Everyone knows that I simply adore Evernote.  In addition to using it personally, it has been beyond beneficial for me professionally.  I will share with you a few ways I use Evernote and would love to hear how you use it, too.  I will discuss my uses of it in phases—with this particular post focusing on the Client/Service aspect. 

For those that are new to Evernote, allow me to give you a brief refresher:  It is very similar to MS OneNote or Google Notebook, in that it allows you to store information– pictures, documents, pieces of the web, diagrams, pictures, audio, etc. in “notebooks”.  Think of your trusty Trapper Keeper from school.

Each notebook has its own subject and in this instance, we are talking about our fictional Client notebook. (Don’t worry—we’ll talk about others later).  Since Evernote has  web, desktop, iPhone, and blackberry versions, it is very easy to keep your notebooks in sync all of the time.

Storing important information—Sometimes, you just need pertinent information about your wedding and event clients at a glance (names, contact info, event dates, times, locations, etc.).  Create a notebook named for each client and make the first page their important information page.  Each Evernote account is given its own email address, which makes it very easy to email more detailed information like client questionnaires or forward emails with changes, or more descriptive explanations.  With Evernote’s annotations, it is very easy to make things stand out for quick reference.

Research and meetings—With the “Clip to Evernote” feature on Firefox, surfing the web has never been easier when you are researching theme inspiration, invitation wording, signature cocktail recipes, and more.  At meetings with clients, you can take pictures of information from their wedding planner books or contracts.  Evernote magically makes printed and handwritten text inside your images searchable, too.

Stay on track with assignments—Evernote can create to do lists so that you know what you need to do for each client and when.   Keep all your lists organized and tags according to category (i.e., vendor research, catering, etc.).

Design and other fabulousness—Again, storing your color concepts, inspirations, ideas, sketches, images, and more in Evernote keeps everything in an easily accessible location that is always with you, no matter where you go.  This is great when you are out scouting locations, design props, fabrics, etc.  You can take a quick picture with your mobile phone and store it in Evernote immediately with a quick note about what inspired you at the time.  If you come up with an idea off the cuff, you can also record a voice note to your notebook, as well.

Preliminary event info—timelines, maps, layouts, shoot lists, vendor information, etc. that is specific to each client can be stored in their notebooks.  Evernote’s accessibility makes it easy to edit the information from anywhere:  your desk in your office or while waiting in line on your mobile phone.

These are just a few ways you can use Evernote for your wedding clients.  If you are an Evernote user, how do you use it for your clients?

If you have not yet purchased a Kindle or any eReader for that matter, but enjoy apps like Kindle for iPhone, you will be happy to know that Amazon will soon debut its Kindle for PC and and Kindle for Mac.  The free reader will allow you access to over 360,000 books available in the Amazon Kindle bookstore.  What’s even better is that if you have purchased samples or full length books on your Kindle for iPhone app (or if you have a Kindle), with Whispersync, you can access all of your favorite books, notes and marks.

Last week, Kindle introduced its International Kindle Wireless Reading Device that allows users to download books, magazines, and blogs wirelessly in the U.S. and internationally dropping it from its original $279 price to the U.S. Kindle’s $259.  Could this be to compete with Barnes & Noble’s new eReader, Nook which is set to debut in late November for the same price?

Happy reading!

When a client retains you, your work process could (or should) work similarly as an attorney who is paid in escrow and then submits an invoice for the hours worked.  Even if you do not submit that invoice to the client, tracking your hours is a good way to make sure that you are fees are in direct correlation with the amount of work you are putting in to each account.  These apps will help you track your hours in a consistent manner, which is great for hourly and flat rate work.  These are also great options for your staff if you pay your employees hourly.

The first is Compuccino.  It is an Adobe AIR app (simply means it can run on a variety of platforms—Windows, OS X, Linux) that tracks tasks, time and projects.  It also works with Basecamp if you use that as your virtual office/project management resource for your clients.  It’s sleek interface rests on your desktop as you work, allowing you to keep track along the way.

Toggl is another program, and although not an AIR app, it can be embedded into code into the website of you choice along with the a downloadable desktop dashboard.  There are free and paid versions and will also boast a new design in the upcoming weeks. It also works with “one-click tracking”, which means you can switch from task to task easily while working.

Coming Soon….

Dukt Time Tracking is another Adobe AIR app that also allows you to track your time working on projects.  It is not released yet, but be sure to sign up so that you can be notified when it is ready for release.  With an OS X like interface, projects can be grouped and expanded in folders. 

Let me know what you love and what works for you!

BookFresh makes it easy for new and existing customers to connect with your business and schedule an appointment online. It helps manage your schedule, markets your services and notifies you when someone schedules an appointment. There’s nothing to install and it works on any computer.

BookFresh does not require your clients to leave your website in order to book an appointment with you. By placing a single line of HTML code on your website, BookFresh will embed an online appointment system seamlessly into your website. You can control the colors, fonts and other visual elements so that it looks professional and tightly integrated.  For those with flash sites, you can create a single HTML page that is linked from your flash page, too!

Easy to use, powerful features:

• Accepts appointments on your website 24 hours a day
• Works like a Virtual Receptionist
• Notifies you by phone, text message and email when clients book
• Integrates with Outlook 2007, iCal, and Google Calendar
• Sends automated reminders to your clients to prevent no-shows
• Integrates seamlessly with your existing website
• Encourages your clients to promote you on Facebook
• Adds “Concierge Quality” to your services business

Here are great ways to use it with your wedding business:

• Schedule a 15 min. pre-screening phone call
• Schedule your complimentary one hour consultations
• Schedule upcoming client appointments
• Schedule vendor appointments, consultations and confirmations

The possibilities are truly endless and provide an opportunity to work efficiently and professionally.

We’ve previously touched on if a smartphone is right for you, but now we will talk to smartphone owners in the wedding industry who are looking to make their lives more efficient both personally and professionally.  I had an opportunity to talk to Wendy of Sacred Moment Weddings and the innovator behind Aspire to Plan when she first got her Palm Pre.

CWG:  How long have you had your Pre?

W:  Exactly 10 days!  I stood in line the day it was released…June 6th.  No…didn’t camp out or anything like that…just got up early and got in line about 20 minutes before the store opened.

CWG: How often do you use it?

W:  I use my Palm throughout the day but mostly when I am out and about with clients or when meeting with vendors. I also use it a lot when I’m traveling…it has a great navigational app!  I’m trying to see if I can change the voice on it though…I’d rather hear a guy’s voice!

CWG:  What does it do that makes it invaluable to you and your business?

W:  The phone has several tools that keep me organized and efficient throughout the day.  If I’m at a linen appointment without my client, I can take crisp, clear pictures and send them to her for real time opinions…My calendar is at my finger tips throughout the day for making appointments and then I can sync it to my calendar on my laptop as soon as I get home.  The NAV app helps me find where I’m going if I get lost when meeting a new client and I LOVE the multi-app functionality…I can use Tweed to twitter and text my son about his latest crisis all at the same time!

CWG:  What do you wish it would do?

W: Right now I get my email through Yahoo’s Small Business service however I can’t get to it through the Palm OS.  I can get to my regular yahoo account but not the biz side of it…yet!

CWG: What programs/apps have you added to your phone and what do you use them for?

 W: I use "Tweed" for Twitter…its very close to the original app online; I love the "Where" app for finding commonly frequented businesses like Starbucks, Target etc. when I’m in a unfamiliar part of town.

CWG: What made you choose the Pre over another smartphone?

W: Although I have been a Sprint customer for almost 10 years, I was 99.9% ready to switch my regular cell phone over to AT&T and purchase an iPhone.  Several of my good friends have it and have raved about the great functionality.  Because of my superwoman role, I must have an office on me, around me at all times!  I’m constantly mobile and my laptop was starting to weigh me down.  A smartphone was the logical next step and the iPhone was it.  Despite that and the problems I’ve had with Sprint in the past, I felt a sense of loyalty to them and to at least wait for the Palm to be released before I switched.  To try it out and see if it was going to meet my needs.  I’m glad I waited.

The Palm Pre has a slide out  full keyboard to type emails and messages quickly and easily, as well as a removable battery.  It also boasts Wi-Fi, GPS, 3G and the Palm OS, with allows for backups of your information as well as over-the-air updates.  To learn more, visit the Palm Pre for Business website or your nearest Sprint retailer. 

I have been using WPTouch theme for my wedding planning blog Cocktails & Details for a few months now.  When you go to the website on your laptop or desktop, you will see this:

But if you access it via the popular iPhone or iPod Touch you will see a regenerated version of the blog that works like an iPhone/iPod Touch App:

You can customize your colors and icons to be more reflective of your brand, as well as the way that the posts appear.  Your tags are easily accessible and visible to generate further exploration into your blog.  If a reader stumbles across a link to your blog on Twitterfon, Twitteriffic or Tweetie, they can continue to your blog with an iPhone like interface that is fast, but stays true to your content.  Simply install the plugin for your Wordpress blog, set your preferences, and you are done!

I stumbled upon Schedulicity recently and absolutely love the concept. 

If you run an appointment based business, as most wedding professionals do, Schedulicity allows you to offer online appointments to your prospects and clients.  It also works well if you have associates or other employees that clients can set up appointments with.  Best of all, it is compatible with mobile smart phones like Blackberry and iPhone. 

While pre-qualifying is always key, you can give your Schedulicity link to qualified prospects after an initial phone call if they are unsure of a time to meet.  Clients can set up times for conference calls, consultations and meetings as well as reschedule, if necessary.  Schedulicity also takes into account current appointments on your books, so you can choose to set your Schedulicity calendar to a date in a future.

Learn more  at the Schedulicity website and even take it for a test trial!

That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

At any rate, i was quite envious of the cute docks that  Macs use, similar to Window’s task bar (a little). I stumbled upon something for Windows that gave me what I wanted.  Rocket Dock.  Rocket Dock allows you to put your most frequently used programs, files, etc. in an animated dock, just like Macs.  Take a look:

Features:

• Minimize windows to the dock
• Real-time window previews in Vista
• Running application indicators
• Simple drag-n-drop interface
• Multi-monitor support
• Supports alpha-blended PNG and ICO icons
• Icons zoom and transition smoothly
• Auto-hide and Popup on mouse over
• Positioning and layering options
• Fully customizable
• Completely Portable
• ObjectDock Docklet support
• Compatible with MobyDock, ObjectDock, RK Launcher, and Y’z Dock skins
• Runs great on slower computers
• Unicode compliant
• Supports many languages and can easily be translated
• A friendly user base
• And best of all… its FREE!!!

I love that I don’t have to go to my taskbar, menu or desktop to access what I want when I need it.

Great news!  Get Married, who has caused such excitement wit their television show and upcoming magazine, has just upped the ante in the wedding publication stakes.  The new magazine, set to debut later this fall, will use Microsoft Tag which allows you to snap of picture of something with your camera phone and instantly be access mobile content, videos, music, contact information, maps, social networks, promotions, and more. Nothing to type, no browsers to launch!

Here is more from Get Married:

Get Married magazine is the first bridal publication to ever use the new Microsoft Tag technology, giving readers instant entertainment and connection to videos, website, photos and information on a mobile phone.  Throughout Get Married magazine, select editorial and advertisements will have a Microsoft Tag printed directly onto the pages.  After a quick download of the free application to an internet-enabled camera phone, busy and on-the-go brides just aim and snap any Tag within Get Married magazine, immediately turning the still Tag into rich, interactive content on their phone.

Learn more about the Microsoft Tag integration with Get Married.

I am so happy to host another Google Apps Webinar this week for those who are eager to get started with Google Apps for their wedding business. I had such a fun time with last week’s participants and look forward to sharing it with you this week.  To continue with the relaxed atmosphere, class sizes will remain low so that we can all engage, ask questions and get good feedback from each other.  What I loved last week was how willing everyone was to assist and give ideas. 

To make it easier for those who are just getting used to Google Apps, we are breaking the Webinar up into a two part session:  One on Wednesday, June 17th and another on Thursday, June 18th.  We will discuss the Mail and Calendar portion in great detail on Wednesday, and the Docs and Sites portion of Google Apps on Thursday.  

You will see real-time, real life examples and instructions on how to: 

• Streamline all of your email in one place.  That’s right– a website for all of your staff to login to check their email.  Also, you can get all of your email in one place. Great if you have  multiple accounts, but would rather floss with your laptop cord than to check them individual.
• Share and work on documents, presentations, and spreadsheets with colleagues, vendors and clients.
• Keep a detailed calendar for yourself and your staff that is easily shared and integrated with your email.  It’s very intuitive– you can talk about a  date in an email, and it will ask “Would you like to add this to your calendar?” Really. Could it get any easier?
• Create project management sites, or a virtual office,  to collaborate with members of your staff and clients.

Here are what previous webinar attendees have said:

Click here to buy your ticket and reserve your seat today!
(iWED members, check the forum for your discount code)