This is The Edge Of Innovation, a business weblog for entrepreneurs. Curated by the folks at New Methods.

Resources for Entrepreneurs

We have some huge plans for this page. And we’re working on some exciting stuff! But until then we’ll share with you some of our favorite software resources we’re currently using to boost our business and productivity :

Schedule

Tungle.me - We use this program to allow our partners, clients and anyone else easily schedule a meeting with us. What’s wonderful about the service is that you determine your availability and whoever wants to chat with you can select a few times. And without the need for signing up, they instantly request the meeting. It’s amazing and free!

Google Calendar - Besides being robust and user-friendly, (not to mention free!), there are a few high-quality features that make this the best option. Firstly, it allows you to sync calendars from other sources. Which is handy for those using many different technologies. Also, you can share calendars with others. Making collaboration a breeze. And most importantly, it wirelessly syncs with smart phones… bye bye overpriced Microsoft Exchange!

Connecting

Hashable - Never carry a business card again – while having an intriguing conversation piece. This free service allows you to easily exchange contact info, arrange introductions and do many other handy networking interactions with anyone. And your entire info trade at networking events works extremely smooth, all you need is an iPhone or Android (and I’ve heard Blackberry is coming soon).

Skype - If you haven’t heard of Skype you’ve clearly been living under a rock. Not only are the most popular features free. It allows you to save time by not having to travel for a face-to-face meeting. We use it on a daily basis.

Productivity

Evernote - Imagine this: You take a picture of a document with your smart phone, press a couple keys and within minutes the words on that file are indexed, searchable and saved securely in a data center. Sound too good to be true? It’s not… it’s Evernote. And we’re obsessed with their document management service which allows our operation to be completely secure and paperless. (Read our post about Evernote)

Dropbox - An unfortunate fact of life is that most smaller companies who have a severe disaster and failed to backup their data, go out of business. But not to fear, the world has given us Dropbox. The service creates a virtual folder on your computer that you can drop files into and the software automatically sends them to secure servers. It’s an out of site, out of mind disaster recovery system.

Google Docs - Microsoft Office is expensive. Google Docs is free. ‘nuf said.

Marketing

Aweber - A high-quality email list is one of the best Internet marketing strategies. When others give you permission to email them, it’s hard to argue that an email newsletter isn’t a hugely valuable marketing strategy. And while there are many email services, Aweber is hands down the best bang for the buck. (Or actually, 20 bucks)

WordPress.org - In our eyes, WordPress.org is the only way to go when it comes to making a blog and most company websites. The software is open source which in other words means, it’s free! And luckily there are a couple amazing options for styling the website, known as WordPress themes. Websites that once cost $10k or more and took months to complete can now be created in a few hours for under $100 with the thanks of either of these premium WordPress themes:

Thesis WordPress Theme - This blog and thousands of others run on the Thesis framework because of its amazing SEO qualities, ease of use and immense set of customizable features. We highly recommend this theme for anyone looking for the best option in blogging.

Genesis WordPress Theme - For those looking to create a more unique website, the Genesis framework is great. The theme offers dozens of child-themes which allows you to completely customize the look of your website in a matter of a few clicks. We recommend Genesis for business websites that want a custom feel. And most importantly, the framework has great built-in SEO features.

Hootsuite - Social media is a wonderful way to connect to your audience. But as an entrepreneur, you have more important things to do than consume hours of your day managing multiple social networks. So in comes Hootsuite. You can manage multiple accounts at once with its very intuitive user interface. Check it out, we know you’ll love ‘em.

Website Analytics

Google Analytics - The most amazing free tool you can install into your website. Google has created an enterprise-level reporting tool and gives it away for free!

Clicky Real Time Analytics - Anyone that’s serious about their website’s traffic must use Clicky. This software picks up where Google Analytics falls short; real time reporting. Our biggest beef with Google Analytics is their reporting is all historical. You have no idea what is happening to your site until the next day. With Clicky, this problem is solved (rather remarkably) by constantly pinging the visitor’s website and outputting the current site stats onto a dynamic web page & world map. Pretty extraordinary.

Website Hosting

BlueHost - With the ability for a one click install of WordPress, Joomla, Magento and many other CMS platforms, along with impressive uptime, reliable customer service and an impressive $6.95/month fee, not much bad can be said of BlueHost. Check them out. Seriously.

Rackspace - The hosting company we use. If you have a high-traffic website or multiple sites to maintain, Rackspace is the best option. They use cloud computing to ensure super quick speeds and unbelievable uptime.

Amazon Web Services - Using Amazon’s robust network of data centers throughout the globe to store your files and deliver content is one of the best decisions you can make. File sharing becomes simple, your website loads quicker, and most importantly, you have the reliability of Amazon on your team.