Being a solopreneur means everything falls on you. It is your responsibility to make sure tasks are completed, deadlines are met, social channels are being managed, and a host of other responsibilities get done. Since you are just starting out you can’t afford a team of full-time employees to delegate all of these responsibilities to. Therefore, it is crucial that you put the systems and programs in place to help stay organized and build your business.

 

When you start a business, money is always going to be tight. The key is to focus your attention on programs that offer a free version. If that is not available, find tools that will deliver the highest return on investment possible. As you grow your revenue, you can set aside money to reinvest into the paid version of any programs you are using. The goal of this post is to help you delegate some of your responsibility and ensure you are organized before launching your next big project.

 

Trello

Trello is a project management tool that helps you keep track of the various deliverables associated with a project. Their free version offers several valuable features and can be used for most of your projects. Each part of the project is assigned its own column. Then, you create a card in the column for each sub-task that has to be completed. If you are lucky enough to work with a freelancer or volunteer, you can share the board with them and monitor their progress.

For example, let’s say you are launching a new product. This product launch would get its own board in Trello so it does not get mixed in with any other tasks. On this board, you would have a column for manufacturing, shipping, marketing, sales, and finance. In the marketing column, you would have cards that represent different marketing tactics like social media. Inside the social media card, you would have a checklist that included tasks such as launching a Facebook page, creating banners, and uploading company bio.

 

Evernote

Evernote is a note taking tool that helps you organize all of your thoughts. Now, you may think you don’t need an app just to write stuff down. However, this platform is much more sophisticated than a traditional pen and paper. It allows you to create various notebooks within the app. Then you create separate notes within the notebook. Whether you are brainstorming a new idea, taking down notes from a meeting, or just jotting down something so you don’t forget it, Evernote keeps it all organized.

For example, your Evernote account may include a separate notebook for sales, marketing, future plans, random ideas, and meeting notes. Your sales notebook would include notes such as sales targets, ideas of pitches, and product launch schedule. Your marketing notebook would have notes for social media links, future marketing ideas, and passwords to your programs. Instead of having all your ideas and reminders scattered across pieces of paper, it is all in one neat and organized app on your phone and desktop.

 

HubSpot CRM

Keeping track of your customers and prospective leads is paramount to the success of your business. HubSpot is a leader in marketing automation. They offer a free Customer Relationship Management tool for you to track your customers and store information such as name, e-mail, website, past meeting information, and more. If someone fills out a form on your website or landing page, you can have the information submitted directly into HubSpot.

Now, there are several free CRM systems on the market for you to choose from. The reason we suggest HubSpot is that they have additional services you can grow into. Overtime, you will need services to handle your social media and e-mail marketing strategies. When that day comes, it will be easier to upgrade your HubSpot plan instead of having to transfer all your information from another platform.

 

Bark

No matter how hard you try, some parts of your business will require outside assistance. While you may not be able to hire full-time help, you can hire a freelancer to work on a singular project or for a set number of hours each week. Bark is a platform that hosts experienced freelancers in the fields of marketing, sales, writing, and graphic design. Post a gig on their platform and let them do the hard work of finding the talent.

The reason we like this platform is that the freelancer has to pay to gain access to your contact information. When they are presented with the job, they look at the details and determine if they are interested. Then, they spend a certain number of tokens they have paid for and they purchase the lead. This system weeds out all the non-serious candidates and presents you only highly qualified and motivated applicants for you to choose from.

 

ClickFunnels

The last tool on our list is the most expensive one. It also has the potential to have the highest ROI out of all the programs we’ve talked about today. ClickFunnels is a program that allows you to create an e-mail sequence and communicate with your customers at all times. While the concept can be complex, the basic idea is that a customer comes to your website, fills out a form and kicks off the funnel. What follows is a series of emails guiding them to take a desired action such as purchasing a product or booking an intro call.

For this example, let’s pretend you are a life coach. You write an ebook called “5 Ways To Get Your Life In Order” and offer it to your audience in exchange for them filling out a form. Over the next 10 days, that user gets sent 5 - 7 automated emails. These emails talk about the value in your coaching sessions and the problems the user has that your coaching can solve. The goal of each e-mail is to encourage the reader to book an intro coaching session with or buy a coaching package directly.

 

Conclusion

Being on your own can be difficult when trying to launch a business. The key thing to remember is that several platforms offer valuable and useful free versions of their products. If you are going to invest money, you have to ensure that it will yield the highest ROI possible. Once you use these tools to increase your sales, you can begin to reinvest and upgrade your programs and resources.

 

Let’s Talk

Are you interested in these tools but are still afraid you won’t have the time and attention to manage them all? Then we suggest thinking about hiring a fully trained and experienced Virtual Assistant to help you.

We here at The HR Agent Admin will get to know your company’s goals and match you with a VA that is an ideal fit for your needs and budget. Get in touch with us at contact@thehragentadmin.com ! 

 

#Productivity #Small Business #Online Tools