The Top Productivity Tools for Entrepreneurs

Running a business takes time and focus but there are only so many waking hours in a day! To find success, business owners and their employees need to maximize working hours by improving productivity in everything that they do. Luckily there are many platforms and software tools designed to organize and automate tasks, making day to day work-life easier and far more efficient!Here is our list of the top productivity tools for entrepreneurs:

Monday

Monday is a project management tool that can help streamline communication and collaboration on particular tasks. All projects and employees come together on the platform so you can keep track of what needs to be done, when, and by whom. Monday is useful for in-office teams, remote teams, or some combination of the two. You can use it to map timelines and track progress.The platform has a number of handy integrations, like Google Drive, Slack, and invoicing software, so you can move almost all of your operations to one place, saving time and money.  Monday allows you to automate repetitive tasks so that you and your team never miss a step and no one has to spend their time making sure assignments are given the proper ownership. With available mobile and desktop apps, Monday is flexible enough to meet your changing needs.

Calendly

No one likes to spend their time playing phone or email tag. Few things are more frustrating than trying to set up a meeting with a client or team member and being unable to coordinate availability. As an automatic scheduler, Calendly removes this headache. All you have to do is set your preferences and availability and Calendly does the rest. It will give you a link that can be shared in emails or embedded on your business website Clicking the link displays your available calendar times and allows the individual to book a meeting with you when it fits both of your schedules.

Expensify

Successful entrepreneurs understand that they need to keep careful track of expenses. Even the most careful individual can lose track of receipts. Especially if your system is little more than putting a receipt in your pocket until you can file it. Expensify is a mobile app that allows you to take pictures of receipts with your phone and upload it directly to a spreadsheet. At the end of each quarter, the spreadsheet can be passed along to your accountant for simple, easy, and clean calculations.

Google Docs

Google Docs can be used by individuals or as a part of your business via Google Workspace. Google Docs makes it easy to create shareable documents, spreadsheets, or presentations. These assets can be viewed and edited by all team members. Work can be done from anywhere and all changes are automatically saved in the G Drive. Make edit suggestions, leave comments, add images and drawings, and include links where desired. Add ons like Lucidchart Diagrams can enable you to create functional text by adding flow charts and diagrams. And if you or some team members feel more comfortable working in Word, Google Docs can be converted to Word files and vice versa.

Zapier

Zapier is a platform that connects your apps and automates your next steps to streamline workflow and ensure that you never miss an important opportunity to grow your business or make a sale. Link your web apps and set up “Zaps,” or workflows, to perform repetitive tasks on your behalf. Set up a trigger and each time it is tripped, Zapier will respond in the manner of your choosing. For example, each time you get a new lead on Facebook, Zapier can capture the lead details and input them into your email campaign manager, putting that lead directly into your sales funnel. Set up is beyond easy and the time you save is invaluable.

Buffer

Social media marketing can play a key role in your business branding and marketing campaigns. Unfortunately, regular posting across a number of channels can be very time-consuming. Instead of devoting precious time to the task, or spending money on a social media manager, automate your posting schedule with Buffer. Manage accounts, schedule posts, and track performance all in one place. Instead of going to each individual social platform to share your content, upload it to Buffer, set your schedule, and then go about your day.

Constant Contact

Email automation can be a real timesaver. Email marketing is a great way to stay in touch with your clients or customers and to convert leads into sales. But who has the time to continuously design and craft these emails?Constant Contact makes email marketing simple. The platform is full of customizable templates that allow you to strike the perfect tone without doing much more than dragging and dropping! The automation feature means that no lead or customer will slip through the cracks. When someone signs up for your mailing list, for example, Constant Contact will automatically send a welcome email, connecting them to you right away. Beyond email creation and automation, with Constant Contact, you can segment your list, integrate sales tools, and analyze important statistics like open rates and click-through rates so you can make adjustments to your strategy when they are coming up short. With the proper tools in place, you can free yourself up to focus on your business big picture. Day-to-day repetitive tasks are essential to a functioning, healthy business, there is no doubt about it, but more often than not, if you were to take some of those tasks off your plate, you can expand your ventures and increase your revenues. Using the tools listed above can help an entrepreneur increase productivity and meet their business goals.