A small business owner wears many hats. That is why it is important to learn to delegate and automate, otherwise, the small business owner will be at risk of burnout. As a small business owner, you might have to redirect your focus on tasks that produce results that are directly related to the growth of your business. Having tools and business software at your disposal can be compared to delegating the repetitive tasks that are also essential to the business but can be delegated to someone else. For example, if you would rather focus on creating quality content, then you can delegate the task of email marketing.

Like having a reliable team, having reliable software and tools can help make you and your team more productive and more organized. 

Here are a few areas you should look at when thinking about purchasing business software and tools for your small business:

Communication:

All teams rely on good communication in order to thrive. This is especially important now that teams are working remotely while on lockdown. Instant messaging apps and video conferencing tools are now considered essential. Some of the most powerful tools have team messaging and private messaging, video conferencing, screen sharing, email, and file sharing features built into one app. Zoom, GoogleMeet, Slack, and Skype are good examples of communication tools.

Productivity:

These are the apps that help your team work smarter, not harder. It helps you focus your efforts on the most important tasks and has project management capabilities that help give direction to your team. These tools help you design workflows and automate recurring processes to save time and effort and keep your team focused on doing essential tasks. Some excellent productivity and project management tools are Trello, Wrike, Asana, and Zoho.

Collaboration:

A team is only as successful as its collaboration efforts. So, in order to create successful teams, you must encourage collaboration. Collaboration software is another essential tool since the lockdown has forced teams to work remotely and/or work from home. These tools allow your team to share knowledge and exchange ideas. It also creates a knowledge bank of quick answers and shared resources. Some of the best collaboration tools have built-in communication features as well. This way, people can share ideas and talk about them in real-time. Notable collaboration tools include: GoogleDrive and DropBox.

When planning to purchase business software, consider the number of current users and if you eventually plan to scale (which means adding more users). For small business start-ups, you can check out the free plans, from which you can upgrade when your business outgrows the free plans (which will happen inevitably). 

Do you remember the first small business tool you’ve tried? What has improved since you first started using it? Is it still your favorite small business tool? Share your story and let us know in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp