Starting a business is one of the most challenging things that one might do in life. The risks are high, but so are the rewards. Most of us are not aware of the fact that every successful business has to begin somewhere.
A good number of them went through some rough times before they finally became what they are today.
Starting a business can be a challenging yet rewarding decision for anyone to make. So if you’re planning to start a business, then here is a list of 10 tools that will help you:
1. Task Management Tools
You will have a lot on your plate when you’re starting a business. There is always new customer acquisition, accounting, invoicing, and sometimes even hiring employees to consider. All of this can be overwhelming while you are also trying to manage the company’s day-to-day operations.
To ensure that everything is going smoothly while keeping track of all the tasks at hand, use a good task management tool like Trello or Todoist.
A task management tool will ensure that nothing falls through the cracks and keep you organized throughout. It’s important not to underestimate how much time it takes to run a small business, especially when there aren’t any processes already in place.
2. Accounting Tools
When you start your own business, it’s not just growing revenues that you have to keep track of, but you also have to keep a close eye on your expenses as well. In order to do that successfully, you will need a reliable accounting tool that can help you with the whole process.
3. Customer Relationship Management Tools
It is crucial not to forget about customers once your company starts growing. It would be best if you always considered them when making decisions. Using a good CRM software like Insightly will help you do this easily without much effort at all.Â
The key to customer satisfaction is providing them with quick and efficient support no matter their problem. They will also appreciate it if you ask them for feedback from time to time so that you can improve your product or service accordingly.
4. Marketing Automation & Lead Generation Tools
The success of your company depends on generating new leads and converting them into customers. A good marketing automation & lead generation tool will help you do just that by keeping track of your online sources like website traffic and newsletter subscriptions.
5. Management Tools
Once your business starts growing, you are going to have more employees on board. When that happens, you will need a good workforce management tool to help you keep track of all their time off requests or what they are working on at the moment.
Excellent workforce management involves:
- Creating schedules with the right amount of employees on each shift.
- Forecasting employee headcount based on business needs.
- Tracking labor costs.
SINC provides an effective and excellent system for workforce management, especially for construction businesses.
6. Collaboration Tools
When you start your own business, you will need all the support that you can get and teamwork among members. This is why it’s important to find yourself a good collaboration tool like Slack which will help you communicate with the remote and hybrid employees. Google Drive and Dropbox are also great tools for sharing files and collaborating with other colleagues as well.
7. HR Management Tools
HR management tools are designed to help the people in your company. It’s important because having a good HR management tool will make a big difference in productivity and talent retention. For example, a tool like viGlobal will help you effectively onboard new hires, track employee performance, conduct annual reviews, and other HR tasks.
Employee engagement is also one of the most critical factors for business success because happy employees are more motivated to do their job well. Boost employee engagement with Surveybot as it will give you all the necessary insights about what makes people at your company happy or unhappy so that you can improve it further.
8. Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are cropping up everywhere nowadays, so if you want to keep up with the competition, you should consider having some on board as well. Creating mobile apps for iOS and Android will be extremely easy for any small business owner by using such tools as Taxi App Templates.
9. Security & Monitoring Tools
Large companies aren’t the only ones targeted by hackers; many small businesses are also being targeted daily. This is why you should always protect your data and monitor who accesses your platform using a tool that will help you mitigate security issues before bad things happen.
10. Social Media Monitoring Tools
Social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook can benefit any business’s online marketing. It’s important to track the activity on such social networks 24/7 because this way, you will be able to respond immediately when potential customers post messages about your products or services.
You can use social media monitoring tools with social listening technology to keep constant tabs on what people say online about you and other companies in your niche market.
Takeaway
We all know that starting our own business is not always easy, but this doesn’t mean you shouldn’t undertake such a challenge.
There are various ways to improve your chances of success by using different tools that will help you manage your company better. By doing so, you could avoid the most common mistakes that first-time entrepreneurs usually make.
