Essential Tools for Small Business
From the Archives: I wrote this back in 2014(!) when I was a Partner with Murphy Business Atlantic. At first I read this because I thought it would be hilarious how much things had changed in 10+ years. But I was surprised at how well this list still holds up. So I am sharing now, but it could certainly use an update.
Doing more with less. That’s what small business is all about. Luckily, there are plenty of online tools that can significantly increase your productivity for reasonable, cash-flow friendly fees. Below are some of my favourites, all from personal experience.
WordPress: WordPress is the most popular CMS in the world – some stats estimate up to 25% of all websites in the world run on WordPress. There’s a reason. It’s relatively simple to use and has a huge library of plugins. The biggest perk of all, it’s widely known and supported by developers all over the world. This means that you won’t be locked into a proprietary or unknown technology. Even better, it’s free to use in many cases.
Campaign Monitor: Campaign Monitor is an email-marketing tool that is very simple to use and has great features, free templates, and phenomenal reporting. It’s also very budget-friendly. I’d recommend it to anyone.
* Special mention to MailChimp - another great email tool and a close second in my mind.
99designs: Whether you are looking for a logo, brochure, or a website, 99designs is a great tool for getting a design you need for a budget you can afford. Don’t get me wrong; 99designs is no replacement for a professional designer. But when you’re a small business, sometimes you simply don’t have the budget – and 99designs is a great alternative.
Hootsuite: We all know how important social media is to small business. But we also know that it’s a lot of work – especially when you’re managing profiles across multiple platforms. Hootsuite makes managing your social media presence much more manageable. It also has a free account for up to 3 profiles.
QuickBooks: Love it or hate it, every small business needs an accounting tool. I recommend QuickBooks, particularly the online version. It’s relatively simple to use, is accessible from anywhere, and is widely supported and documented.
* Special mention to FreshBooks - a very simple tool that seems to be particularly useful for creative folks.
Dropbox: If your business needs to share files of any significant size, Dropbox is a free/affordable tool that you don’t want to miss. And if you find yourself multi-tasking across multiple computers, laptops, and tablets, it let’s you easily access all of your files from one central location.
join.me: The world is a smaller place because of the internet. You can do business all over the world without ever meeting someone. join.me is a great tool that helps to bridge this gap. It’s the easiest screen sharing and audio conferencing tool on the market. Unfortunately, join.me does not offer video conferencing yet, although I hope they will soon. If you need video conferencing, GoToMeeting seems to be the industry default.
Base CRM: A customer relationship management tool is essential for any sales-driven organization. Personally, I tried Salesforce.com and was very disappointed. I felt like I would need a dedicated IT person setup and manage it. That’s when I found Base. Base is a simple and effective CRM tool that lets you easily track your sales funnel. I love it.
Shopify: For ecommerce, I recommend Shopify. Shopify makes selling online easy and affordable. They’ve also got a great POS system that allows you to integrate your online and bricks-and-mortar sales efforts. Even better, they’re a Canadian company.
Grasshopper: As a small business looking for a phone company, I hit the jackpot when I found grasshopper. Grasshopper gives me complete control over every aspect of my phone system, and integrates perfectly with my existing cell phones and email. You may have to wait a couple weeks to get a Canadian phone number, and their voicemail recording tool is a little clunky, but I promise you it’s worth those minor troubles.
So what do you think? This is my list, but every business has different needs. Are there any other tools that you simply can’t do without? Share them below.
Disclaimer: I am (thankfully) not a lawyer, nor am I an accountant. If any of this sounds like legal/financial advice, it's not. Take everything I say with a grain of salt. But not too much - I hear it's bad for your blood pressure.
