Running a small business can be challenging. You have to juggle everything from marketing, customer service, and financials. The good news is that there are tools available to make your life easier. Here are 26 of the best tools for small businesses online today.
1. Dropbox
This free cloud-based storage solution makes it easy to store files in one place so you can access them anywhere with an internet connection or share them with others. It also offers collaboration features like shared folders and editing rights that allow you to work together on projects with colleagues or clients easily, plus its intelligent search feature makes finding what you need fast and efficient.
2. Mailchimp
Mailchimp provides simple email marketing services including sending newsletters, automating campaigns, and tracking reports–all with no limits on the number of subscribers you can have or emails you can send. It’s a great solution for both marketing professionals and small business owners.
3. Hootsuite
Easily schedule posts to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Foursquare, and Instagram from one place. With Hootsuite you can save time by posting pre-written updates that will go out at a later date or time, monitor social media for mentions of your brand and respond quickly, and measure the impact of your online activity with detailed reports.
4. Skype
Skype is primarily known as a free internet phone service allowing you to make calls over WiFi from one computer to another, but it also offers video calling capabilities. For small businesses, this is great since it allows them to connect with clients around the world easily, but is especially helpful if they’re just starting out since making international connections can be challenging without tools like this.
5. Google Apps
Google offers 99% uptime with Gmail or Google Drive apps for business which you can use to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more in a collaborative environment for free. These tools have been used by Fortune 500 companies so they’re dependable, secure, and offer great customer service.
6. Surveymonkey
Surveymonkey is one of the best survey sites online today because it’s easy to use, simple to share your surveys with others, and provides comprehensive reporting on responses. This means you can get the information you need for free without paying hefty fees as you do with other market research firms which makes it a must-have tool for any small business owner looking to get feedback from customers or employees.
7. Shopify
Shopify offers an affordable eCommerce solution that includes customizable themes and apps plus integrated checkouts, shipping, gift cards, and more. Additionally, the company offers 24/7 customer support which is great to have since running a small business can be challenging at times.
8. Quickbooks
Quickbooks keeps track of your finances so you don’t have to worry about messy paperwork during tax time or filing for loans. This software makes it easy to manage sales, expenses, inventory, and more while making accounting simple even if it isn’t your area of expertise.
9. Eventbrite
Eventbrite gives you access to ticketing tools that allow you to bring in revenue even when you’re having an event offsite simply by selling tickets online through their site. Plus they offer customizable branding options that make it easy for people to find and remember your brand.
10. PayPal
PayPal is free for businesses and provides all of the payment tools you need including an invoicing tool, a pop-up option that allows customers to pay on your site without leaving, and quick checkout features that make it easy for them to complete purchases.
11. Infusionsoft
Infusionsoft offers small business owners a way to automate just about every aspect of their marketing with customizable email campaigns, lead scoring technology, integrated shopping carts, and more. Plus they offer live training webinars and unlimited support so you can be sure you’re using the service correctly.
12. Asana
Asana makes team projects simple by assigning tasks to specific employees tracking who’s working on what, when they’ll complete their task, and allowing you to communicate through the app. They also make it easy to share files with your team plus offer detailed analytics so you can see what’s working and what might need tweaking.
13. Mailchimp
Mailchimp provides email marketing tools that allow small businesses to create email newsletters, send them out to subscribers, track campaign results, and more without having any previous coding or design experience. The best part is that all of these features are free for up to 2000 subscribers!
14. SnapEngage
If you have a business website then SnapEngage should be one of the first apps you install since it lets customers connect with your company in real-time via live chat on your site. This makes customer service quick and simple plus it allows you to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to answering customer questions.
15. Freshbooks
Freshbooks makes billing painless by offering customizable time tracking tools, project management and invoicing software, and access to a network of trusted accountants so you can get help when you need it.
16. GoToMeeting
GoToMeeting lets small business owners hold webinars with up to 25 people at once making collaboration easy while saving time and money on travel expenses. This is a must-have app for anyone who wants to connect with colleagues or customers no matter where they are in the world since all you need is an internet connection and speakers/microphones.
17. TechSmith Camtasia
Camtasia makes it easy to create tutorials for your website since the software records onscreen action, audio, and your computer’s camera. This allows you to give step-by-step instructions without ever having to write a word making it perfect for training employees on new processes or creating help videos for customers who have questions about using your product/service.
18. Buffer
Buffer is a social media scheduling tool that lets you schedule posts on all of your platforms at once making it easier than ever to increase engagement and drive traffic back to your site while freeing up some of your time so you can focus on other things.
19. GoToWebinar
GoToWebinar is another webinar app that makes hosting live online events simply by allowing you to schedule them in advance, market the event, and send out reminders to your subscribers all from one place. Plus it comes with built-in analytics that allows you to track who’s attending and what sessions are most popular for better ROI on your time.
20. Doodle
Doodle makes scheduling meetings easier than ever before by allowing you to poll coworkers/clients about available times for appointments allowing everyone to find a time that works best for their schedule. This way no one has to spend hours trying to find the least busy slot on their calendar plus it reduces back and forth emails and phone tags.
21. Weebly
Weebly offers free website building software that allows anyone – even those with zero coding experience – to build a site from scratch, customize design elements, add pages, edit text content, and more as many times as they want until it’s exactly how they want it. The best part is that all of this can be done without having to pay anyone or even leaving their browser which means no tech skills are required whatsoever.
22. BetterWorks
BetterWorks makes it easy for small business owners and managers to motivate employees with gamification solutions that allow you to incentivize your workforce using leaderboards, contests, and more. This mix of positive reinforcements and competition gives employees the motivation they need to go above and beyond while giving you insight into who needs more/less guidance at work so you know who would benefit from additional training or promotion.
23. Animoto
Animoto lets small business owners create videos in minutes without having any video-creating experience whatsoever. All you do is select a template (there are hundreds to choose from), upload photos, pick background music and record a voiceover – that’s it – then sit back and watch your video come to life. Even better, Animoto offers monthly subscriptions starting at just $9/month which makes it accessible for anyone looking to create a quick explainer or promo video without the costs and hassle of using a professional.
24. Venmo
Venmo is a money-sharing app that allows business owners to split expenses with employees quickly and easily plus it comes with a free debit card that can be used anywhere MasterCard is accepted making it easier than ever to manage business expenses on the go while saving time by not having to file receipts.
25. Toggl
Toggl is an easy-to-use time tracking tool that works in real-time so you always know how much time you’re spending on projects no matter where your employees are. This allows you to easily see who’s spending too much time on a task and who needs a reminder to focus which gives you insight into how best to motivate/reward your team for better productivity in the future.
26. Facebook Business Suite
Finally, there’s Facebook Business that gives business owners the ability to create groups, events, chat with customers, and more though it comes with a free Facebook Page built right in for your convenience.
This post has given you 26 tools to start your small business. These are only the basics, but they should be enough for most people who want to try their hand at starting a business. If you need more information about how to make it in the world of entrepreneurship, we have plenty of other useful posts on our blog that will help! Check out these related articles now and use them as jumping-off points for getting started with your entrepreneurial journey.
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