A new year means New Year’s resolutions, and it’s a perfect time to make a fresh start, turn over a new leaf, and chase the dream you’ve been wanting to pursue. Hundreds of people are realizing that the best way to live is to work for themselves, and with the internet and social media evolving quickly every day, there are more ways to do what you love now more than ever. Whether you’re selling handmade jewelry or your stock market expertise, here are a few resources that will help you get started with creating your own business.
Best online tools for entrepreneurs
1. BigCommerce
Instead of having to spread your attention thin over a ton of websites, with the help of BigCommerce , you easily streamline your selling process. From one page, manage your listings from the most popular platforms like Amazon, eBay, Instagram, and Facebook. You can choose from a wide variety of themes from a dark and sleek look to a more lighthearted aesthetic.
Access a variety of different apps like Hubspot to better market your products and increase sales, and apps for ShipperHQ and Ordoro to more efficiently ship your products once a purchase has been made. BigCommerce offers different plans depending on what you want for your business, starting at a reasonable $29.95 per month for the basic option. If you’re not sure, you can start with a 15-day free trial where you can start selling immediately.
2. Constant Contact
People check their email repeatedly throughout the day, so the ability to market through emails is one of the keys to increasing traffic to your website. Constant Contact is one of the biggest newsletter tools in the world, and with over 100 easy-to-edit templates to choose from, email marketing has never been more simple. You don’t need to be a master coder to create the perfect email, just drag and drop graphics and scroll through fonts to create top-tier designs that will engage your customers and have them exploring your website for more in no time.
Also integrated is Autoresponder, a feature that sends personalized emails for events like birthdays and anniversaries that help build a stronger connection between you and customers so that they understand that their business is valued. There’s a 60-day free trial and a 30-day money back guarantee once you’ve chosen a plan (but we don’t think you’ll need it), so head over to the website to check them out.
5 best email automation tools
3. Intuit
Finances are a huge part of any business, but we can’t say it’s the most exciting. It’s easy to get confused when handling the numbers gets a little convoluted. Luckily, Intuit will take the stress out of dealing with money by organizing everything for you. Finance giants like TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Mint are incorporated into Intuit, so things like taxes, invoices, and general expenses are broken down to make things easier to understand.
Intuit also offers services to help build your website, attract customers, and enhance productivity. After your free 30-day trial , plans start at the low cost of $7.99 a month. Spend less time worrying about money and more time doing what you love with your business.
4. Buffer
The internet is one of the most important tools in creating a business, and once you’ve got the ball rolling, you need to keep it rolling. Word of mouth is powerful, and new information can be shared at lightning speeds. Buffer is a platform that helps you harness your potential and spread the word about your business by way of social media. With all of your apps in one place, you can easily schedule and send out content at the same time. You can also view your post analytics to see which ones are more popular and how they improve the posts that need a little help.
As you expand, you can add team members to your account and give them access to certain areas to manage, and you have the ability to approve posts before they’re sent out. There are five different plans to choose from so you can use the “Starter” options if you’re not ready to jump in head-first; when you are, you can switch to the “Business” plans to increase the number of social networks you can use.
5. Moo
Now that your business is up and running, you can focus on the physical part of networking. Big brands like AirBnB and Quantcast are using Moo to make items like business cards, flyers, and custom letterhead. Start by connecting with Moo on their website , and they’ll assign you an Account Manager. They’ll help by making your business account and working with you to create designs online for whichever products you’d like, so you can log in at any time and see the progress. Once you have finished designs that you love, simply order your products. Small businesses can start free with same day setup and once you expand you can move up to the “Office” and “Enterprise” plans.
Now you’ve got all the resources you need to start building your own brand. There’s no time like the present – good luck!
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