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The Big List Of Business Tools: 30 Apps And Resources You Should Be Using

Entrepreneurship is an adventure of creativity, self-education, and personal development—a passionate labor of love. Now imagine layering on power-ups.

In collaboration with The National Chamber Program. The National Chamber Program is a free resource for small-to-medium-sized businesses and local chambers of commerce, dedicated to furthering their success by connecting them to discounts on office essentials and insightful, business-boosting assets. Connect with the National Chamber Program today and start getting more for your business.


Small business ownership is a fascinating adventure of creativity, self-education, and personal development—a passionate labor of love. Now imagine layering on power-ups.

That’s how it feels when you find just the right small business app, online tool, or free resource. And there’s a business tool for practically every desire or whim. But which ones actually help you work smarter and grow faster?

At YFS Magazine, we come across a fair share of small business tools. Here’s a list of 30 favorites—exclusively for you! You’re welcome.

 

1. The National Chamber Program

The National Chamber Program is a free resource that helps entrepreneurs build and grow their businesses. They offer instant access to savings on office supplies, technology, credit card processing, and more. Also, they host webinars, presentations and connect entrepreneurs to professional events across the nation.

Thousands of entrepreneurs benefit from their perks, discounts and business solutions. Best of all, it’s 100% free – no hidden costs and no membership fees. Connect with the National Chamber Program today and start getting more for your business.

 

2. HARO (Help A Reporter Out)

Every small business can benefit from free publicity. HARO connects business owners with reporters. When journalists need a source for a topic, they post a query on HARO. You can respond to queries, land interviews and gain high-value media coverage.

 

3. Hemmingway App

Good writing skills communicate intelligence, professionalism, and competency. Hemmingway is a free interactive editing tool that can improve your business writing. It spots grammatical errors, use of passive voice and more. Before you send an important email or sales letter use this app to improve it.

 

4. FollowupThen

If you constantly forget to follow-up, there’s an app for that! FollowupThen will automatically alert you when it’s time to send an email response. For example, when you send an email, BCC: [email protected] and you will be reminded to send a follow-up 5 days later. You can also use it to create to-do lists for team members and declutter your inbox.

 

5. Bananatag

Wouldn’t it be nice to see what happens to your emails after you click send? Track your emails for free using Bananatag. This email tracking tools tracks emails opens, clicks, and attachment opens. It also includes analytics to get the big picture of your email successes and failures.

 

6. Google Alerts

Google Alerts, often used by online marketers, helps you keep track of online news. It allows you to monitor the web for content by sending news alerts straight to your inbox. Create and track keywords to measure the success of PR campaigns, brand mentions, industry news, competitor announcements and more.

 

7. Mailshake

Mailshake makes cold emails hassle-free. This app offers a collection of pre-written messages. Also, Mailshake can generate a personalized email by asking you a few questions. If you send a lot of cold emails, you need this app!

 

8. Canva 

Canva makes graphic design simple with their robust drag-and-drop design tool. They also offer a library of 1 million+ stock photos, graphic elements and fonts to choose from. It is helpful for small teams need that need to create social media and blog graphics. Create stunning visuals—no design skills necessary.

 

9. Pexels

Pexels is a free stock photography resource that offers stunning photos in various categories. Boost the visual appeal of your marketing efforts with their free photos for both personal and commercial use. You can modify, copy and distribute their photos without permission or links to the source.

 

10. Uberconference

Traditional conference calling apps are bulky and outdated. Uberconference will impress your clients and make conference calls hassle-free. This app provides an elegant visual interface that allows attendees to see who is on the call and who’s speaking. Gone are the days of asking “who joined” or “who said that”? Features include: easy scheduling, email reminders, screen sharing, call wrap-up emails, and more. Best of all, you never need a PIN.

Business tools for entrepreneurs
Photo: © pressmaster, YFS Magazine

11. DocHub

If you dream of a paperless office, DocHub can make it a reality. Dochub streamlines document signing, distribution and form completion. Simplify your document workflow and trash the stack of paper on your desk. Edit, collaborate, send & sign PDFs online for free and much more.

 

12. Wufoo

Wufoo is an online form builder that enables users to create impressive web forms. Their modern form designer creates contact forms, customer surveys, and event invitations. Collect the data, registrations and payments you need through their sleek interface.

 

13. Capsule CRM

It’s not easy to stay organized and manage contacts (along with contact history). Organize your contacts, customers, leads, and business deals with Capsule CRM. This app is simple, effective and affordable.

 

14. Checkr

Use Checkr to conduct a modern and compliant background check before you make your next hire. Checkr offers quick turn-around time and a wide variety of affordable screening services.

 

15. Unamo

Measure, analyze and improve your company website’s visibility with Unamo. Use Unamo to increase site traffic, improve SEO, analyze social media data and boost website conversion rates.

 

16. Bannersnack

Every small business marketer needs Bannersnack—an online app for making banner ads. Create high-quality banner ads, display advertising, and Facebook ads with their clever platform. This app is a one stop shop for banner advertising – no technical or coding skills required.

 

17. Buffer and Buffer for Business

If you need a reliable social media assistant, Buffer is the answer. Buffer is a simple yet powerful app that streamlines social media management. Add updates to your Buffer queue. Buffer posts your updates during the day—and at the best times. This app will help you boost traffic, lift social engagement and save time on social media.

 

18. Asana

Asana is a web and mobile app designed to help teams track their work. It is powerful enough to run your entire business. From tasks and projects to conversations and notifications, Asana helps teams improve workflow and get more done.

 

19. G Suite

G Suite from Google Cloud is a set of intelligent apps that includes Gmail, Docs, Drive, Calendar, and more. Their robust product suite includes free communication, collaboration, storage and IT tools—a power-packed bundle from Google to help you work smarter and faster. Pro Tip: Learn how to use G Suite. Connect with the National Chamber Program and get insider access to their free webinars starting March 22. Sign up for free today to get the registration link.

 

20. HelloSign

Close deals faster with HelloSign, a legally binding online document signing and sharing service. Sign documents or request signatures from up to 20 people in any order, or all at once. When a document is fully executed, everyone gets a copy delivered to their inbox. Best of all, you can easily view document progress and receive status notifications that keep you in the loop.

The Big List Of Business Tools: 25 Apps And Resources You Should Be Using
Photo: © pressmaster, YFS Magazine

21. Namely

Namely is the only HR platform your small business will ever need. Namely consolidates all of your HR and employee needs onto one affordable and easy-to-use platform. Their HR, Payroll, and Benefits app is modern and robust, which means your employees will actually want to use it.

 

22. Slack

Slack is a real-time messaging, archiving, and search tool for teams. This team communication app offers one-on-one messaging, private groups, chat rooms, and direct messaging as well as group chats organized by topic. Slack reduces email flow and all content is searchable from one search box. It is genius!

 

23. Freshdesk

Deliver exceptional customer service with Freshdesk—cloud-based customer support software. This app provides multichannel support via phone, email, chat, website, social networks, and mobile apps. It will take customer experience and satisfaction to a new level.

 

24. Campaign Monitor

This elegant email marketing tool makes it easy to create, send and measure the impact of your email campaigns. Design your next campaign with their simple drag-and-drop tools and track your success with real-time reports.

 

25. Freshbooks

FreshBooks, cloud-based accounting software, allows entrepreneurs to invoice clients, track time and run their small businesses in the cloud. This is an exceptional tool for service-based small business owners who need help with time and expense management, sending branded invoices, and collecting online payments. Freshbooks helps you save time, impress clients, work anywhere and get paid faster.

 

26. Millimetric

Automate your KPI analysis with Millimetric. This useful tool monitors and provides insight into your business metrics 24/7. So you focus on expanding your business. Their Machine-Learning Algorithm connects to your data sources (e.g., Google Analytics, Facebook Ads, etc.) and scans your marketing data for insights into anomalies, trends, and relationships that impact your business.

 

27. Wootric

Take a strategic multi-channel approach to customer feedback management in one place with Wootric survey software. Understand why customers love you or don’t. Prioritize improvements to the CX journey. Gain insights into your Net Promoter Score (NPS), CSAT and Customer Effort Score (CES) microsurveys, and more.

 

28. ViralSweep

ViralSweep provides enables brands to build and run sweepstakes, contests, giveaways, competitions, instant wins, and referral programs. This contest management tool is designed to generate leads, grow your email list, increase engagement, and generate sales.

 

29. Pandadoc

Accelerate deals by simplifying the eSigning process for your proposals, quotes, and contracts. Pandadoc, a digital signature tool, includes unlimited electronic signatures in every subscription, plus a host of other powerful document features, such as a drag-and-drop document builder, out-of-the-box CRM integrations, and advanced document analytics. PandaDocs electronic signatures are legally binding and don’t require any special hardware or software when signing documents.

 

30. Talkable

Talkable enables e-commerce companies to easily launch referral marketing programs. When customers check out from a Talkable-enabled store, they are presented personalized deals that they can gift to their friends by posting to Facebook or forwarding a link. The deals give both the original customer and their referred friends a rebate on their purchase at this store.

 

What are your go-to business tools?

Which apps are must-haves for your business? Which of these business tools will you test-drive?

Let’s be honest. Business is better with the right tools. Let us know how you work smarter and grow faster in the comments section below.

In collaboration with The National Chamber Program. Connect with the National Chamber Program today and start getting more for your business. 

 

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