With so many business services and tools available out there it can be challenging to know which have the features you want for your organization at a price you can afford. New business software applications and platforms that promise enhanced features for time management, productivity, automation, and client relationship management are emerging every day. It takes regular research to stay on top of the latest free tools available on the market. Because of the wide variety of office and administrative duties I perform on a weekly basis, I am regularly searching for and expanding my knowledge to learn new faster and better ways to accomplish both my business and personal tasks. In this post, I will share 10 free tools you can use for your small business, start-up, organization, or non-profit to save time and money, stay organized, communicate more effectively, and increase productivity.
Tools for Business Organization
Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for ten years, staying organized is a MUST. I never want to waste my nor my client’s time searching for an important document, a quote from a vendor, or the link to my latest blog post. Over the years I have been able to master keeping all of my business documentation, files, and photos completely organized and easy to find on-demand. Two of the most useful platforms I use in my business to stay organized are the Gmail platform and Linktree.
The Google Gmail Platform includes Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, Forms, Sheets, Calendar, and Photos that come with your standard Gmail account. I am a devoted Android user so I absolutely LOVE the Google platform because it is so easily accessible on my desktop, laptop, or phone at any time. With the standard free Gmail account, you get an email, 15 GB of cloud storage for your business documents photos, and spreadsheets, video meeting capabilities, and free standard access to several other Google apps.
Linktree is another platform that I use to keep my links organized and easily share with clients and friends. The basic free Linktree account allows you to add quick links and a description to all of your important information like blog posts, affiliate or sales pages, social media accounts, newsletters, or anything else you may want to share a link for. Linktree also has a pro-version for $6 per month (or $60 if paid yearly) in which you can upload your own custom background photos and thumbnail images for your links and get in-depth analytics for your links.
Photos and Photo Resource Tools
A photo can enhance or detract from the message or feeling you want to instill with your organization’s media. Photo resources are often needed for many purposes including business presentations, website content, and other media your company uses for advertising. But never fear! A plethora of simple and fun photo resources exist out there now to help you create gorgeous and flawless media for your business or creative venture!
Canva is my most favorite free tool for creating all kinds of graphics and media. I am telling you, this platform is ingenious! With thousands of free templates, it is super easy to make beautiful brochures, animated social media posts, checklists, videos…the possibilities are endless! You can upload your own photos or use the vast library of stock photos and video clips on Canva with your media creations as well. I have since upgraded to the pro version (costing a mere $12.95 monthly or $119.99 yearly) because I use it for everything! If you have not tried out this platform, I encourage you to try it!
Another great free photo resource that I use quite often is Pexels. Pexels is one of the largest and best free stock photo and video sites around. With thousands of stock photos and video clips available to download for free, finding the perfect photo for your website or other media is quick and easy. If you decide to create a free account, you can organize any liked photos and downloads. You can also search stock photos by orientation, size, and even color by entering your branding hex codes!
The final free photo resource I am going to introduce you to is Picresize. Sometimes when uploading photos to your blog or using specialized media content, your photo must be edited, cropped, or resized to optimize website performance but still produce high-quality images. For these types of projects, I like to use Picresize. With Picresize, you can upload a photo from your mobile device, computer, or from a URL and use the editing features to add filters, crop and resize, add borders and download the edited files to use for any purpose you desire.
Communication Tools
Effective communication is essential for the reputation and growth of your business. If you are not able to communicate easily and effectively with your clients, your business will suffer tremendously. With technological advances like instant messaging, video conferencing, and automated emails there is no excuse not to be able to clearly and easily communicate with staff, clients and vendors.
Part of communicating intelligently, professionally, and effectively with your client is knowing the importance of proper spelling and grammar usage. If you are not able to compose a clear and concise email, your client is going to question your capabilities and qualifications. Using a spell check feature is typically an option in a word processing or email program, but I write content for many purposes so I like a tool that is more universal so I chose to go with Grammarly. Grammarly is a free spelling and grammar checker which you can download as an extension on your browser window, enabling you to spell check any document you are typing in any of that browser’s windows. You can get more advanced plagiarism checking features and enhanced writing suggestions with Grammarly when you upgrade to the pro version.
Video meetings provide an opportunity to connect with staff and clients face-to-face. Meetings of this remote nature have become more of the norm since the pandemic hit last year, making a video chatting platform an essential tool for meaningfully communicating with your clients. Video meetings have become the very best way to correspond face-to-face in a safe way in this post-pandemic atmosphere so having a platform capable of video calling features to help provide that personal connection is vital.
I mentioned the Google platform earlier in this post and I am going to mention it again because it is so versatile! There are a couple of applications included with your standard Gmail that are beneficial for clear and effective video communication to use in addition to your standard email and phone communications. These applications, Google Duo and Google Meet, are effective for basic video communication. If you do not use the Gmail/Google platform, you can also make a free account on video calling app Skype or conduct a video call through Facebook Messenger for free as well. Both of these apps are available in the Google Play store.
Sending regular emails and newsletters for your organization? I have a free tool for that too! Automated correspondence is becoming the most innovative and time-saving way to stay in routine contact with clients to advertise sales and specials, send invoices, and promote new products and services. To build my contact list and send automated correspondence I use Mailchimp. Mailchimp is one of the leading providers for automation especially when you are just starting to automate some of these routine tasks. With Mailchimp, you can build email lists, landing pages for opt-ins, sign-up forms, and email and newsletter automation. The free Mailchimp account includes up to 2,000 contacts and 10,000 sends per month, with a daily send limit of 2,000 so it should work nicely for beginners to grow your business or organization with automated communication.
Other Tools
Bit.ly is a link shortening website. When I am sharing a blog post, I don’t want a link that looks like www.xyz.com/blah-blah-blah/superlonglistofnonsense/blah-blah-etc… I want a nice short, pretty link! With Bit.ly, you are able to copy that long hideous link and paste it into the link converter. Then Bit.ly spits out a short link for your sharing delight! One feature I really dig about this site is that your links are saved when you start your free account, along with basic click analytics for each link.
Having an online payment platform to accept payments from clients and pay vendor invoices is another essential tool in 2021. Online payment systems are secure, convenient, and easy to access at any time on any device. They can protect your personal and bank information while still allowing you to receive and send payments. Free online payment platforms like Venmo offer free accounts to enable you to accomplish these tasks easily from your desktop or mobile device.
Owning and operating a business is expensive and time-consuming so it is advantageous to save money (and time) when you are able. If you are just starting out or own a small business, these free tools are a wonderful way to get the support and tools you need without cutting into your budget. Doing this enables you to increase your profit margin so your organization can continue to grow and expand. Eventually, your business may outgrow these free tools and you may need more sophisticated tools to perform your specifically desired functions, but in the meantime, enjoy using these ten free tools to help you save hundreds of dollars this year!
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