Launching a business is no small feat: From securing funding to hiring the right talent and finding a pricing model that’s realistic for your target market, there’s a lot to consider before you get started. It also tends to be expensive — the average cost of starting a business costs around $30,000.
In addition to steep startup costs, small business typically experience a number of similar pain points. Here are just a few that you, as a small business owner or entrepreneur, may identify with:
- Your website isn’t the best
- You can’t afford PR for proper media coverage
- Your communication tools aren’t cutting it
- Your team is missing important internal deadlines due to lack of organization
- You really can’t afford to outsource, but lack the resources internally as well
Do any of these sound familiar? Given the fact that there are so many ways to spend money when starting a business, most entrepreneurs and business owners are always on the lookout for ways to save money and alleviate these pain points. One of the best ways to go about this is to take advantage of the free tools and software available to businesses.
The vast majority of SaaS products, from project management tools to simple online logo and invoice generators, come with either free trial periods or some form of freemium pricing. These basic user plans usually come with limited features and are intended to entice users to upgrade to a premium plan, but they are ideal for small startup teams.
There are literally thousands of SaaS products out there, so where do you start as a business owner? We’ve highlighted several products below and at which stage they can benefit your venture the most.
Tools to Help You Launch Your Business
If you’re still in the preliminary stages of launching your business, then there’s a lot of planning ahead. Here are some tools to help you out:
- Domainr: Struggling to find a domain name? This free tool allows you to see what’s available, taken, and what’s for sale.
- Online Logo Maker: Got a name, but not a logo? This tool lets you design a free logo that can be adapted to business cards as well.
- JIMDO: Rather than code your online store from scratch, take advantage of free website builders. JIMDO is a no hassle builder known for its great design, functionality, and ease of use for ecommerce businesses.
Tools to Help You Start Your Business
Already launched your business, but need help starting it? Here are a few tools to make the process less stressful:
- Grammarly: Grammarly helps you compose clean prose for free. To make things more convenient, you can even add it to your browser toolbar to quickly check your writing for mistakes and suggestions.
- SEO Writing Assistant: SEMrush’s SEO Writing Assistant tool helps you write copy that is optimized for SEO content. This way, you can write for people and search engines.
- Website Grader: This free Hubspot tool assesses the overall health of your site so you can make improvements.
- Hootsuite: Hootsuite allows you to kickstart your social media campaigns across several platforms, including Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. Bear in mind this tool comes with a 30-day free trial.
Tools to Help You Run Your Business
If you’ve been running your business, you know that it can get pricy. Below are a handful of tools that can help maintain your operations and save money while doing so:
- InvoiceNinja: InvoiceNinja allows you to create free invoices and check them out in a PDF format in real-time so you can make changes as you go.
- Termly: Termly is a legal document generator for startups. It crafts GDPR compliant legal policies according to your website’s needs — and it’s free!
- Trello: Keep your teammates across multiple departments on the same page with Trello’s free plan. Unlimited boards, cards, and lists help keep you ahead of deadlines so you can stay organized.
- BeeFree: Sending lots of emails? BeeFree lets you create beautiful templates that you can use anywhere.
By taking advantage of free software and startup tools, you can save money in the long run and funnel it into other aspects of running your business. No, these tools won’t solve all of your issues immediately, but they can help you put off paying thousands of dollars a year in business plan fees. Once your business is more established, then you can think about upgrading to a better plan designed to accommodate larger teams.
This is the smart way to go about running your business, especially when times are lean. To help you learn more about free tools and software available for your startup, check out the infographic from Wikibuy below.
About the Author
Luke Fernandez runs Growth at Wikibuy, a consumer product that helps shoppers know when, where, and what to buy. As a Product and Growth leader, Luke has helped Fortune 500 companies and startups alike drive best-in-class marketing through technology and data.