Sometimes a document, spreadsheet, or presentation just isn’t the right tool to help me wrap my mind around an idea or concept.  Introducing mind mapping.

Mind mapping isn’t new, but there have been a lot of free tools introduced lately to help make the process easier.  MindMeister (affiliate linke) is the tool I’ve been using a lot lately; both for my business as well as my clients.  Since I started using it about 12 months ago, I see that I’ve created 45 unique maps, mostly for clients.  That’s about four maps / month.

Before we pulled Past Due Radio off the air at the end of 2009, I created a map that allowed me to see all the uses a studio in my office would provide me.  That directly affected our marketing and our bottom line.

I use the service to map out directions for my clients businesses.  It’s easy to lay out ideas and then map out similarities to find the best fits.  Here’s a recent one for Ben.

I’m confident there’s 100 more uses for mind mapping.  Share your top use here with a comment.

More of the Best Business Tools

In today’s connected world it’s not unusual to find customers outside your home base.  They may be in another state or in another country.  Connecting with them has become a top priority, especially for new businesses lacking cash flow to spend on technology.

Skype bridges the gap and provides not only a great service, but one that’s also free.

Here is a list of ways I use Skype for business:

1. Talk to clients
   Some clients prefer using Skype.  Even though I call my clients and pay the tab, many people have dropped their landines.  That means spending an hour or more with me on their cell phones.  Skype-to-Skype is a free call, anywhere in the world.
2. Talk to my wife and kids
   When I travel it’s easy to pick up the cell phone, but nothing beats seeing them on video.
3. Connecting with business partners
   I usually have Skype open when my computer is on.  This is a great way to stay connected to people I do business with.  We don’t get stuck on a long phone call and it beats waiting for an email response.  It’s usually immediate.
4. Radio interviews
   So far, 100% of the Guests I’ve brought on the show at Coach Radio have been via Skype.  People often remark that it sounds like my guest is in my studio.
5. Birthday reminders
   Don’t laugh.  I’ve been notified when I otherwise wouldn’t have know that it’s one of my connection’s birthday.  I’ll drop them an email, tweet, facebook message or email when no one else does.  Listing your birthdate is optional.
6. Sharing documents
   Skype handles the sharing of documents that are sometimes too big to even email.
7. Conference calls
   I’ve been on calls with up to five other people with no issues.  By the way, the audio quality on Skype blows away that of a traditional phone line.
8. Recorded video interviews
   Andy Traub recorded this side-by-side video as a promo for an upcoming Free Agent Academy event.  To record, use ecamm and check out my friend David’s great post on ecamm settings.
9. Phone calls on the road
   I’ve thought about this but I’m not quite there yet.  Skype allows you to Skype-out, meaning you can call any phone number  in the world, for a very low price.  Unlimited to the US and Canada is just $3 / month.  This is the first use here that isn’t free.

To get started with Skype, download and install it.  Choose your screen name, complete your profile and make your first call or chat.

How do you use Skype?  Did I miss it here?

More of the Best Business Tools

If you’re not monitoring traffic on your website you’re missing out.  I’m not the kind of guy that will tell you to get hung up in the numbers every day, but I will tell you that I spend at least 30-minutes each month reviewing the traffic and the traffic flow on my website.

How do Visitors Find Your Website?

It’s important to know and understand where your traffic comes from.  I can see here that 58% of coachradio.tv traffic comes from referring websites.

35% of traffic is direct, so they’re likely visited before and know the address or listened to my radio show and heard me mention it.  They could have also visited from typing it directly after hearing me or one of their friends mention it to them.

Where do Visitors get Referred From?

After searching or clicking through from my company website, without exception, the top ten websites referring traffic to coachradio.tv are social media websites.

You may erroneously think a few things based on this info.

First, if social media doesn’t rank high for you you might believe it won’t work for your business.  Instead, figure out what you need to do differently to get more traffic from the social media websites you’re involved in.

Second, look at the quality of the traffic you receive from your top ten.  You might put a lot of work into getting traffic from digg.com for instance.  But if what you offer isn’t a good fit for them, your time is better spent elsewhere.

Install Google Analytics

Don’t worry about figuring all of this out right now.  First, install google analytics on your website.  Depending on your platform, it will likely take just a few minutes.  From there you can begin collecting important data, such as unique visits, average time on site, pageviews and more.

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
- Lord Kelvin

The Best Business Tools