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6 TOOLS YOU NEED TO RUN YOUR BUSINESS BETTER
Running a business comes with having to learn many skills and do so much more than you might have imagined. From creating a website, marketing your business and attracting new customers to invoicing, collecting payments and automation; the list goes on. And without the help of a capable team, it can be even more challenging.
That doesn't have to be the case though. Whether you're a one-woman army or have a stellar team to back your business, working smarter can help you overcome whatever comes your way more efficiently.
The list of tools below can help any solopreneur and new team find their way through the endless to-do lists and work better to run a successful online business, no matter where you are in the world.
1. WIX
Wix is a cloud-based web development platform that is great for creating a website for your business. It's great for those that don't have any experience building websites, as they have countless stunning templates and allow you to customize anything with their easy-to-use website builder — no coding skills needed.
2. GODADDY
Securing a domain name for your business right after settling on the name for your business is vital; simply because your website is just as important as your brick & mortar one. And I recommend you also buy domains that have extensions that might compete, for example if I have a business called BlockHeels, I would buy the domain blockheels.com, blockheels.co, blockheels.co.za etc. Godaddy is where I purchase 95% of my domains for businesses, whether they exist right now, or are planned for the near future.
3. CANVA
Canva is a simplified graphic-design tool, where you can create beautiful designs and professional graphics for just about any medium. Whether you need to create cohesive Facebook banners, Instagram stories, ebooks, logos, Pinterest graphics, you name it, there is probably a template for it on this platform! And you can easily save your templates for later use. Graphic design made easy.
4. NOTION
A note-taking and collaboration app, Notion is a blend of every work app into one database. From calendars, checklists, worksheets, notes, documents, galleries and more. I use it to tick off items on my to-do list, write my newsletter drafts, plan blog posts and pretty much my whole life. My all-time favourite app I couldn't live without!
5. BUFFER
If you manage multiple social accounts and don’t have the time to keep track of all your posts at once, then Buffer is the perfect tool. It's especially great for automating and scheduling Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook posts without worrying about staying up-to-date with posting at certain times. It also gives an overview of your engagement with analytics to help make sure you know what works. Buffer is social media management made easy.
6. MAILCHIMP
MailChimp is a web-based email marketing service that helps you widen your circle with email campaigns, landing pages and social ads that integrate with services you already use and track your results. The platform offers free marketing automation, bounce rate management and audience targeting.
Investing in the right tools and learning how to use them to best optimize your efforts is vital in building a business. I hope the above mentioned will help you in building, growing and automating key elements of your business, to help you work smarter; enabling you to focus on what needs your attention most.
Author: Tokelo Motsepe
Tokelo Motsepe is the founder of @afrenai - an onlinemarketplace for sustainable brands made in Africa and@afredigital - the online marketing agency that caters toentrepreneurs looking to build brands that standoutand add value to the lives of their customers. Follow her on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook
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