Brilliant New Productivity Tools for Small Business Owners 2020
As a business, it’s now much easier to manage certain tasks thanks to the introductions we’ve seen in technology. Sadly, most of the so-called guides we read discuss the likes of Dropbox and Slack. Let’s not forget, these have been around for a number of years and we doubt there are many business owners oblivious to these types of platforms.
With this in mind, we wanted to create a guide that really did discuss the ‘new’ productivity tools on the market. Furthermore, we’ve broken them down into three categories;
• Time Management
• Managing Projects
• Growing the Business
Without further ado, let’s take a look at these fantastic new tools!
Time Management
As a small business owner, managing your time is pivotal. Often, businesses fail because owners aren’t spending their time wisely and important tasks are left unfinished, clients are let down, and even employees have too much on their shoulders. Therefore, we have four brilliant time management tools below!
Zenkit — Firstly, Zenkit has been growing in popularity recently and for good reason; mainly, because it’s easy to select a workflow process view that suits the needs of your business. For example, the ‘kanban’ view will be perfect for project managing while the ‘mindmap’ view is designed for brainstorming; the other two views available are called ‘calendar’ and ‘to-do list’.
All things considered, we prefer the personal planning nature of the tool as opposed to starting with an overall project view. Of course, Zenkit does have some collaboration features for the teams reading this guide but its strength lies elsewhere. While on this note, it tends to run on all platforms efficiently, the interface is impressive, and it’s easy to use for even beginners to this type of tool.
The Forest App — Based around the Pomodoro Technique, the idea behind the Forest App is that we need focus periods and then time to rest the mind. By managing your time effectively, you’ll be productive during the focus period before then resting.
How does the Forest App help you utilize your time better? Well, it’s essentially a game that grows trees all the time you aren’t using your phone. Since phones can be deadly for those who procrastinate, this becomes a motivator and should prevent you from checking Facebook every five minutes.
But, it’s not just a game because they actually support Trees for the Future Foundation. Although the initial app is free, you can spend around $5 to purchase the full version and access more features.
Chaos Control — Alternatively, Chaos Control takes a different approach and says that setting goals is the way to go. By choosing a goal and then working hard to achieve this goal, this is the best way to make use of time and this is important for small business owners.
Thanks to this concept, the design, features, and overall nature of the app all lean towards setting goals. However, it doesn’t end there because it also helps to break the goals down into smaller tasks before then following up. Suddenly, you’re able to order tasks and have some accountability when these tasks aren’t completed.
Working across a number of digital platforms, you’ll be able to get started with a 14-day trial. In terms of price, this will depend on your location but the premium features generally cost around $10.
Simplenote — Have you ever downloaded a notebook app and been utterly impressed by how simple everything is to work? After using it every day and even coming to rely on it, the developers mess around with the features and it becomes a nightmare to use. Well, we have too and it gets frustrating because we have to go searching for a replacement and transfer all our important notes over.
If you’ve ever been in the same boat, perhaps you are right now, we recommend Simplenote. Made by the same people as WordPress, Simplenote is incredibly simple to use (just as the name suggests!). Once you’ve created a note, it stays where you need it and can even be accessed across various devices.
While this does fill the need of a simple note-taking platform, some users may find its simplicity frustrating so we should warn you. If you need something more complex, Simplenote isn’t for you; some users also find the design lacking compared to other solutions available.
Managing Projects
Now you’re able to manage your time more efficiently, what about managing projects? Let’s take a look at some new platforms and apps!
Discord — For any gamers among us, you’ll probably recognize Discord as a gaming communication tool and it tends to be called a Skype/Slack hybrid. This being said, we believe it should be considered by small business owners as well as the gaming community because it offers both text and voice tools. For businesses with remote workers, the voice feature (something Slack doesn’t do too well) is a great addition. While Slack lacks in voice communication, Skype lacks in text-based communication — this makes Discord the best of both worlds.
If you need to save some money, Discord is absolutely free because they make money through ads. While saving $8 per team member, you’ll enjoy the simple interface and setting up groups is also much easier than both Skype and Slack.
Monday — We don’t know about you, but we prefer platforms that look like they’ve been designed by a designer and not an engineer. As a new task management platform, all users should find Monday simple enough to use, it works on all platforms, and is flexible too.
As well as being easy to use, we also love the visual display of all the necessary information. However, just as we saw with Simplenote in the previous section, some will find the simplicity a problem because there’s a limit on the customization of workflows. For those who need something more expansive, perhaps another of these platforms would be better.
Parabola — If you’re looking for a platform to automate your marketing data, Parabola could be the one for you. After building your own workflows, the whole process can be automated easily while also scheduling according to your own routine. What’s more, the whole process can be sorted with a drag-and-drop interface so even inexperienced computer users should get along with the platform. Also, we should mention the lack of spreadsheets and codes required.
In many ways, there are similarities between Parabola and the way a Zap works from Zapier. On the other hand, Parabola concentrates more on cumbersome data processes.
Intercom — Rather than a conventional CRM tool, like Freshchat or Zendesk, Intercom is unique and there’s a particular focus on fulfilling the varying needs of different roles within a business. For small businesses with few resources, bots can take charge of customer communication and this is a great way to save money. However, it’s important to note that their pricing model makes the platform quite expensive once volume increases (it may be worth switching as the business grows). Still, Intercom can be a brilliant short-term partner.
Growing the Business
Finally, it’s the dream of every business to grow within their niche and live comfortably (rather than worrying about bills and where customers come from each month). Therefore, we’re going to finish this guide with four tools that’ll help you grow in the coming weeks, months, and years.
Canecto — Designed to help you boost conversion, Canecto utilizes two of the hottest technologies around; machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI). After assessing your website and the behavior of all who visit, you’ll be provided with an analytics PDF report.
If you want to find out how to make your website more effective and generate more conversions, Canecto is a brilliant tool and one that saves you significant amounts of time. Rather than doing everything manually yourself, the platform will work automatically.
As well as stating the data, the report will provide actionable recommendations in marketing, user journey, content, user experience, and various other areas of the website. Furthermore, it shows how each suggestion will help and what it can achieve.
In years gone by, this would be an arduous task but both time and money can now be saved thanks to Canecto!
Boostnote — As a note-taking platform, you might be wondering why we didn’t include Boostnote in the ‘Time Management’ section. However, this platform is slightly different in that it can be installed onto a computer (which means no internet connection is required to run it). Compared to other note-taking platforms, Boostnote excels because it allows notes to be taken in the same format you code. Therefore, notes can be converted to code much easier later in the process.
Additionally, the layout of the platform makes it easier to remain organized (even the untidiest of people will find it easy!). Whether you have Windows, Mac, or Linux, Boostnote will work for you.
Workspace by Facebook — Not content with one of the biggest social media platforms in the world, Facebook decided to develop an ‘enterprise’ platform called Workspace. Just like Slack, Workspace will allow colleagues to communicate and collaborate with both text and video options. What’s more, it even has an Android and iOS app for those glued to their smartphones.
One benefit of choosing Workspace is that it has the same feel as Facebook itself, and this allows us to feel comfortable (we don’t have to learn a new platform). However, you don’t have to combine your personal and professional lives (or accounts) at the same time.
The only question you need to ask before using Workspace is whether or not you want to trust the creators of Facebook with important business knowledge; will they use this information to benefit their own company?
Canva — Finally, creating ads and content can take time so Canva offers pre-designed templates for a whole manner of uses whether it’s poster design, Facebook posts, AdWords banners, or any other aspect of your content marketing campaign. Whether offline or online, Canva makes it easier to produce professional material regardless of your industry; you no longer have to pay excessive fees to professional designers for a simple design.
If you’re constantly creating designs for your business, this tool will allow you to save and upload photos and creations for future use. Although free initially, a small fee will allow you to order prints of your designs; we think this is a great option to have.
Conclusion
For small businesses, these are 12 brilliant productivity tools that could prove to be valuable in your journey to success. By combining your favorites, your business becomes more efficient and the time of your employees is utilized more effectively. In the year ahead, we wish you good luck and recommend testing one (or more!) of these fantastic platforms!
