Fret not, sugarplum, this is your lucky day. I’ve tested out 3 of the best so you don’t have too. (See? Things are looking up already.)

1) SKYPE
It’s free for one-on-one chats, and we love that. But even after I upgraded to the paid Skype Premium level (which is the only way you’re getting any group video out of Skype, my friend), it still didn’t work. In fact it was worse. I tried it several times with various friends, willing it to work. We all had good broadband connections, the latest version of Skype and webcams. But while the audio feeds were fine, the video dropped out completely, leaving us with nothing but a static photo of the others, or worse, a “frozen moment” which inevitably portrays you with crazed eyes and mouth agape. Lovely. Officially, they say you can have up to 10 simultaneous video feeds, but they recommend a max of 4. Tip: It helps if all parties close all other unnecessary applications, no matter what solution you opt for.

2) GoToMeeting.com
This paid service was recommended by a tech colleague who uses it. It seemed to have a simpler interface and lower price than the competition (AdobeConnect, WebEx, etc) so I signed up for the 30 Day Free Trial. Note: you have to hand over your credit card deets before they’ll let you use the Free Trial. This struck me as very 2002 and gave me pause. It’s sort of like walking up to a random stranger on the street and asking them to marry you (with a 30 day engagement which they can call off at any time of course). Still, I ploughed ahead. Only after I’d signed up did I discover that their idea of an online meeting was a group audio conference call. What the WHAT?! In 2012?? You have got to be kidding. Craptastic. After digging through their FAQ, I found that you can in fact add HD video for no extra charge. Again, what the what?? Why not just make that the default? Did I mention that this service costs a minimum of $50 a month? And also requires that the Organizer (that’d be you, hon) needs to download their software and install it, and then police the webcams during the meeting. Good God. What is this, pre-school? Next!

3) GOOGLE+ HANGOUT
I was hesitant to try this because I knew that Hangouts were designed to be public in nature. Having  signed up for Google+ months ago (oh, like you’re shocked by that) I’d seen the occasional update about how celebrities like Will.i.am and The Black Eyed Peas were using Hangouts, and then the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu decided to give it a whirl. But I digress.

A small Google Hangout looks like this.

A little Googling later, I discovered that yes, it is possible to have a private Hangout. With up to 10 people with video and audio feeds. For free…The trick is to create a Circle (you’ll figure that out once you’re on it) that is limited to just those people. Then invite them to Hangout (see sidebar of G+ page). Note: to create a G+ account, you need to have/create a gmail account. But no-one says you have to use it. You also need to download a browser plugin, but that’s way easier (and safer) than downloading new software. It auto-installs in your default browser. The beauty of it is that the software is entirely cloud-based on Google’s (very powerful) servers, so they do the lion’s share of the work. (That said, you’re more likely to enjoy the experience more on a Mac because the built-in iSight cameras and the graphics rendering are generally much higher quality than the average PC’s. Just sayin…) There’s a cute little sound when someone joins or leaves a hangout too. No policing of who gets to speak when — the software recognizes the voice of who’s speaking and pops their face into the mainframe until someone else starts talking. (I haven’t tried arguing on G+ but that might be fun.) Much more efficient and less cumbersome than having a moderator. Also, love the Screenshare and the Reindeer button (I’ll let you discover what that is. It’s fun.) Up to 10 simultaneous video feeds, but coming soon, Google Hangouts  On Air (10 video + unlimited # of spectators and recording and upload to YouTube as well). So I did a few tests with colleagues and clients and so far, have had far fewer problems with audio/video feeds freezing or dropping out than with Skype. Love, love, love it. And no, I am not affiliated in any way with Google, I’m just a very happy Google-user.

Conclusion: Google+ Hangouts rock. Try it now, before the whole world discovers it after Obama’s hangout on January 30th. I kid you not.

Simple. It’s called Umbrella Branding.

Umbrella Branding
Think of it as broadcasting from the same station (you) using multiple channels (your services). To avoid confusion, each channel has a look and feel of its own, and the station also has its own overarching signature.

You will need to set up separate branding for each of your services. i.e. a separate visual identity, business card, website, email signature, etc. Stop rolling your eyes. It’s easier than you think, and well worth the payoff. See my recommendations for free DIY sites.

Use the appropriate channel for each market that you’re trying to reach. This kind of focus communicates that you are catering specifically to their needs and they will appreciate not having to weed through any extraneous info. i.e. Don’t broadcast Heavy Metal to the Easy Listening crowd. And for Pete’s sake don’t try a mix of them on the same channel.

But what happens if someone Googles you? That’s where self-branding comes in.

Self-Branding
If you’re on Google+  or have filled out a Google profile (if you haven’t Google does it for you, so you may as well control it) this will be the first thing that shows up when you Google your name. Often the personal info appears above business results, because your social media comments are more likely to be the most recent data on you. (Note to self: Must blog more often!)

If you want to have even more control over those search results, set up a self-branding site that shows how everything integrates (here’s mine).  This is especially useful for social media profiles. Why not use your business website? Because people come at you from all corners of your life on Twitter/Google+ and you have no idea which part they’re interested in. They are also looking to connect to the whole person, not the business, so it’s appropriate to show a fuller picture on social media.

For a DIY self-branding site, I recommend flavors.me because they have truly gorgeous templates. The basic service is free, but spend the $15/year to host it at your own domain (e.g. belindadarcey.com versus www.flavors.me/belindadarcey).

Summary
There’s a difference between self-branding and services branding. They’re connected, but not the same thing. You need both.

When it comes to a business pitch, if you give clients exactly what they’re looking for in a super-focused format, they’ll assume you’re 100% dedicated to what they need done. Once they’re interested enough to do a little more research, they’ll find out about your other talents as well, but first you need to show that you’re tailor-made for their needs.

A well-integrated system––from estimate to production to invoicing to accounting–– is the key to freeing up time and keeping your accountant happy. I spent a week researching, testing and evaluating these top contenders: Freshbooks, Billings, Harvest, Kashoo, FreeAgent and Xero. They  all handle global clients, multiple currencies, compound tax, online invoicing & payments. Some also include accounting software. And they’re all on Twitter. I wanted the simplest, best integrated, most robust system available.

Freshbooks: simple, clean, user-friendly, idiot-proof, extremely popular.
Based in Toronto. $20/month
Pros: Great name and marketing. Simple interface. Integrates with Basecamp, Kashoo and Xero. Allows you to see when a client has viewed, approved and paid an invoice. Also has a send-by-snail-mail feature. Great front-end for your services.
Cons: Expensive, considering there’s no accounting option.

Harvest: the lean little project management machine.
Based in NYC. $12 to $40/month.
Pros: Known for its A+ time tracking and project management, it also offers estimates and invoicing. Export in Excel/CSV. Integrates well with Basecamp, HighRise, GoogleDocs, Coop and Outright. Scalable. Popular with start-ups. Far more sophisticated and feature-rich than Freshbooks. I’ve used Harvest for years and love it.
Cons: Online payments via PayPal only avail for US$ invoices. No accounting software, but connects to Outright (for US customers).

Billings: popular with graphic designers and Mac users.
Based in Toronto. $7/month
Pros: gorgeous estimate, proposal and invoice templates. Fully customizable. Fantastic looking front-end for your services. Won an Apple Design Award 2009.
Cons: Invoice design is so dazzling it can take a minute to figure out where the $ totals are. Not connected to other add-ons. No accounting. You host the data yourself so you better be diligent about back-ups and securing your machines and gadgets. You must be running the latest MacOS.

Kashoo: The new kid on the block.
Based in Vancouver. $10/month for everything.
Pros:  Phone support (!) plus email/forum support. Import your bank statement to cut down on data entry. Connected to an extensive network of accountants  across Canada. Integrates with Freshbooks for time-tracking & invoicing and eSmart tax for easy tax filing .
Cons: Post-sign up interface is not nearly as pretty as the pre-sign up. No integration with Harvest or Basecamp.

FreeAgent: soup-to-nuts services.
Based in UK.  $20/month for everything and everyone.
Pros: Perfect for entrepreneurs intending to grow. CSS customizable invoices. Interactive visual charts. Jargon-free. Clean, simple, sleek interface. No need for add-ons. Webinars and how-to videos. Import your bank statement to cut down on data entry.
Cons: Minimal integration of payments via PayPal, but they’re working on it. Phone, forum and email support on UK time-zone only.

Xero: the Ferrari
Based in New Zealand (yep, New Zealand). $10 – $40/month for multi-currency.
Pros: Gorgeous interface with groovy interactive graphs and charts. Most popular system with (the few) forward-thinking accountants online. Including mine (in Montreal). Best choice for multi-currencies. For service or product-based businesses (ecommerce with inventory, payroll, time tracking). Import your bank statement to cut down on data entry.  Also has a Personal Checking option for $30 per year. Syncs with Freshbooks, PayPal, SalesForce.com, ShoeBoxed.com and many more.
Cons: Expensive if you need multi-currency option.

**Late additions**

Wave:  the freebie (with ads)
Based in Toronto. Free, but with ads (same concept as GMail)
They received 5 million in venture cap October 11, 2011 and the President is quoted as saying “there are many online accounting services in the market, but none of them offers full-range services, free of charge. In 11 short months, we have signed in 75,000 small businesses in 198 countries to our services… When you’re logged into Wave you’ll see unobtrusive yet clearly marked Business Savings on pages like your Dashboard.”
Pros: Did I mention it’s free??
Cons: includes ads, tech support is email only, weekdays 9 – 5 EST
I’m not sure they offer They do not offer compound taxes (State and Federal compounded, not just 2 separate taxes) or true multi-currency (i.e. you have bank accounts in 2 currencies and customers in multiple countries).  They sound promising, but they’re awfully new…I’d be inclined to wait another 6 months to see if they’re still around. Maybe Google will buy them Update Dec 2011: I spent 10 hours inputting data for a client before I learned via tech support that compound taxes are not yet supported and there’s no ETA on when we can expect them. This makes it utterly useless for companies in Quebec. Incidentally, tech support response time via email averaged a 5 day turnaround. Consensus amongst colleagues seems to be that they ‘need a bit more time on the vine.’

LessAccounting: the bootstrappers
Florida-based, $30/month, operating since 2007.
Run by 2 savvy developers, with a helpful compare page (https://lessaccounting.com/compare) where you can see (their version of) the differences between them and Xero, QuickBooks, Outright and Freshbooks. Also a list of apps they integrate with; note that they do not list Freshbooks, probably since they also offer a simlar adjunct service called LessTimeSpent.
Pros: Slick code, lotsa features, and they’ve had time to improve it.
Cons: Not sure if they offer true multi-currency support or compound taxes. Their About page shows that they have built other apps (LessProjects, LessTimeSpent) which makes me wonder if their main focus is accounting or general app development. The interface looks like it was designed by programmers, not designers: it needs a shot of pretty, stat.

Conclusion: If you’re in the US, Harvest Freshbooks + Outright is the way to go. If you’re in Canada, Freshbooks + Xero (or Kashoo) for medium-sized businesses, or the all-in-one FreeAgent for small businesses and freelancers. Billings is a great front-end for Mac users but does not integrate with any online accounting services. I ultimately went with Xero, as I have clients in Canada and the US, so I needed multi-currency support. Plus I just love the sleek, modern interface. Hey, when all else is equal, a gorgeous look and feel is the deciding factor (for me).