17 Time-Saving Tools and Apps for Small Business
17 Time-Saving Tools and Apps for Small Business
As a small business owner, how often do you take a break from your work during the day?
A recent article by Anna Brones titled You Need Your Coffee Break stresses the importance of resting and taking breaks during the workday, stating how doing so can drastically improve your productivity and creative potential.
But the question is, where do you even find the time to take a break when there is so much to do each day that no one else can or will do?
When it comes to your small business, sometimes it can feel impossible to make time for rest or breaks, especially when you have to do everything.
Thankfully, there are many tools and apps that help save time, boost productivity, and automate parts of your small business to make your life MUCH easier.
This blog post shares 16 time-saving tools and apps for small businesses that can free up your time for the break you deserve.
Business Management Tools
Google Workspace - Whether used for email, video conferences, file sharing, collaboration, or cloud storage, Google workspace makes small business management easier by simplifying how you work with your team.
Honeybook - Honeybook is an "all-in-one" client management tool that allows you to book and onboard clients, manage projects, send invoices and contracts, and get your invoices paid in one place. It's an essential tool for getting your systems automated and taking the time-consuming tasks off of your plate.
Quickbooks - Ask any small business owner what function of their business costs them the most time and stress, and many will say, "accounting/bookkeeping." Quickbooks makes small business owners' lives easier by automating tasks, organizing your finances, and generating all the reports you need so you don't have to spend your valuable time doing so.
Email Management Tools
Flodesk - When it comes to staying in touch with your customers, most small business owners don't have the time to put together a list, much less make the emails look "pretty" and on-brand. Flodesk frees small business owners from that task by making email design and branding, customer opt-in and interaction, and email automation made easy.
Mailchimp - Best known for its email marketing, Mailchimp is an "all-in-one" marketing automation platform that will help you effortlessly market and grow your small business. Whether looking to stay in touch with your mailing list, build an automated marketing campaign, or create a landing page for your products, Mailchimp is a go-to email marketing system. Its features and templates will save you tons of time for creating, writing, and distributing your small business content.
When it comes to your small business, sometimes it can feel impossible to make time for rest or breaks, especially when you have to do everything.
Social Media Scheduling Tools
Agorapulse - Agorapulse is an "all-in-one" social media management tool that allows businesses to manage their social media messages, schedule and publishes content, identify key influencers, and generate reports in an easy-to-use dashboard. For the small business owner with limited time, you'll benefit from the ability to manage and engage with multiple social media channels in one place.
Facebook Business Suite - If your small business has a presence on Facebook and Instagram, Facebook Business Suite will help you to manage and grow those accounts in one place. Whether you are reviewing and sending messages, posting and scheduling content, or generating reports, you will be able to run your business more efficiently and spend your time on other essential tasks.
Later - Later is another excellent social media management tool that allows you to store media, and plan, schedule, and publish social media content. With the ability to store and research hashtags, schedule "first comments," and schedule stories, I think it is one of the best social media tools to use if your small business has a presence on Instagram.
Photo/Video/Graphic Design Tools
Canva - Canva is a drag-and-drop graphic design tool that is a game-changer for many small businesses. Made especially for the non-graphic designers, Canva makes creating eye-catching social media graphics and documents a breeze. You can also save time by using Canva to post and schedule your social media posts.
InShot - If you need a quick video edit for your business but don't have the time or need to go out and hire a professional video editor, InShot is your answer. With features that allow you to trim and edit videos, apply filters and effects, and add music and text, the InShot app makes it easy to create a professionally polished product with just a few taps of the finger.
Snapseed - Snapseed is a basic photo editing app that allows you to quickly and easily edit, enhance, and apply filters to photos. Like InShot, if you need photo editing but don't have the time or need for a professional photo editor or editing software, Snapseed is your friend.
Content Marketing/SEO Tools
Answer the Public - Answer the Public makes creating content easier by taking the guesswork out of what content to create. By using autocomplete data from popular search engines, this tool will help you find what people are searching for, saving you tons of time on generating content that you know will be valuable to your target audience.
Google Trends - Similar to Answer the Public, Google Trends takes the guesswork out of what content your audience finds valuable by analyzing the popularity of search trends all over the world. It's also an excellent tool for developing hashtags and boosting your site SEO.
Ubersuggest - Ubersuggest keeps you competitive among others in your industry by generating keyword ideas that can quickly help you improve your SEO and content marketing strategy. Ubersuggest enables you to find content ideas, analyzes your SEO, and locates who is backlinking to your site in one convenient tool.
For more tips on creating unique content for your website or social media platforms, check out my blog post, 10 Ways To Ensure You Have Great Content.
Team/Project Management Tools
Airtable - Airtable is an easy-to-use, versatile, online database and platform where you can quickly and easily collaborate with your team, manage your workflow, track and organize inventories, plan events, and more. With templates available to track projects and products, manage social media, track marketing campaigns, and more, it's a convenient and time-saving tool for every function in your small business.
Asana - An excellent project management tool for working with multiple team members and projects, Asana keeps you organized and allows you to manage your team's work and tasks anywhere, anytime. No more waiting on team members to answer emails or be available for meetings about projects-- instead, drop all the information they need in the workspace, assign the task, and you're good to go!
Last but not least, if you're looking for a tool that will keep you on track, productive, and will make sure you take those well-deserved breaks, I recommend Tomato Timer.
Tomato Timer is a Pomodoro timer designed to keep you productive and focused on your "to-do" list with short 25-minute work intervals separated by short 5-10 minute breaks. It's the ultimate tool for making sure you take those regular "coffee breaks" throughout the day and get the rest you deserve.
Whether you need to take a break, save time, or improve your productivity and focus, you can see that there are several tools available to help keep your small business organized and running efficiently. If you have questions or need help implementing any of the above solutions for your small business, I'm here to help! Contact me today!
