Jerry!) is quick to address problems/questions. I played with the free version for a few weeks and upgraded to the premium service for $60/year. A steal and well worth it if you are looking to create wireframes on your own.
- Skitch image/screen capture software. I really dislike using the Grab application on Macs for screen/image captures. It's the equivalent of nails on the chalkboard. My husband turned me on to Skitch when he overheard me complaining about it during one of our Laptop Battleship at the Dining Room Table (hat tip: PetCobra) moments. I adore Skitch. I can edit screen/image captures (watermark, arrows, etc.) AND I can easily drag that image to the desktop to save it. So, so easy. And free.
- OmmWriter. Again, something else my husband told me about. Building this new site of ours takes up a good portion of my workday. But at heart, I'm a writer. Sometimes that gets put on the back burner because I've got other stuff to do. Enter OmmWriter. I call it a little piece of writing bliss because that's all OmmWriter let's you do. It blocks out all the distractions and lets you write...on a serene screen with magically peaceful music to help the words flow out of your fingertips. Also free. And remember: Little Piece of Writing Bliss.
Your turn. What techie things make your job/life easier?
