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Handy Tools Entrepreneurs Should Be Utilizing Today

Being an entrepreneur can sometimes be daunting, or even lonely, particularly if you don’t have the ability to bring on staff members and/or you find yourself spending all hours in the office trying to get work done. Happily though, there are plenty of tools you can use to help your business run more efficiently, become more profitable, and grow quickly.

Whether you operate a startup or a well-established company, it’s important to take advantage of those things which will better your business and better your life. Read on for some top tools you should consider utilizing today.

Virtual Assistants

If you don’t have a team of staff to delegate work to each week, it’s generally impossible to get through even the bulk of the items that are on a typical to-do list. That’s where virtual assistants can come in very handy. Virtual assistants are useful for a wide variety of tasks, including those in the areas of administration, marketing, sales, accounting and more. Speaking of accounting, if this isn’t your strongest skill and you don’t have anyone to help you out, it wouldn’t hurt to do something like a Xero QuickBooks comparison to find the best cloud accounting tool for your business.

They’re particularly wonderful for solopreneurs (what is a solopreneur?) who don’t have any support available, but can be just as effectively used by anyone who doesn’t have a full-time assistant or who wants to outsource one particular area of work.

You’ll find many websites to choose from when it comes to sourcing a virtual assistant, but make sure that you do some research and have a good chat (whether via email or Skype) first before you commit to a long-term contract.

Online Document Sharing Platforms

Whether you work with a team and need to share ideas and information regularly, or are a solopreneur who works on the go, it’s helpful to utilize some of the many great online document sharing platforms that are available these days. Cloud storage tools like Dropbox, Microsoft’s OneDrive, Google Drive, or Apple’s iCloud make it quick and easy to access information anywhere, at any time.

Sign up to one of these types of services and you can store and access your files on your computer, on the web, on your tablet or your cell phone. You can upload and download documents, photographs, videos, spreadsheets and other work files, as well as give other people access to your folders to do the same. This makes it easier than ever to access data while you’re away from home or the office, as well as to collaborate with others.

Accounting and Payroll Systems

The financial side of a venture is often an area that many entrepreneurs don’t enjoy spending time on. However, it’s also one of the most important elements of a successful business and needs to be kept in order. If you want some help getting things done more efficiently when it comes to accounting and payroll, don’t miss out on utilizing some of the apps and other systems that can make your life easier.

There are a variety of platforms that will handle your online invoicing, time tracking, receipt collation, expense claims, reporting and more. Check out popular systems such as Freshbooks, Xero, Expensify, Wave Accounting, and MileIQ for a start. To make your payroll easier, outsource payroll for your business in australia. These tools are especially handy if you struggle with the financial side of your business.

Social Media Systems

Social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Pinterest, and LinkedIn are some of the best marketing tools business owners and managers can use to promote their ventures. Whilst all of these social media platforms are beneficial for businesses, there are other popular social media applications that have also proven to be helpful in business marketing. TikTok is one of the most popular social media sites at the minute. Many businesses have begun creating their own videos to promote their services to TikTok’s users. However, new businesses may find that they need to purchase some Tiktok views to help their videos gain more popularity, resulting in more people seeing their marketing. On all of these apps, businesses can promote multiple things, whether for business to consumer (B2C) or business to business (B2B) needs. However, marketing through these avenues can take up a lot of time each week if you don’t take advantage of some of the top social media and content tools which are available for free or low-cost rates.

There are many to choose from these days, but consider using services such as Hootsuite, TweetDeck, Sprout Social, or Buffer app. These platforms allow users to:

  • Manage multiple social media sites in one spot
  • Upload, organize, schedule and share content
  • Conduct real-time tracking of posts and their results
  • Generate reports

Email Newsletter Programs

Another marketing option that businesses should always utilize is email newsletters. Regular digital mail outs to current and potential customers enable ventures to stay in touch, alert consumers to new products, deals, news and more, and generate additional sales. While you can manually write and create your newsletters if you like, it’s definitely worthwhile utilizing an email marketing tool instead.

There are many options on the market, such as MailChimp, InfusionSoft, Constant Contact, and the like, so you will need to do your research to determine which fits your needs (and budget) best. However, in general they all complete tasks such as keeping track of a customer database, sending automated messages, and providing targeted marketing campaigns.