Here are some of the people, products, and services that my clients and I have found helpful. And yes, I do have referral-fee arrangements with some of them, but I only sign up for affiliate programs when I have used, and like, the company's products or services.
If you're looking for a new job, Catherine Sutton of Resounding! Resumes can help you get one. Even as an independent professional, you can benefit from a good resume.
The Bay Area Consultants Network meets on the fourth Friday of every month, and it's been a great resource for me. The programs feature lively presenters on useful topics and the atmosphere is friendly and welcoming. Though BACN is technically affiliated with the Institute for Management Consultants, you don't have to be an IMC member, or even a management consultant, to attend.
The Society of Female Entrepreneurs is based in Silicon Valley and runs the SOFElist at Yahoo! groups. SOFE's purpose is to support all women business owners and provide networking and promotional opportunities.
If you need original artwork for a logo or book cover, or want a website designed with all the latest Flash technology, I highly recommend Lek Kittikunadul of Logicwiz, with whom I've worked on several projects. (Lek did the caveman-computer painting for Eve Abbott's book cover.)
Get $25 off your first order from Printingforless.com! Their prices and products are both good, and their online system is easy to use. PFL accepts all popular Mac and PC desktop publishing file formats. They keep adding new products, like calendars and CD covers, to their line of brochures, business cards, newsletters, and catalogs. And they're Microsoft Publisher friendly, even offering hints and tips.
The Bay Area Editors Forum is a great site both for those in the editing profession and those seeking an editor, proofreader, indexer, fact-checker, or other writing specialist. I recommend the "What Do Editors Do?" page—especially to prospective clients!
For
anyone who writes in a business environment—which is probably most people
reading this—The
Business Style Handbook is an extremely useful reference. It's also much
more manageable in size and price than most writers' and editors' manuals.
Eve Abbott, Organizer Extraordinaire, can save you an hour a day and increase your productivity by 25%. If you're not ready to hire a personal productivity consultant, read Eve's book, How to Do Space Age Work with a Stone Age Brain™, or sign up for one of her classes at the College of Marin.
Alko Office Supply in Berkeley is a recent discovery on my part, despite the fact that I've driven past it on the way to the grocery store for years. They want your local business, and to prove it they'll deliver any size order free in the East Bay. You can buy 'File Slings' (officially known as Pendaflex® Mobile File Cases) and more: their selection is better than either Office Depot or Staples. The only downside is that you have to use Microsoft Internet Explorer to order from their online catalog.
If you're not in the East Bay, then I'd definitely pick Office Depot over Staples. They have some very good own-brand labels and cards, including inkjet bumper stickers and clear window decals.
FileSolutions®
File Kits are something I've used with my office clients since I first
started slinging files. One of the great things about them is that they come
with an index, so a person who isn't familiar with your existing system can
still find anything you file. There are versions for home, business, and school.
I learned about these, like so much else, from Eve.
Joan Bobkoff has taken two sets of great FileSlinger photos for me. She specializes in head shots for people who like getting their pictures taken about as much as going to the dentist.
Get your demo video professionally recorded and edited by Andy Peterson of the Ex'pression College for Digital Arts in Emeryville.
Not ready for a full-length demo yet? Consider getting a 30-second "commercial" to show online from YourWebVideo.
in
San Francisco provides enterprise-class e-mail and software solutions for
small and mid-sized businesses. "From managed dedicated hosting to CIO-level
decision support, ASPextra.net is your one-way ticket to taking your business
to the next level...Superfast, ultra-reliable, and secure." And they're
nice guys, too.
Ecomincs e-mail marketing and shopping cart system (provided by 1shoppingcart.com) automates and tracks your marketing campaigns and sales, allowing you to maintain lists with tens of thousands of members. Used by the E-zine Queen herself.
iPowerWeb
is my current web host, and I've been very happy with them. Their rates are
quite reasonable ($7.95/month for more space than I'll ever use) and their
staff of native English speakers is actually still based in California. I
picked them because they consistently showed up in the top 10 of every survey
of web hosting providers I could find.
Tiger Direct (see the banner below) sells computers, peripherals, and consumables (including Pantone® inks for my Epson 1280 printer) at reasonable prices with quick delivery.
Sandy Shepard of Good Solutions, Inc. is the person to go to for affordable help in filing your trademark. I send all my TM clients to her after I've done the background research for them. Sandy also has a series of presentations on topics like Intellectual Property and Contracts—and on top of that, she's a licensed massage therapist!
Booksurge provides print-on-demand publishing and wholesale and retail distribution with moderate setup costs. Publish your book without having to keep thousands of copies in your basement, and get as much as 40% of the retail price (rather than the $0.72 per $20 book you get with a traditional publisher).
To learn more about FileSlinger™ Business Support Services, click on one of the titles below.
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