It's not easy to run your own business. Your IT budget is slim and you don't even know how to use all the tech toys you have. You don't want to sign multi-year contracts. You just want everything to work.
Good news. Right now, you have better options than ever to get exactly what you want. No crazy upfront costs. Just easy-to-use plug-and-play technology that you can use on the web and on your phone.
Here are 16 awesome tech tools that can help you in all areas of your business as you run your YouEconomy personal journey to greatness.
Related: YouEconomy:the power is yours
For productivity…
These tools help you plan what needs to be done and assign responsibilities to the people who need to help you get there.
1.Todoist
(Free – $3/month)
It is the best tool to manage recurring tasks, reminders and team planning. They have native apps for over a dozen different environments, so you can take it anywhere and use it anytime to get things done.
2. Wrike
(Free – $10/month)
Imagine if Microsoft SharePoint and Project decided to create an epic productivity platform for today's generation of professionals who need a Gantt chart. It's mobile-friendly, runs in your browser, and looks good. And it's free to start using.
For password security and sharing…
These tools help keep your team safe without emailing usernames and passwords.
3.LastPass
(Free – $4/month)
Forgot your passwords? Share your passwords by email? LastPass saves all of your passwords for you and even lets you set up sharing groups where you can allow family or friends to use your passwords without them ever seeing the actual password. It's amazing, right?
4. Blur
(Free – $1/month)
It is the most technical personal security platform on the market. It lets you create disposable credit cards, phone numbers or email addresses. It saves your passwords for you and alerts you when you might have been hacked.
For Contacts…
These tools help you organize the people you know, the deals you need to make, and the marketing that gets you there.
5. Cloze
(Free – $19/month)
We've used them all – every CRM on the planet (or so it feels). Cloze is by far the best to use if you need to build and maintain relationships with people. It collects, organizes and manages all the people you need to know, right next to your email (and social) inbox. It's epic.
6.AgileCRM
(Free – $79/month)
It has CRM in the name, but with features like landing pages, social tracking, web tracking, and smart email campaigns, it really is the best marketing platform (and sale) all-in-one on the planet. And it's a tenth of the cost of HubSpot or Infusionsoft. Use it and be thrilled.
For research…
These tools help you learn everything you can about the prospects you want to do business with very soon.
7. AeroLeads
($49 – $499 / month)
In a crowded category of lead and lead research tools, AeroLeads has the best combination of capture and results. It works more times than the other guys. They claim to check email addresses and phone numbers several times before forwarding them to you. And it seems to be.
8. Capture
(Free – $99/month)
Have you ever wanted to crawl through a website and suck up all the people and email addresses (and other contact information) you find there? Discover Capture by RingLead. Not only does it capture leads on a website, it verifies email addresses and exports everything to Salesforce.
For design…
These tools help you ditch Photoshop and make it easier to create awesome images for social media or your website.
9.DesignFeed
(Free in beta)
The most convenient online tool for creating epic social media quotes. It's incredibly easy to use, but to make it even easier, you can pick one of their curated designs, swap the content, and publish it live in seconds.
10.Canva
(Free – $13/month)
Ditch the fancy image layer apps and consider investing a few bucks in Canva. Edit images. Design new ones. Create social media content or designs for business cards or brochures. Share your creations with your team. Smile more.
For planning…
These tools make it easy to plan and prepare for extraordinary meetings.
11.Charlie App
(Free)
Connect Charlie to your Google (or Outlook) calendar and it will automatically search for everyone you plan to meet. What?!? An hour before your meeting, you will receive an email with everything you need to know about these people.
12. Wizard
(Free)
At the touch of a button, Assistant checks your calendar and offers up to three days of availability for meetings. It runs in Gmail, where you email, so it's fast and time-saving.
To call…
These tools make it easy to collaborate with your team, partners or your potential customers.
13. Appear
(Free – $12/month)
Go to your Appear link (ours appears.in/edgy) and video conferencing, or share your screen, without needing to download all those bloated desktop apps. It's fast. And easy. And free.
14. UberConference
(Free – $10/month)
Instead of waiting for people to join your conference call, let UberConference text you when the people who need the call show up. Saves you time. Saves you from looking like an idiot using a tool with "free" in the title.
For privacy…
These tools keep you safe while sharing files or browsing the internet every day.
15. WhoHasAccess
(Free)
Connect it to your Google Drive account with the push of a button and wait for it to tell you who has access to any of your files. Using the tools, you can also resume sharing permissions. It's a free and awesome way to stay safe.
16. Disconnect
(Free – $5/month)
Download one of their free apps or pay a little more to get unlimited, secure and anonymous internet access. Makes web browsing safer when traveling or using Wi-Fi from your local coffee shop.
For less than $100 this month, you can have a powerful set of tools for you help make more, sell more, grow faster, and look like a badass. Try one. Try them or all. Or bookmark this article when looking for great tools on the road.
Related: 18 must-have apps to become your best self
