Whether you’re running a small business or planning to launch one, coming up with cost-effective ways to collaborate with your team can be a challenge. Paid software programs always tend to feel bloated and overpriced when you only have a few people on your team. After all, most of them were designed to scale for larger groups.

So I thought I would share with you five free tools that I use to manage my collaboration across various teams. Don’t worry, when you’re ready, most of these products have paid versions for “enterprise-level” users.

However, I think you’ll be thrilled at just how much you can do for free.

1. Google Apps

I’m always surprised at how few people are aware of Google Apps. How do I know? The number of business cards I receive with email address that look like 3kidsandmydog@yahoo.com or legalservices4u@gmail.com. Seriously? It’s time for your business to grow up and use your own domain name.

Google Apps is free up to 50 users and allows you to host professional email addresses while using the much beloved GMail interface (or any other email client you prefer). There is absolutely no excuse for not having a custom domain name.

If you aren’t sure how to get started or how to do this, contact me for a free quote.

Google Apps is not just for email. It has full calendaring features and provides mobile access to email, contacts, and your calendar. It also includes Google Docs for creating and sharing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations with people inside and outside of your company.

2. Google Voice

Google Voice is one of those services I depend heavily on. Think of it as voicemail on steroids. When you sign up, you choose a phone number and then use it as your primary contact number.

For me, it’s the only phone number I give out anymore. I then have it ring to any other phones I want – be they a home phone, office phone, cell phone, vacation phone, etc. I can opt for transcribed voicemails to be sent via text message or email. I can also setup different voicemail greetings based on who is calling.

Perhaps the best feature is one that was just recently released. GMail users can make and receive calls directly from their computer to any number in the US or Canada for free. That means that if you call my number, it will ring my cell phone and my laptop and I can choose which to use. I can also dial your number from my GMail account and it will look to you like I’m calling from my phone.

Being able to make and receive calls using my laptop with my main number is awesome. Doing it for free to any phone in the US and Canada makes it cooler than Skype which charges for the same service.

Don’t get me wrong, I still use Skype for international calling – just not as much for non-international calls.

3. Tungle.me

I’ve known about Tungle.me for a while now but only recently set it up. I work with people across many different time zones. Scheduling appointments and consultations without double-booking is a constant struggle for me. I also hate all of the back-and-forth emailing that comes with setting up an appointment.

Tungle.me synchronizes with my calendar and let’s me set “office hours.” Clients can head to my Tungle.me page to see only available time slots on my schedule and select a few that work for them. I simply accept a proposed time and it’s added to my calendar and the client receives a confirmation email. Everything is adjusted for user time zones so I don’t have to do it in my head.

4. Manymoon

If you’re used to working with project management tools like Basecamp, then you need to check out Manymoon. Unlike Basecamp, Manymoon will give you unlimited users, projects, tasks and events. It also integrates with Google Apps and Google Docs.

There are paid versions for more advanced features, but the free version will work well for most freelancers and small teams. And if you do have to upgrade, the cost is nominal.

5. TeamViewer

If you are involved in any type of work that requires you to take control of another user’s computer, you need to look at TeamViewer. It works with Mac, PC, Linux and….iPhone and iPad! Now that’s cool.

Another possible use is as a free replacement for GoToMyPC and similar paid applications. (Hat tip to Joel Widmer for telling me about this one.)

Share Your Free Collaboration Tools

This is by no means an exhaustive list – it’s just what I’ve found works for me. Which free collaboration tools do you use? Share them with the community in the comments below.

“So…are there other deliverables you can create to provide value?”

This is a question that kept coming up in my weekly meeting with Justin Davis of Madera Labs. It’s an interesting question and one that few people are asking often enough.

Deliverables can be tricky. They range in difficulty and scope and can be fudged to make it seem like you were more productive than you really were – much like meetings. [Sidebar: I personally hate meetings. I think 99% of them are a waste of time and could be done in 10 minutes. Interestingly, most people will echo this sentiment yet won't do anything about it except attend another meeting on "Should we continue meeting?"]

We Make Ideas

As you know, we live in a knowledge-based economy. Most of us don’t make widgets. Instead, we are involved in the creation and or distribution of ideas, information, and little bits of electronic information. Very little of what we do involves the physical transfer of products or even money. Consequently, we can be very busy throughout our day while not delivering much value to those we are supposed to be serving. A great example of this is email. It keeps most of us busy but delivers very little value in and of itself to the recipient.

Consequently, we have a hard time quantifying what we delivered at the end of each day. Answering the question, “What did I do and what value did it provide?” becomes much more challenging. And when we really sit down to answer that question, it can lead to a mini panic attack: “Oh my gosh! What DID I do today?”

Is “I sent 75 emails today” a deliverable? Probably not.

Can we avoid work that doesn’t deliver value?

Leverage Your Labor

Unfortunately, there is certain work we can’t avoid. It’s part of our job and we need to do it. However, I believe most work can be leveraged into valuable deliverables. Let’s say you have to document a particular process so that you can train the new employee starting next week. And let’s also assume that you’re not one of those rare people who actually love documenting processes. When you finish, you’ll have one deliverable: a document that outlines and explains the process to complete a task or series of tasks. And it is valuable to primarily one person – the new employee (and maybe the person currently doing the work).

Now, what would happen if you also decided you would make it easier for others to document processes in the future by spending a little extra time and also creating a tutorial called “How to Document a Process in Half the Time”? What could you do with this new deliverable?

If you’re self-employed, you own the rights to it. You could create an e-book and offer it as a free or paid download on your website or blog. You could send it out to your clients and customers as a nice way of thanking them for their business and providing value to their company. If you’re an employee, you can distribute this to the rest of your team or the company. And if you did it on your own time, not company time, you own it and can leverage it personally and professionally.

What was going to be a bunch of time spent for the benefit of a handful of people is leveraged into incredible value for a mass of people with only a small amount of additional effort. That additional value can lead to additional opportunities, connections and income for an enterprising person.

Exercise: Look at what you’re working on right now. What can you add to it with minimal additional effort to provide substantially more value to larger numbers people?

I love my family and friends. I also receive hundreds of emails each day between all of my email addresses. So much so that “Inbox 0″ seems like a fantasy.

And while I love receiving emails from my family and friends, I don’t like receiving bulky, general emails that don’t really pertain to me.

You know those emails. They arrive with subject lines such as “FW: FW: FW: FW: I know this will brighten up your day!” and usually involve a cheesy drawing of Jesus holding a lamb under an inspirational quote taken from “Chicken Soup for the Sappy Soul.” Of course, to even see it, you have to scroll down for three minutes and read the names of all the other people unfortunate enough to receive a copy before you. To me it reads like an email mafia hit-list with the names of the other victims scratched off.

Unfortunately, emails from family and friends don’t include an anonymous “Remove Me From This List” link. And sending a poorly worded email could ruin a friendship or Thanksgiving dinner. So I’ve crafted an email template that I’m using to effectively remove myself from these types of emails. Hopefully, you’ll find it useful in your circle of relationships.

Hi [Insert Family Member or Friend],

Glad to see you’re doing well! Keep up the great work! [Feel free to tweak the opener accordingly. But start with something positive. Cute kids, dog, etc.]

I’m hoping that you can do me a favor. I receive hundreds of emails each day and I’m working on reducing my load so that I can respond to people in a more timely fashion (I’m about 1-2 weeks behind at any point in time). This includes removing myself from lists and email blasts that aren’t directly related to something I’m actively involved in or working on. My hope is that by doing that, I can keep my email processing to absolute necessities and focus more on my overall life goals.

I would still love to receive occasional updates about how you’re doing, but it would help me a lot if you could remove me from these types of general blasts. Again, please don’t take this as anything other than a diligent effort on my part to keep commitments to my family and friends. You are [a dear friend OR a treasured part of my life] which is why I’m hoping you’ll drop me a little note every now and then a let me know how you’re doing.

Thanks so much!

[Insert Your Name]

DISCLAIMER: I will not take responsibility for any harmed relationships that result from your use of this email. If someone is offended, they probably suffer from an emotional, chemical or hormonal imbalance. In such an event, tell them you didn’t mean to include them on this email. It was an accident and you love receiving their emails – just not everyone else’s. Then ask for them to resend the one with the inspirational quote and the picture or their dog.

And when you’re starting a business, you better take a look at where you’re spending money and ask yourself if there is a more cost-effective (free) alternative.

Working in the technology industry my whole career, I often take for granted that I hear about new products, services and websites that assist in my daily productivity. Some of these services cost money (generally not much) while others are completely free. Today, I’m going to share with you a list of products and websites I use to help me stay productive and organized. The best thing about the names in this list is that they won’t cost you a dime. (Note: some of them offer a paid version of their product/service, but I’ll only discuss the free side of them.)

Now for a moment of full disclosure: some of these sites are advertisers on the website. However, I use each and every one of these services on a daily (or near-daily) basis. I’ve also included a couple of responses from my friends on Twitter who were kind enough to share with us some of the free tools they use. Some of them I use, others I don’t and I will share with you my thoughts on them as it warrants.

1. I Want Sandy – For those of you who already have a personal assistant, you can go ahead and skip this one. For the rest of you, I highly recommend taking a look at Sandy (I will be referring to this site as if it’s a real person – that’s how much I like it). I’m not inherently good at staying organized. In fact, I suck at it. But Sandy works for people like me. She works because I don’t have to think about how the information I send to her is stored. Much like a live personal assistant, I just give her instructions like “Remind me to call Joe at 3pm tomorrow” and Sandy notifies me based on the preferences I setup. I can email instructions to her, get a daily list of to-do items and appointments or have her retrieve information like “What is my Southwest passenger number?” There is a lot more she is capable of, but you get the idea.

2. Skype – If you have a business or work that takes place overseas or online, you need Skype. Most outsourcing companies use Skype because it allows you to call Skype-to-Skype for free anywhere in the world. You’ll need a headset/microphone combo because the built-in versions in most laptops are terrible for this. Also, be aware of your connection speed. I have a DSL connection that can sometimes be a bit slow. But when you’re saving a lot of money while talking to people in India, you learn to deal with it.

3. Thunderbird, GMail & IMAP – OK…so this is three things but they all work together for managing my email and calendar. Here are some details on my setup:

• I have two computers that I use regularly. One is a Windows desktop that I work on when I’m in my office. The other is a Macbook Pro laptop that I use for certain projects or when traveling.
• I also have an iPhone for times when I don’t have a computer.
• I actively use about 8-10 different email addresses for different projects or businesses.

As you can imagine, keeping my email synchronized between all of these different systems could present a few problems. To help manage this, I installed Thunderbird on both of my computers. I don’t like it as much as Outlook, but hey, it’s free and it sends and receives email. I then use GMail and other IMAP mail accounts for all of my email. That way, if I send email from one computer or device, it’s automatically available from the others. There are some limitations I won’t get into as it pertains to doing this with as many accounts as I have, but I doubt most people have to worry about this.

4. Xobni – If there is ONE major thing I miss having in Outlook that is not available in Thunderbird (other than a really pretty interface), it’s Xobni. Xobni is an easy-to-install plugin that makes Outlook uber sexy. Among the really cool features are incredibly powerful email search and contact information extraction. Just received an email from a new contact? Xobni can extract the information in their signature and create a new contact for you. Reading an email from a coworker and want to find a Word document they sent that you but can’t remember the name of it or the date they sent it? No worries. Just click on an email from the person and Xobni will show you a list of all the documents you’ve ever exchanged via email with them. How could you not love this? Rumor has it they are going to create a version for Thunderbird, but there are no specifics on when.

5. OtherInbox – Staying on email for one more item, this is a website that I love. My work requires that I try just about every application that comes out. I give out my email more than I would like to admit and I receive upwards of 750-1000 emails on a daily basis. A lot of this is spam and a lot of them are valid emails but time wasters none-the-less. I want my main email in-boxes to only get email from real people – not newsletters, Google Alerts, system updates, Amazon shipment notices, etc.  I also wanted to be able to give out an email address to a company but not worry about whether I would get bombarded with spam.

OtherInbox saved the day. You create an account with them and get an email address that looks something like this: travis@[your_company_or_name].otherinbox.com. However, what they allow you to do is create AS MANY email accounts as you like. So…let’s say that I’m creating an account at Borders.com and want to use OtherInbox. All I have to do is put my email address in the form as borders@[my_company].otherinbox.com. I don’t even have to tell OtherInbox about this new address. I’m free to make them up as I go along. OtherInbox will get it, route it, filter it and sort it – on it’s own. I can also then see who sells my email address and block them from sending in the future. Very sexy. Very easy. It’s great for all those who practice Getting Things Done (GTD) and batch your email so you can process them at once. However, I almost NEVER process this stuff since I know that they don’t contain action items are just informational emails.

6. Mindmeister – Are you a brainstormer? Do lists on paper not quite do it for you? If you’re like me, you’ve tried creating Word documents with bullet points and then “spicing them up” by using different icons for the bullet points. But try as you might, it is still a linear list with no way to tell how items in the list relate. Enter Mindmeister. I had been looking for a way to create mind maps online using free tools, but hadn’t found one until recently. This is a very useful tool that allows you to create and share mind maps for any type of project you might be working on. You can also import/export with other programs you might already be using. I love this site and am using it for a couple of projects that are in the planning stages.

7. Zoho CRM – If you do anything involving sales or customer relations, you need to take a look at a Customer Relationship Managment (CRM) application. I’ve used and customized Salesforce at previous companies and think it’s a great application. However, it’s expensive. Zoho CRM is free for up to 3 users and offers almost everything that Salesforce has in their most expensive plan. Also, if you’ve used Salesforce, you’ll find the interface to be very familiar.

8. RescueTime – Ever wonder where your time goes when you’re working? RescueTime is a great utility for Macs and PCs that will show you – and the results can be sobering. Don’t think you’re spending too much time on email? This will tell you. Just remember, information is useless if you don’t act on it.

9. Twitter – (You can follow me using @tronash) Many people would probably lump Twitter into the distraction category, but I’d take issue with that. It’s all about how you use it. I’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of really interesting people through Twitter and have learned a lot from those I’ve connected up with. For example, prior to writing this post, I asked my friends to share with me the free tools they use and here are their responses.

@nicholaswyoung

• Evernote – This is one application I need to spend more time looking into for myself. It allows you to capture information from just about anywhere, but is really useful when used with your camera phone.
• Twitter – See notes above
• NemusSync – Don’t have a jail-broken iPhone but want to synchronize with Google Calendar? Take a look at NemusSync. I’ve never used it and the website sucks, but I trust @nicholaswyoung. Also note Nuevasync from @goggans below.

@TerenceChang

• Google Alert, Gmail, Google Calendar – All good stuff. I use ‘em all.
• AIM / WIMZI – A widget you can add to your blog to allow people to chat with you when you’re online from your blog. Not really for me, but he likes it.
• Twitter Search – A great way to find information you need on Twitter.
• Thunderbird – See my notes above.
• Lightning – If you use Thunderbird and Google Calendar, Lightning will enable you to synchronize them.
• Yahoo Messenger – I don’t use Yahoo Messenger and recommend a program like Digsby (Windows and Mac compatible) for your IM chatting.
• Skype – See my notes above.
• Grandcentral – This is another application I really need to look into more. One phone number to ring them all with a single voicemail box. Check it out.

@goggans

• Highrise CRM – A free CRM alternative to Zoho CRM. Their free version only allows for 250 contacts – not many. And then it gets a little pricey for my tastes. But their interface is sexy.
• Time Tracker – This is for you Mac users who have to bill by the hour.
• Fluid – Another Mac program. Gotta be honest here…not quite sure what it does. I’ll take a look at this soon. I’ve met with @goggans and he’s a productive guy – so if he likes it, I’m sure it’s good.
• Smultron Text Editor – This is for you programmers out there. I personally use TextMate (which is not free but darn cheap).
• Things – Task management for the Mac. If you don’t like Sandy (see above) then give this a whirl.
• Nuevasync – Google Calendar Synchronization for non-jail-broken iPhones.

I hope you find these tools helpful. I’m always looking for new sites and tools so if you have suggestions for any other free tools, leave them in the comments section below.