Cure Children of Convenient Alzheimer's with Evolve SMS

For those that have children, like myself, it is a well known fact that children have Convenient Alzheimer's.  I have no medical evidence of this, but when I tell my kids that something needs to be done, and it is not in the next five minutes, this condition creeps up and over takes them.  I have found a cure and it's scheduled text messages through Evolve SMS. Evolve SMS is a great SMS replacement with some nice features.  I only use it for scheduling SMS messages. The way I use it is whenever I have a task that will be in the next few days for my kids I set up three scheduled texts:

1.  First text asking them to do the task (ex. "wash the car").

2. Second text asking if they started (ex. "how's that car wash going?").

3. Third a text asking that they confirm (ex. "let me know when you get that done").

With a little help we can rid our children of this horrible disease.

Resource:

EvolveSMS

What a $159 Kindle can Do for Your Small Buisiness

Amazon has released a number of products today.  I want to focus on one for the small business owner.  The Original Kindle fire sold for $199 which was a great price as it is.  Amazon has topped that, by offering a better performing Kindle at $159.  They are able to sell these at such a low price because they make their money by selling you content from their site.

With this low price here are some ways to incorporate the Kindle in your business:

• In a doctors office as a waiting room magazine.
• In a restaurant for an interactive menus where your Waiters/Waitresses show today's specials via video.
• At a car dealer to show all the available cars to a prospective buyer. 

The possibilities are endless at this price point.  If you know of any other uses, please leave a comment. 

Resources:

Amazon 

Keep up with your Favorite Business Podcast with BeyondPod

As I build my small business , I have focused on a few things to discipline myself to do on a consistent basis.  These things I feel will eventually benefit me as I go forward as an entreprenuer.  Some of those things are :

• Working out 3 times a day.
• Writing this blog.
• Listening to podcasts for entrepreneurs.

Of the three , I have found that consistently listening podcasts about business has contributed to keeping me focused.  As a result, my podcasts manager app of choice , BeyondPod has become the number one application that I use on my Android device.  Some of the highlights of this apps are:

• You can schedule podcasts to download at specific times of the day.
• You can import and sync you podcasts with Google Reader.
• It includes it's own internal media player.

Once you have purchased the app , here are some must-have podcasts for the entrepreneur: 

Rise and Grind

A straight talk (Rated R) podcasts that focuses on the mentality that is needed to make money.  The host is Daniel Freeman, a business owner and author of " How to Make a dollar out of 15 Cents", who preaches the urgency of financial independence.   It's clear that his goal is to not be a motivational speaker , but a source of actionable information.   Click here to subscribe to the Rise and Grind Radio show

Dream Chasers Show

Hosted by Will Lane , I found his podcast very inspirational.  He has a number of different guests on his show that give different perspectives on starting a business. Subscribe to the Dream Chasers show by clicking here. 

Help Start my Small Business

Hosted by brothers Joel and Neil , this pod casts bring together both information packed episodes and guests that motivate.  I found this podcast yesterday and went through several while working out.  I found that some of the things they talked about like a one page business plan and building a profile of an ideal customer, were so valuable I felt bad that it's free.  I highly recommend you go here to subscribe!

Free Website Templates with Zoho Sites

In the early years of the Internet, many people would spend loads of many to develop a website.  For a simple website , it would not be a shock if you spent over a $1000 for a basic site that just gave information. Today there are many low-cost options that are available to the entrepreneur.  One that I found very useful is Zoho Sites.

What sets Zoho Sites apart from other Website template / hosting solutions are the following:

• Very cheap , you can get a great webpage with a number of tools for $35 a year.
• A free option that provides you with a full website, with lesser features (which will be adequate for many).
• Easy to use tools that allows you to build a site without a developer.
• Free mobile site! (for Android and iOS) 

Zoho has been in the web app game for a while and they create some very stable business tools.  This Website design tool is no different.

Your Next Million Dollar Idea is in Jeopardy

Ideas are the fuel for the hustler. The bad thing about some ideas, is that they don't usually come when you're sitting at your desk, ready to jot them down in Microsoft Word.  They often come while you're on the toilet , in the shower, in bed or driving.

Capturing your next million dollar idea is important , so here are some ways for you to get those ideas saved FAST :

1. Hovernote -Hovernote is a note taking program like many others , but what sets it apart is that it (as its name implies) hovers over your screen when using it.  This comes in handy because you can open Hovernote and  leave it open in your notification bar until you need it.  When you want to jot something down , you simply pull down the notification bar and start typing.

2. Google Search "Note to Self" feature - Native in the Google search utility is a little known feature that allows you to take quick notes.  To activate it you simply have to hold down the search button on your Android device.  The voice prompt will come up and you will dictate your note by starting with the words "note to self".  After your note is taken, you will be placed in an interface allowing you to send the text of the note that you just too plus the audio to your email.  Make sure you create a filter and note label to organize these messages and you are good to go.

Read all Your Favorite Sites Like a Magazine with Currents

If you are a person that is busy and money-minded , you will have websites that you frequent for your daily information.  Some are heavy into stocks so they hit cnbc.com , or you may have more underground sites that you use to guide your hustle (riseandgrind.com) .  Regardless of the site you can view them in a consistent magazine-like format using currents.  Currents is a rss feed reader just like Google Reader , but this brings a much more readable interface to the table.  It is a free app and needs to be experienced to understand how awesome this app is.  Get it now from the link below.

Currents on Google Play 

The Tablet Wars - Which One is Right for You?

As consumers, there is nothing more beneficial to us then when companies war for our dollars.  This is a huge reason why we have seen so much competitive pricing in gaming and why innovation has been pushed so far.  I guarantee you, if there were only one video game console out there, it would be $500 and the experience would not be nearly as good. Similar to the console wars the Tablet wars have emerged with four essential players, the iPad, the Microsoft Surface, the Nexus 7 and the Asus Transformer line.  I will not go deep into the specs on each , but my goal with this post is to match which consumer should be purchasing each tablet. 

The iPad

This is the tablet that started the new generation of tablets.  This one is the most easiest to use and are great for the non-techie and people who are elderly... (I'm just keeping it real).

Microsoft Surface


The surface has yet to hit the streets, but this is obviously a tablet made for the corporate world. If you spend a lot of time in Outlook and live by your Office suite, this will be the tablet for your work/business life.

Nexus 7


The Nexus 7 has a smaller form factor than the previosly mentionsned and smaller price tag at $200 (starting).  The Nexus 7 will be a great tablet for students and techies.  The customization and speed makes the techies happy and the book-sized form factor is a great text book replacement for students.



Asus Transformer Line

Asus' Transformer line are very powerful and were the first to master the integration of a keyboard. This is going to be for those who are techie and are also business minded.  










Regardless of which tablet you choose, you have a good amount of choices that ensure that your needs are met.  The hardware for all of these are fast and efficient enough to rely on. So now is the time to add one of these devices into your life, you can't go wrong with any of these.


Resources:

Asus
Nexus 7
iPad 
Microsoft Surface