Over the years my business has evolved as I took on more print design work, taught myself HTML (the Internet was young at the time), and did more and more web design work for companies of all sizes. In May 2006 one of my clients wanted me to help her set up a blog. Not having the slightest clue what she was talking about I started doing research – thus Essential Keystrokes was born (yes, it was on Blogger to start with). I began doing more web design in the form of WordPress customizations, started a few more blogs of my own, blogged for b5media, and was introduced to the world of affiliate marketing.

Today my business is more and more about my own websites and monetizing them through various channels, doing some WordPress customizations, and social media consulting. It has been a whirlwind 14 years and the only reason I have been able to grow my business over all these years is the willingness to change, try new things and learn something new everyday.

Obviously the tools I consider key to my business today are very different from the tools I used fourteen years ago. Just for fun, I am going to do a THEN and NOW version of Essential Tools today. I hope you enjoy this little trip down memory lane with me!

Data Backup

• Then: Stacks and stacks of floppy disks that were then replaced by Zip drives then by writable CDs then by an external hard drive.
• Now: My primary back up source is Carbonite, which backs up my files to a location far far away on a continuous basis – nothing to remember. I have total piece of mind that my data is safe in the event of a computer crash, office fire or similar disaster. I do have a Firelite drive I use occasionally, too.

Client Management and Accounting

• Then: I used a trusty Microsoft Excel spreadsheet for everything for many years – from logging hours billed, to income collected, expenses, rates, client contact info, the works. It was a system that worked for me and I still use a scaled down version of it, however…
• Now: I do all my invoicing through FreshBooks. Since FreshBooks is web-based, I can do my invoicing from anywhere, it takes less than a minute to do an invoice, my clients’ contact info, payment history and rates are stored and I can. I also use Highrise to keep track of all my client notes and correspondence.

Web Basics

• Then: When I first started out I had a CompuServe email account and used Netscape as my web browser and thought it was the stuff! I bought my first domain name through Network Solutions and hosted my first web site at Jumpline.com.
• Now: So, I have lost count of the number of domain names I own (well, not really, let’s just say I have been known to wake up at 3 a.m. and buy a domain or two – just because it seemed like a good idea ) and have found many of them by using Bustaname.com to find good ones. I usually purchase domain names through GoDaddy and do all my hosting now through HostGator. My browser of choice is now Firefox and I use some form of Google for just about everything else.

Design Work

• Then: In the early Keystrokes days, a lot of my work was done using MS Word, MS Publisher and PageMaker. Then I added Web Design to the mix and added HoTMetaL (an HTML editor) and Dreamweaver. Graphics came from photo or art collection CDs I purchased.
• Now: I do all my web design work using WordPress as the base. My favorite themes come from Studio Press, iThemes and Headway. My graphics work is done using Photoshop, Illustrator or Fireworks (depending on my mood) and I get most of my art from iStockPhoto.

Mobile Office

• Then: What mobile office?? I don’t think I even had a cell phone until my business was a few years old.
• Now: I have recently upgraded to the Palm Pre Plus and it is truly a mobile office of its own! I can get my email, check the web, use Facebook, Twitter (tweefree rocks), take photos for my blog posts anywhere, view PDF files, capture notes and things I find on the web using Evernote mobile, and more.

Networking

• Then: When I first started my business I joined the Chamber of Commerce in our town. We had just moved here and I figured that was the best way to start growing my business. The woman who started the membership process for me was so fascinated with my business – as in working from home with a little one doing computer stuff – that she continued to check in on me regularly. Want to hear something cool? That same woman is one of my dearest friends in real life and NOW she works from home, kids and all, doing public relations and using the computer to make it happen.
• Now: Networking happens every time I post something on one of my blogs, log in to Twitter, talk with my Mastermind group, and via email. The networking landscape is so different now. However, there is still no replacement for face-to-face relationship building which is why getting out, going to local events, and going to conferences related to your niche are so vital. Last year I went to SOBCon and made some of the most valuable business connections ever! Later in the year I went to ShareASale’s Think Tank – as a result of the contact I made at SOBCon and then made even more essential business contacts! My goal for this year is to make it to at least two business related conferences – hopefully ThinkTank again, and either BlogWorld or Affiliate Summit.

So, how have your business’s essential tools changed over time?

Subscribe to the Essential Keystrokes feed so you don’t miss a single Essential Tools feature. If you are interested in sharing your essential tools for business, drop me a line at cpolanosky [at] gmaildotcom.

• Valentine’s ASCII Art by Joan Stark
• Ascii Art hearts
• Heart & Soul’s Ascii hearts

I have seriously been slacking when it comes to putting up good articles on a regular basis here, but truth be told I have been swamped with design work (not a bad problem to have), have been nuturing a few of my other sites, and we have had an unexpected bathroom renovation to tackle at the house.

With that said, I do have quite a few things planned, like sharing with you some of the projects I have recently completed, more tutorials, some CSS explained posts, reviews of products I love and more. If you have a topic you specifically want me to address or have a question you want answered, let me know.

Image details: 2008 CMT Music Awards – Red Carpet served by picapp.com

Guest Post by David Peralty

Something often overlooked by bloggers are images for their content, but with recent reports that most readers skim content equal to around one quarter of what is actually written, an image can sometimes be your only opportunity to hook a reader into really reading all that you have to say.

Just like with all other content, the images you can get for your posts can come from legal or illegal sources. Most people don’t pay attention to this fact, but with companies seeing decreasing revenue, protecting intellectual property is on the rise, so taking images you found from a Google Image search isn’t the best idea.

There are many free and legal sources for images, but you have to be willing to look around.

Currently, I work for PicApp, a company that provides access to high quality images from companies like Corbis and Getty. PicApp allows you to easily embed images in your posts.

Some others worth mentioning that I have used before include Flickr’s Creative Commons images that users have uploaded and given open access to, as well as stock.xchng.

The only issues with these sites are that they don’t always have the highest quality images, nor the latest editorial images.

Some other reasons you might want to make adding an image to your posts a regular endeavor is to break up the content, which can allow it to flow better, or helping convey thoughts, ideas, opinions, or even the overall mood of the text around it.

It allows you to differentiate from your competitors as many bloggers aren’t spending the time and energy finding images worth posting, and this opens up an opportunity for each and every one of you to make the most out of your content and how it is displayed.

One last thing I wanted to note that is special about PicApp, and incredibly useful for me as a blogger is the ability to subscribe to my searches via RSS. If you are a celebrity blogger talking about Miley Cyrus, it can be hard to keep up with everything that is happening with regards to her and her brand, but by subscribing to an RSS feed of your image search, PicApp will let you know when there are new photographs that you can use, and I have already been told that it has helped inspire posts, and I can see it helping some bloggers beat their competition in releasing an article.
About our Guest Blogger:  David Peralty has been a full time blogger for the last three years, and now works as Community Manager for PicApp while also building his own blogs like eXtra for Every Publisher.

Did you see it? Google turned out its “lights” tonight in support of Earth Hour. How about you? Did you turn the lights off tonight from 8-9 pm? If so, what’d you do instead? Us – let’s just say we missed it, but I have turned out all unneeded lights this evening, as I normally do.

All these years on line and I finally found it! Did you know that the end of the Internet even existed (outside of TV commercials)? I didn’t. But now I can officially say I found it – and you can too – just visit bw.org/end. I guess it is kind of like trying to find the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but the end of the internet isn’t worth anything.

Back to work now!

Randa Clay

Now, even if you have a logo, or a header for your blog, Randa can make it sing even more!!! She’s that good.  Get all the details straight from the source! Stop in at Randa Clay Design and find out what you need to do to win a new do for your blog.

• Creativity in Action: From Boring to Magical – Inspiration Bit has a great discussion on the creativity of children and attributing sources in your work.
• Lorelle VanFossen asks “Is your blog a conversation blog or an answer blog” at the BlogHerald. Very interesting post as so many of us get caught up in the conversation aspect of blogging that sometimes you forget that not all posts (or blogs) really require a response.
• SEOmoz published the ultimate glossary for SEO terms and jargon this week. Bookmark it, use it!
• BlogHer is going on this weekend in Chicago and I wish I were there mixing it up with some of my blogging buds! Anyhow, eMoms at Home, Techmamas and Practical Blogging have some updates/live blogging posts from Blogher.
• DoshDosh shares some great articles and resources on Facebook Marketing. Facebook is now the 7th most visited web site with over 30 million visitors. How are you using Facebook to market your blog or business? I’m there – Facebook me!

Have a great weekend!

Even though my husband was kind enough to bring my laptop and a wireless PC card to the hospital so I could work while my daughter rested, I couldn’t manage to focus my thinking skills long enough to do much other than visit some of my daily reads and leave a few comments. As a result, the Essential Tools feature will return next week.

Just in case you missed it:

• Wendy at eMoms at Home held her second group research project and there are more than 28 Internet Marketing and Home Business How To contributions ranging from How-To Start a Company and Family at the Same Time by Ben Yoskovitz to How to Cross-Market Your Blog and Your Business by SEO Aware and one from me, The Ultimate Guide to Where the Moms Are Online.
• Randa makes some really good points about the I Follow Movement. While it really irks me that so many people have chosen to abuse the generosity of others, I am still at the point where I feel that it will not hurt me to continue Do Follow. Although spammers and others looking for a quick link, beware – I do not hesitate to hit delete if I do not like the looks of the site you linked to!
• Dosh Dosh offers up 19 Ways to Optimize Your Site for Google Images and Get More Traffic – nice list and a few I must say I have missed!
• David teaches us how to Customize the Word Press Login screen. I never even thought to do that, but now that I know it can be done, I can see how it could be a really nice touch for a site that will be maintained by the client.

There are a few of you who have not received your blogging birthday gifts yet – I have not forgotten you – I have just been a little unavailable this week. Thanks for your patience.

I am going to spend some time today and possibly tomorrow combing through all my comments, back links, and Technorati to make sure I have accurately captured all the entries into the contest. I would really hate to miss anyone.

Meanwhile, have a wonderful weekend!