FREE Resources to Help Your Business to Grow

One of the things that I love is tools and resources that help me to grow my business…. for free. And when I say free, I mean just that, not a ‘30-day introductory offer, but we’ll take your credit card info first, type of free trial.’

Look, we’ve all come across things that were too good to be true: that productivity tool that promised you a four day weekend but wouldn’t cost you a dime, or that complementary eBook on investing that was going to turn you into the next Warren Buffett. Both a complete waste of time.

But during this COVID-induced slump, we’re all feeling the financial pinch, so I’ve been looking again at the business tools that are available to us FOR FREE. 

Here’s a list of more than two dozen tools and resources that I’ve used to grow and develop my business and which, with one exception, are free… genuinely free, no credit card needed, no limited trial. Check them out and let me know what you think!

Prefer a visual map? Navigate through an interactive Prezi by clicking here.

Spark – Find, Develop and Launch Your Next Business Idea

• Looking for inspiration for your next product, market move or business? 80,000 Hours’ list of ‘the world’s most pressing problems’ is thought-provoking and, if you’re an entrepreneur, hopefully inspiring. Also great sources are the business magazine Inc.’s Innovate page and the innovation-dedicated site Springwise.
• Need advice to set up your new business? Unsure on the right legal structure for your business? Want to know where to find funding? Many national, regional and local governments have public-funded business advisory services that provide support and resources. In the US, the Small Business Administration offers a wider range of support and practical advice, including free business counseling.
• As you form your new business idea you’ll want to understand the demand for the product/service that you want to offer and the competitive environment. Three great research sources that won’t cost you a penny: First, your local library. Yes, seriously, your library. Many public libraries carry market data sources, journals and other resources. Increasingly these are available online… all you need is a library card! Second, FRED. The Federal Reserve of St Louis has a dizzying array of market data sets and narrative analysis reports. Lastly, the Small Business Administration’s list of research resources is a damn good selection of what else is out there.
• Confident that there is a market for your idea… time to test that. Javelin‘s framework guides you through a development process including market testing. Use its tool to avoid wasting time, effort and money launching a product for which no one wants or needs.

Engage – Tell the World About Your Business, Your Product or Service Offering. Engage Customers, Employees and Partners. Build a Fanbase!

• Want to make your comms & marketing content more attractive, more engaging? Use Canva to create designs (logos, social media posts, brochures) and get royalty-free photos for your website, marketing collateral, etc. Upgrade your social media posts and articles with two great tools from CoSchedule: analyze your social media headline for clarity and simplicity using this tool. Then get feedback on your post and advice about the optimal time to post using this tool.
• Looking for presentation templates? YouExec has a range of slick, inspiring, creative and (best of all) highly useable templates available to freemium members. Check out their free spreadsheet templates while you’re there.
• Share your business story via a blog using WordPress’s ubiquitous website & blog builder. Simple powerful designs, easy to use.
• Juggling multiple social media channels and want to be more efficient? The no-thrills free plan on the social media management tool Hootsuite allows you to schedule/publish social media content. It’s limited to three channels but that’s sufficient for many small businesses
• Get help finding contact details (esp. email address) of those hard-to-reach people. Hunter allows you to use a company’s domain to find email addresses and phone numbers.
• Automate marketing and communications campaigns with MailChimp‘s email automation tool. Manage opt-in/opt-out marketing preferences. Save time and make your email comms even slicker.
• For many of us, our business network is the single best source of customer leads, collaborators, affiliates, future employees and even investors. I’m sure that you’re already using LinkedIn‘s networking tool but for many it is under-utilized. Online business networking has assumed even greater importance in the world of COVID-19.
• Get feedback on your website using HubSpot’s Website grader which rates and recommends improvements to you website’s security, SEO (search engine optimization), etc. You can find the tool here:
• Want to track the impact of your online marketing efforts? Google’s Analytics tool monitors visitors to your website and tells you where they are located, when they visited and how they got there, amongst other useful data. Valuable ‘return on investment’ information for your online market efforts/spend.

Sell – Take Your Idea to the Market

• Ready to launch your product… looking to gain momentum… hoping to get noticed… or just need some feedback? Product Hunt allows you to list your products online to get noticed
• Looking for a customer relationship management (CRM) tool to help organize and provide focus to your sales efforts? HubSpot‘s free CRM has been a godsend to me when it comes to the process of chase leads, managing customer relationships, etc.

Evolve – (Re)develop and Reposition Your Offering. Invest in Yourself, Invest in Your Team. Plan Your Next Move

• Need to learn a new skill or hone an existing one? Coursera‘s online learning platform offers a mind-boggling range of open courses, specializations, and degrees approximately ~1,500 or which are completely free
• Gather feedback from those most valuable to you: customers, employees, partners using Google Surveys. Shape product development, your future market efforts, etc to help make you even more successful!
• Could you use some expert advice from outside your organization – thought about getting a mentor? In the U.S., SCORE is a network of volunteer, expert business mentors dedicated to helping small businesses get off the ground, grow and achieve their goals. And it’s completely free!
• Ready to plan your next move? With only so many hours in the day, growing your business needs focus and organization. Business Sorter’s comprehensive business planning framework is bundled in a simple, intuitive cloud-based tool and is one of my favorite business apps. I use this with clients to help them set clear, focused objectives and to drive implementation. This is one isn’t free… but you can sign up for a 14-day free trial (no credit card required!). Even if you don’t sign up for the tool you can still take advantage of an awesome suite free business resource including templates, guidance notes, checklists, etc.

Have a favorite free tool for growing your business that’s not on this list? I’d love to hear about it.