Starting a small business is easy. You need a solid business idea and capital to launch your venture. But that isn’t sufficient to help you survive and thrive in the competitive landscape. Every year, millions of people file new business applications. But do all of them survive? No. About 595,000 businesses fail each year. That’s a whopping number.
Insufficient cash flow and ineffective marketing are two primary causes of business failure. However, inefficient processes can also cause businesses to fail. If the day-to-day operations of your business aren’t performed with minimal wastage of time, money, and effort, your competitors will knock you out of the game.
Having the right tools at your disposal can help you keep costs at a minimum and efficiency at a maximum. Here, we’ll explore some tech tools that can help your small business improve its efficiency and stay ahead of the curve.
#1 Trello: Best for Managing Multiple Projects
You might think project management software isn’t needed for your small business with a handful of employees. But you’re wrong! Project management software will allow you to organize tasks and track progress, so it’s a must-have.
Trello is a favorite of many businesses because of its visual, card-based system and intuitive layout. You can create cards, lists, and boards for different members and assign tasks to them. You can also add checklists, attachments, due dates, and labels to the assigned tasks.
Trello allows users to collaborate in real time. Team members can leave comments on cards to keep everyone updated on the project’s status. This way, necessary discussions take place directly within the platform. Trello also integrates seamlessly with other productivity tools like Slack and Google Drive.
You can sign up on Trello for free. You can create up to ten boards per workspace and unlimited cards without spending a dime. However, the free plan has its limitations. If you want to access all features, go for the Standard plan. You’ll only have to pay $6/user/month. The Premium plan costs $12.50/user/month. You can upgrade the plan as the strength of your company grows.
#2 Hocoos: Best for Personalized Website Creation
Every business—irrespective of whether it’s small or large—needs a website. Your business will also struggle to reach potential customers if it doesn’t have a website. Hence, you must get a website designed for your business.
You can hire a professional web developer to build your website from scratch. But this will cost you anywhere between $300 and $5,000. As a small business owner, spending so much money on website creation might not be feasible. This is where Hocoos—an AI-powered website builder—comes into the picture.
Hocoos has revolutionized the process of website creation by leveraging AI algorithms, simplifying and streamlining design tasks. Without complex coding, it generates visually appealing websites in minutes.
It will only ask you some questions like the purpose and goals of your business, where it is located, and its unique aspects. After analyzing your input, it will design a website with the most suitable layout and template.
While the website is already tailored to the unique needs of your business, you can personalize it further. Hocoos’ intuitive editor offers a world of customization options. Want to change the color palette? Check. Want to blur background images? Check. Want to tweak the design? Check. It offers built-in SEO tools, too. You can optimize your AI-powered website for the search engine easily.
Hocoos offers two plans—free and premium. You can start with the free plan, but you won’t be able to access certain features like marketing integration. Go for the premium plan instead. At only $15/month, you will be able to access all features.
#3 Canva: Best for Designing Stunning Marketing Materials
Will your marketing materials ever attract your target audience if they don’t feature stunning visuals? Definitely not! That is why you need to add Canva to your arsenal of tools. This online graphic design tool will allow you to create high-quality, stunning graphics within minutes.
Canva offers a vast library of templates and elements and a drag-and-drop interface. You can, thus, create professional-looking visuals without any design experience. This tool can help you design a wide range of materials, including posters, flyers, presentations, and social media posts.
You will also find a library of fonts and thousands of stock images, illustrations, and icons. Canva also includes powerful editing tools like photo filters, cropping tools, and text effects. You can customize your designs to suit your needs.
You can start creating stunning graphics with Canva for free. But you’ll have to purchase the Canva Pro plan to unlock premium content and AI tools. It costs $120/person/year. For small teams, the Canva Teams plan—costing $100/person/year— is the best.
To sum things up, running a small business is no piece of cake. But you don’t have to do it alone. Tech tools can help you run your business with efficiency as well as improve its productivity. Your small business will benefit the most from Trello, Hocoos, and Canva. Hence, embrace them and watch your business thrive in the digital age.