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Starting or running a small business can be quite a lot of work, having to deal with processes, advertising, communicating with clients and still running a business. Thankfully there are some online tools that can help make running a business smoother and more productive. Below is a list of tools every small business must have:
Canva
Canva is one of our favourite tools to use. It is a simplified tool for graphic design and can be used to create templates for things such as social media publications, logos, presentations, eBooks, flyers and more. It makes use of a simple UI format, while also providing access to more than a million graphics, vectors, fonts and photographs. It is a perfect tool for print and web media graphics and design.
Trello
Trello can be described as a collaborative tool which helps to organise a business’s projects to boards. With Trello, you are able to know what part of the project is being worked on, the individual working on it and the location of an integral file of the project. Think of Trello as a digital post-it board, with all the information everyone associated with a project needs to know.
MailChimp
MailChimp is a web-powered marketing platform which helps you and your business manage and communicate with your customers, clients and other parties. It has been designed to have a clear focus on the best communication practices, wonderfully designed campaigns, as well as commanding data analysis.
WordPress
WordPress is a content management system, which at its centre is the most seamless and widespread method used to create and own a blog or a website. It is so widespread that more than 34% of the websites live on the internet are powered by WordPress.
Theme Forest
Speaking of WordPress, ThemeForest is a platform that enables users to seamlessly purchase or sell CMS or WordPress themes. Think of it like the digital superstore of themes. You can purchase themes to design your business’s website, making it attractive to visitors and potential customers. It is also a great platform that enables designers to make money by selling their templates and themes.
Hootsuite
With the way social media is able to provide a greater reach to customers and influence their decision making, it is no surprise that there are numerous tools to take advantage of that. Hootsuite is one of the best social media management tools. It enables you to schedule posts to any social media platform (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, WordPress, Instagram and more) from one application. With this tool, you can effectively manage your resources and time while still being active on social media.
Outlook
Microsoft’s Outlook is the most favoured email system that businesses use to access their emails. Not only is it able to access email, but it is also able to have your business’s contacts, task management and calendar under one tool. It is a great tool for a business to have as it has all the essential communication functionalities that all businesses need to prosper in one tool.
Install WhatsApp on your desktop – WhatsApp is the most used communication application with a registered 1.5 billion users. With that number of users, it is only right that a business taps into that market by using this medium. Considering that it started as a mobile application, it now has a desktop plugin which is perfect for businesses to use.
Free Images
Free Images – when it comes to advertising or marketing a business, with so many things grabbing customers attention, it pays for a business to stand out. And what other way to stand out than visuals, pictures can be a great medium to attract customers to your business. However, there are repercussions for simply downloading an image from the internet and using without approval or a license. Thankfully, businesses can make use of free images to advertise their businesses. Sites like unsplash.com, Pexels, Pixabay and Flickr provide license-free images for anyone to use.
Google Suite
The G Suite has been designed by Google to help small businesses grow in a cost-effective yet quicker manner. G Suite contains applications like Gmail, Calendar, Hangout, Drive, Vault and Google+. These are basically all the programs that a business would need to operate. The only difference is that Google has been able to update them and bring them under one suite and payment plan.
We Transfer
It is a cloud-based service that lets you transfer computer files. There are times when you need to transfer a large file to a staff member in the field WeTransfer comes in. It allows you to send files as large as 2 GB for free. There is also a premium “Plus” option which lets users send around 20GB in one session.
Camcard
This is one of the most useful apps a business can use. It can be used to exchange and manage business cards, making it the perfect tool for small businesses, entrepreneurs, marketing experts and business developers.
Fiverr
This site is the biggest freelance marketplace, where businesses of all types can outsource particular jobs to expert freelances, leaving them to grow a successful business.
Photo Credit: https://www.netted.net
Skype
Skype is a useful chat platform, which even comes with business features. It supports HD video-conferencing for 250 people, in addition to persistent chat and even topic-based discussions that persist even after all of the active have left. Consumer Skype is free, but lacks these functionalities, whereas if you like to use Skype for Business is paid and comes with enterprise support.
Zoom
With its cloud platform for audio and video conferencing, Zoom is definitely a tool to watch out for in enterprise video communication. It can be used across room systems, mobile devices and desktops, offering easy and effective communication in offices, classrooms, you name it.
