In today’s global business world, small businesses need to be effective and efficient as never before. The Tools to Help Small Business guide is a collection of best practices used by hundreds of companies that sell goods and services to consumers. Are you a small or mid-sized company wanting to grow? Then this is the guide for you !
We believe in providing a full solution for small businesses. That’s why we offer a wide range of tools to help with time management, accounting, reporting, and more. Whether you’re a freelancer or a small business owner, we’ve got tools that will help your business run smoother and more efficiently.
Wix
If your small business needs a website (and the answer to that for most businesses is a resounding “yes, it does”) and your website building needs are basic, then try using a free website builder such as Wix, which offers a free account. Wix can help you create a full-featured, mobile-friendly website that won’t break your budget. After using the free plan for a while, if you realize that your business would really benefit from all the features a web hosting provider can provide you, then you can opt for a paid web hosting service such as HostGator Web Hosting.
CyberGhost
Small businesses that concerned about security (and you should be) need to implement personal virtual private network (VPN) services. These services hide online activity from snoops, and limits who can and can’t access network content. Most VPNs are pay-to-play but there are a few services, such as CyberGhost (£1.57 Per Month for 2 Year Plan + 3 Months Free at CyberGhost VPN) , that give you a bit of protection at no cost.
CyberGhost is the best free VPN service on the market. It offers reliable connection speeds and excellent network security, plus it works on most modern operating systems (OSes). It’s somewhat difficult to configure, especially for really small businesses; and if you need Mac or Linux support, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid version. But if you just need something simple, easy, and free, then CyberGhost is a great tool.
Avast
What’s the point of growing a business if it can be shut down by viruses or hackers? Avast’s endpoint protection comes in a free and a premium (£1.57 Per Month for 2 Year Plan + 3 Months Free at CyberGhost VPN) version, both of which protect your network well.
If you opt for the free version, keep in mind that you won’t have access to proactive controls, a firewall, or data shredding. However, you’ll still get access to solid malware blocking, security scanning, and rescue disk functionality—all of which will come in handy at some point.
Connecteam
When you have many deskless or remote employees, Connecteam is the best free small business tool for you. After all, it was specially designed and built to cater to these employees! Apart from being super easy to use, Connecteam enhances your daily business routine. How so? Connecteam is the leading business tool that makes it easy for managers to offer feedback, enhance engagement, track work hours easily to enhance timesheet management and payroll process, share intuitive schedules, remain transparent, and unite all workplace communication and collaboration – for free.
- Get peace of mind with GPS time tracking so when employees clock in and out from their phones, a real-time timestamp and GPS location is automatically tagged. This creates more efficient and easy to manage timesheets and payroll processes.
- Create interactive communication with group or one-on-one chat and share GIFs, videos, and pictures. Decide whether your team can engage with your update with likes and comments or if it’s a one-way announcement to keep everyone on the same page.
- Share an efficient job schedule when you easily assign a schedule (use drag & drop, templates, etc.) that’s based on different requirements. For each shift, offer additional key information so your team has everything available in a tap like address, tasks to complete, time, and more. Employees can accept or reject shifts, check-in when they show up to the site, and more – while on the go!
- Manage reports on the go and in real-time like an incident report, expense reimbursement, operational checklists, and more so you can ensure compliance from top-to-bottom.
- Boost engagement through announcements, newsletters, and updates that you can segment per group and channel to avoid information overload. Share goals met, new sales landed, key protocols, and more.
- Offer a better training & onboarding experience so your team has direct access to training resources, such as the employee handbook, safety protocols, benefits, etc.
- Use the searchable employee directory to keep all work contacts on the app instead of your personal phone, easily find the contact needed with a quick search (name, job title, location, etc.) and quickly engage with the contact through action buttons like a phone call, email, or chat.
Google Docs (& Friends)
You can’t write about free online services without mentioning Google, so we’re going to start with the Internet giant everyone knows. This is a great tool when you need to collaborate on files.
When it comes to sharing files and collaborating on documents, Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides are the way to go. The files are stored in your Google Drive and are a wonderful way to avoid those endless back-and-forth emails when collaborating on various documents.
Odesk
Starting a business often involves utilizing the skills of others. Without the means to hire fulltime staff, but with project deadlines looming, hiring a per-project contractor can be extremely beneficial. With no time to waste looking for that perfect candidate, Odesk streamlines the process for you. Take advantage of their huge database of contractors looking for work, and follow their step-by-step process to find the best fit for your company. Odesk profiles provide previous work experience, sample portfolio, and client reviews so that you can make an informed decision, and meet with only those candidates that would be a great asset to your team. You can then set up a virtual interview without even leaving your workspace, and easily assign your chosen candidate the project at hand. Odesk continues to aid you in the process with their tracking tool, allowing you to constantly watch your project’s performance, and make notes or additions along the way. Finally, don’t worry about the hassle of payment issues and dealing with bank paperwork. Odesk handles all of the transactions so that you can pay your contractor with ease, and enjoy your completed project, stress free.
Conclusion
Get the tools to help your small business grow. Sometimes things don’t work out as planned, but that’s okay. When you’re a small business owner, you have to be ready for anything. From such unexpected events as emergencies and repairs to customer requests and faulty equipment, maintaining a small business is always a challenge.