Recommended Apps for Small Business & Entrepreneurs
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Being a small business owner & entrepreneur myself, technology is an essential part of my everyday processes. And, because I'm a new entrepreneur, inexpensive and free solutions are also essential. In the process of getting my business up and running and until today I am constantly looking for solutions to make tasks more efficient and convenient. I'm also not so technically savvy and don't have the budget to hire a developer, so it is very important for my to find software and programs that are easy to use and simple to set up and implement. Below are apps and software solutions that I recommend either based on myself using it personally after searching/trying many apps, or that I plan to use or think would be helpful to other small business owners. Some of these have referral links so if you decide to sign up for any please use my referral link. If you have any questions please feel free to email me and I can help the best I can based on my experience with these applications.
Booking Apps
Booking apps are a great way to stay organized and synchronize your calendar with all your different schedules. They allow your customers and clients to easily make an appointment with you without all the back and forth emails and phone calls. You can embed the calendars or buttons directly on your website for customers to se your availability and book appointments with you. I use these bookings apps in a slightly different way, not to book with myself but for my members to book the various conference rooms and office spaces. Some calendars I use internally for full time tenants and others for clients wishing to book hourly where they can pay upfront. I spent a lot of time researching and testing out probably around 50 different apps. Below is an analysis and comparison of some of my favorites, most of which I am currently using. The criteria that is most important to me is affordability (some have free options), ease of use, calendar synching, modern look and feel, and calendar embed on my website.
Free - $11/month
Bookafy is one of the most affordable options on the market, with pricing starting at $7 while most competitors are between $20 - $50 per month. It offers all the features I was looking for - website embed, takes payment through stripe, nice looking calendar on users end, gmail sync. The free version is good but offers only basic features. The customer service is also great - they are very responsive to questions. They offer a referral program so if you decide to sign up please do so through my referral link. you can then refers others to lower your cost as well!
Free - $12/month
Similar to bookafay, Calendly has all the great features at an affordable price. What is also great about Calendly is they very chic and modern design whiich I really like how it looks on my website. You can also synch your calendars on the free version which most apps do not allow on their free versions.
Free - $8/month
Appointlet is another affordable booking tool. The free version has a lot to offer with it allowing calendar integration, which many free version do not offer. Their paid $8 plan allows you to take payment through stripe, as well as fully customize your automated responses. The $8 plan is similar to Bookafy's $7 plan, but I prefer Bookafy because it is more user friendly and can be embedded in your website therefor making it a real part of the experience of visiting your site as opposed to being taken off your site to book the appointment through a book now button.
Business Resources and Tools
App Sumo
Free
App Sumo is a website that offers lifetime deals on hundreds of apps that usually cost anywhere from $10/month to $50/month. I have found some of the gems on this page through App Sumo, and was lucky enough to get some lifetime deals on them. Most of the deals are around a one time payment $50-$70 for a lifetime use, savings you upwards of 95% in some cases. They usually have about 10 offers available at one time with deals being added and expiring on a rotating basis, so if you catch something you like, don't miss out - I have a few regrets on some deals I missed! Some examples of apps they offer are video creators, website building, scheduling apps, mail campaigns, and many more!
Hunter.io
$19 per month
This plan is ideal if you’re running a small business and want to provide your customers with the very best service possible. You’ll receive all of our premium features, along with many added extras that will make your business endeavors as smooth as possible.
Zapier
$39 per month
This is our very best plan: all-inclusive, and very popular. When you choose this plan, you’ll have 24-hour support for any device, and the possibility of live technical assistance within 8 hours. You’ll enjoy all of our products, and find out first about promotions.
Design
Complete Business Process - Zoho One
There are a plethora of apps to manage your business on the market. Such as Hubspot, Saleforce, quickbooks, there are limitless combos of applications you can fit together or find an entire suite of apps that work together - but this can get, EXPENSIVE. Live I've said, my main objectives are affordability and practicality. Right as I was starting my business 2 years ago, the
wonderful ZOHO ONE came out, which is a suite of some of Zoho's best applications all in one for the solo
entrepreneur - 40 different business application for only $30 per month per user. As you grow add each team
member for only $30 per month. A solution like this would typically costs hundreds per month. Some applications include invoicing, expenses, CRM, email
campaigns, customer support, doc signing, form builder, checkout app - and SO MUCH MORE! Below are a review of my favorite apps within the suite.
Zoho Forms
Included in Zoho One
Test drive all pro features without making any commitment. You can see which features you want, which features you don’t need, and which features you’ll want to upgrade to when your business expands. The perfect plan if you are starting out, and best of all, it’s completely free.
Zoho Checkout
Included in Zoho One
This plan is ideal if you’re running a small business and want to provide your customers with the very best service possible. You’ll receive all of our premium features, along with many added extras that will make your business endeavors as smooth as possible.
Zoho Books
Included in Zoho One
This is our very best plan: all-inclusive, and very popular. When you choose this plan, you’ll have 24-hour support for any device, and the possibility of live technical assistance within 8 hours. You’ll enjoy all of our products, and find out first about promotions.