According to the 2024 Bank of America Business Owner Report, 65% of small business owners expect their revenues to grow this year. Additionally, 55% claimed to have earned more revenue in 2023 than in 2022.
This shows that there has been a positive trajectory in the small business landscape in the last several months. And if you are determined to start your own business, then you’ll be sure to meet an optimistic market.
However, optimism is not all that matters for entrepreneurship. Starting your own business requires you to have tools, processes, and resources in place to handle the demands. In this article, we cover 15 tools that help you to achieve growth without paying a dime.
Website and Online Presence
1. Wix
Before starting your own business, you need to plan to have a solid website in place. Wix is a user-friendly website builder that allows entrepreneurs to create professional-looking websites without needing extensive coding knowledge.
It features a drag-and-drop functionality and allows users to select from hundreds of templates to customize their site to fit their brand. Wix is ideal for small businesses that need an online presence but are not ready to invest heavily in web development.
2. Google Business Profile
Ensuring that your business has a solid online presence does not end with having a website. Many businesses are found through Google Search, which makes Google Business Profile, formerly known as Google My Business a very effective tool for managing your presence.
Thankfully, it is completely free. By creating and verifying a business profile, you can ensure that your business information is accurate and easily accessible to potential customers. This is particularly important for local businesses because they rely on foot traffic.
Collaboration and Project Management
3. Google Workspace
Formerly known as G Suite, Google Workspace offers a suite of productivity tools, including Gmail, Google Drive, Docs, Sheets, Calendar, and even Meet, among others.
As you are starting your own business, these tools are essential for business communication, file storage, document creation, and collaboration.
4. Slack
Slack is popular because it streamlines team collaboration, providing a single platform for messaging, file sharing, collaboration, and even integrating with other tools. Now, with the huddle feature, team members can even jump on quick, Clubhouse-like chats.
Slack’s free plan is generous and offers access to 90 days of message history. Overall, this is an essential tool for small businesses that need to maintain clear and organized communication, especially when teams are working remotely.
5. Trello
Project management can be a hassle for old and new businesses alike. It often seems like there’s just too much to do. Many workers in the corporate world swear by Trello’s visual-first interface for organizing tasks, projects, activities, and deadlines.
The free version of Trello includes unlimited boards, cards, and lists, as well as integrations with other tools like Slack and Google Drive. Trello allows you to monitor progress in real-time and enhances your team’s ability to collaborate.
Marketing and Design
6. MailChimp
As a new business founder, you need regular email marketing to communicate with your customers in a streamlined manner. MailChimp offers this with a free plan that allows businesses to send newsletters to up to 2,000 subscribers.
With MailChimp, you can create campaigns, customize emails with easy-to-use templates, manage your mailing list, and track performance metrics. Its automation features also help you send timely and relevant emails to your audience.
7. Canva
Everyone knows Canva. Everyone loves Canva. If you are just starting your own business, this is the best graphics design tool that simplifies the process of creating visuals for your business, and one does not even need to be a design expert.
With Canva, you can access a wide range of free templates for social media posts, presentations, flyers, business cards, and more. With its drag-and-drop interface, even those with no design experience can produce professional-quality graphics.
Automation and Integration
8. Zapier
For when you are juggling too many things together, as running a business often entails. Zapier comes to the rescue by helping you automate workflows. It achieves this by connecting different apps and services.
For instance, you can create a “zap” to automatically add new email subscribers to a MailChimp list or to update a Trello board when a new Slack message is posted. The free plan allows you to create five single-step zaps, which significantly saves you time.
9. Buffer
Buffer is an automation tool, too, but it is for social media. If your business has multiple social media accounts, posting content on all of them separately is a lot of work, much of which should be spent on other business necessities.
With Buffer, you can manage up to three accounts from a single interface and even track the performance of your posts. Buffer simplifies maintaining a consistent social media presence, which is important for building brand awareness and engaging with customers.
Analytics and Insights
10. Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a powerful tool that provides insights into how visitors interact with your website. You get to track website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates, and it helps you understand what’s working and what’s not.
This data is crucial for making informed decisions about your marketing strategies, website design, and content. For startups, understanding website performance is key to driving growth and improving user experience.
11. Zoho CRM
To get insights about your customers, you need Zoho CRM. The free version of this customer relationship management tool includes features like lead management, sales pipeline tracking, reporting, and so on.
For startups, keeping track of customer and prospect interactions is very crucial as data from such interactions can be used to make informed business decisions. That makes Zoho CRM a highly valuable tool.
Others:
12. Indeed for Employers
This platform is widely used for posting job listings and finding talent. Indeed for Employers allows you to post jobs for free and manage applications through a straightforward interface.
You can use most of the features for free, including sorting through applicants and scheduling interviews. It also provides an avenue to communicate with candidates directly through the platform, so you can avoid cluttering your email inbox.
13. Dropbox Sign
Dropbox Sign, formerly known as HelloSign, offers an easy way to sign documents electronically. As an entrepreneur, you’ll be surprised by the amount of paperwork that needs to be addressed when starting your own business.
Contracts, agreements, licenses, letters, and so on are only a few. Dropbox Sign integrates with popular file management tools to save you the trouble of printing and scanning while ensuring everything is kept organized.
14. Social Media
Starting your own business without a social media presence these days is unthinkable. Social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, and LinkedIn offer free tools for businesses to build and engage with their audience.
By creating a business profile on these platforms, you can share updates, promote products, and interact with customers. It needs no saying that social media is an essential tool for brand building, customer engagement, and marketing.
15. YouTube
YouTube serves a dual role here. On the one hand, it is a powerful platform for content marketing, allowing businesses to create and share videos with a global audience. On the other hand, it is a repository of learning resources you can use to grow your business.
Resources for Business Growth
To access more resources for business growth as you are starting your own business, Subscribe to StartUp Growth Guide’s weekly newsletter and follow on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, and Instagram for expertly written insights for entrepreneurs and leaders in the corporate world.
Featured Image by ijeab on Freepik
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