10 Weeks of Free Tools Every VA Must Have – Week 4

Posted on August 28, 2007 
Filed Under Our Favorite Products, Tips & Tricks, Virtual Assistance

Last week we talked about some really handy tools for VAs, including the Lorem Ipsum Generator, Plaxo, Microsoft Office Templates, and Visual Thesaurus. Now on to…

Week 4: Sharing, Collaborating & Communicating Remotely Is What Virtual Assistants Do Best!


File Sharing

YouSendItYouSendIt: YouSendIt just got a whole lot better. Not only can you send files that are up to 100MB for free, but YouSendIt has just released six plug-ins to make it a lot easier to send files right from your favorite software programs like Outlook, Photoshop, and CorelDRAW. If you send and receive lots of files, they offer paid versions from $4.99 per month up to the $29.99 per month business plan, which features your own branded drop-box for clients and associates. Oh, and just for fun, they even provide instructions on how to make the YouSendIt airplane.

AllPeersAllPeers: AllPeers is a Firefox add-on that allows you to share your files privately and securely just by dragging your files to your AllPeers window. You also have the ability to share entire folders, web pages, or images from the Web. You control who has access, and best of all, there are no more uploads, no email attachments, no size limit, and no slow downloads—and it’s all fre*e. Oh, and did I mention you can use it to chat with your friends too?


Remote Access to Your Own Computer

LogMeInLogMeIn: LogMeIn Free is one of my favorite tools. It allows you to access your computer from anywhere easily and securely. Going out of town and don’t want to lug CDs and jump drives containing all the files you might need? Then LogMeIn is the answer. I personally upgraded to LogMeIn Pro, which allows you to share files with anyone just by providing them with a link, but my favorite feature of Pro is the ability to invite a guest to log in to your computer. I have used the guest invite to train associates in Dreamweaver and InDesign, as well as teach clients how to use their new WordPress dashboard after I’ve installed and customized a blog for them. It’s the best $70 per year I spend on my business.

Instant Message, Collaborate, Conference & More

SkypeSkype:Skype is another one of my all-time favorite tools, and I use it every day. Sure, I have MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, and AOL, but Skype is far superior to anything I’ve used in the past. Yes, I can send instant messages using those other programs just fine, but I’ve never been able to use the voice chat in these programs without garbled voices or constant disconnections. I’ve also never been able to successfully use the video chat without problems—until Skype. And if you’re trying to connect with a client, fumbling with technical problems, disconnections, and garbled voices is not an option.

All instant messaging (or “Skyping”), voice calls, and video calls to others who use Skype are free. You can do so much more with Skype too: personalize it, partake in Skypecasts, conference with an entire group of people, share files, and add tons of extra tools, from collaboration to productivity to voice mail.

Of course, if you want to be able to call landlines, you can get Skype Unlimited—unlimited calls to any phone in the U.S. and Canada for under $30 a year. Your telephone company can’t beat that with a stick!


Collaborate

ThinkatureThinkature: Thinkature offers live image collaboration with your clients or associates. You can share your workspace in seconds and communicate by instant messenger, all while drawing and making notes on the screen in real time. Use it to plan an event with a client or plan your next reunion with family members who are scattered across the country—or plan whatever with whomever. Best of all, you can use it from anywhere because it is web-based.

WriteboardWriteboard: Brought to you by the amazing 37Signals, Writeboard is a web-based document tool for writing down your ideas, business letters, blog posts, book chapters, or anything else you normally write in your word processor. The difference is that your Writeboard is online and accessible from anywhere. Besides having the ability to retrieve your work remotely, you can also compare different versions, share with others, collaborate with team members or clients, and even subscribe to documents via RSS feeds so that you’re notified of changes. If you use Backpack by 37Signals, you can integrate your Writeboards directly into your account and organize them there.

Feel free to leave a comment on how you share, collaborate, and communicate! And don’t forget to check back next week for more free tools!

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