As a home business owner, you need access to the best digital tools and resources. From marketing and accounting to all other facets of your business can all be run more efficiently with the right Digital resources for the home business. Here are ten essential digital resources every home business owner needs to consider.
1 – A dependable internet connection
If you want to run a successful home business, having a dependable internet connection is essential. It’s hard to imagine any business these days without access to the internet. But it’s not enough to have access – it needs to be reliable and fast.
Speed, dependability, and availability should be at the top of your list when considering what type of internet connection you will use. Provider selection will also play into this decision-making process. If you want a fuller understanding of the subject, please read my blog post “What To Look For In A Reliable Internet Connection.”
2 – A computer
A computer is not only a vital piece of office equipment but also a crucial digital resource that a home office can’t live without. But which type of computer will be the most useful for your company? I address that in my blog, “Finding the Right Computer for Your Home Business.” I’ll walk you through a series of questions to help you determine what aspects of your office and job should influence your decision on the best computer alternatives.
3 – A printer
A printer is an essential partner to your home business computer, even though there are several ways of sharing documents from your computer over the internet. Choosing the right printer for your business can be difficult with all the different options on the market, but my blog, “How to Choose The Right Printer For Your Home Business,” will give tips that can ease the decision-making process.
4 – A scanner
A scanner is another important consideration as you equip your home office. You’ll need to scan documents and photos more often than you might think. A scanner can also replace a fax or copy machine, so choosing wisely is essential. Read my blog “Finding The Best Scanner For Your Home Office” for help choosing the right one for your needs.
5 – A secure online backup solution
In the days of paper files, preserving crucial documents was a huge problem since any fire, or catastrophic event could result in loss. Back then, finding a storage solution was difficult and often impossible. Even though we have digital media now, which makes document storage simpler, the threat of losing them is just as significant, if not more. Nowadays, however, every business can easily find an affordable backup solution.
Home businesses run by solopreneurs need tools to manage tasks usually given to employees. Invoicing is one of those tasks, and it’s something you can’t ignore if you want your business to stay financially afloat. An invoicing app will save you time and help you keep track of your outstanding invoices. This includes:
Easily send invoices from your phone or computer
Automate the process and make sure you’re paid promptly
Track payments so you can see at a glance who owes you money and when the payments are due
Email marketing can be a great asset to your other marketing strategies for your small business. Developing customer relationships is key to success, and email allows you to do that at a fraction of the cost of many approaches. Check out my blog, “5 Free Email Marketing Tools to Help You Grow Your Business,” for more information about some excellent email marketing apps.
8 – A social media management tool
Being up-to-date on all your media channels and other marketing methods can be an intimidating task for solopreneurs. Yet, staying connected with your community is essential. That’s where social media management apps come into play.
In my blog, “5 Social Media Manager Apps for Small Businesses,” I have compiled a list of five social media management applications that you may count on to keep you engaged and linked with your community.
9 – A customer relationship management (CRM) System
A CRM system is an excellent way to organize your customers and their contact information in one accessible place. This allows you to follow up with customers, send marketing materials, or easily plan sales automation because you can see the big picture of all customer relationships. Automated emails are also a fantastic perk that many people overlook – based on specific actions taken (or not taken). Contacts receive automated email responses without any additional effort from you!
Being a solopreneur is challenging enough without constantly worrying about all the projects and tasks you have overloaded in your mind with no solution in sight. Luckily, there are ways to get organized and apply solutions so that you don’t feel overwhelmed all the time. A good project management app can help deliver you from being stressed and overloaded without a handle on your job.
In my blog, “2 Great Project Management Apps for Struggling Solopreneurs,” I will highlight how important it is to have project management tools in your arsenal. I will also offer tips on getting the most out of these apps. Lastly, I will recommend two solid options for you to consider.
Conclusion
Running a home business might be challenging but feasible with the proper tools and resources. We’ve compiled a list of some of the most important digital tools and resources for home business owners. Then we’ve linked you to articles going into more detail about each resource. You’ll be well on your way to establishing a successful home business if you use these technologies.
If you know of any other great resources, please share them in the comments below or email me at wayne@digitalchowder.com.
Project and task management software can help you keep track of all your tasks and projects to stay organized and focused. Here are 2 Great Project Management Apps for Struggling Solopreneurs.
But these are only tools that are no better than how you use them. Alongside these tools is the need for self-management. And only you can make this work, especially for the Solopreneur. No supervisor or team member holds you accountable for the tasks and projects required to succeed. You are the boss!
In this article, I want to highlight the importance of including project management tools in your tool belt and offer practical personal tips to help you use them best. No matter how good the tool is, it is only as good as the user.
Quit Getting Overwhelmed
Have you ever awakened in the night and couldn’t get back to sleep because of an idea or undone task that took over your thoughts? As you may have found, a simple solution can be to make a note of that idea or task. Once the note is made, your mind is released from the thought, and you can get back to sleep. A daytime version of this is when we become overwhelmed or stressed from feeling there is more to do than we can accomplish.
The problem is that all the undone tasks and big projects are rolling around in our minds with no way to get a handle on them. There is no plan or organization—just loose thoughts running rampant through our heads. The same simple solution that helped you get back to sleep can also reduce stress and keep the overwhelmed feelings at bay. Organize those thoughts and make notes of a plan. With a written plan, you can get the ideas out of your head and tackle the tasks and projects one chunk at a time without being overwhelmed and stressed. The trick is to have a written plan. Until you do, your mind is not released. It is full of random thoughts.
But making a written plan for your tasks and projects is not the first step. It is the second step. The first step is to create a plan to plan.
The tyranny of the urgent: Are you familiar with the phrase “the tyranny of the urgent”? It refers to being tyrannized by urgent tasks that may not be all that important. But they are urgent, so we set aside everything else to do them. While it is true that we do not have control over some of these pressing matters, we can control many. How? By having a plan for our tasks and projects. Often what has become urgent is a task that we kept pushing back until there was hardly enough time to get it done. At that point, it has become critical.
The more we allow tasks and projects to go undone, the more urgency we will have. And the more we will be overwhelmed and stressed. Stop allowing less important tasks and projects to become urgent and take you hostage! When this happens, what is the first task to go undone? Planning!
Set Aside 60 Minutes
So, set aside 60 minutes, get away from interruptions, and make a plan. If you truly devote the 60 minutes to planning and remove all interruptions, I guarantee you will emerge from this time feeling like you had a mini-vacation.
So, how are you going to use these 60 minutes? What plans are you going to make? Here are some suggestions:
Plan when & how you will plan. For your first 60-minutes session, you may need to spend more time on this than in subsequent sessions. When will you have another of these sessions? How frequently will you have them? Get some dates on the calendar. If you don’t, this may be your last session.
Identify the three most important tasks/projects you face over the next three months. Determine the time frame in which each needs to be accomplished. Then go backward from those dates and schedule when you will lay out a plan for each task/project.
Start planning for the top priority task/project on your list. As time allows in this session, start planning for the first item on your priority list.
Each of these 60-minute sessions will vary, but I strongly encourage you not to exit a session without a date on your calendar for your next session. I suggest one of these 60-minute planning retreats at least quarterly. You may find it necessary to do so more frequently. Then, revisit your plans weekly. Each week, whether on Friday for the next week or on Monday for the current week, review your project and note what needs to be accomplished during the week ahead. If necessary, make adjustments to the plan and your schedule for that week to do what is most important. Not just what is most urgent.
What Is The Difference Between Projects and Tasks?
I have mentioned both projects and tasks. Is there a difference, or are the terms interchangeable? This is an important question. As you explore the subject online, you will find that the words are often used interchangeably. But this is not truly the case, nor do I use the terms interchangeably. A project is a big event or a significant element of making your business successful. Projects refer to all involved in carrying out that event or essential business element. On the other hand, tasks are the individual items that must be accomplished to complete the project. For instance, a project might be to have a booth for my company at a trade fair. That project involves many actions: register the booth with the fair administrators, decide what the booth will comprise, construct the booth, enlist people to man the booth throughout the fair, etc. Each action is a task, but the project is to have the booth for the fair.
Do I need both a project management app and a task management app?
This is another excellent question. A good project management app will include task management. Without task management, a project will never get off the ground. But will this cover all my needs in operating my business? My answer to this question is ‘No.’ Many will disagree with me, but our differences are less about what is accurate or best and more about how we prefer to work. From my perspective, a project management app is about managing projects but not managing all aspects of my business or my daily activities. I may have 2-3 projects at a given time, but I have many tasks to deal with during each day unrelated to any of these projects. I prefer a separate task manager into which I fold jobs both related and unrelated to my projects.
So, having determined that we need to have a regular time to plan and that it could be helpful to have both a project management app and a task management app., let’s move on. We will proceed to discuss possible solutions for both of these needs. First, we will address a project management app.
Click Up Project Management App
As an example of project management tools, I will use ClickUp. In the interest of full disclosure, as an affiliate marketer, I may receive credit should you sign up for the app.
So out of all the choices out there, why have I chosen ClickUp? First, I should explain that in recommending this app to you, I have shopped the project management market, chosen this app, registered an account, and used it as my tool. So let me explain why I chose it.
It is well suited for the solopreneur. Many of the apps I explored assumed larger businesses with multiple teams. I found them difficult to fit my planning process and implementation. Frankly, I found many to be confusing.
It has a logical, structured approach. This is a feature that makes the app easy to understand and use.
It has all the tools I need in one place. While I choose to go elsewhere for a task manager, I don’t have to. ClickUp has it and sends a daily email listing incomplete tasks.
It has all the features I need free forever. Since this article is aimed primarily at solopreneurs, it is good to point out that the free forever plan allows an unlimited number of members or team members.
Here is a list of features that come with the free forever plan:
100MB Storage
Unlimited Tasks
Unlimited Free Plan Members
Two-Factor Authentication
Collaborative Docs
Whiteboards
Real-Time Chat
Email in ClickUp
Kanban Boards
Sprint Management
Native Time Tracking
In-App Video Recording
ClickUp Overview
Now let’s give an idea of how project management might work and, in the process, provide an overview of ClickUp. Of course, managing a project using a different app will have some differences, but the basics will be the same.
ClickUp hierarchies: ClickUp is built as a series of hierarchies. The first tier 0f this hierarchy is the workspace. A workspace represents your business or company and so will contain everything related to the company. Within your company or workspace are spaces. These are your projects. You can have an unlimited number of spaces (projects) in your workspace (company). Within a space (project), lists are created. Each list contains any number of tasks related to certain aspects of the project. So, for each project, you end up with several lists necessary to accomplish that project, with several related tasks in each list.
Building a project: When preparing for a project, I start by creating a space within my company workspace. Let’s say I plan to have a booth at a trade fair.
The first stage will be to plan the project working within the space I created for the project. Within the project space, several tools help with planning and monitoring the project’s progress. Here are some of the tools:
Board on which I can view all lists and tasks on one screen.Calendar to reference the overall time frame and when tasks need to be completed.
Gantt chart to display a timeline of starting & stopping dates for assignments.
Box, which gives an overview of all pieces of the project.
Mind Map to visualize your Workspace Hierarchy or create your own free-form Mind Map for planning and organizing projects and ideas. As ideas are added, they are each mapped to other elements of the project, allowing a visual of how the project ties together.
Workload allows you to see your team’s capacity if you are working with a team. You can see who is over or under-assigned and reassign tasks accordingly.
Whiteboard: Collaborate, brainstorm ideas, solve problems and get work done quickly.
For this first stage, I will start with the whiteboard to brainstorm ideas for the project. With several ideas, I will outline a plan. Then I will move on to the second stage of the process.
Second Stage: In the first stage, I brainstormed to form the nature of my project and outlined how it would operate and what it would accomplish. In stage two, I want to bring the project to life. This is where I break down each piece of the project into actions. First, I break it down into sections. For my fair booth, the sections could be:
Determine the message & graphics
Identify vendors & contractors to provide materials and labor
Design & construct the booth
Move the booth onsite & set it up,
Make accommodations for the booth operators
Etc.
Around each of these sections, I will create a list and the tasks necessary to accomplish that section within each list. I will also assign these tasks to a timeline for when each should be started and completed.
Third Stage: The third stage is the implementation of the project. As a solopreneur, this is all on me. If I have been realistic in the second stage, I have not assumed more responsibility for myself than is reasonable. Without a team, I will have to contract out what I can, leaving my role primarily to that of project manager. That in itself will be plenty. So as project manager, I will set aside time daily to monitor the project pieces using the tools made available by ClickUp. What tasks have been checked off? What tasks are currently underway, and what is their progress? Will upcoming tasks be able to start on time? If not, what is needed to get them going? These are some of the questions I need to raise daily to keep the project on track.
This project is just one example of using a project management app and of the ClickUp project manager. There are many other project management apps out there. If ClickUp is not for you, find one that fits how you work and the nature of your company.
ClickUp User Plans:
Free Forever: This plan is said to be for personal use, but solopreneurs should be well-served using this plan. While there are a few differences between this and the paid plans, the allowed storage space is a big difference.
Unlimited: ($5 per member / mon) This is said to be best for small teams.
Business ($12 per member /mon) Best for mid-sized teams
Business Plus ($19 per member /mon) Best for multiple teams
The word to notice in these plans is the word ‘teams.’ If you are a solopreneur, there are no teams, again emphasizing the sufficiency of the Free Forever plan.
Next, we will consider a task management app.
Todoist Task Management App
Todoist promotes itself as “The world’s #1 task manager and to-do list app.” And PC Mag contributes to that image with the pronouncement, “Todoist is the number one to-do list app.” The app’s excellence in managing tasks led me to choose it for personal and business use. While emphasizing its excellence at managing tasks, its business plan is geared for teams and has project management features. If you find a project management app such as ClickUp to be overkill for what you need to do, Todoist Business might be what you need. It will provide shared lists for teams allowing collaboration on projects which may be the primary feature you are looking for. At $6 per user per month, it is affordable for a small business.
Todoist User Plans:
Free: For starters
Pro: ($4 /mon) For power users
Business: ($6 per user /mon) For teams
So why would I choose ClickUp for project management instead of Todoist? The same features Todoist lacks in project management are the main features I want. That is project envisioning and planning. If tracking all the tasks related to a project is all I’m looking for, Todoist does an excellent job and would be my choice. But I want more. And I can get it for free from ClickUp.
At this point, I may have you confused about why I even use Todoist. I have used Todoist for years and have been pleased with its functionality. But more recently, I began to feel the need to better plan and stay on top of my projects. I started looking for a project management app and selected ClickUp. But unless I also use Todoist, I find a gap in keeping up with my tasks. Though ClickUp does a great job of keeping me on top of my project-related tasks, I have many other non-project-related tasks. I still need to stay on top of these. So I find it works well for me to blend the two. As I review my project tasks for the week in ClickUp, I include those I need to do each day in Todoist alongside other non-project tasks. Then I have them all together and can prioritize the whole list each day.
How do you choose?
As you weigh the pros and cons of these two apps, ask yourself the questions: do I need both or just one, and if one, which one? As you consider these questions, here are a couple more questions to help. Am I in more need of managing projects or tasks? If you find that you need project management more, you might consider whether using a task manager would also be beneficial.
Regularly review Your Projects and Tasks
If you haven’t already guessed, I am inclined toward being organized. I don’t like being tyrannized by a constant urgency of tasks. That doesn’t mean I enjoy planning. I don’t. But I enjoy it more than I enjoy being stressed.
If you are a solopreneur, as I am, you don’t have a team around you to cover the areas in which you are not strong. So if planning is not your forte, you will likely have to step up and do something you don’t enjoy or feel capable of doing. For this reason, I have offered some of my practices in planning in hopes of being helpful. But even if you find my methods unhelpful, I believe you will find help with a Project Management App to give you direction and structure for your planning.
To that end, I invite you to check out one or both of these apps. Here are links you can use for that purpose:
Having the right digital resources for the home business can be critical. That is why we have compiled a list of 10 digital resources you need to know about.
Do you find yourself overwhelmed regularly with the many tasks you are juggling? Do you have trouble keeping track of tasks and projects? Here are 2 Great Project Management Apps for Struggling Solopreneurs
You Can Easily Manage All Customer Relationships from One Place.
With HubSpot CRM, you can easily manage all your customer relationships from one place. This means you can keep up with what’s going on with each contact, whether it’s a lead, a prospect, or a current client. You can even send automated emails to your contacts based on their actions within the system.
Do You Have A CRM System?
Is a CRM System (Customer Relations Management) a component of your small business? If not, should it be? If it is, how is it contributing to the growth of your business? I would love to hear how CRM is benefiting your business. Please use the comment box below to share. Or, you can contribute through our contact form. I acknowledge that there may be businesses that will not benefit from CRM significant enough to be worth the setup time and learning curve. But I also contend that in many instances, an assumption that CRM will not benefit may be unfounded.
Should You Have A CRM System?
To explore the benefit of a CRM app, Let’s use my business as an example. I am an affiliate marketer. SEO is a big deal to me and my business. I’m continually looking for ways to improve it to bring more traffic to my site. Given my efforts to improve SEO and my obsession with analytics, putting all my eggs in that basket is tempting. If I can grow my traffic to enough visitors, I will attain the financial return I’m after, so it would seem. If this is my entire strategy, I’m playing a numbers game. I’m betting that a certain percentage of those who come to my content will make a purchase. The more I increase the traffic; the higher my income will be. While this can be true, I’m overlooking many contributing factors that could increase the percentage of my return, better known as ROI.
I’m overlooking an important factor in why people come to my site. I need them to click on an affiliate link and make a purchase. But is that why they came to my site? No. It is unlikely that anyone will come to my website to buy something.
In most cases, they came for information. It is possible that while they are reading, they will see an ad for a product they were considering purchasing or that has an incredible price. So on impulse, they click on the link to check out the product and may make a purchase. That scenario has considerably decreased the percentage of a visitor making a purchase. So if I relied on a broad statistic that says that a certain percentage of those who visit a site make a purchase, I might discover that the percentage is much lower for my scenario.
(We independently select these products — if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.)
What If I Could Change the Scenario?
So what if I could change that scenario? What if, for instance, I began to acquire an email list of those who read my blogs? And then, I used a CRM system to store and manage that list. And what if I keep track of the habits and behaviors of those on the list? Blogs they read and activity on the website? Now I have a means of building relationships with people who know what I offer. They are no longer strangers who happened by my website but followers or at least repeat users of my services. For these people, the scenario has changed. When they come to my website now, they are already open to taking advantage of what I offer. I have increased the ROI for those on my list. And the more I can grow that list, the greater my return will be.
Let me give a personal example of how this might work. A few months ago, I came across a reference to a blog written by Lisa Sicard, posted on her website, inspiretothrive.com. After reading her blog and exploring her website, I decided I was interested in her ideas and services and wanted her as a resource. So I subscribed to her email list. Now I receive her weekly newsletter with references to her blogs and other resources. When she recommends a product or an action that might help, I check it out because I consider her a competent resource. By signing up for her email list, I transitioned from a visitor to a follower, and when I read her blogs or go to her website, I am already receptive to what she might recommend.
Convinced that I need to pursue growing an email list, I will need help. I need a CRM system to help manage this effort.
HubSpot CRM
As a user of HubSpot CRM, I want to walk you through some of its features to acquaint you with ways the CRM can benefit your business. From the list of CRM systems below, you will notice that PCMag editors Gadjo Sevilla & Neil McAllister, in their article, “The Best CRM Software for 2022,” rated HubSpot as the “Best for Easy to Use CRM for SMBs.” They also gave it a 3.5 Good rating, which is not the highest rating provided for CRM choices for small businesses. So HubSpot may not be your pick. My purpose is to reveal some features, pointing out how they might benefit your business.
First, one of the reasons I chose HubSpot was the free features with no time limit on the free access. There are a few limitations on some of these free features, such as having HubSpot branding or no form or email automation. The free account allows 1,000 contacts and 2,000 emails per month. The startup business has the free tools it needs to grow and can phase into additional features as it is ready for them and more capable of paying.
As I move on to highlight some of the features in HubSpot, I want to emphasize that this is not a review of HubSpot. I do not intend to cover all segments of its features. This blog only introduces CRM software and how it can benefit your business. I will use HubSpot and its marketing features to outline a CRM marketing plan using an email list.
Introduction To A CRM System
Once I have set up my HubSpot free account, I have the choice of registering for tools in five different categories: Marketing, Sales, Service, Operations, and CMS. All are free. While I could sign up for tools in more than one of these hubs, I have only chosen Marketing.
I begin by importing a pre-existing contact list to get started with my marketing tools. I also have the option of manually creating new contacts. The importing process is simple. I exported a contact list I already had with another email service to a CSV file. I then imported the file into my HubSpot account. The free HubSpot account will allow me to store up to 1 million contacts in as many as five active lists and 1,000 static lists. The limit on emails sent each month is 2,000.
With contacts stored in my account, I will also connect my website to HubSpot through the HubSpot WordPress plugin. Through this connection, I can track the contacts’ activity on my website by email, phone calls, and chat. The HubSpot plugin connection allows me to establish a chat feature on my website for interaction with website visitors. From my dashboard, I can turn the chat feature on or off depending on my availability to respond. With these tools engaged and the ability to track user activity, I can begin to interact with my contacts based on their interests. In other words, I can build relationships with them. Once I start sending targeted emails and newsletters, I will have additional information to help develop those relationships.
Capturing New Leads
Now that I have access to a free marketing account and a list of contacts added to it, I am ready to begin adding new leads to my CRM. I will use the following tools to achieve that goal:
Landing Page Builder – I can create a landing page for a new promotion. For greater integration, I will use the HubSpot service to host it for free rather than including it along with my website. I could design a complete website with the CMS tools on HubSpot if I choose. I already have a website, so I will use only the landing page tools to channel results from my new promotion.
Forms – This tool will add a form to my landing page to capture new leads.
Ads – Using the ad tools, I can integrate with Facebook ads, creating and tracking an advertisement for my new promotion. Ad campaign activity will go into the contact records.
Marketing Email – Now, I am ready to send a marketing email or newsletter to target the various interests of both my new and existing leads. Tools for this are in my free marketing account.
Why Not Use Only An Email Marketing Service?
You may wonder why you need a CRM system if you already use an email marketing service such as MailChimp or Constant Contact. One of the strengths of HubSpot and other CRM systems are their integrations. HubSpot, for example, has integration with MailChimp, enabling you to continue using your account there while importing the activity of your email blasts to your CRM in HubSpot. When I am ready to send a marketing email or newsletter, if I choose, I can integrate with MailChimp or another service to send the newsletter. My CRM system will receive the contact activity from that mailing to provide insights on my contacts. This information will help me segment my contacts and inform me of their needs and interests.
It is not necessary, though, to use MailChimp because HubSpot has all that is necessary for the task of mailing. Whether using an integration or working within HubSpot, your move to a CRM system will transition you from merely using analytics to having a comprehensive view of your contacts.
Video Overview
For another perspective on using a CRM system for marketing, this video will give an overview of inbound marketing at HubSpot.
Taking The Plunge
Whether you’re ready to dip your toe in the CRM pool or take the plunge, here are some resources to help.
HubSpot
HubSpot is my choice and the system I have used to demonstrate the advantages of using a CRM system. If you want to check it out further, here is a link you can use for that purpose – HubSpot. The extensive array of free resources will help you get up and running before having any financial outlay. To be clear, as an affiliate, I may benefit if you choose HubSpot.
Choosing A CRM System
There are many options when choosing a CRM system. HubSpot is not the only option and may not be your best choice. As you browse through the list below, a good starting point is to match a system to the size and needs of your business. You will find systems designed for larger and smaller companies, along with other options.
This list is available from PCMag editors Gadjo Sevilla & Neil McAllister, in their article, “The Best CRM Software for 2022,” which reviewed 13 of the best CRM software. Here is their summary:
Zoho CRM 4.5 Outstanding | Best for Zoho Platform Customers
HubSpot CRM 3.5 Good | Best for Easy to Use CRM for SMBs
HubSpot CRM is a good choice for small businesses that want an easy-to-use system with many free features. But there are many CRM systems available, and the best one for your business will depend on the size of your company and your specific needs. Use the resources above to help choose the best CRM system for your business.
If you are already using a CRM, you might want to make a recommendation describing the benefits of your system that you like best. Please do so in the comments box below or through our contact form.
