Smart Back to School Tools for Entrepreneurs

To stand out from your competitors and from the various choices that the internet audience has, you have to rely on strong basis. It is back to school time and it is also time to set new healthy work routine for your business. With this list of the essentials for entrepreneurs, you will start with the right insights to grow. And if you are not new to this world, it is time to update what you know on the subject.

Website & Blog

Having a website is now essential to prove the legitimacy of your business. It also showcases your brand as well as your products or services. It also helps you create visibility and credibility towards your audience. In some cases, your website is your only window through which the consumer can buy your services or products. It is thus paramount to make sure that it embodies your brand. Of course you can code your own website in HTML & CSS and JavaScript but you can also use web design softwares that will make it easy for you to build such an interface.

With a drag-and-drop platform and useful plugins to add, you can personalize your own website and create an enhanced customer experience for your audience. Amongst the best website builders you have:

• Wix: Allows you to create your own domain name,
• Squarespace: Good analytics tools
• Webflow: Website templates available
• Wordpress.org: With various plugins to enrich your website with features
• Ionos: A CMS allowing you to build responsive website with templates, has SEO & analytics tools included, does not require coding or web design knwoledge.

Once your website is all set, take care of your analytics. Google analytics is of course the answer to this interrogation but you have other options like Heap.

It is also important to mention ranking tools that can give you analytics about your ranking, key words and backlink opportunities that could be created via blog articles:

• SE Ranking. ...
• Ahrefs. ...
• SEMrush.

Content Creation Tools for Entrepreneurs

When owning a business, you have to communicate on social media and on your website to remain visible on the search engine. Of course, with the help of keywords, you can optimize your internet presence. However, it is sometimes difficult to find new topics to bring to the table and develop your creativity when you are mainly focusing on your day-to-day business life. So we have a list of content tools that we recommend you to use:

• Canvas: It is an online graphic tool where to create presentations, videos and stickers. It is a freemium tool. An alternative to Canva could be Piktochart or Crello
• Buffer: To schedule your social media campaign and check out the analytics
• GIPHY: to insert GIF in your communications. You can also create GIF’s with your own videos or pictures
• Placeit: Where you can use mockups to showcase your products or services
• Unsplash: to use pre-made videos and pictures. Some of them are free of air rights
• Infogram: Just like Piktochart, you can create infographics, charts and maps

Smart Accounting

Tracking every accounts receivable and accounts payable can become a real nightmare if it not well organized. When you are an entrepreneur, you need to keep an eye on your invoicing history. To sort out this issue, some of us resort to freelancers, but you can also make the choice of an accounting software. Depending on your expectations and the number of seats, pricing may vary but for a less complex interface, you will be able to invest in such a software, helping you to prepare your taxes and look into your profits prediction. According to your sector, some features will be needed and some will not but we selected a few softwares with an easy-to-use design:

• FreshBooks.
• Zoho Books.
• QuickBooks Desktop.
• AccountEdge Pro.
• Sage 50cloud Accounting.
• AccountingSuite.
• OneUp.
• Xero.

Alternatively, hire services like Incfile, LegalZoom or ZenBusiness to help you stay on top of your tax and other compliance requirements. Here’s an in-depth review by SmallBusinessHQ to help you understand how these services can help.

Social Media Presence

Communicating through social media increases your visibility and gives the tone of your brand image. You have to be where your potential customers are and there is a serious chance that they may be scrolling on social media. You can use boosted posts or ads for your campaigns or you can create organic content via posts using the right topics on the right media to the right people. It is also a question of consistency. However hard you try to post nice and sleek pictures of your products, if you do not respect your schedule, it is possible to get lost in the algorithm. As a lot of organic methods, it takes time to build but at least you can expect longevity when building a trustworthy community on social media such as Facebook, Instagram or TikTok.

Here is a list of important tools for entrepreneurs and tips, we thought could be useful for you:

• LinkedIn: The most famous social network for professionals. You have to consider its specificities before posting. Your content on LinkedIn will be very different from TikTok.
• TikTok: You can play with the algorithm by joining the trends: dance moves, music, staging, voice overs. This social network is very powerful if you know how to manage it and especially if you want to address the GenZ generation.
• Buffer: As we said earlier, with Buffer you can schedule your social media posts. The important is to be sure that your social media will be filled with content. It can be easy to forget to post. Well, thanks to Buffer you can plan all your posts and choose the date and time where all these posts have to be sent. A similar tool could be Hootsuite or Later.

Communication tools for Entrepreneurs

Communication is key! Even when you are alone because you will need to remind you of all the things you have to do or when you have a small team to make sure that important information went to the right person. Communication tools are important for your business and we could even say that they are part of your managerial vision. Depending on the communication tools you choose to have or not to have, it can impact your way your brand is seen by your co-workers and suppliers. Make sure you have one of these tools to communicate efficiently when working on-line:

• Teams
• Trello
• Slack
• Skype
• Gmail
• Mailchimp: To send emails to your database and plan journeys

Virtual Assistants

Outsourcing a part of the administrative work can be such a relief for some entrepreneurs. For other, it is even necessary. When you lack time, you may find it hard to commit to these kind of tasks, often far from the focus of your business. Nevertheless these missions are crucial for the development of your company.

A full-time assistant may be an expensive option, that is why you can use the concept of virtual assistants. You will no longer worry about booking appointments, managing your calendar or answer repetitive questions. The virtual assistant can do it for you. You can work with a freelancer that you can find on a platform such as Upwork. Or you could deploy a chatbot on your website, Instagram or Facebook to let it answer questions and book meetings. No need to learn coding to implement a chatbot, Ideta offers a no code solution with a chatbot that you can publish on many channels and you can also use their templates.

Newsletter Subscription & Podcast

As an entrepreneur or a small business owner, it is sometimes challenging to stay motivated. So how do you manage? Well, by subscribing to newsletters focused on small businesses and entrepreneurship topics, you will receive tips to grow your business and be invited to join great entrepreneurs communities.

Listening to podcasts is also a great way to keep a fresh mind and be aware of what is new on the market and what tools you could improve or test. Here is a list of podcast and newsletter you should take a look at:

• DigitalMarketer
• GrowthHacker
• Marketing Dive
• MarketingProfs
• Moz Top 10
• Social Media Examiner
• The Tim Ferriss Show
• Startup Stories - Mixergy