The Enlightened Entrepreneur - Free and Low-Cost Tools and Resources for Small Businesses!

Harry Maurer
  • 5.0 (2)
  • ENTREPRENEURSHIP
The Enlightened Entrepreneur - Free and Low-Cost Tools and Resources for Small Businesses! Podcast

If you are a new or established business "bleeding money" from paying monthly charges for programs and tools like Autoresponders, CRM’s, Graphics Software, Video editing programs and more – you will love the free and low-cost alternatives that Harry reveals each week! Harry Maurer is the best-selling business author of “ON YOUR OWN, BUT NOT ALONE: 50 FREE and Low-Cost Resources for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses” and teaches business owners how to use hidden free and inexpensive programs and tools to help their businesses grow.

  1. 153 – Your Own Full-featured e-commerce Platform

    12/16/2021

    153 – Your Own Full-featured e-commerce Platform

    I was a little skeptical of an inexpensive “shopping cart” program because I have been burned before – with WordPress plugins that were hard to configure, difficult to use and a few that were unsupported and unreliable.  This one impressed me for a few reasons: First of all, you don’t have to install it on a WordPress site – in fact you don’t even have to host it on your own server – it is hosted for you at no additional charge!  Also, the developer designed it for his wife -- who is not a computer geek like he is -- so it was specifically designed to be easy to use.   Links mentioned in this Episode: Shoplly: https://shoplly.net/sales Sample Site (His Wife's Store): https://shoplly.net/stores/blue_harp Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course and tools for just $7 CLICK HERE

    7 min
  2. 152 – Here’s Everything you Need!

    09/23/2021

    152 – Here’s Everything you Need!

    I remember when the first CRM system I used cost a one time charge of $30 – now it is more along the lines of $200 - $500 per month! Some of the more popular systems I am referring to include Pipedrive, Salesmate, Zoho, Clickfunnels and others. I recently discovered a newer, full-featured business platform that has many newer and more advanced features -- similar to a $300/month program that I am currently using, but as I am exploring it, I am finding that it is cleaner, a little better organized, more intuitive to use and I think is a terrific platform for ANY business to consider…but if you are just starting out in business, I think this is a great way to start….and did I mention that its basic version is FREE to use? Links mentioned in this Episode: Systeme.io: https://systeme.io/ Want to market your business using Webinars? Webinar programs are expensive. Go-to-webinar: starts at $109/month. WebinarJam and EverWebinar cost $499/year! That’s a LOT of money – especially if you are just beginning to experiment with webinars and may only be presenting a few a year. But if you want to dip you toes into webinars without a major investment using a program that is extremely reliable and easy to use, then visit us here for a sample and a walkthrough of a remarkable webinar program that I recommend and use myself for pre-recorded webinars – and believe it or not, it costs less than $20 CLICK HERE

    8 min
  3. 151 – Improve Your Headlines

    09/16/2021

    151 – Improve Your Headlines

    If you have studied marketing for any period of time, you will know that the headline of your webpage or promotional material and the subject line of your emails is the most important element of your marketing. Why? Because if the headline or subject line does not grab your audience’s attention, they will move on without delving into your promotional materials -- or reading your carefully crafted email. It is said that 8 out of 10 people will read your headline, but only 2 of them will go on to read the content – so you need to grab their attention right at the start and a good headline will make them read on. I stumbled across this program recently that helps you improve your headlines and subject lines and tried it out this week and I am impressed – if I weren’t I would never have included it in my podcast! Links mentioned in this Episode: Haedline Studio: https://coschedule.com/headline-analyzer Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course for just $7 CLICK HERE

    6 min
  4. 150 - Chat with Your Prospects

    09/02/2021

    150 - Chat with Your Prospects

    I do have a simple “chat” widget on my websites that allow people to give me their contact information and ask questions and I am able to both automate responses to the most common questions they may have or I can reply to them by text on their phone. It’s a good system and it works for me and my particular business, but I have to admit that what I am about to show you is more impressive, is really slick and comes across as much more professional... ...and would it surprise you to know that it is completely free? Links mentioned in this Episode: Tawk: https://www.tawk.to/ Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course for just $7 CLICK HERE

    7 min

  5. 08/26/2021

    149 - Meme and Schedule

    These are two related tools that I am currently using for an upcoming event. One is a social media tool that will allow you to create memes or images with text on them and the other is a companion program that will allow you to schedule them to go out to your social media channels on a schedule that you determine. I have seen paid programs like this in the past, but for the limited amount of times I would probably use it, it wasn’t worth subscribing to, but this program has a free option that really impresses me and I ill be using this for an upcoming event I am promoting. Links mentioned in this Episode: Pablo and Buffer: https://pablo.buffer.com/ Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course for just $7 CLICK HERE

    7 min
  6. 148 – Scan and Promote!

    08/12/2021

    148 – Scan and Promote!

    *** PLEASE NOTE: I CAN NO LONGER RECOMMEND "QR-CODE GENERATOR" FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: They automatically added me to the 14 Day Free trial (which I was fine with) and then instead of reverting me to their free option, cut off my access to the QR Codes I created which can NOT be reverted to free QR codes.  Their customer service was terrible and it took days before I got a response which was less than helpful.  The only alternative they gave me was to spend $75 for a year access to those codes I created. My apologies.  I have found an alternative QR-Code generator that does exactly what I needed it to do and does it 100% for free and can recommend it instead. Here is the link to the program I recommend instead: https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/ I have a friend who wanted to add a QR code to her marketing materials and she asked me how she can create one inexpensively.  I sent her the link to this program where she can create one for free. It will allow you to create a QR code for a URL, a vCard, one that opens Plain Text, one that will send you an email or text, one that takes people to your twitter page, -- even ones for WiFi access and Bitcoin!  Best of all -- it will create all of those for free! Links mentioned in this Episode: QR Code Generator: XXXXXhttps://www.qr-code-generator.comXXXXXXX (I NO LONGER RECOMMEND THIS PROGRAM - USE THE ONE BELOW INSTEAD THAT IS COMPLETELY FREE) https://www.qrcode-monkey.com/  Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course for just $7 CLICK HERE

    7 min

  7. 08/05/2021

    147 - Simulate a Video in your Email

    You can't put a video itself into an email, so instead,  the usual process is to have a static "still" image that people can click on that takes them to the video, but the closest thing to having an actual video embedded into an email, is to have a moving image – just 4-10 seconds of a video as a GIF image that can act as a teaser creating the illusion of a video with a button that encourages people top click on the image to get to open the video. Aside from inserting it into an email, it is also great to use as your video “thumbnail” on a webpage. Here's a great easy to use and free program to create a "moving" image! Links mentioned in this Episode: EZ-GIF: https://ezgif.com/video-to-gif Here is a link to get free "Video Play Buttons" mentioned in this episode: CLICK HERE Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course for just $7 CLICK HERE

    8 min

  8. 07/29/2021

    146 - Show Your Appreciation!

    I really like this idea and although I have seen similar programs, I like what this service offers and I think the pricing is very fair. It is a "gift service" designed to build customer loyalty and appreciation. There products range from just personalized postcards and greeting cards, to Gourmet foods (personalized from you to your client), to gift cards that include Amazon, Starbucks, Best Buy, Home Depot, and more) -- to even more elaborate gifts like drinkware emblazoned with your logo -- and even  laser engraved gifts. Links mentioned in this Episode: Mailbox Power: https://www.mailboxpower.com/ Whether you are already in business -- or if you are in business and want to start a sideline/side-hustle – or if you are just beginning to start a new business, I think you’ll agree that you need to have the following things in place: A place to keep track of your contacts A way to “brand” yourself with professional looking materials and visuals A way to easily communicate with prospects and clients a way to encourage people to find out more about your business or service and what you can provide them with A way to get the word out about your business What if I gave you FREE TOOLS that will allow you to do all of the above? A free high-quality and highly rated Customer Relationship Management platform (or CRM) A free Autoresponder system – one that again is highly rated and won’t cost you a dime! How about a free service that will help you design a logo, create professional layouts for posters and flyers – and more without having to hire a designer! A free service that will allow you to create a professional-looking giveaway – or “lead magnet” to attract customers and finally, a free service – something I have kept to myself for years that will help you spread the word to others about your business or service We’ve combined all of these resources for you in our $7 mini-course appropriately titled : 5 Things Every Business Needs! ...and How To Get them for FREE, and you can have immediate access to the course for just $7 CLICK HERE

    7 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

If you are a new or established business "bleeding money" from paying monthly charges for programs and tools like Autoresponders, CRM’s, Graphics Software, Video editing programs and more – you will love the free and low-cost alternatives that Harry reveals each week! Harry Maurer is the best-selling business author of “ON YOUR OWN, BUT NOT ALONE: 50 FREE and Low-Cost Resources for Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses” and teaches business owners how to use hidden free and inexpensive programs and tools to help their businesses grow.

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