The Coach's Toolbox

Shortening a long URL

Link: url(x) · Shorten a long URL.

Sometimes you want to give a link to a url that's just way too long. That's when you want to make use of technology that creates a shorter url. Two such services are the new urlx (link above) and www.tinyurl.com.

Both services are free.

What's the color code?

Link: Nattyware / Pixie.

David at AudioAcrobat turned me onto this neat free little application. If you use any customizable html programs that allow you to customize colors and you wondered how on earth you could exactly duplicate the colors of your website, Pixie lets you get the HEX color code in addition to RGB, HTML, CMYK and HSV values.

Quimble - Polls done right

Link: Quimble - Polls done right.

I love polls. Perhaps it was all those Cosmo quizzes I took back in my youth. But I love taking them and making them. Quimble is a neat and free poll maker. You can email it to people, or post it to your website or blog with the html code it generates.

Create Adobe® PDF Online: easily convert and create PDF documents

Link: Create Adobe® PDF Online: easily convert and create PDF documents.

You probably have the Adobe Reader which enables you to read PDF files. But what if you want to create one, and you don't own the full Adobe Acrobat product? You can create PDF files using the Adobe online PDF service. You can do up to 5 documents for free, and after that you can do unlimited documents for $99.99 per year. There are other no-cost PDF makers available online if you do some googling.

Outstanding Presentations

Link: Garr Reynolds/Presentations.

From the website of PresentationZen master Garr Reynolds, wonderful tips on giving outstanding presentations.  Even the folks at TED (and they know a bit about outstanding presentations!) pointed to this.

Seth's Blog: The new source for free photos

Link: Seth's Blog: The new source for free photos.  Seth Godin points us to the stockxchange http://www.sxc.hu/index.phtml

And for extremely inexpensive (as low as $1), high quality photos, go to http://www.istockphoto.com

LegalZoom: Online Legal Services: LLC,Divorce,Wills,Incorporation & More

Link: LegalZoom: Online Legal Services: LLC,Divorce,Wills,Incorporation & More.

Whether you want to set up your business as an LLC, file  DBA (doing business as) papers, or want to establish a trademark or copyright, you need legal assistance.  LegalZoom is an online resource that may save you both time and money,

Think Inside the Box

One of the most important resources for any coach--new or accomplished--is fresh thought. 

Sometimes fresh thought puts common wisdom on it's head.  Such is the case with the book "Get Back in the Box"

From Publishers Weekly
By touting the value of thinking "outside the box," business experts have inspired an obsession with growth, competition and offbeat concepts, says Rushkoff (Cyberia; Coercion; etc.). In fact, he insists, the secret of success lies inside the box; businesses that focus on their core competencies, their customers' needs and their work environment come up with better innovations in the long run than those that rely on flashy ad campaigns, focus groups or off-site consultants. (Dec.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Seth Godin, author of All Marketers are Liars
"Get your highlighters out! There’s a worldchanging idea on each and every page."

Recording your calls -- Audio Acrobat

There are many reasons to record your calls.  You'll want to record your telephone coaching programs and classes to share or to create products.  You might want to record coaching sessions for certification purposes.  Or maybe you want to create an audio greeting for your website, or audio sales letter.

You can do all of that with Audio Acrobat.  Recording is easy from any telephone or computer with a plug in microphone.  You can even upload your own audio recordings to create digital files you can share via email, blog or website.  It's affordable (only  $19.95 per month) and they offer a free trial.  It's easy to use, and they have fabulous customer service.

Donna--

Free teleconferencing

It used to be that you had to lease bridge lines by the call or by the month.  If you were teaching several programs or teleclasses, or running coaching groups, this could add up.

In recent years there have been a proliferation of free bridge lines.  These have become so popular, that even some of the coaching schools have begun using them, rather than leasing their own lines. They work equally well.  (If you're wondering how these companies can do this, they get a few cents per caller into the lines from the phone companies.)

Here are some of the more popular ones:

www.FreeAudioConferencing.com [this is the one I use most often] allows up to 100 participants and you get both a host pin code and a participant one.  Features include no need for reservations, conference mode and muting.

https://www.freeconference.com up to 100 participants.  Features both reservation and reservation-less numbers.  Mutable lines.

http://www.freeconferenceservice.com/ (up to 50 participants) Features include conference mode and mutable lines.