5 Tools to Help You Work SMARTER

The biggest problem ALL business owners face is a lack of resources. 

There just isn’t enough time, people or money to do everything. Not only do you have to find time to work IN your business, but you also have to devote sufficient time to working ON your business if you want to see it grow.

They key is always to work smarter, not harder. But what are some really practical ways to do this?

I have listed below 5 of the favourite tools I use to help my clients work smarter. And the great news is that they are all absolutely FREE. 

1. MailChimp Automations

MailChimp now offer automation on all accounts, including their FREE ones. This is a game changer for smaller businesses who can’t justify the expensive of more sophisticated CRM’s.

Once you have set up your marketing automations, they continue to run in the background without you ever having to do anything. This takes lots of repetitive tasks off your hands.

You can use automations to:

• Find new customers similar to the ones on your list with Facebook and Instagram ads
• Send welcome emails when people join your list
• Follow up after a purchase
• Say happy birthday
• Notify a customer that their order is on the way

MailChimp offers a variety of pre-built automations based on common events, like abandoned cart series and order notifications. And if their pre-set options aren’t what you’re looking for, you can create a custom automation instead.

2. Google Drive & Drop Box

These are both great online ways to store and share files with selected colleagues and suppliers.

You can store documents, pictures, videos and presentations and access them anywhere in the world, on any device.

It is an ideal way to keep your information safe and backed up, avoiding headaches should anything go wrong with your computer.

I find Dropbox more user friendly, but the only downside is that they only give you 2GB worth of space before you have to upgrade to a paid account.

Google Drive has a more generous 15GB free limit but you will need to spend a little bit more time working out how to use it.

3. Free Online Conference Calls

Services like www.freeconferencecall.com are great if you need to host a phone meeting with multiple team members in multiple locations.

Again, accounts are completely free to set up.

Participants are simply given a dial in number and access code to join the call. You can even record up to 1GB of calls for free by just following a few simple instructions.

Quality is good, with no annoying beeps or background sounds to disturb you.

4. Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free web analytics service that helps you track the performance of your website over time.

I am always amazed to find out how many people DON’T have this set up on their site.

All you have to do is create an account, get your web designer to add your unique tracking code to each page of your website and in a few hours, you will start to see valuable information about your audience and your site.

5. Pexels

Don’t risk using images you don’t have the rights for.

There are plenty of royalty free image sites out there, with one of my favourites being www.pexels.com.

All the pictures on www.pexels.com are free for personal and even for commercial use.

You can modify, copy and distribute the photos.

All without asking for permission or setting a link to the source. So, attribution is not required.

CONCLUSION

Working smarter is the only way forward for clever business owners. 

The savvy use of tools and outsourcing of key activities is the best way to get ahead. Don’t waste time trying to become the expert in every aspect of your business. 

Get help from experts who can help you, and give yourself the time and freedom to focus on the work that inspired you to start your own business in the first place.