Thousands of new businesses are started every single day. 2020 alone saw 4.4 million new businesses open, which is a 24% increase in business applications over just the year prior. If you’re interested in starting a business or have recently taken the leap, you’re not alone. You’re also exactly where I was just a few years ago. If you’re anything like me (a bit scrappy), you’ve probably spent hours scouring the internet for free tools to use for your business, tested dozens, and have rarely found one you love. But don’t give up, I’m here to help. In this article, I’ll give you the free tool cheat sheet. Here are the 9 most influential free tools I use for my business.
The 9 Most Influential Free Business Tools
I won’t waste your time, let’s just get into it.
(Obligatory Disclaimer: None of this is sponsored — this article contains only my personal and brutally honest opinion. Every tool featured here is free to use in a capacity that is genuinely useful and no purchases are necessary. With that said, there are affiliate links embedded in the text below should you decide to make a purchase. In which case, thank you for supporting my work!)
1. Notion — Productivity and Organization
There’s a reason this one got the number one spot. My only regret with Notion is that I didn’t find it sooner.
I’m going to make a very bold claim: this is the single most powerful productivity tool on the market (in my opinion).
For me, Notion is the best productivity and task management tool out there. And I’ve tried a lot of them. To give you an idea, I’ve tried Asana, Trello, Airtable, Dubsado, Things, Evernote, TeuxDeux, and more. None of these apps ever felt like they gave me everything I needed. Notion is my unicorn.
I use it now in both my personal and professional life to organize and remember everything.
Pros: Everything. It works/syncs on desktop, tablet, and mobile, and integrates with tons of other tools I use (such as Google Drive).
Cons: It has a learning curve. I recommend starting with a template to learn how the databases/filtering and organization process works.
Here are some examples of how I use Notion:
- Client project and task management.
- Client paperwork storage (contracts and notes, for example).
- Leads management.
- Collaborative projects with my internal team.
- Administrative task management (i.e. tax reminders, internal project management, etc.).
- Visa/residence task management (I’m an American who lives in Europe, which creates a lot of paperwork).
- Home management (tracking conversations with my landlord, my lease, deep cleaning schedule, etc.).
- Recipe management (I’ve essentially created a digital recipe book that I can filter by meal, my mood, etc.).
- Workout video organization (I collect workout videos and categorize them by type, effort, and mood. No more searching through YouTube for a hit-or-miss workout video for me!).
- Journaling.
- Habit tracking.
- Long-term goal tracking (like savings and investments).
- And much more.
If you’d like a bit of help getting started with Notion, I’ve created a template for you. I designed it for business management and is beginner-friendly (i.e., it has embedded instructions that teach you how to use Notion). It’s available by clicking here. This is the exact dashboard I use for my business.
But a reminder: you don’t need to buy a template — it’s a completely free program to use in its full capacity. I’ve just found that templates expedited my learning curve exponentially.
2. Canva — Graphic Design
If you’ve spent any time searching the internet for free business tools, you have probably come across Canva. There’s a reason for that.
Canva is an incredibly powerful free graphic design tool that I use for almost all of my internal marketing.
Here are some examples of how I use Canva
I’ve used it to:
- Write and Design eBooks
- Create logos
- Design client graphics (for blogs, websites, social media, etc.)
- Create printables (like business cards and flyers)
- Make pitch decks and other presentations
- Create social media graphics (Instagram stories, Reels, and feed posts)
- Put together App Store and Google Play Store listings for ASO
- Create client onboarding guides
- Design client-facing reports
- Make brand guides (internally and for clients)
- Design project proposals
- Make GIFs (paid version only)
- And more.
Note: This is one of the few tools that I’ve used and happily upgraded to the paid version. If you plan to use it intensively as I do, I would 100% recommend the paid version.
3. Answer the Public — Keyword Research
Answer the Public is a free business tool I use for both myself and my clients. It’s a great keyword research tool that allows you 1–2 free searches per day.
You can search a niche-related keyword in a specific language/region, and Answer the Public will provide you with dozens (if not hundreds) of prompts/questions to answer.
These prompts are based on actual Google search data and can inform your blogging strategy. Over time, Answer the Public will help you start ranking on Google for keywords and phrases your customers are actually using.
Pro Tip: If you’re looking for a niche, try adding the word, “for” to your keyword. For example, “Marketing services for” will pull up all relevant searches and help you find something unique (like “marketing services for candle companies,” or “marketing services for Pinterest” for example) — which may end up being a great niche!
How I use Answer the Public:
I’ve used it to:
- Scour for ideas for blog posts for my personal and business blogs.
- Find ideas for blog posts for my clients.
- Spark inspiration for ideas of topics to cover on other platforms (such as Instagram Reels or TikTok).
- Understand how effective a certain keyword will be for me. (i.e., sometimes a keyword that I think is perfect for my business is actually more commonly searched for another reason. That keyword won’t ultimately be useful for my business purposes.)
4. Pexels & Unsplash — Stock Photos and Videos
Both Pexels and Unsplash have great libraries of royalty-free photos and videos. Most of them are already approved for commercial use. These are great free tools to have in your business’s back pocket.
If you’re looking for specific/relevant photo or video content (that you don’t have to take yourself) for a social platform, your website, blog banners, an interactive email, etc., these are great places to start your search.
5. Grammarly — Spelling and Grammar Checker
Grammarly is a free spelling and grammar checker that has the power to follow you around the Internet and make sure you sound smart.
I have installed it as a Chrome extension and it offers me clarity suggestions, spelling or context assistance, grammar suggestions, and more.
I use it with documents I write in Google Drive, on my Medium articles, within WordPress, on Shopify, and even on social apps for things like Facebook Ads, Instagram captions, and more.
It’s an app that I don’t have to think about much, but one that quietly helps me every single day.
6. Google Drive — Shared Files
You’re probably already using this one, but Google Drive is a free business tool that I can’t live without. It’s a free document creation, collaboration, and storage system that is used by millions of businesses worldwide.
This compatibility/familiarity with other businesses and programs will help your small business connect with your clients.
Here are some examples of how I use Google Drive:
I’ve used it to:
- Create invoices (before I had a proper accounting software)
- Collaborate with clients (for things like social media post approval, writing deliverables, conducting surveys, etc.)
- Write, edit, and share my copywriting work with clients
- Create contracts (as it has an export to PDF function)
- Calculate analytics for social channels
- Conduct onboarding questionnaires
- Manage my files
- Simultaneously work on projects with my team (multiple people can edit a document in real-time)
- And more.
7. Calendly — Client Call Scheduler
We all know the frustration — you’ve gone back and forth with a potential client over what day and time you should schedule a discovery call. As it drags out, you both lose steam and enthusiasm. It shouldn’t be this difficult, and it doesn’t have to be.
I’ve found Calendly to be a brilliant solution to this problem.
It syncs with Google Calendar and allows you to “set a call schedule” for yourself. All you have to do is email the prospect a link to your Calendly profile, and they can book a call with you by selecting an open slot on your calendar.
Calendly also allows you to ask a few preparation questions for the call (giving your client space to enter details if needed). You’ll both be sent an email with the event details so everyone is on the same page.
It is one of the best client-facing free business tools as it eliminates the back and forth completely and makes scheduling impressive and reassuring instead of a pain point for your prospect.
8. Loom — Screen Video Recorder
Loom is a great tool for recording quick videos of your screen and yourself for client purposes. It records your screen for up to 5 minutes. You can do a voiceover or use your computer’s built-in camera to record yourself at the same time.
Since this is a bit hard to explain, I’ll just dive in with some examples of how I’ve used it.
How I’ve used Loom
I’ve used Loom to:
- Record a quick walkthrough for a client (for example, explaining how to read an analytics report).
- Build excitement over a deliverable (such as a brand guide) by walking them through it with emotion (instead of handing it over to them without context and hoping they enjoy it as much as I do).
- Record videos to showcase my digital products.
- Or to record how-to videos showing step-by-step instructions with a simultaneous on-screen display.
9. LastPass — Password Vault/Storage
The last of the free business tools on my list is LastPass. If you’ve been on the internet a while, you know that it can be difficult to track and remember all of your passwords.
Instead of using a .txt file or note on your phone (which is not secure), I use LastPass. I also use the Chrome extension — this allows LastPass to help me fill in passwords throughout the internet.
What I love about LastPass is that it allows you to share passwords with others in a way that is secure and encrypted (and you don’t even have to give the other person access to the actual password).
I use this with social media and website design clients who provide me with credentials to their website/social channels without worrying that they’ll be compromised.
