Running a business isn’t an easy gig. There are schedules and calendars, meetings and events, networking and . . . anything and everything else that pops up. Truth be told, running a business is seriously a 24/7 gig. It’s time-consuming but rewarding. Frustrating, but satisfying. Happy, but sad. And totally freeing, all rolled up into one nice neat (sometimes messy) little package. Are there ways to get more organized? Absolutely. The way to finding a happy medium to balance everything that your business throws at you? Business tools. The great part about business tools is that they are created to make your life easier. And for the most part, they do! If you are looking for must-have business tools to help you stay organized, here are a few suggestions to help get you started!
5 Must Have Business Tools
- Slack. If you’ve never used Slack, start. It’s as simple as that. Slack is a great way to converse with other members of your team, no matter where they are located in the world. Think of it like an online messenger system, but a little more advanced. You can set up one-on-one channels with other team members or a group channel to talk about specific projects and needs. Plus, you can copy and paste items directly into it that you want to share with other members as well. It’s a handy way to stay in touch and in the know without really “checking in” to see what anyone else may be doing.
- Google Drive. The beautiful thing about Google Drive is that you can access it and use it from anywhere that you are. No more worrying about saving a document and having to send it later. With Google Drive, you can save and share immediately giving others access to view, edit or modify an existing document. It’s a great way to have multiple eyes on a project to get instant feedback or have modifications done without actually having to email or send it directly.
- Paypal. Let’s face it. If you are going to be doing business and selling anything, you need to have a way to set up and take payments. Paypal may charge fees, but so does everyone other transaction program out there. Paypal is used worldwide and is accepted and trusted, so if you plan on accepting payments online, having a Paypal business account set up is the way to go.
- Asana. Asana is one of those tools that truly rock. If you have a scattered schedule, Asana can be there to help guide you and keep you on track. You can assign projects, dates, members of the team and just about anything else with ease using Asana. You can log in and access it from anywhere, and it truly just makes tracking a breeze. It’s like your own little online calendar that will absolutely, without a doubt, keep you organized for all your business needs.
- MailerLite. Communicating with your customers is crucial! If you don’t have a strong email or newsletter program to make it happen, you aren’t going to be staying in contact with them for long. MailerLite is a great business tool because it’s simple, easy and allows for you to batch email many, many clients and customers all at once. Plus, it tracks how many opens, etc. your newsletters get so you can see how active and engaged your following truly is!
Truth be told, there are a ton of great business tools out there that will work for all different aspects and needs of you and your company. The 5 listed above are simple ones that will actually help get you started on a path of being able to organize everything into a nice, easy to use process. As your company grows, your need for other business tools will grow as well, but for now, get started with these!
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