11 Best business tools for entrepreneurs in 2024

Introduction

There are many challenges that an entrepreneur faces, whether it is to manage time or manage employees. On top of this, being an entrepreneur you are always on the lookout for ways to optimize your business and make it more efficient.

Having the right tools can make a world of difference for entrepreneurs- both new and established, in navigating these crucial areas.

Luckily, there are many tools available that can help you with your business, so that you can focus on what is more important – expanding and managing your business effectively.

In this article, I have curated a list of 11 of the best business tools for entrepreneurs in 2024. From project management to social media marketing, these tools will help you save time, streamline your workflow, and grow your business.

Read more- 10 best product management tools

1. ProofHub- Best for project management & team collaboration

ProofHub is an all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool that enables teams to accomplish the best results. Whether marketing or construction, entrepreneurs from any industry can use this tool to manage their daily operations. 

The software has some powerful collaboration tools that will assist you in ensuring that all members of your team are on the same page. Designed to centralize all your project needs for easy access, the software gathers all the information you need about your project in one place. 

ProofHub eliminates the need for entrepreneurs to use a separate app for exchanging updates, working together, or managing tasks. 

ProofHub offers a range of features, including task management, team collaboration, time tracking, and project reporting, making it easier for you to manage your team’s work efficiently.

Pricing

Apart from its 14-day free trial, ProofHub offers two flat-fixed pricing structures, with no-per-user fee:

• The Essential Plan: $45 per month (if billed annually) for unlimited users and up to 40 projects
• The Ultimate Control Plan: $89 per month (if billed annually) for unlimited users, projects and features

2. Zoom- Best for video conferencing

Zoom has become one of the essential tools for entrepreneurs since COVID-19 has impacted our lives in many ways. If your teams are working remotely or in a hybrid workspace, then Zoom can be an ideal solution for video conferencing.

Zoom lets you engage with a large group of people through video calls and messaging. The tool is used by almost every business to connect with their team and clients. It provides a safe work environment for meetings, conferences, webinars, and chats.

However, it’s worth noting that its free version has a time limit of 40 minutes for group meetings, which can be a limitation for some businesses.

Pricing

In addition to its free version, Zoom offers three paid plans that can fit the needs of different businesses:

• Basic: Free for up to one user
• Pro: $12.49/user per month (if billed annually), for up to 9 users
• Business: $18.32/user per month (if billed annually), for 10 to 99 users 
• Enterprise: Contact sales for more details

Read more- Zoom vs. Webex: The ultimate showdown

3. Shopify- Best for e-commerce business

If your business is about selling physical products online, then Shopify can be one of the best tools for entrepreneurs. It provides all you need to establish your e-commerce business from the storefront to the backend.

Shopify allows you to effortlessly create a beautiful website with pre-built e-commerce capabilities such as a shopping cart. You can manage customers and order fulfillment, measure analytics, increase social presence and SEO, and so on.

However, the platform’s customization options can be limited, which may not suit the needs of more complex e-commerce businesses. Moreover, Shopify’s transaction fees may add up for businesses with high order volumes.

Pricing

Shopify provides four paid plans that cater to different business needs:

• Basic Shopify: $29/month (if billed annually)
• Shopify: $79/month (if billed annually)
• Advanced Shopify: $299/month (if billed annually)
• Shopify Plus: Contact support team for custom pricing

4. HubSpot- Best for customer relationship management

If you need a suite of tools that can help you manage your customer service activities efficiently, then HubSpot is the best customer relationship management tool for you.

HubSpot offers a range of tools to help you streamline your workflows and improve your customer experience. With its intuitive interface, service tools, and powerful analytics capabilities, HubSpot can help you drive growth and achieve your business goals.

While HubSpot is a powerful tool for entrepreneurs, it may not be the best fit for every business, especially those with limited budgets or specific needs beyond its core capabilities.

Pricing

Apart from its free plan, HubSpot offers three paid plans:

• Free tools: Free for up to five users
• Starter Customer Platform: $15/user per month (if billed annually)
• Professional Customer Platform: $1,080/month for five users (if billed annually), an extra $45/month per additional user
• Enterprise Customer Platform: Contact the sales team for more details

5. Dropbox- Best for file storage and sharing

As an entrepreneur, you need a secure and efficient way to store and share files with your teams and clients. Dropbox is the tool just for that. With Dropbox, you can access your documents, photos, and videos from anywhere, on any device.

Moreover, dropbox allows you to collaborate with your teams in real time, share files with clients, and keep track of changes made to documents.

Dropbox can be costly for businesses that require large storage space, and the free version has limited storage capacity. In rare cases, Dropbox has also experienced security breaches, which can compromise sensitive data.

Pricing

Dropbox offers four paid plans including one basic plan:

• Plus: $9.99/month (for personal use), up to 2 TB of storage
• Essentials: $16.58/month for one user, up to 3 TB of storage
• Business: $15/user per month (minimum 3 users)
• Business Plus: $24/user per month (starts at 15 TB for the team)

6. Calendly- Best for scheduling

If you are an entrepreneur, you know how challenging it can be to manage multiple tasks and schedule meetings with team members or clients. Keeping track of your schedule and meetings can be overwhelming and time-consuming. Calendly is a scheduling tool that can help you set up appointments without the hassle of back-and-forth emails.

With Calendly, you can easily create and share your availability, set up different types of meetings, and let others schedule time with you without the need for numerous emails. The platform also integrates with your calendar, making it easier to keep track of all your appointments in one place.

However, Calendly may not be suitable for businesses that require complex scheduling. Some users have reported occasional glitches while syncing calendars and time zones.

Pricing

Calendly offers four pricing plans including a free one:

• Free: Always free (basic scheduling)
• Standard: $10/seat per month (if billed annually)
• Teams: $16/seat per month (if billed annually)
• Enterprise: Contact sales for more details

7. Canva- Best for creating visual designs

It is no secret that at some point you need to present your ideas in a visually appealing manner. Canva is a graphic design platform that allows you to create stunning visual content, ranging from social media posts to presentations, flyers, and more.

With its user-friendly interface and drag-and-drop feature, you can easily create professional-looking designs without any design experience. Canva provides a vast collection of templates, images, and fonts, which you can customize to fit your brand’s requirements.

However, some of its features are only available to its premium users. Additionally, Canva’s templates limit design originality, and exporting high-quality graphics might require a paid subscription.

Pricing

In addition to its free plan, Canva offers two paid plans:

• Free: Free forever
• Pro: $12.99/user per month
• Enterprise: $30/user per month

8. Mailchimp- Best for email marketing

With the growing digital world, you need a reliable and efficient way to reach potential customers and clients. Mailchimp can help you with that. It is an email marketing tool that allows you to create and send beautiful newsletters, automated emails, and targeted campaigns to your audience.

With its user-friendly interface and customizable templates, you can easily create professional-looking emails without any design skills. Additionally, Mailchimp offers advanced analytics and reporting features, so you can track the success of your campaigns and make data-driven decisions to improve your marketing strategy.

The downside of Mailchimp is its limitation on the number of emails users can send per month. Moreover, Mailchimp’s customer support is not known for being top-notch.

Pricing

Mailchimp provides a free version with limited features, along with three paid plans:

• Free: Free forever
• Essentials: $4.59/month (if billed annually)
• Standard: $6.84/month (if billed annually)
• Premium: $136.92/month (if billed annually)

9. Slack- Best for communication

Effective communication is key to the success of any business. Slack is a messaging app that helps you keep in touch with your team members, clients, and partners.

Slack lets you easily communicate with your team members, share files, and collaborate on projects. With its user-friendly interface and customizable features, Slack can help you streamline your communication and improve productivity.

However, Slack can distract you and your team with constant notifications and information overload. Furthermore, as you start new direct messages with colleagues, older conversations tend to get buried in your left sidebar.

Pricing

Slack provides you with two paid plans:

• Pro Plan: $7.25/user per month (if billed annually)
• Business+ Plan: $12.50/user per month (if billed annually)

11. QuickBooks- Best for finance management

You know how important it is to keep track of your finances, and how challenging it can be to manage your accounts while also running your business. That’s where QuickBooks comes in.

QuickBooks is a financial management tool that can help you easily manage your finances, track expenses, and create invoices. With QuickBooks, you can also manage your payroll, generate reports, and even file your taxes.

QuickBooks can be complex for beginners. It lacks features for specific industries, and subscription costs can add up for growing businesses.

Pricing

Apart from its 30-day free trial, QuickBooks offers four paid plans:

• Simple Start: $30 per month (connect one sales channel)
• Essentials: $60 per month (connect three sales channels)
• Plus: $90 per month for up to five users
• Advanced: $200 per month for up to 25 users

12. Buffer- Best for social media management

If your business is online, then your social media game requires you to pay attention to it which means it needs constant nurturing. In the social media game, Buffer can come in handy.

Buffer allows you to create schedules for the information you want to share on social media and then queue it up so that it posts automatically at the time you specify. It is compatible with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

While Buffer has many advantages, it’s worth noting that the tool has some limitations. The free version has limited features, and the paid versions can be costly for businesses on a tight budget. Advanced analytics and team management are only available in paid plans.

Pricing

In addition to its 14-day free trial, Buffer offers four pricing plans including a free one:

• Free: Free for up to three channels
• Essentials: $5/month (if billed annually) for one channel
• Team: $10/month (if billed annually)  for one channel
• Agency: $100/month (if billed annually)  for 10 channels

Conclusion

Being an entrepreneur can be very challenging. No matter how smart you are, you can’t handle it all by yourself.

You need to make an investment in technologies that can help you optimize, automate, and enhance every operational aspect of your business, whether it is to manage your projects, boost your social media presence, or manage your finances.

The above-mentioned essential business tools for entrepreneurs, from project management to writing compelling marketing materials, can help you accomplish all of this.

For more such useful information, keep reading-

• 9 Effective tips on how to protect your energy
• The ultimate playbook for building high-performing teams
• How to create a positive work environment?

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Diksha Jaswal Member since January 15, 2024

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Diksha Jaswal is a professional content writer with over four years of experience. She is dedicated to creating articles that can help individuals solve workplace problems. Her writing focuses on topics such as work ethics, project management, work management, personal growth, technology, work organization, and leadership. When she is not writing, she enjoys reading and creating mandala art.

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