Must have Apps for your startup

Business can be daunting especially when you are clueless as to how to run your start up effectively. There are applications designed to help you breathe easy.

I have listed basic applications that have simplified a lot of my processes.

1. Trello – This tool is becoming a favourite. It is useful in breaking down gigantic projects into bit size actionable tasks in a fun and flexible way. It allows you use cards (like when you have stick on notes around your computer and on the fridge) but this is online, you can carry it with you everywhere.

You have access to calendars, set up a checklist with due dates, add comments, upload files attachments, you can connect your Trello to slack, Evernote and Google drive, this is unbelievable right! Also, you can invite as many people as you want on your board. You literally have your project team on ‘board’ using Trello. Trello is FREE!

2. G-suite – My mobile office, if you don’t have a Gmail, please open one NOW and get access to all the amazing apps and freebies available in this ‘turbo’ productivity tool. Your sheets, slides and documents are all safe in a magnificent store house without fear of losing anything.

3. Grammarly – I speak and type real fast, this is recipe for a lot of typos. This tool helps me catch all my ‘ibon’ (grammatical errors) that I would ordinarily have missed. Install it and thank me later.

4. Slack – I have used this app and it’s real cool, when you have a number of teams on a project with different deliverables, this tool is very fantastic for coordinating and being on top of information, also useful for keeping in touch with team members at every stage of a project.

5. Wave – The soul of any business is cashflow whether it’s coming in or going out. As long as it’s flowing you need to keep track of your income and expense. For proper book keeping; invoicing, sending receipts and keeping tabs on your tax, Wave is a necessary tool. You can use the paid or free version. Want to set up a wave accounting system, I am your girl!

6. Canva – Not everyone can afford a graphics person (we all have a level of creativity in us) to handle your social media graphics, design a flyer or design a landing page for your business. Canva makes graphics design simple and its easy to use you can begin with the Canva Tutorial for beginners.

7. Mailchimp – Email marketing is a part of digital marketing not fully utilized by startups and smes. Building your email list can be a herculean task but its possible to get your niche contacts without buying. I tell clients to always leverage on your contacts when starting. Mailchimp makes email marketing a fun task. I enjoy doing this.

8. Loystar – My interaction with loystar is relatively new but so far it makes a whole lot of sense. Customer loyalty programs is a big customer retention strategy to set up one you can google Loystar and see repeat business becoming your new norm

There are many other basic applications for startups and SMEs, for me these are the Startup/SME 101 tool kit for any business owner.

If I missed any of your favourites please leave a comment below and thank you for reading

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