Online Tools for Online Entrepreneurs

Running a small business or deciding to launch one in 2020 would require a lot of everything, but most of all, it would require an online presence. From time management and business planning to accounting, there are some online tools available that can be useful for startups to grow while prioritizing tasks.

Big companies start small but small businesses face big challenges

Many billion-dollar companies had humble beginnings, sometimes in garages, rented apartments, and dorm rooms. Experience has shown that starting small with teams of two or three people or even alone can be tough, but many made it to become successful. Something else that experience has shown is that those successful founders were experts in what they were doing. Thus, the combination of knowledge with increased demand for a product or service and a little bit of luck turned those ideas from garage businesses to multinational companies.

Small businesses are often clouded in uncertainty no matter how uncertain the times are

Launching a small business can be difficult either if you’re entering an unknown industry or if it’s just a sector that you know well. Among numerous factors, this might happen because of some responsibilities or tasks that are essential to run a business but boring to get done. Besides being dull, such tasks or operations are also time-consuming. You planned to do something big, and there you are doing some accounting. Normally, these tasks would have an impact on your initial motivation and time management.

Some startups follow the saying do what you know best and outsource the rest. This is a useful solution, but most small businesses are on tight budgets and cannot afford to outsource, even though it can be affordable compared to local services. Instead, there is a wide selection of free online tools that can come in handy. Those tools are very useful when in terms of productivity, time management, business planning, project management, etc. They are free for small businesses and small teams.

Online tools for online entrepreneurs

Finance, HR, and accounting tools
Finance applications for small businesses help handle payments, accounting, finance, payroll, receipts, personal finance, invoicing, and other processes.
These tools are necessary as they help to stay on track with finances and HR-related tasks.
Wave – accounting and finance
ZipBooks – bookkeeping and invoicing
Brightbook – bookkeeping
Akaunting – accounting, transfers
Zoho Invoice – invoice automation
GnuCash – business and personal finance management
Inveezy – invoicing
SlickPie – invoicing, expanse tracking

Project management
Trello – free for unlimited personal boards with ten team boards
Assana – free for unlimited projects and up to people
Wrike - free for five team members
Project.co – free for five projects and five users
Toggl Plan – free for an unlimited number of projects and up to five team members
Teamwork – free version for two projects and five team members
ClickUp – free for unlimited users but limited features

Communication and brainstorming
Slack
Google docs and Google sheets
Lucidchart
MindMup
Coggle
Visual Thesaurus
Freeplane
IdeaBoardz
Mind Meister
Ideament

Meetings and videoconferencing
Zoom
Join.me
Skype
Mikogo
IntermediaAnyMeeting
UberConference
Microsoft Teams
Webex Meetings

SEO and Digital Marketing

Google Analytics
SEMrush
MozBar
Keyword hero
Xenu
Answer the public
Keyword explorer
Google trends
Ubersuggest
Disavow Tool
Link miner
Google My Business

Cloud Storage tools

Google drive
Dropbox
Icedrive
Mega
OneDrive
ICould
Media Fire
Sync

These and many other tools can be helpful for small businesses. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses and companies to run most of their operations online. Hence, many new tools can become available for free or affordable prices in support of small and medium-sized businesses.

Being a student or employee you might have been using some online tools for education or work. What do you think would be a tool for inclusive businesses or education in the country where you live? Do you have an idea? Would you be able to run an online business? Show us your innovative solutions. If you have an idea or a project that contributes to the Sustainable Development Goals you could join the 2020 Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition. It would help you become part of a huge network of entrepreneurs and gain the knowledge to find solutions out of problems.