Don’t you just love open source software and applications?  I do and I use some awesome programs daily at My Office Assistant.  Here are my top five.  Let’s see what you can add to my list.

1. WordPress.org - I use wordpress.org to power my web site and blog.  The best part for me is that I can update my content and look anytime from anywhere.  This is my third overall change to my website as I went from traditional html/css to a WordPress themed site.  Now I can easily make the changes I need and if I tire of the look of my site I simply only need to change the theme and apply to the pages.
2. Fences (by Stardock) – This nifty desktop program has been a staple of mine for a while now.  I have written about it before and will continue to do so.  I like to keep all things organized, neat and tidy including my desktop.  Fences allows you to group shortcuts and icons in areas on your desktop.  I have fences form programs, clients and documents.  Better yet with a simple click of the mouse you can hide you icons for tasks such as screen sharing.
3. Google Voice – I started using Google Voice because I live in a remote area and well we just don’t have telephone voicemail capabilities on your land line.  So for my business line, if I were on a call my client would get a busy signal.  Enter Google Voice which allows me  the capability to set up a voice mail system as well as fowarding my calls.  If I am on the road, I simply need to check an option and my phone now goes to me cell instead of my land.  All while keeping my original voice mail system in tact.  I also get email notices when a new message is received.  The only con to this is the voice to text recognition program needs some work as I cannot often rely on what the text version reads.
4. DimDim – Online meeting and webinar program that I use regularly for group meetings.  While I am currently using the free version, as I progress with my webinar offerings I will move to the Pro version.  However if you are looking for a great free resource to conduct collaborative meetings this is the choice I made.  You have the capability to screen share, upload presentations, white board and website viewing.  Best of all, you can change presenters so that anyone in on the meeting can express their thoughts and share their information.
5. Wisemapping – I find that mind mapping (or visual brainstorming) is helpful to me as I think through a process or project.  Wisemapping is a wonderful open source program that have all the capabilities I need and more.  Best yet, you can print and share you mind map for others to see and work with you as you progress through your thought process.

So you see I am all about bootstrapping and taking advantage of all the great resources available to small business owners.  Sifting through them to find the great versus the okay are another issue.  I find that by giving you my top five, you may also find a program to help your business.  Feel free to add your own as well.

All the best,

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