When starting your first business, it can be difficult to know what tools and software to use. As a start-up entrepreneur myself, I thought I’d share with you the most essential tools for entrepreneurs. Whether you’re a freelance writer or a budding social media guru, find the software you need at the most competitive prices here.
Today I’m talking about software for entrepreneurs. This is a very Entrepreneurs are the frontrunners today’s online business. They are doing wonders with small capital, making their mark in this fast changing business world. Well, it doesn’t take much to create a good running business. A tool that can help you do your work at lightning speed will always be welcome. So, let’s have a look at some of these software tools that can save your time and effort while you focus more on the core activities of the business.
Momentum
Momentum is a homepage replacement app designed to inspire you and keep you focused throughout your work day. When you open your browser, Momentum greets you by name with an inspiring picture and quote.
I find Momentum immensely helpful when determining and completing my One Thing every day. Every morning, I tell it what my focus for the day will be. For the rest of the day, it reminds me of my commitment every time I open a new tab. This makes it much easier to stop wasting time on Facebook and the likes.
Spotify
Listening to music really helps me stay focused and productive. Obviously, this is different for everyone, but many people seem to function better with music in the background.
Spotify is a great place to find the right music for every moment. You can choose what you want to listen to, or you can let Spotify surprise you. Find out what type of music keeps you focused and alert. It’s great to help you through the early afternoon dip.
Zapier
Now that you’ve got Google Docs and Trello set up, let me introduce you to my productivity-boosting friend, Zapier. Zapier is an online tool that allows you to connect two separate apps. For example, you could set up a ‘zap’ that would create a new Trello card each time you created a new Google Doc. Or you could do something more advanced like send an automated response email anytime someone signed up for a webinar on your site. (Psst..if you need more ideas, check out this blog post.)With Zapier’s free plan, you can set up to 5 zaps.
Mailchimp
If you are just starting to build out your email list, then you absolutely want to check out Mailchimp. Not only is this one of the most popular email service providers on the internet, but they give you a free account until you get 2,000 subscribers. Now you won’t have to pay to send emails until you actually have a decent-sized list. Mailchimp has dozens of pre-designed templates that make creating your very first newsletter or prospect email a breeze. Not a huge Mailchimp fan? We put together this list of Mailchimp alternatives for you to consider — many of them with free options as well!
Pexels
Whether you are writing an email, creating Facebook ads, or brochures for your business, you’re going to need stock photos. Just in case you didn’t know this already, you cannot take an image you found on Google search and use it for your business. Yea, apparently it’s “illegal” and called “copyright infringement.” Because we don’t want you to end up behind bars, we are going to share our favorite free stock photo resource: Pexels. Pexels has thousands of beautiful, royalty-free images that you can use for all aspects of your business.
Canva
Once you have the images, you’re going to want to make edits to them. There are a ton of graphic design tools available, but you may want to check out Canva, a free online photo editing tool that let you create branded and personalized graphics for your newsletters, brochures, and social media posts. Edit your own images or choose from Canva’s library of images (some of which you have to pay for, but a good portion are free). Quickly download all your masterpieces to your computer and use them for your print and digital marketing campaigns. For a complete list of Canva alternatives, check out this post.
Buffer
Seeing that you now have some sweet looking social media graphics, you’ll want to use a tool like Buffer to schedule them across your various accounts. When running a business, you don’t have time to actually sit down and post to your social media accounts (or to sit down at all), which is why it’s a good idea to automate those tasks with Buffer.
On the free plan, Buffer will allow you to schedule up to 10 posts to 3 different social media accounts. You’ll be able to schedule all your social media posts for the week in just a few minutes! Some notable Buffer alternatives with free plans include Hootsuite, Later, and Publer.
Bit.ly
Not to length shame, but long URLs are ugly. Yeah, I said it. Increase clickability by using personalized, shortened links from Bit.ly. These conversion-inducing links will also give you stats on your link, like, the number of clicks. It takes the guesswork out of marketing.
Wave
Ready to send out your first invoice and want to look like a true professional? Then head on over to Wave, an online invoicing software program. Wave lets you create and send professional-looking invoices to your clients’ inbox. You can even keep track of who’s paid and who hasn’t so you can send “reminders” if you need to.
Trello
Trello is a free project management tool that helps you get organized. It shows a board on which you can create lists filled with cards. When you open a card, you can add comments, upload files, create checklists, and more.
It is super versatile, so it can be used for many different types of things: to organize a specific project, write an ebook, create an email course, etc. It really helps you to keep a bird’s-eye view on your projects.
Google Docs
Google Docs is an essential tool for working on a file with multiple people. Everyone can add or remove text, proofread content, and give comments for others to see. You can also see who else is working on the document and chat with them, so it’s a great tool for teams.
It’s also a big help for people who get confused when they have several versions of a work-in-progress.
Asana
Asana is the ultimate tool for managing your projects more effectively. It works with tasks, projects, conversations, and dashboards. Teamwork has never been easier. You can turn conversations into actionable tasks, provide comments on other people’s actions, and immediately see what progress has been made – all without having to schedule meetings.
Dropbox
Dropbox is great for storage and backups. It has a huge amount of awesome plugin apps to improve your experience. Moreover, it provides apps for every device, which means you can access your files from anywhere.
Slack
Slack is a beautiful chat app is an amazing communication tool for teams and mastermind groups. Its smooth design is by far the nicest you’ll come across. Even though it’s relatively new, it is already very popular.
You can create several channels to discuss different topics, or you can have a private conversation. Slack also allows you to share files and to easily find messages, notifications, and files in your archive. Everything is automatically synced on all your devices, and you can easily connect it to other apps, like WordPress or Skype.
Start sharing your ideas with peers and get inspired by their questions, suggestions, and expertise. We’re all in this together.
Conclusion
As an entrepreneur, you are probably always on the lookout for tools that would make your everyday life easier. Probably you preferred to pay to get the job done easily and quickly, instead of spending lots of your precious time. There are lots of tools out there (and even more free stuff) to help you with every element of running a business.