The Top 10 Most Essential Tools That Every Startup Needs To Be Successful
It might be challenging to know where to begin when starting a new business. However, you can launch your company quickly if you have the correct tools. Many people believe they need to have a lot of money or that establishing a business is out of their price range. To succeed, you will need to have the correct tools and resources because there is fierce competition. This article will discuss the top 10 affordable and accessible tools you can use to start your business without going bankrupt.
#1. Web Design Tool
Building a website is one of the essential elements for your startup. It enables a better online connection between clients and customers and is a fantastic platform to showcase your goods or services.
Furthermore, WordPress is a well-liked content management system that allows you to create websites easily and quickly. The best part is that it is free. It provides plugins and themes to let you customize your website to look professional. In order to get more features and assistance, you can also upgrade to a paid subscription.
Similar web builders like Weebly, Wix, and Squarespace offer both paid and free plans. All have ‘eCommerce’ features that allow you to sell services or products directly from your site.
#2. Social Media Management Software
Social media’s strength lies in its ability to reach a large audience and grow a company. However, managing all of your social media accounts can be overwhelming and time-consuming.
Using the social media management tool “Hootsuite,” you can handle all your social media accounts in one place. It is free for up three social media accounts. In addition, it provides features like schedule and posts content, monitoring of hashtags and keywords, custom report, tracking all of your social media analytics in one location, and receiving real-time notifications.
Sprout Social, Buffer, and Sendible are other social media management software you can also try.
#3. Project Management Tool
Project management tools are crucial for startups to keep track of tasks, deadlines, and progress. Project management tools are essential because they enable you to manage your projects efficiently. Additionally, they make it possible for you to keep track of all the moving elements and ensure that everything runs on time and smoothly.
The perfect project management tool is “Aha!” It assists you in tracking your progress and visualizing a project roadmap. It is easy to use and simple enough for startups and small businesses.
Moreover, it has a ‘change history’ feature that allows you to access all the modifications made since the project’s inception. It also fosters collaboration enabling the team members to attach a file, comment easily, and monitor every project’s progress.
#4. Email Marketing Software
Email marketing is an effective way to connect with your target market and advertise your goods or services. This enables you to communicate with your clients, build relationships, and increase revenue.
The most popular email marketing software, “AWeber,” provides a free subscription for up to 500 subscribers. It includes the ‘autoresponders’ feature, which sends follow-up emails to subscribers after they sign up, landing page templates that create beautiful pages to grab leads, and email marketing templates, which save time and maintain brand consistency.
You may also test out a few other tools, such as Constant Contact, GetResponse, and MailChimp.
#5. Business Accounting Software
Another essential tool for small businesses and startups is business accounting software which will help you manage your expenses, invoices, and finances.
Furthermore, “Wave” is an excellent free option that offers payments, invoicing, and accounting features. It has a ‘payroll’ feature (available exclusively in Canada and the United States) and integrates with popular applications such as PayPal, Stripe, FreshBooks, and QuickBooks.
Other options for business accounting tools include Xero, Zoho Books, and QuickBooks Self-Employed.
#6. CRM (Customer Relation Management) Tool
Using a CRM tool, you can manage your customer information and interactions in one location. It will monitor your sales, customers, and marketing activities.
Moreover, “Zoho CRM” is a fantastic free option that provides various features like automation, SalesIQ (live chat), reports, and insights. Everything you require to manage your customers and sales is available in Zoho. It also entails several integrations, including QuickBooks, Zapier, MailChimp, and Google Suite.
#7. Marketing Automation Tool
Marketing automation is software that automates your different marketing tasks, such as social media, email marketing, and advertising. This marketing tool is very useful if you need to keep track of numerous leads and customers.
“HubSpot Sale” is an excellent free option with several features like email tracking, live chat, contact management, and deal pipeline. Additionally, it integrates with Salesforce, Outlook, and Gmail.
You can also try Marketo, ActiveCampaign, and Pardot as additional marketing automation software.
#8. Online Filing Tool
“Dropbox” is excellent online filing software to assist you with your business documents and extensive filings. It is very simple to use and provides 2GB of free storage. Its mobile application is compatible with all devices and allows you to share files with anyone and access them from any location.
Furthermore, “Google Drive” is another popular online filing tool that provides 15GB of free storage. Although it is quite similar to Dropbox, it integrates with the entire Google product line (like Google Docs and Gmail).
#9. Legal Zoom
“Legal Zoom” is an online legal service provider that provides a broad range of legal services to individuals and businesses. LegalZoom offers a free service for business formation that includes:
- Filing your Articles of Organization/ Incorporation.
- Creating your corporation or LLC.
- Preparing your Corporate Bylaws or Operating Agreement.
- Get your EIN (employer identification number).
Moreover, some of the additional business legal services provided by LegalZoom include business contracts, intellectual property protection, business permits, and licenses, and trademark registration.
#10. Website Analytics Tool
“Google Analytics” is the most popular website analytics software that offers insights into your marketing activities and website traffic. You can easily see where your visitors are coming from, what they are doing on your website, as well as how they convert.
This site analytics software is most important for understanding your audience and measuring your marketing activities. You can use other popular website analytics tools such as KISSmetrics, Clicky, and Mixpanel.
Conclusion
Every startup needs these ten tools listed in this article to succeed. Without them, it will be challenging to get off the ground. With these tools, you will be able to create a thriving business that can withstand the challenges of the ever-changing marketplace. Also, you can manage your business with the help of these tools, from finances to marketing.
Last but not least, remember that not every tool is perfect; therefore, don’t be afraid to mix & match various tools to discover the best tool for your company’s requirements.