It’s no secret that the Coronavirus pandemic has made running small businesses… more complicated, to say the least. The lockdowns across the country forced many businesses to shut their doors, and even now, social distancing has made prospective customers a scarce commodity. Everyone, even the greatest business owners, is struggling to stay afloat.
But hope is on the horizon! Many companies have stepped up to offer small business owners tools to help them navigate this challenging time. COVID-19 doesn’t have to spell the end of your small business — and these tools can make all the difference.
Here are seven of the best free tools for small businesses today:
Doodle
Doodle is a scheduling platform that simplifies the process of making meetings with your clients and your colleagues. With Doodle, there’s no need to go back and forth emailing meeting attendees, no more juggling time zones, and no sharing your personal calendar with countless people. You can schedule meetings with people across the globe with ease!
Currently, Doodle is offering a 14-day free trial of their pro service (for one user) and team service (for up to 5 users). There’s no need to enter your credit card information, no commitment, and (perhaps best of all) no ads. All you need to do is enjoy the simple pleasures of efficient and easy scheduling.
Coalition Technologies
Before the pandemic, eCommerce was experiencing a steady rise to glory; in 2018, eCommerce sales surpassed $504 billion in the U.S. alone. While many businesses had some form of online presence when the pandemic began, COVID-19 forced businesses to improve their websites fast. This presented a challenge for business owners who are less tech-savvy — but now there are businesses ready to help.
Web design company Coalition Technologies is currently building business websites for free. The WordPress sites they produce are attractive, powerful, and simple to use and maintain. With their help, any business owner can build an online presence that boosts their bottom line.
Hootsuite
Managing your company’s social media can be an arduous task, simply because of the many platforms you have to manage. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter — it’s all so time-consuming! If you want social media to benefit your business, you need to make sure that your time spent on the platforms is as efficient as possible.
Hootsuite is an all-in-one social media management tool that allows you to create, plan, and schedule posts across multiple platforms. This will make engaging with your followers SO much easier — and now, small businesses and nonprofits can use Hootsuite Professional for free (until July 1).
Paychex
One of the most complicated parts of any business is managing the payroll, and it’s only gotten more complicated in the aftermath of COVID-19. Can your business afford to hang onto employees? Do you qualify for small business relief through the government? How will the pandemic affect your unemployment insurance? If these questions leave your head spinning, Paychex can help you.
Paychex is a payroll, benefits, and HR platform that can help your business manage payroll processing. This is a great service under any circumstances, but they’re really upping their value for small businesses in 2021! Now, small businesses can benefit from free payroll for three months, free HR support for two months, and free strategy support to help businesses keep as many employees as they can.
Workable
If there’s one loss every business is really feeling this year, it’s the loss of internal communications. The everyday connections you make with your colleagues shape your corporate culture, and that in turn can make or break your business. This is why it’s so important to meet with candidates in person for interviews — you need to be certain that they fit your company’s culture.
While we may not be able to return to the office yet, you can connect with potential new hires through Workable. This video interviewing software is currently free for all users, and it will help you find candidates who connect with you both in skills and personality. Once we all return to work together, you’ll have a workforce who really works well together.
1Password
When your employees work from home, they spend a lot of time communicating with each other online. As a result, tons of your company’s data is moving through the internet — through email, in the cloud, on your website, and much more. All that data is essential to keeping your business running, and that means you need to keep it safe.
1Password is a tool that generates complex, unbreakable passwords for all your business information. This is essential for any business that stores data online, and now they are making their 1Password for Business service to small businesses free for six months.
Whether you’re running an established business or turning your upcycling hobby into an ecommerce revenue stream, COVID-19 has forever changed the way we all do business. Take advantage of these tools today so you can master working in the “new normal” and come out on top.
