Top free resources that help run your small scale/home-based business
Updated: Apr 25, 2019
Want to grow your business without spending too much? We have a list of online tools and resources to help you become more productive, boost your social media and content marketing efforts to new heights and automate time-consuming tasks, so that you can direct all your attention and energy to more fruitful projects.
1. Free Website
The heart of small scale/home-based business is your website. Having a website allows you to showcase you products and services to the right audience. The below platforms allow you to create your website for free. Do as many design changes you want before you have that perfect looking website.
2. Free online productivity tools
If you want to track your productivity, here's a great list of online time management and productivity tools
Evernote – Notepad, Virtual to-do list
ClickBook offers free online appointment scheduling
Doodle – Scheduling application that will sync all of your calendars together
Google Calendar – Online calendar
RescueTime – Time tracker
Todoist – Task manager
3. Free marketing tools and platforms
Online marketing is a major investment for any brand, big or small, and that investment isn’t always in the form of dollars. There are dozens of free online marketing tools out there that aren’t worth the time it takes to test them.
Facebook – Free social media marketing platform
Hootsuite – Manage your social media marketing efforts in one place
Instagram – Free photo sharing media platform
LinkedIn – Professional social networking website
MailChimp – Free email marketing for up to 2,000 contacts
YouTube – Video marketing platform
Twitter – Free social media marketing platform
Craigslist – Free online advertising platform
Clearstream – Free SMS marketing (25 messages per month)
OneSignal – Send out unlimited push notifications for free
Canned Emails - ready-made email messages you can use
Mailgun - allows you to send free 10K emails every month
4. Free communication tools
If you are working in an office setup, you need not worry about the communication tools because those are already provided by your company but when you run your own business, you'll quickly learn that you need a whole host of tools. Luckily, there are lots of free and reliable options.
Google Hangouts – Video chat
Hot Recorder – Record calls for free
Skype – Free call, video chat, and instant message for Skye to Skype users
Mikogo – Desktop sharing tool, ideal for web conferencing, online meetings, or remote support
WebEx – Free video conferencing free for up to three people
Zoom – Video and web conferencing service (free up to 100 individuals)
4. Free graphic designing tools
As an entrepreneur, you take on many roles. Quite frequently that role is a graphic designer. But fortunately, you don't need any special training or course to create professional-looking images, presentations, and marketing materials. These tools are both free and easy to use.
Pixabay – Over 600,000 free images and videos
OpenShot – Free video editing software
FontSquirrel – Free fonts for commercial usage
COLOURlovers – Color ideas, palates, patterns, and trends
ResizeImage – Resize images without losing quality
Canva – Simple design platform and photo editor
Easely - allows you to create stunning visuals, such as infographics, resumes, or marketing presentations. You can share your works for free as well
Squarespace Free Logo - Free two-step logo generator from Squarespace with downloadable low and high resolution versions
Withoomph - free logo generator which shows you different versions of the logo
Meme Generator - create a meme instantly in just three easy steps. You don’t even need to upload a picture
Place It - more than 2,500 mock-ups and videos across all devices for free
TinyJPG - allows you to compress and optimize your JPEG and PNG images
5. Blogger's Favorites
If you run a blog, there are some specialized tools to make your blogging efforts easier.
Askimet Plugin – Stop spam comments on your blog with this free plugin
Capitalize My Title – Title case capitalization tool for blog posts and subject lines
CoSchedule – Free headline analyzer
Google Analytics – Free website traffic stats
Gravatar – Create a globally recognized avatar, helps brand your blog identity
Grammarly – Free editing software
Yoast – Free SEO optimization plugin for your blog
Flipboard - works similarly like Feedly. You can create your own compilation or magazine which other users can follow and share
Hubspot Blog Topic Generator - looking for the next idea for your blog topic? This tool is for you for free
Alexa Ranking - analyzes the ranking of any site by providing you analytical insights
Do you have a free resource or tool that you can't live without? Drop us a note below, we'd love to hear what you're using.