5 Tools Absolutely Essential to Start a Business

Canada is the land of dreams which offers a concoction of breathtaking natural wonders, vivacious cities, effervescent culture and a delicious food scene. From luscious river valleys to exotic terrains and must-visit tourist hotspots, it mesmerises onlookers with its expansive beauty and welcoming multicultural population. It is a highly developed economy which boasts of being the 14th in the world on the GDP index. The country is a treasure trove of natural resources and is the fourth largest exporter of natural gas and petroleum. Its growth indicators have been showing a positive sign over the past several years. In the last quarter of 2017, the real GDP of the country increased by 0.4% and investment in business grew by 2.3%. Also, the annual GDP took a leap of 3% in 2017 which was up from 1.4% in 2016. Its real GDP is estimated to grow by 2.1% in 2018 according to the International Monetary Fund. Moreover, its economic freedom score has touched the mark of 77.7 which makes it the ninth freest economy all over the globe in 2018. Thus this thriving economy is ideal for starting a business or purchasing a business for sale in Canada.

The idea of starting a business can come to anyone at any time. However, before jumping the bandwagon, the entrepreneurs need to equip themselves with knowledge, skills, resources and people who can make it a success. While some professionals launch a new venture risking their investment, others take the safer path and acquire an existing business or franchise to minimise the possibility of losing their money. The beginning of any business venture is clouded by the necessity of judicious expenditure and the race against time. Most entrepreneurs wish to gain return as soon as possible, and forget to invest in essential tools that can help in improving the bottom-line of the company. In today’s digital world, which is highly active and ever-evolving, acquiring certain tools becomes a pre-requisite for a business to progress. The Internet is a distraction that takes up a lot of your social and official time, but it is also a boon for professionals looking for tools for managing their work. In fact, the World Wide Web is also the best place to find an investment opportunity without having to run from pillar to post. If you are planning to purchase a franchise for sale in Canada, you just need to log onto the business listing websites like https://canada.business2sell.com/ and find your perfect match.

An entrepreneur running the operations of a new enterprise has to keep a tab on many things. From sending emails, framing the policies, and devising the strategies to networking with suppliers and stakeholders, there are a plethora of tasks which need to be handled on a daily basis. With the help of the right tools, these jobs can become a breeze and relieve a lot of pressure while saving time. Here is a list of the top five tools that are absolutely indispensable when you are kick-starting a business.

1. Website building platforms

The market has been revolutionised by the presence of the Internet which is further augmented by the Smartphone that is stylishly flaunted by people across the globe. Everyone has Internet in their pocket, and this is affecting the buying behaviour of the customers. From researching about the brand and product to comparing prices and features, the realm of shopping has changed altogether. If a company does not have an online presence, it loses its credibility, visibility, and is most likely becomes unacceptable to the target audience. Most of the times, entrepreneurs get the website built from a professional but are unable to make changes to it, or they get it done by an amateur who doesn’t optimise it for search engine rankings. Thus it does not show up in search results and proves to be a futile exercise. A cost-effective and time-saving way to do this is to use a website building software to create a search engine friendly and dynamic website. Tools like Wix, Weebly, Squarespace, and Jimdo are the top website builders that have a vast selection of design templates for each industry with easy drag and drop system. These tools create websites optimised for Smartphone and offer reliable hosting services.

2. Social media management tools

Similar to owning a website, a business needs to have a social media presence too. This is essential to create awareness for the brand, increase its visibility among the target audience, and engage with the customers directly. There are many social media sites including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. which are regularly used by a massive chunk of the population. These are great tools for networking and marketing without spending any money. Informing customers about products and company announcements is easy and effortless through this medium. Software like Buffer and Hootsuite enable marketers to schedule the posts for weeks in advance which helps in saving time.

3. Project management tool

In an organisation, thousands of emails are regularly exchanged. It eventually becomes difficult to track the emails with a specific subject line. Besides, multiples tasks are being carried out by various people, managing of all them can become a problem if the process is unsystematic and confusing. That is why start-ups need project management tools like Trello or Asana wherein you can add the entire team and create boards for different jobs, opinions, ideas, discussions, feedback etc. It is highly useful in organising all the activities, saving time, and integrating the employees.

4. Customer relationship management tool

As soon as the business starts attracting customers, it is imperative to maintain a database of their details. The company should have the contact details and know what the client was interested in and how he can be satisfied. The information from every business card should be fed into a system that becomes a repository of the client list. It is useful for building a relationship with the potential buyers and converting them into loyal customers. Some of the popular tools for CRM are Zoho, Salesforce, Hubspot, Freshsales etc.

5. Invoicing tools

Securing payments from the clients and managing their details can be a cumbersome process. Invoicing software makes this accountancy job easier by automating invoices for suppliers and incorporating payment systems such as Paypal into them. The whole job can be completed in a few clicks. This tool also allows you to receive invoices from others and create income statements that are easy to comprehend. The popular examples of such tools are QuickBooks and FreshBooks.

End Note

Equipped with these tools, an entrepreneur can effortlessly foray into the marketplace and carve a position for itself. In addition to these tools, there are various other technologies which can help the business to prosper and function in an organised manner. Some of these would be Google Docs where multiple people can work on a file, Google Analytics to gauge the website traffic and behaviour of the visitors, Dropbox for storage and backup of valuable data and files, MailChimp for email marketing, WordPress for blogging etc. All of these are cheaper and can be integrated into your system easily. However, before adopting any technology, you should make sure that it will be useful for your business and help in acquiring more customers. So whether it is a start-up or a business for sale in Canada, you must get hold of these tools to make sure that you start on the right note. Canada is the land of dreams which offers a concoction of breathtaking natural wonders, vivacious cities, effervescent culture and a delicious food scene. From luscious river valleys to exotic terrains and must-visit tourist hotspots, it mesmerises onlookers with its expansive beauty and welcoming multicultural population. It is a highly developed economy which boasts of being the 14th in the world on the GDP index. The country is a treasure trove of natural resources and is the fourth largest exporter of natural gas and petroleum. Its growth indicators have been showing a positive sign over the past several years. In the last quarter of 2017, the real GDP of the country increased by 0.4% and investment in business grew by 2.3%. Also, the annual GDP took a leap of 3% in 2017 which was up from 1.4% in 2016. Its real GDP is estimated to grow by 2.1% in 2018 according to the International Monetary Fund. Moreover, its economic freedom score has touched the mark of 77.7 which makes it the ninth freest economy all over the globe in 2018. Thus this thriving economy is ideal for starting a business or purchasing a business for sale in Canada.