I wasted most of my first year of business looking for the perfect tools and then trying to figure them out. I even spent $1000 for a one-year subscription to a tool I never used!! When you are trying to research tools, when you are jumping from tool to tool and when you are trying to figure out tools, you will spend a LOT of time.
They try to do everything cheaply and not pay for any tools
They try to find the ‘best’ tool out there
However, neither option will set the new business owner up for success. You will need some paid tools to run your business effectively and to portray the image of a respectable business that people will know, like, trust and buy from.
The issue with the second path is that no perfect solution exists. You will waste time and money looking for the perfect solution and still find problems with your choice. For example, it’s too expensive, too complicated or missing a feature you need.
Key Takeaways
In this article, I outline what I consider essential tools for any business owner in 2024. You will have to pay a minimal amount for some, but they will help you build a professional and scalable process. As you outgrow these tools, you can look for more refined solutions, but by starting with these tools, you will learn about necessary processes in a more simplified environment. You also need little to no tech skills to get started. The best software for small business is low cost, flexible and allows them to complete all essential tasks easily.
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There are a variety of ways to host your business online. Still, Wix is an excellent option for new business owners who may not have extensive technical knowledge or time to set up complex systems. While Wix may not excel in all features, it offers a comprehensive ecosystem for new businesses by providing almost all the tools needed to launch a business. Some advanced features may require additional fees, but you can begin building your website with Wix's basic version. You can explore more targeted solutions once you're ready for more advanced capabilities.
Website Templates
The main reason people go to Wix is for the website templates. You can begin with a free account and start building a website ASAP. Every business needs a website to have people to point to. It is a place that you control to share information about your products and collect leads for your business. You can do these things on social media, but it isn’t a permanent home. In fact, all of the socials should be pointing to a web page. You want a place with your name, that people will find when they google your name and that you control.
At the bare minimum, a web page should have a landing page that tells what you sell with clear directions on how to buy it, an about page and a way to contact you. Remember to start simple. Just grab a template and start filling in the blocks with your business info, focusing on how you solve your customers’ problems.
Domain Registration
You need to register your domain. In other words, buy a web address so people can google and find you. Like brick-and-mortar businesses have a physical address where people can find them, you need to buy your web domain.
Fortunately, Wix makes this very easy. You will need to pay for one of their packages (I suggest buying the cheapest with everything you need), and they will walk you through the steps. Most domains can be bought for under $20 per year.
Ensure the domain name is available at GoDaddy and invest in a .com site. Wix will tell you if it is available, but it helps to research the possibilities beforehand.
Payment Processor
All businesses must have a way to collect payments, and Wix allows you to connect your bank and collect payments through links or invoices.
CRM and web forms
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system is essential for streamlining communication, tracking interactions, and nurturing leads, ultimately empowering you to provide personalized experiences and drive business growth effectively.
Wix has the ability to insert forms into your web pages and collect information from people. It will keep the information of people who contact you or sign up for your updates in a CRM or Customer Relationship Management, so you can track who has contacted you, messages you have sent to them, notes on customers, what they have bought, etc.
Email Campaigns
Sending emails to your audience is crucial for building and maintaining relationships, as it allows you to deliver valuable content, promote products or services, and stay top-of-mind, fostering trust and engagement that can lead to increased sales and loyalty.
With the web forms on Wix, your leads can select that they want to receive your emails. You can then draft and send emails directly from your Wix dashboard. You can also track which emails are getting better responses and which people are opening your emails.
Webinars
Setting up webinars can require a lot of technical skills to link together multiple tools, but with Wix, you can easily create an event that will show up on your website, people can sign up, you can share the event link on social and then host and record the actual webinar. Wix is one of the easiest and cheapest webinar solutions out there!
E-commerce
Wix allows you to set up a shop with physical products as well. You can maintain your inventory and have people buy directly from your own site.
Bookings
Wix provides a calendar feature that allows you to schedule different types of appointments and share a link with your clients to book a slot on your calendar. It also integrates with other calendars, such as Google, to avoid any potential double-booking situations. You can set up paid and recurring appointments or even group meetings. It doesn't allow you to set different time slots for various types of events, but you can utilize email reminders and intake forms.
Courses and Memberships
Are you looking for a platform to help you create and manage online courses, memberships, and chat groups? Look no further than Wix! This online platform offers you an all-in-one solution for building your online community. With Wix, you can easily upload your lessons, videos, and other content, and then organize them in a way that makes sense for your users. Plus, with chat groups, you can facilitate discussions and encourage interaction among your members. Best of all, you won't need to pay for an additional subscription to another website - Wix has got you covered. And, with phone apps available, your users can stay connected on the go.
SEO
SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, involves optimizing your website to improve its visibility on search engine results pages. Wix partners with Semrush to streamline this process by helping users tag their pages with appropriate keywords. This collaboration ensures that your website effectively targets the right audience, increasing its chances of ranking higher in search results. With Wix and Semrush, you can simplify SEO and enhance your online presence, driving more traffic and potential customers to your site.
Stock Images
Wix has stock images and access to other stock image libraries so that you can instantly add images to your website.
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You will need a workspace environment. Microsoft Office is the big daddy, and if you have complicated spreadsheets or databases, you may use that instead. However, it is designed for enterprise environments, so it can be difficult for small businesses and doesn’t play as nice with guest users like your clients who are not already in your workspace. The tech issues with MS Office can be more challenging to sort out without an IT department.
Using the free version of Google for your email may seem like a good idea, but it has limited capabilities and can make you look unprofessional with an email address like "mybusiness@gmail.com". Moreover, it may hinder your ability to send out mass emails, as major email providers like Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo may block emails from such an address. When you register for a professional email using your domain with Google, it will include Google Workspace and the benefits described below. By a professional email, I mean something like me@MyBusinessName.com. As of this writing, the professional emails are $6 per user per month.
Calendar & Tasks
A day without my Google calendar is unthinkable! Google offers the ability to create multiple appointments. As your business expands, you can create different calendars for each department and individual. Additionally, you can make public events to share with clients, invite people, include notes, geotags, reminders, repeating events, etc. You can create tasks from your emails or documents to appear in your calendar. Moreover, you can access this information on the web or your phone. Because of their pervasive use, Google integrates with almost everything you may use…including Wix!
Google Meet for virtual appointments
With Google Meet, you do not need to pay for Zoom. Invite people to your Google event and select Google Meet. You can create breakouts, share screens, chats, reactions, whiteboards and a large selection of virtual backgrounds. There is also a free add-on for AI meeting notes, and you can record sessions
Google Drive
Every business needs a system to manage its documents, and Google Drive offers a variety of tools to fulfill this requirement. It provides spreadsheets, slides, and documents catering to almost everyone's needs.
I have folders for all my legal documents (for example, articles of formation) and a folder where I save all my receipts.
You can also use Drive to manage contracts and customer relations. For instance, if you need contracts, you can download them as PDFs and have people print, sign, and scan them back to you. Moreover, you can create folders or documents to share files with clients. When you opt for Google Workspace's paid version, you can access a significantly larger storage space.
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As soon as you start spending money for your business, start tracking expenses - regardless of whether or not you have separate accounts or filed an LLC. I have spoken with too many new business owners who are simply collecting receipts and then trying to collect them all at tax time. This waiting creates stress as they try to figure out what the receipts are for, and by waiting so long, the business doesn’t have a good idea of their expenses or profit margins.
You can use a spreadsheet like Google Sheets to track your expenses, but many new business owners don’t feel comfortable with numbers and spreadsheets, and Wave Apps makes it easy. Check out this quick video to see how you can easily get started with WaveApps.
Waze Apps offers what most small businesses need for free.
Tracking Expenses
If you don't have separate bank accounts, you can still keep track of all your expenses and income using WaveApps. You can manually enter transactions, connect your bank accounts, and import transactions automatically. It offers various standard categories that can help you choose the appropriate tax category for each transaction. You can track the account from which the funds were transferred and add notes or upload receipts for future reference.
Collect Payments
If you connect WaveApps with your bank accounts, you can collect payments. You can send estimates and invoices or even create a link for people to buy your products and services.
Payroll
WaveApps also allows for more advanced features like payroll, and if it gets too much for you, you can connect with accountants and tax professionals to help with your bookkeeping and taxes.
Profit and Loss Statements
Several reports are available that will help you prepare for tax season and keep your eyes on the pulse of your business.
Professional Services
You can connect with accountants and tax professionals through the app if it is still overwhelming (or you are simply ready to delegate).
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If you haven’t heard of Canva, it is a simple, easy-to-use graphic design tool. Most of its functionality is available in the free version. As a business owner, you need to create graphics for your website and social posts as well as brochures, business cards and many uses. Canva is available on a browser, desktop, mobile and tablet. If you haven’t used it, start now! Here are some of the highlights.
Templates
You can start with easy templates for almost everything you can imagine: YouTube thumbnails, LinkedIn covers, Instagram Reels, presentations, business cards, flyers, posters, workbooks, etc., and then you can change every aspect. You can also save your brand colors and fonts to update any template you use easily.
Sharing and Posting on Social Media
Once you create your designs, you can download or share them easily. Canva allows you to create links to share and essentially create web pages, and it allows you to post directly to social media. You can even schedule posts and use their content calendar to track what you have posted.
Image Library
Canva, like Wix, provides users with access to an image library. However, Canva offers a more user-friendly experience for editing images, allowing for easy color changes, cropping, and background removal. Once edited, you can download the images to any library and use them for your website or other projects.
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Most tools have monthly charges and will offer discounts if you subscribe for the year. I often try for a month and then subscribe for the year if I keep it. However, it is easy to subscribe and forget until you see the charge a year later and aren’t using the app.
Download the free tracker to know what you have paid for and when it renews, how much it costs and what it does with a reminder so you know to reevaluate since one of your methods to have a profitable business is managing your expenses.