It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by recommendations, free trials, and researching various tools for small business owners that are supposed to make your life easier. I can’t tell you how many free trials I signed up for before finding some tools for small business owners that worked for me. In this blog, I want to share what I found out with you. My goal is to share what types of tools you need, as well as my recommendation based on what I currently use.
1. SEO Research
SEO is how your website is found on Google. If you don’t have a strategy behind it, Google won’t know when to show your webpages in search results. A tool for keyword, competitor, and traffic research is so helpful to see where you stand.
My Recommendation: Ubersuggest
Ubersuggest is super easy to use. Even if you aren’t savvy in SEO, you can learn how to use this tool. I love it for keyword research and to see how my website has improved in search rankings. I also use Ubersuggest with all my clients!
2. Project Management Tool
Small business owners wear many hats. You have a say in finance, marketing, operations, administration, sales, and everything in between. That’s why you need a tool to keep all those thoughts, tasks, files, and meetings organized. Depending on the size and needs of your organization, there are many free tools out there to help with project management. When picking the project management tool for you, I recommend finding one that has everything you need.
My Recommendation: Asana
Asana saves my workweek, and I don’t say that lightly. I have a “project” for each of my clients so I can keep track of weekly tasks for each of them. You can choose the view that works best for you: list, timeline, or calendar. I prefer the calendar view of all my tasks, so I know what assignments have priority. I also like to look at the calendar view of specific projects if I’m batching work. That way, I’m focused on one client at a time and can see what needs to be done for the month.
I use the free version of Asana since it’s just me for now, but they do have a premium version if you have a large team. I would be so much more stressed and probably would have lost clients by now if I hadn’t found Asana. I’ve used Asana for years and highly recommend it to small business owners!
3. Invoicing Tool
The point of starting a business is to make money, right? It’s crucial to keep your finances in order. How you manage your money depends on your goals, the size of your business, whether or not you have employees, and your expenses.
I started my business using PayPal. I was already familiar with it and was comfortable navigating the interface. I moved away from it only because I needed more advanced reporting and functionality that it didn’t offer.
My Recommendation: QuickBooks
My bookkeeper keeps my Quickbooks organized and manages my finance reports. I like that I can connect multiple third-party banking accounts to send my profits to. I can view reports and visuals of my cash flow and it allows me to easily manage my business finances. I learned a little too late that business finances need to be separate from personal finances. QuickBooks helps me do that.
4. CRM
A CRM helps you keep track of your clients throughout the buyer’s journey. From filling out a contact form to booking a discovery call, signing the contract, paying an invoice, and onboarding. It’s miserable trying to keep track of everyone in your brain.
My Recommendation: Dubsado
I didn’t know how much unnecessary, manual work I was doing until I got Dubsado. The automation and workflow functionality is unmatched. I hired a Systems Strategist to help me get it all set up – I literally spent a few hours in there when I first signed up for the free trial and was like, nope. Someone do this for me 😂 Since she got everything set up for me, I’ve saved SO much time and my clients have a much better experience with me.
5. Social Media Scheduler
I can’t stress enough how important a scheduling tool is. It saves so much time and energy. Now, there are several tools out there that have different features. Pick one that meets your current needs and allows you to grow when your business does.
For a long time, I used Hootsuite and recommended it to all my clients. But, at the time, I was booking a lot of social media clients and I found myself spending a ton of time logging in and out of multiple Hootsuite accounts. It didn’t work for me anymore, so I needed to find something else. It’s still a good tool if you’re just using it for yourself!
When you’re searching for a scheduling tool, pay attention to the number of profiles you can add and how many posts you can schedule at once. Any limitations to either of those can end up slowing you down or adding additional work to your plate. That’s not what we need!
My Recommendation: Sendible
They do not have a free version, but trust me – the paid plans are worth it. With Sendible, you can schedule an unlimited number of posts, and the number of profiles you can add depends on the plan you choose. You can also reply to comments, research content ideas, and save frequently used hashtags.
If you want to try Sendible, use my link and save 20% when you become a customer!
6. Content Organization
With so many marketing channels and types of content you’re creating, it can be difficult to track it all. I use a content organization tool to help me plan content, and it’s been amazing for my content creation workflow.
My Recommendation: Airtable
I love Airtable. It’s the best platform that I’ve found to stay organized with content. I use it as a blog content calendar for myself and my clients (copy the template for free here!) I also use it for my social media content, email newsletters, and freebies. It keeps all the content organized for me. When I hire team members to help me, I can see updates in my business in one place.
I’ve given you the essential tools for small business owners I use in my business. I gave my recommendations for each one, but I encourage you to research and find a tool that works best for your business. Many factors come into play, so I want you to find processes that make your life easier, so you can focus on growing your business. Please contact me with any questions about the tools I mentioned in this blog. I use these tools for small business owners regularly and can answer any questions you may have.
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