10 Tech Tools Every Small Business Owner Should Have

As a small business owner, having affordable and easy-to-use tools is critical to running your business successfully. So many are on the market these days with more coming online all the time. As of May 2018, these are our personal favorites that we use internally at Freedom Makers.

Our 3 criteria for making the list:

-Must have a free version. Small business owners don’t have time to waste with setting up a program just for a free two-week trial. All of these software have a free version you can use until the time is right to upgrade.
-Must be subscription based. Cash is king for small businesses. While a monthly payment is more expensive, it’s nice to have the flexibility if necessary. Furthermore, with new software coming available all the time and with the constant adapting and changing small businesses go through, it’s imperative to have the flexibility subscriptions provide.
-Must be easy to use and quick to set up. Most small businesses have limited resources (time, money, and energy.) Anything that makes it easier for small business owners--like quick setup--is a win in our books.

Check out our winners below. 

Process Street
Keep all your business processes in a checklist format, so nothing falls through the cracks. Using a checklist allows you to serve your clients more quickly and fully. It also makes it a lot easier for your team to collaborate. See our video about Process Street.

JotForm
Use online forms to collect information and requests from clients and subcontractors. JotForm offers a lot of flexibility in how to build these forms, including conditional logic, notifications, and integrations with many other apps for seamless process flow. 

Paypal
Ten years ago when I started my first business, I remember being advised not to accept Paypal because it made you look like you were not a real business. Oh how fast times have changed. We recommend Paypal, because the rates are competitive and you receive your money faster. As mentioned above, cash is king in small business and there’s nothing like having your cash the next day.

Calendly
Why do people still tolerate the back and forth of email for scheduling? We like Calendly for its user friendliness and simplicity. You can customize meeting types and availability as well as what type of information you need before the call or meeting.

Slack
I’ll admit when I first was introduced to Slack, I didn’t get why it was so special. Now I can’t imagine how we lived without it. Imagine a text messaging system with subjects and the ability to mark the message as unread. It’s the best of both worlds!

DocuSign
Emailing a document for signature? Psshaw. That’s almost as bad as faxing it to someone when you could be using a program like Docusign. In Docusign, you can upload your standard contract as a template and customize it in just a few seconds for each recipient. When they receive it, the program guides them through where to sign. A bonus: when someone sends you something for signature, you can upload it to Docusign for signature. Docusign is a legally accepted method for signature (check with your attorney for your specific situation). That said, it doesn’t integrate with Zapier like HelloSign does, but it is cheaper. Check out our video here.

Zapier 
Zapier is like the middle man for apps. It lets you connect apps in ways they don’t naturally do. For instance, when a team member makes a comment in Process Street, I won’t necessarily know due to the way they have it set up. I have a Zap when someone makes a comment in Process Street, it then shows up in Slack for me to see instantly. Zapier has done a lot of work to make this easy on business owners, but it still may take some practice. Check out our summary video here. And a How To here. 

Streak
Streak is a customizable CRM that sits within your Gmail. Let me say that again, it sits within your Gmail, meaning no more switching between windows! Not only do we love the ease of having a CRM within our email, but we also love the simplicity of it. It’s very easy to customize for your needs. We use it as a CRM for prospective clients, active clients, and inactive clients. We also use it as a database for active and inactive Freedom Makers. Others use it to track tasks for customer support, project management, or applicant tracking. It’s super flexible and super easy to use. 

Zoom
We use Zoom to help our clients train their Freedom Maker. Zoom allows attendees to share their screen and to record meetings. We like Zoom because their connection quality is great and it’s relatively easy for attendees to figure out how to share, how to record, etc. You would be surprised how many software programs make that difficult. Also, it’s easy for non-Zoom subscribers to log in to the meeting, even if they haven’t downloaded the program. 

Lumen5 
Lumen5 turns your blogs into videos. Video is a hot marketing tool these days. Furthermore, it’s better to provide your audience with multiple media types, so they can review your content in a manner that works for them. With Lumen5, you can fairly easily turn your blogs into videos. Admittedly, it’s a bit clunky. But once you get the hang of it, we feel it’s worth it. Check out our discussion here.

This resource contains endorsements for products and services, which means when you click on a link we recommend, we may receive a commission. Not every link is an affiliate link, but some are. We only endorse products we stand behind.