In today's technology mecca, offering a wide array of remote access tools, accessible "software as a service" (SAAS) and other convenient online and offline tools, it's never been a better time to be running a small business, even from the comforts of home. With the click of your mouse, you can find all kinds of affordable tools that can bring your smaller company's operations up to the same speed with larger ones. Developers are conceiving highly intelligent, incredibly functional online tools faster than you can Google for them.

At Cybertary, we always look for fresh and innovative online tools that can simplify the lives of our clients and our other friends in the small business community. Here are ten exciting new online tools that have piqued our interest and may make your business life's day to day a little easier.

Skilled professionals drawn to Cybertary

As a financial executive for a large engineering firm, Patricia Beckman had it all in 2004 — the impressive job, the big paycheck and the collection of business suits. Her two daughters didn’t care. All they knew was that mom was gone most of the time.
Leita Cowart, Special Raymond Gordon started his own virtual assistant business as a Cybertary franchise owner.

“When my company offered me a promotion that would mean even more travel, my husband and I took a vacation to Hawaii. After several days, I decompressed and realized that I didn’t want the promotion. I didn’t even want the job I had. I wanted to be with my kids,” she said.

Beckman resigned and began researching ideas to start a company.

“When I hit on a description of virtual assistants, the light bulb came on,” she said. Nine months later, in 2005, she launched Cybertary from her home in Sacramento, Calif.

e-Faxing is a completely paperless alternative for the environmentally conscious.
 
Check out this Fact from Energy Star: 

According to Energy Star, one of the most energy-intensive pieces of business equipment is the paper-intensive fax machine, because it is often left on around the clock. A single fax machine consumes between 30 and 350 watts per hour. Also, paper production is second only to petroleum in terms of energy used by U.S. industries.

Benefits of e-Faxing:

• Works as easily as email
• Access faxes by email from any online source
• Saves space in your office
• Eliminates the worry and hassle of running out of paper or emitting a busy signal
• Saves you money on the extra fax line and fax supplies; plus, you can save many faxes electronically rather than print them all out. 

 Say Goodbye to the Lines at the Post Office and Handle All Your Postage Needs Online

Does the idea of wasting another lunch or personal hour in line at the post office get you down? Well, go ahead and perk up because now there are all kinds of snazzy postage services available on the Internet. Buy and print postage and mailing labels, purchase stamps and even schedule your packages to be picked up at your home or office-all courtesy of the World Wide Web.

What Are the Advantages of Using Online Postage?

Knowing exactly what your clients and prospects are thinking is a big part of the marketing game.

Often times small business owners think they know what their customers want, but assumption is a primary tool of choice drawing these conclusions.

The best way to really know what a market thinks about something is to ask. Run the idea up the old flagpole and see what kind of response you get. The Internet is spawning a whole new set of tools that can help the smallest of businesses tap the collective wisdom, or least collective opinion, of the masses when trying to make even the simplest business decisions.

Online surveys have become a powerful tool for the small business. By asking your clients everything from how much should I charge to what's the best color for our logo you can effectively test your assumptions before you push something out to the market.

Surveys are also a great way to monitor how you are doing in the eyes of your customers. Creating simple satisfaction surveys and serving them up to each individual customer allows you to find holes in your customer service and collect comments, good and bad, from the street.

2010 is over half over. What better time than now to remember your New Years Resolutions made back in January? Were any of the below a resolution for you and are they sticking?

1. Create Better Work/Life Balance
2. Implement Time Blocking to Manage your Day
3. Keep in Touch With Clients
4. Say Goodbye to Spam
5. Sign Up for Online Banking
6. Say Hello With VOIP
7. Get Together With Web Conferencing
8. Spread the Word With Pay-Per-Click Advertising
9. Talk Right Now With Instant Messaging
10. Let Cybertary Help Contact Cybertary now!

Share with us; we love to hear from you!

Happy Labor Day to all this Monday September 6th, 2010.

We hope you enjoy a day off work spent with family and friends! Traditionally, Labor Day symbolically indicates the end of summer, but not to worry because the official end of summer isn't until Wednesday September 22nd.

Have a safe, fun holiday and relax!

It is tradition to BBQ on Labor Day; are you BBQing this year?