Gerry Blackwell

One of the biggest challenges facing small businesses today, especially as they start growing larger, is how to integrate and automate key business management systems and software — customer relationship management (CRM), financials, e-mail, contacts and calendaring etc. The idea is for everything to work together efficiently and not end up creating extra work or […]

When customers come to your Web site, they usually want to find stuff fast. If the site is small enough and designed well enough, they can find what they want by clicking through menus. But once a site gets beyond a certain size – a couple of hundred pages, say – and especially if you […]

Jim Coudal has been blogging so long that when he started, they didn’t even call it blogging, he says. They just called it keeping your Web site up to date. Coudal, president of Coudal Partners Inc. , an eight-person Chicago design firm that specializes in creating corporate identities and logos, admits his approach to blogging […]

The right phone system can help make small businesses seem bigger and more professional. Even if you’re a one- or two-person shop and work out of a home office, even if you basically run your business from wherever you are, an advanced phone system can make you sound like a big firm with its own […]

There was a time a few years ago when Wi-Fi, the now-ubiquitous wireless local area networking standard, was not the only option available to home owners and small businesses looking for a simple way to link computers and share high-speed Internet service. HomePlug, a technology for running Ethernet networking over existing, on-site electrical lines, was […]

If you’re looking for ways to cut costs on your long distance, small business calls, you might consider Skype, a VoIP service that lets you make phone calls over the Internet. Skype has sold some hardware at its Web site — mostly accessories such as computer telephone headsets from Plantronics Inc., and Radio Shack displays […]

When Mike Furney took his big gamble last year and escaped from the Dallas carpet and flooring outlet where he’d been working to open his own place across town, the technology side of starting a new business that totally mystified him. What kind of computer system did he need, and what sort of phone system […]

To make the most of the digital photos you shoot for catalogs, brochures, flyers, newsletters and Web pages, you need a software tool that will help fix, edit and enhance pictures. Among professionals, Photoshop from Adobe Systems Inc. is the tool of choice, but the current version of Photoshop sells for at least $500 and […]

MioNet, a new remote-access, sharing-and-backup product from Senvid Inc., makes it easier for small business employees to work remotely and collaboratively, while saving money, time and effort. Senvid officially launched MioNet today, but the company provided SmallBusinessComputing with early access to allow us to test how well the service delivers on its claims. MioNet is […]

Laptops used to be expensive status symbols as much as working tools. Today they’re a commodity item, an almost essential piece of business gear, even in small businesses. Notebook sales have skyrocketed in recent years, growing significantly faster than desktop PC sales. Gartner recently reported Q3 2005 sales of laptops at 55 million units worldwide, […]

The Internet has turned traditional advertising on its ear, as successful e-tailers like Daniel Thralow, CEO of Thralow Inc., learned very quickly. With traditional advertising, you could never be sure if anyone saw or paid attention to your message. But services like Google AdWords, upon which small business owners, including Thralow, have built their businesses, […]