In a hurry and frustrated? The last thing you need is to have to talk to the stupid robotic voice prompts when you call a company. Although these menus are probably made to direct you into the proper queue by a semi-helpful and friendly voice, you’re already on your last nerve… It would be nice to know how to finagle your way through the menus to get to a real person as quickly as possible.

With a Dial Zero application installed on your phone, you can do just that!

Dial Zero comes on the iPhone, Android, and Blackberry. It’s database currently has over 600 entries to get to a live person including tips from other users for getting what they want out of the company.

If you’re on a desktop, you’re out of luck with Dial Zero for the time being (however, their website says they’re working on it). You can use a directory like GetHuman.

Editor's note: This was a guest post by me on my good friend Michael's blog One-Year Tightrope.

David Shea’s The Printable CEO (or PCEO, for short) is probably one of the most revolutionary tools for productivity and organization a small business owner—anyone, really—can have in their toolbox.

The PCEO is a collection of 5 printable worksheets for goal tracking, task tracking, daily planning, planned versus unplanned tracking, and individual task tracking. (More about each after the jump.)

Shea came up with this amazing set of working because he didn’t have the ability to focus on moving his company forward:

[It] comes from the idea that a good CEO should focus primarily on those things that move the company forward; since I can’t afford to hire my own CEO, being able to print one out seemed like the next best thing! :-)

It’s about that simple to use PCEO: print, fill out, conquer. Read on. »

Valentine’s Day is only eleven days away and you’re still not sure what to do for your significant other… Why not bake them cookies with a special message?

Willams-Sonoma is the exclusive retailer of the cute Message-in-a-Cookie Cutter set. The set includes 3 shaped cutters (scalloped-rectangle, heart, and star) which are customizable using pre-made words or letters. When you use the cutter to cut your dough, it leaves an imprint of the letters. The possibilities for this cutter extends beyond Valentine’s Day and are practically endless… Have a fight with your best friend? Bake them “I’m sorry” cookies. Is your husband, family member, or friend returning from their tour of duty? Bake them “Welcome home” cookies. Read on. »

Oh how I loved gummy bears growing up. The taste was rather gross and the texture was either extremely sticky or powdery (the more expensive gummies had a powder coating presumably so they wouldn’t stick together so much)… But I still adored the rare moments I had with gummy bears. I don’t remember the name of the brand I used to love so much, but I’m sure it can be found at a Cracker Barrel store or in one of those decade candy boxes (I was born at the beginning of the 90s, so we can count me as an 80s-90s cusp kid, I suppose).

Cindy at Skip To My Lou offers a fast and easy recipe for homemade gummies. Read on. »

A homemade gift can go a long way with someone. Much further than an expensive gift. A homemade gift shows you took the time and energy to actually think about the gift and craft it for that person instead of going to the shelf in a store and picking something out.

With today being Christmas, I’ve been thinking a lot about the gifts I bought my relatives. All of it was bought the 23rd and all of it was made in China. As part of my New Years Resolutions, I want to start making more gifts this year. Not only Christmas, but birthday and anniversary gifts as well. Maybe even a few ‘thank you’ gifts for my clients.

Although a bit late for Christmas, here’s a roundup of a few DIY gift ideas that can be used year round (after the jump). Read on. »