Starting a business is overwhelming, and knowing where to start is tough. But with the right tools, you can get your business off the ground in no time.
People think that starting a business is out of their reach or that they need to have a lot of money to get created. The reality is that the competition is stiff, and you’ll need to have the right tools and resources to succeed. So we’ve put together a list of accessible and affordable tools you can use for your start-up business without breaking the bank.
1. Project Management Tool
Project management tools are important because they help you manage your projects effectively. They allow you to keep track of all the moving parts, so you can make sure everything is running smoothly and on schedule. Project management tools are especially important for startups to keep track of progress, deadlines, and tasks.
Aha! is an ideal project management tool. It helps you visualize a project roadmap and track your progress. It’s simple and easy to use, making it perfect for small businesses and startups.
It features change history so you can access all the modifications from the beginning of the project. It also promotes collaboration allowing the team members to comment, attach files, and monitor each project’s progress.
To learn all about Aha! alternative, click more info.
2. Web Design Tool
Creating a website is one of the essentials for your start-up. It allows a more comprehensive online connection between customers and clients and is a great platform to showcase your products or services.
WordPress is an in-demand content management system that helps you create a website quickly and easily. And the best part is, it’s free. It offers themes and plugins to customize your site to make it look professional. You can also upgrade to a paid plan to get more features and support.
Other similar web builders offer free and paid plans, such as Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace, all have eCommerce features where you can sell products or services directly from your website.
3. Email Marketing Tool
Email marketing is a significant way to reach out to your target market and promote your products or services. This lets you stay in touch with your customers, build relationships, and drive sales.
AWeber is a popular email marketing tool that offers a free plan for up to 500 subscribers. Specifically, it features autoresponders that send follow-up emails to subscribers after they sign up, landing pages that create beautiful, high-converting pages to capture leads, and email templates to help you save time and stay consistent with your branding.
You can also try similar tools like MailChimp, Constant Contact, and GetResponse.
4. Social Media Management Tool
The power of social media is in its ability to reach a broad audience and grow a business. However, managing all your social media accounts can be both time-consuming and overwhelming.
Hootsuite is a social media management tool that lets you manage all your social media in one place. It’s free for up to 3 social media profiles. It offers features such as post and schedule content, tracking of all your social media analytics in one place, monitoring of keywords and hashtags, custom report, and real-time alerts. A social media scheduler is another good tool.
You can also try similar tools: SocialBu, Buffer, Sprout Social, Sendible and SocialBee.
5. Business Accounting Tool
Another critical tool for your startup is business accounting software which will manage your finances, invoices, and expenses.
Wave is a great free option offering invoicing, payments, and accounting features. It also has a payroll feature (US & Canada only) and integrates with popular apps such as Stripe, PayPal, FreshBooks, QuickBooks and its alternatives.
You can consider other business accounting tools Zoho Books, Xero, and QuickBooks Self-Employed.
6. Marketing Automation Tool
Marketing automation is a tool that helps you automate your marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media, and ads. This tool is handy if you have a lot of leads and customers to keep track of.
HubSpot Sale is a great free option that offers features such as contact management, email tracking, deal pipeline, and live chat. It also integrates with Gmail, Outlook, and Salesforce.
Other marketing automation tools you can try are Pardot, ActiveCampaign, and Marketo.
7. Customer Relation Management (CRM) Tool
A CRM tool helps you manage your customer data and interactions in one place. It will keep track of your customers, sales, and marketing efforts.
Zoho CRM is a great free option that offers features such as SalesIQ (live chat), automation, insights, and reports. Zoho basically has everything you need to manage your customers and sales. It also involves many integrations, such as Google Suite, MailChimp, QuickBooks, and Zapier.
8. Website Analytics Tool
Website analytics tools like Google Analytics provide insights into your website traffic and marketing efforts. It shows you where your visitors are coming from, what they’re doing on your site, and how they convert.
This tool is essential for understanding your audience and measuring your marketing efforts. Other similar tools you can use are Mixpanel, KISSmetrics, and Clicky.
9. Legal Zoom
Legal Zoom is an online legal service provider that offers a wide range of legal services for businesses and individuals. LegalZoom provides a free business formation service that includes:
- Creating your LLC or corporation
- Filing your Articles of Incorporation or Organization
- Obtaining your Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Preparing your Operating Agreement or Corporate Bylaws
Other business legal services offered by LegalZoom include trademark registration, business licenses and permits, business contracts, and intellectual property protection.
10. Online Filing Tool
If you’re looking for an online filing tool to help you with your business documents and massive filings, then Dropbox is a great option. It offers 2GB of free storage and is very easy to use. You can access your files from anywhere and share them with anyone with its mobile app compatible with all devices.
Google Drive is another online filing tool that offers 15GB of free storage. It’s very similar to Dropbox but integrates with Google’s suite of products (such as Gmail and Google Docs).
Final Thoughts
Tools are essential for any startup business, and the ones we’ve listed here are a great starting point. These tools will assist you in managing your business, from finances to marketing.
They’re all necessary for success, so try to implement them in your daily routine. And lastly, remember that not every tool is perfect, so don’t be afraid to mix and match different tools until you find the ideal combination for your business needs.
What other essential tools would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below.
