Running a small business is like trying to do ten things at once, but all the time. There’s always something demanding your attention, and if you mess up then it can really cost you. Time, money and maybe even your sanity. The right digital tools won’t just fix everything, but they definitely will make things easier. You just need to pick the ones that actually help and skip the ones that make life more complicated.

Website Builders

A business without a website is basically invisible. Hiring a developer is expensive, and learning to code really isn’t something you can do in a month! Wix is good if you want drag and drop, and Squarespace makes sleek and modern sites. WordPress is better if you need more control. If you sell products, Shopify is designed for that so get something set up so people can find you.

Social Media Tools

Posting regularly is a pain, but if you disappear for weeks then people can forget about you.

Buffer and Hootsuite help you schedule posts ahead of time, with Later being great for Instagram scheduling. Whatever you use, be sure to plan things in advance so you’re not rushing to throw something together at the last second.

Online Booking

Stop the endless back and forth emails when it comes to booking in customers. Calendly is good as it lets clients pick a time that works, and it syncs with your calendar. Acuity Scheduling also takes payments and sends forms.

Team Communication

Even a small team can turn into a mess of emails, and lost messages. Slack is good for quick conversations, and Google Workspace keeps files and docs in one place so people can actually find them. Notion or ClickUp are solid for tracking projects.

Security

Small businesses unfortunately get hacked all the time. Fixing that mess is way harder than preventing it in the first place. Hackers know small businesses are easier targets because most don’t bother with proper security so dont become a statistic.  If you collect or store customer data, you need to protect it, encrypted cloud storage makes sure that sensitive information isn’t sitting around unprotected. If you’re paying employees, using secure payroll software can help keep things protected, plus it means things like payslip and other sensitive pieces of data are handled safely. Make sure that your software is updated as outdated programs have security holes and cybercriminals love exploiting them. It’s an easy thing to overlook, but it can save you a massive headache down the road. Even this day in age, phishing emails are still a thing so don’t click weird links. Just don’t.

Automation

Repetitive tasks suck up time. If you do the same thing over and over, there’s probably a tool that can handle it. Zapier connects apps so things happen automatically, for example a new email subscriber is added to your CRM. If someone books a session it creates an invoice. Integromat does similar things but with more customization. The less you have to do manually, the better so make sure automation software is on your list.