Entrepreneurs are risk-takers. They build something out of nothing and are known to take bold chances. But if there’s one thing we all know, it’s that time is always a challenge when running a business, whether it’s communicating with your team, replying to emails, or managing projects.
Put simply, time pressures make it hard for small businesses to focus on what really matters – growing their business. This is exactly why 43% of UK leaders say they’re turning to AI to tackle these time challenges so they can spend more time focusing on the big picture.
As an entrepreneur, you’re surely no stranger to the digital world. But in this article, we’ll focus only on the tools that can truly make a difference in the way you’re running your business.
Why digital tools matter for entrepreneurs
Before we talk about all these tools in detail, it’s important to understand why they matter in the first place. That said, as an entrepreneur, there’s nothing that really falls outside your scope.
From managing your team and making sure they’re on the right track to handling finances and keeping clients happy, you wear a lot of hats. With so many things on your plate, it’s almost impossible to stay organized and finish everything on time. And everything seems to be urgent.
So, if you’re looking to grow your business while getting a good night’s sleep, you need to consider implementing digital tools that are designed to make your business life easier.
Digital tools every entrepreneur should know
Technology has improved a lot, and so have digital tools for entrepreneurs. So, being an entrepreneur in these busy, but fast-moving times, you shouldn’t pass up the opportunity to use digital tools that can help you communicate better, stay organized, and save time.
That said, let’s take a look at the tools that can make this possible for you.
Tools for better communication
Good communication is key to running a successful business. First, let’s talk about how you can keep your team on the same page. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, or Discord can make it easier for you to share updates with everyone as soon as the changes take place, collaborating on ideas without sending emails back and forth, and always staying connected even if your team is remote. This is how you make sure that everyone knows what’s going on at all times.
Now, when it comes to communicating with customers, it’s a whole different story. Why?
Let’s just say the pressure is bigger. A lot of things depend on keeping your customers happy. Happy customers are more likely to do business with you again, leave positive reviews that are sure to boost your reputation, and even personally recommend your business to others.
So, how do you make sure your customers are always tended to? Well, customer communication management software is designed to keep all your messages, emails, and calls in one place. Aircall, for example, lets you communicate with customers in a personal way while taking care of important tasks automatically, such as directing calls and logging interactions in your CRM.
Tools to stay organized
Even with just one job, we sometimes don’t have the time to organize our desktop, let alone manage all the tasks that are piling up. For entrepreneurs, this is an even bigger challenge.
But you could handle it way easier just by using project management tools. Tools like Trello, Asana, and Jira are here to help you manage projects without getting overwhelmed.
They’re designed to:
- Keep all your tasks in one place so you always know what needs to be done.
- Assign work to your team and see who’s responsible for what.
- Set deadlines and reminders so nobody forgets anything.
- See how everything’s moving along with simple boards, lists, or calendars.
But the best thing about these tools is that they help you reduce stress. Because no matter how big a workaholic you are, staying organized and keeping track of everything can sometimes be a little too much to handle on your own. So, trust the right tools to help you.
Tools for showcasing your skills and experience
Contrary to what anyone might think, the job of entrepreneurs doesn’t end as soon as they manage to lift their business off the ground and establish themselves as trustworthy.
You’re always evolving and building new skills, so attracting new clients and impressing investors is never off the table. So, how do you manage to wow them every single time?
When you know what you’re capable of, you just need to pack it up nicely. And even though nowadays, it can be tough to create truly impressive resumes, tools like Rezi resume builder can make it a lot easier by offering professional templates and providing AI-powered suggestions to help you show off your skills and accomplishments.
However, you also need to consider your online presence. An entrepreneur who leads a successful business should never leave themselves without a LinkedIn account.
Nowadays, if someone wants to find out more about what you do, they immediately go to LinkedIn. Having a complete and up-to-date profile can help you connect with clients, partners, and investors, and even boost your credibility in their eyes. Not to mention, setting up your profile, updating it, and posting about your endeavors is all quite easy to do.
Tools to grow your business and reach customers
A business is only as successful as the customers it can reach and the relationships it can build. That said, even when you become well-known, you should never stop working on your marketing efforts, that is, staying visible, attracting new, and retaining existing customers.
This is because competition never sleeps. You could easily be left behind if you’re not engaging your audience and showcasing why they should choose you over and over again.
Lucky for you, these are digital tools that can make this much easier:
- SEO tools: Platforms like Ahrefs and SEMrush can help you get to know your customers better and then optimize your website based on what they’re searching for.
- Email marketing tools: Sure, there are a lot of faster ways to reach out to customers, but email is far from dead. So, if you want to make sure that your emails are timely and always personalized, you need to consider tools like Mailchimp and HubSpot.
- Social media management tools: Regardless of whether you’re a fan of social media, there’s no denying that it can help in attracting customers. That said, tools like Buffer and Hootsuite can help you plan posts and stay active on your social media accounts.
It’s important to keep in mind that competition is fierce and standing out is now more important than ever. This is why you should never slow down on your marketing efforts.
Tools for collaboration
You might be the one who knows what’s best for your business, but running a business is far from being a one-person job. You should really think about how you can make sure that everyone in your team is on the same page and no task is being forgotten.
Now, we have already mentioned some tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Discord that can make communication a lot easier. However, there are also some tools, such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, that let you communicate and work on tasks at the same time.
These tools don’t just let you send messages, but also allow you to collaborate on documents and presentations at the same time with your team, as well as leave comments, suggest edits, and track changes. This means that everyone has access to the latest version of the documents.
Tools for business insight
When you’re shooting for the stars, you want to at least know if your shot was successful. This is why you should seriously consider investing in analytics and insight tools, such as Google Analytics and Mixpanel, to show you how your business is performing and what you can change.
These tools help you see which of your strategies are working, spot any weak points that you should focus on improving. The goal is to always make smart decisions – keep, cut, or improve.
Level up your business with the right tools
Technology has become such a huge part of our lives that it’s almost impossible to run a business without implementing at least one digital tool to help you in your efforts.
As an entrepreneur, you’re dealing with a lot, but with tools for better communication and collaboration, tools to show off your skills and experience, tools to promote your business and attract customers, as well as tools to measure your success, you can stay organized, save time in order to focus on the most important tasks, and most importantly, help your business grow.
