Every day, startup businesses are being created by entrepreneurs. While some choose to jump right in and focus all of their time and energy on their new ventures, others are a little more cautious and opt to keep their day jobs and work on their new businesses in their spare time. Regardless of which type of entrepreneur you are, Ilya Pozin has created a list of digital tools that could help you and other entrepreneurs work more efficiently.
Let me start by saying that the Internet has dozens of useful tools for file sharing, customer relationship management, you name it. And everyone has his own idea about which ones are the best. Only you can decide what’s going to work best for you and your business. Some quality online services such as Google Docs are free or charge fees that are reasonable enough for even an independent contractor’s budget to support. So, consider Pozin’s list along with the myriad other recommendations out there; do your due diligence; and take advantage of free trials before making a final decision.
Weebly – This San Francisco, CA-based company allows people to easily create blogs or websites or create Web presences for their businesses. Founded in 2006, Weebly has been featured on TechCrunch and in Newsweek, Time and the Wall Street Journal. You can even access Weebly via your iPhone.
LegalZoom – This is a website that anyone might find useful. It helps people to affordably create legal documents such as contracts, non-disclosure agreements and a whole host of others.
Rock the Post – Totally free, Rock the Post is a social networking platform that allows entrepreneurs to fund and swap resources … crowdfunding and crowdsourcing made simple.
Square – Created by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, Square facilitates taking and making credit card payments from anywhere. You can attach a card reader to your iPhone, Android or iPad to accept credit card payments from others. To make payments using Square, you simply have to download an app.
HootSuite – This social media management system for businesses and organisations facilitates collaboration across multiple social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. So, one employee or ten can work together to manage a company’s LinkedIn or Facebook page.
Expensify – Business travel is a must for some entrepreneurs, and tracking expenses can be difficult. Expensify makes keeping track of business expenses less difficult and time consuming by providing entrepreneurs with one place to store and calculate them.
Asana – Founded by Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, Asana is an online collaboration tool that lets each team member know who’s responsible for what aspect of a particular project. This can certainly minimize confusion, especially for remote teams.
MailChimp – This is an affordable email marketing service that makes email marketing campaigns easier to launch and manage.
DocStoc – Entrepreneurs use all kinds of documents such as invoices and receipts, non-disclosure agreements, service agreements, etc. DocStoc has a selection of templates that makes it easier for entrepreneurs in almost any industry to create professional documents for their businesses. It also allows entrepreneurs to upload and store their own documents.
HighRise – This product of 37 Signals, which is also responsible for creating BaseCamp, is customer relationship management tool that helps entrepreneurs get organized for a reasonable monthly fee.
Starting a business takes a lot of courage and a lot of hard work. The tools mentioned above could make an entrepreneur’s life a little easier by saving her time and money and helping her get organized.
