Apps and software solutions for entrepreneurs
There are many elements of entrepreneurship that I didn’t anticipate, but one that I REALLY didn’t see coming was quite how many applications I’d use in my business.
Deciding what to use and WHEN to start using it is wholly a personal decision. There’s no “right” or wrong way to start using tools, but I’d suggest you take an approach that is solutions-oriented and budget mindful. Take advantage of the many available free trials out there to see what’s a right fit for you.
Let’s get into it!
Questions you need to ask yourself as an entrepreneur
What’s the problem I’m trying to solve? I found that there were three main buckets of problems or challenges that I was seeking to streamline or solve through application and software implementation. I’ved framed each problem as a question below.
Business Development: How can I find new business opportunities and manage business development connections?
Organization & Project Management: How can I organize meetings with clients, keep tasks across multiple projects organized, and track budgets and invoicing?
Content Development & Enhancement: How can I enhance the content I’m writing and developing to showcase my brand and stand out?
What’s my budget for each of these problem areas?
This is personal business to business, but here is where my costs breakdown by percentage.
How much do I want to spend per solution?
Determine your budget threshold for each problem you’re solving across each app.
An intro to the apps
I break down the price, purpose, my scores and thoughts on whether there are competitors for each of the eleven apps, software toos, and websites below.
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Monthly cost: $21
What problem does it solve?: Editing PDFs, inserting and removing pages from PDF document.
Scores: Frequency of use - 3/10, Convenience - 8/10, Value - 9/10.
Other options out there? Not really.
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Monthly cost: $10
What problem does it solve?: Generating social media content, website content, and professional documents with my brand guidelines.
Scores: Frequency of use - 9/10, Convenience - 10/10, Value - 8/10.
Other options out there? Yes! Canva is a popular competitor. xt goes here
https://creativecloud.adobe.com/Link to the app
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Monthly cost: $0 for the version I’m using
What problem does it solve?: Keeping tasks across multiple projects organized.
Scores: Frequency of use - 10/10, Convenience - 10/10, Value - 10/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
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Monthly cost: $35 for bids across three states. You can scale up to larger geo areas for a higher price.
What problem does it solve?: Finding business opportunities in my geographic area.
Scores: Frequency of use - 4/10, Convenience - 7/10, Value - 10/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
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Monthly cost: $0 for the version I’m using.
What problem does it solve?: Writing more concisely. I use ChatGPT to distill down my writing for reports, articles, blog posts. Concision has never been one of my strong suits.
Scores: Frequency of use - 6/10, Convenience - 8/10, Value - 4/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
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Monthly cost: $12 for the version I’m using. Adding employee users increases costs.
What problem does it solve?: Tracking time, project budgets, and billing.
Scores: Frequency of use - 9/10, Convenience - 10/10, Value - 8/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
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Monthly cost: $7
What problem does it solve?: Meeting booking when your calendar looks crazy, auto-setting up Zoom meetings.
Scores: Frequency of use - 4/10, Convenience - 8/10, Value - 8/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
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Monthly cost: $10
What problem does it solve?: Making remote meetings and workshops more engaging, capturing insights from a group digitally.
Scores: Frequency of use - 2/10, Convenience - 5/10, Value - 3/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
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Monthly cost: $14
What problem does it solve?: Well, you have to have a website in 2024, right? This solves the problem of helping people find you online.
Scores: Frequency of use - 2/10, Convenience - 6/10, Value - 3/10.
Other options out there? Yes, but this is pretty reasonable and customizable. It’s fine and I’m way too lazy to switch website providers.
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Monthly cost: $7.20
What problem does it solve?: Ability to store more documents virtually and to have a professional email address.
Scores: Frequency of use - 10/10, Convenience - 10/10, Value - 3/10.
Other options out there? Probably, but I’m a Google girlie.
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Monthly cost: $12.50
What problem does it solve?: Scheduling virtual meetings for multiple attendees at varying lengths. Capturing meeting summaries.
Scores: Frequency of use - 4/10, Convenience - 9/10, Value - 3/10.
Other options out there? Yes!
There’s no “right” time to implement an app
I’ve implemented these apps at varying times across my business. This is wholly personal across each entrepreneur’s needs, capacity, budget, etc. This gives you a taste of what has worked for me.
Be open to trying new solutions (and ditching the ones that don’t work for you)
While I’ve landed on my core eleven apps and software tools I use in my business, I tried probably about a dozen others that didn’t make the cut. In my humble opinion, you can’t make a decision about whether or not an investment makes sense for your business if you haven’t measured the efficiency it gains you.
I am most likely to recommend that friends utilize tools that are high in convenience and high in my frequency of use.
A visual representation of MY scores of convenience and frequency for my business across these apps.
