8 essential time-saving tools to help entrepreneurs save time
We live in an age where it’s possible for just about anyone with enough skills and ambition to become a successful entrepreneur and start their own company. This goes double if you are running an online business. The technology is cheaper and more accessible than ever, and there are plenty of tools available that can help you with every aspect of the job. Also, the internet has enabled experts to market their products and services regardless of the location, as well as given birth to new professions, such as blogging, vlogging, content marketing, and plenty of others.
Yet, despite all this convenience, running an online business Is still incredibly time-consuming. The thing is, it doesn’t have to be that way, provided that you are using the right set of tools. We have put together a list of eight essential time-saving tools every online entrepreneur should be familiar with. Keep on reading for more details.
One of the most obvious ways to save time would be to hire someone to help you out on your projects, and places like Upwork are perfect for it. Upwork gathers millions of freelancers from all over the globe, which means you have a massive talent pool to choose from. Whether you are in need of an expert to help you out with content writing, design, coding, marketing, translation, or if you simply want to hire a virtual assistant to handle all those pesky tasks which need to be done regardless of how much you hate them, Upwork is the place where you can find them at an affordable price.
Sometimes, especially if you are just starting out, you will need to have a regular job in order to support yourself until your online business becomes profitable enough and turns into a full-time kind of thing. However, looking for a job involves sending out dozens or more resumes. This is where CareersBooster comes in. It is one of the best resume writing services you will find online, featuring professional writers, live customer support, and affordable rates. Because every company is different, they will create a custom CV for each and every one of them. Doing this yourself would eat up a significant chunk of your time you could have spent working on your business.
Keeping your data safely stored away on a server, or even owning one costs money, which means you probably won’t be able to afford it right away. So what do you do? The answer lies within cloud storage. We recommend using Dropbox. Not only will your most important data be backed up and accessible for any platform and device, but you will also get 2 GB of storage for free. You can also take advantage of their premium plans, with the most expensive one offering as much as 1TB of storage.
If you are a content marketer, you know how much time it takes to manage all the different aspects of the job. Coming up with brilliant content, week after week, improving your product or service, and on top of everything, maintaining an active and effective social media presence. With HootSuite, you will be able to automate your social media activity to an extent. This powerful app allows you to schedule updates and posts for all of your social media accounts, keep track of how your content is performing, and receive information and updates on keywords which interest you the most.
Establishing clear and easily accessible channels of communication is important in any line of work, but when it comes to online entrepreneurship, it’s crucial. Collaborating with your partners, following up with your clients, or keeping track of your freelancers is a breeze with Skype, which doesn’t need any special introduction. With it, you can exchange messages, send end receive files, make free audio calls, and hold video conferences with your collaborators. Best of all, Skype is available across all platforms and devices, which means you can get in touch with anyone at any time.
There is no denying the fact that Microsoft Office is a fantastic suite of tool necessary for any business. But, it’s price tag is pretty steep, and you are better off spending your money elsewhere, because there are some great alternatives out there. The best one among them is LibreOffice, which has branched out from OpenOffice, and in many aspects, it has surpassed it. And yes, you will be able to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations, diagrams, charts, formulae, and databases, among other things, just like you would using the pricey Microsoft Office suite. And if you are really short on time, you can use it for free in the cloud via rollApp.
Making the most of your time when you have very little of it is often hard to do. All the more reason for you to rely on a brilliant app such as Todoist. Todoist is not only designed to help you manage your business projects by boosting your productivity, but to organize your personal life, as well. Create and manage tasks from your laptop, smartphone, and tablet with equal efficiency, and collaborate with your partners and clients. Todoist also enables you to categorize the tasks by date, importance, or their label.
Being more productive doesn’t necessarily mean longer working hours, because your focus will diminish over time. In order to make yourself more efficient and to stay sharp, check out Tomato-Time. This app makes use of the well-known Pomodoro productivity approach, which involves working intensely for 25 minutes at a time, resting for 5 minutes, and then repeating the same process all over again, as opposed to working all day without taking a break.
Conclusion
Being a successful online entrepreneur, while hard, can be incredibly rewarding, especially if when you know which tools and apps to use and how to make the most of them. The ones we have chosen will save you a ton of time, which you can invest into developing your business, or spending precious moments with your loved ones. Good luck!