It's that time of year again! Certainly time for us to put on our fancy clothes and party hats, but also time for me to share my annual list called My Favorite Business Things with you. For those of you who are new, this is my Oprah-style list of favorite goodies that I've personally used througout the year, but all related to business.
If you're quick, you can still get your purchases done in time for your 2007 tax-deductions!
My Favorite Business Things: 2007
BlackBerry 8310 Curve Titanium Smartphone (AT&T)
Admittedly, the style of the Apple iPhone makes my heart beat faster, but the current version doesn't wirelessly sync with Microsoft Outlook on Exchange Server. There's just no way I'm going to plug in wires to update my handheld. So when I saw the ads for the new Blackberry Curve 8310 with GPS navigation, I was swayed to consider another Blackberry (usually retails for around $400). When I saw that Amazon is having a deal to buy one for only $25 (after rebate) I was sold! The new Blackberry Curve is about 1/3 smaller than my old Blackberry, with a bright screen, good sound quality, and a camera. I'm still testing out the Telenav turn-by-turn navigation service, which hasn't been 100% accurate in the area I live. But I love the new Blackberry!
If you want to take advantage of the sale/rebate offer, hurry. It expires on 1/5/08. Click here to buy.
Computer virus protection is a necessary evil in that you've got to have it, but all the programs have some downside or other. McAfee has horrible customer service. Trend Micro PC-cillin used to be great, but trying to upgrade/renew was a nightmare. Norton, oh my. I can barely type their name as I'm still mad at how it made all my Microsoft office programs crash all the time. Grisoft's AVG Internet Security is my 4th program, and it's run smoothly and effortlessly this whole year. Automatic virus updates are easy to schedule. It does not hinder the speed of my computing. They've got a good reputation. I'm really happy with it.
With a website, 3 blogs, and a Flickr photo journal to manage, I really needed a good easy-to-use photo editor. I stress the importance of easy, because I want to spend time creating my art--not learning a bloated software program. When Picnik launched it changed everything for me! Their editing interface is simple. You can sign up for a free account to do basic cropping, resizing, etc. But after I blogged the free version, they also rolled out a $24.95/year plan with a ton of cool features. It's worth every penny! The most valuable thing about Picnik is that they have a tool where you can add text on top of pictures--perfect for making your own website/blog header or banners for your website! I love the new blog header images I recently made: Inspirational Business, Sacred Elephants, and even my personal blog called Russian River Chalet. Picnik rocked my 2007!
Speaking of photo editing, here's an awesome service to touch up those headshots of yours! Last year, I was commenting on Guy Kawasaki's blog about his new headshots. I was musing that perhaps I should touch up mine, because people always tell me how much younger I look in person (yikes!) The friendly owner of FixMyPhotos saw it, and offered to give me a free Ultra Retouching (usually $10, so it's a deal anyways.) What an improvement! They corrected the blue tones from me standing in the shade, and made my skin look smoother. If you've got a headshot on your marketing materials, you should definitely have FixMyPhotos improve it for you!
The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris
This book was a great little jumpstart for my productivity this year. Being passionate about my work sometimes means that I put all my energy there--to the exclusion of other things. Tim's book got me thinking about how to reclaim my weekends again, and really helped me to minimize the amount of time I spend on emails (key: use an auto-responder and tell people when I'm offline, instead of keeping my virtual office door open 24/7.) Much of the rest of his book is about how to build an automated ecommerce business, with some very handy links and resources. As a coach, I have to tell you that starting a business like that takes endless hours--just like starting any business does. It's not going to be a 4-hour work week until it's up and running. But if you're feeling like you work too much or work inefficiently, check out this book. It will get you thinking about how you can make your business run more automatically. Some of the life-visioning exercises in The 4-Hour Workweek are excellent as well.
My Favorite Charity for 2007: The Sheldrick Wildlife Trust
I know some of you are smiling because you already know the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust is my favorite charity of every year. But for those of you who are just getting to know me, I'll briefly explain that I've got a passion for elephant conservation, enough that I started supporting the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in 2004--enough that I flew all the way to Kenya to meet the baby elephants & their caretakers. [Click here to read more on my elephants blog.]
Click through to their website and read some of the orphaned elephant rescue stories. [post-script: I notice their site is having issues right now. I'm a little worried that they need more help.] The stories are so engaging, and I promise it's worth your time. Grab the tissues before you click. Your heart is going to bust open.
So if you love elephants or love someone who loves them, please join me in supporting this special organization!
You can foster an orphaned baby elephant for as little as $50 a year.
Hope you enjoy my favorites! You can also read My Business Favorites from 2006 here.
Happy happy New Year, everyone!
Spirit hugs,
Jaya
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