The Best Online Business Tools Part 1
In today’s blog post I’m excited to share (what I consider) the best online business tools. As a systems enthusiast, it was extremely difficult to pick just a few so stayed tuned for Part 2 in my next post.
Asana
Asana is a project management tool. It allows you to keep track of all of your projects and tasks in one central place. It’s also an amazing collaboration tool if you are working with a team because you can assign each other tasks and deadlines and receive notifications when something is complete. You can also communicate about each task via comment threads. You simply tag each other in the comment section using the @ symbol just like you do on social media. For example @Danika This project is complete. That person will then receive a notification automatically. This way you are never wasting time hunting through your email to find the note that someone on your team sent you about a certain task. You can keep it all in one place.
Zapier
Zapier is probably my favorite tool discovery to date. It is a tool that helps you automate repetitive tasks between two or more apps. It is most easily explained with an example. So let’s say you have a digital course that you sell on Teachable (this is a platform that hosts online courses) and you want to add anyone who signs up for your course to your email newsletter on Mailchimp. You can set up a “zap” that automatically does this for you by recognizing anytime you get a new student on Teachable and adding them to your specified list on Mailchimp. Amazing right? It completely automates this task. There are endless zaps that you can set up, it works with almost all platforms out there.
Canva
In 2022, it can feel like having some level of graphic design skills is almost required as an entrepreneur because of social media. If you are like me and don’t have this skillset and you aren’t in the position to hire someone, Canva will become your new best friend. Canva is a graphic design platform that has tons and tons of free templates for all of your business needs from social media graphics to business card templates. They truly have everything and most templates are free.
Calendly / Acuity
Calendly and Acuity are both appointment scheduling softwares. You can set up various meeting types and your availability and then connect your account to your calendar provider (such as Google Calendar). You can even collect payments through Calendly/Acuity. This way you no longer have to email back and forth with someone trying to find a time that works for both of you. You can simply send them your Calendly/Acuity link, they can select from the times that you have available, pay (if its a paid meeting), and it will automatically be added to both of your calendars. You can even set up automatic meeting reminder emails. If you run a service based business, this will literally save you hours each week and possibly even the cost of a virtual assistant. In terms of choosing between the two providers, I think its a matter of personal preference. I will say that Acuity is owned by Squarespace so the integration is a little easier if you have a Squarespace website. Acuity also has the ability for you to sell digital gift certificates if that is important to you while Calendly does not as of the writing of this blog.
Loom
Loom is a software that allows you to record your screen while you are voice recording or talking on camera. It's great if you have a remote team and you want to explain a process to someone that is easier done with a visual but maybe doesn’t need a whole meeting. You can record and store up to 25 videos for free. If you need more than that, they have paid options.
What are your favorite online business tools? Let me know in the comments and stay tuned for Part 2.