How to Run Your Small Business with Free Resources - Kids, Cash and Chaos (2024)

June 20, 2016 By Emma 3 Comments

Running a small business can be expensive! Did you know that there are tons of small scale business resources that you can use for free?

I remember when I was starting my granola business I kept struggling with how to keep organized. I had inventory, accounting, payroll and ingredients to keep track of every day. At that point I hadn’t found any of these awesome resources and I really missed out!

If you are struggling to keep organized and present your brand in the best light, keep reading. I’ve broken the resources up into categories so you can easily find what you need right now.

Accounting and Timekeeping

There are multiple ways to track your income and expenses. I use Wave and really love it. The interface is simple, I can invoice my customers right from the program and keep track of all my expenses.

I have multiple accounts set up to keep track of my multiple businesses. Wave will let you create invoices and your clients can even pay you via credit card right in Wave. They charge you 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction in the US and Canada. There is no setup fee, and it was as simple to get going as hitting the button to turn it on.

Other options to consider are FreshBooksand QuickBooks Online.

Toggl is the Chrome App I have been using to track my time for my VA clients. It is simple to use and once you set it up in Chrome you can just click the button at the top of the screen and start timing.

It will also integrate with many sites to help you remember to start timing when you do certain tasks, like check your email or use a graphic design site. I also like that it will tell you when you have been offlineso you don’t over bill anyone.

RELATED POST:Check out all my favorite resources!

Graphic Design

I do almost all my graphics in Canva. They have taken so much of the guesswork out of designing great graphics. There are tons of templates, fonts, icons, and photos to choose from.

The basic program is free and if you use one of their stock photos or templates you pay $1 to download the final product and have a further 24 hours to edit it without paying again. I have chosen to use the Pro version that costs $12 a month. With that I can set up brand colors and fonts, create folders and templates.

PicMonkey is another great site that does photo editing. I mostly use this site to resize and tweak photos I have taken myself. They also have tons of filters and effects and you can also add text.

Two sites that I use to get free stock images are Pixabay and FreeImages. Pixabay does not require any attribution. FreeImages has a licensing agreement with certain provisions.

RELATED POST: Three Ways to Create Your Own Logo

List Making and Storage

Currently, I keep all my lists, notes and links in Airtable. I love it because it is spreadsheet based which really works for my organizational style. I have a master t0-do list, daily to-do list, SEO research and so much more stored there.

Google Drive is perfect for most of my storage needs. I can upload graphics and photos, write all my blog posts, create spreadsheets and share whatever I need with clients.

Other options to consider: Trello, Asana, and Dropbox.

Email Marketing

A free email service won’t have all the bells and whistles but can help you get started. MailChimp will give you up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails a month on their free plan. They offer an assortment of templates and easy to use editing.

Other options include MadMimi and ConstantContact.

If you need help with what to send your email list then check out the free email content ideas from Meera Kothand.

These are all resources that I use and love, but I am sure there are others out there. What are your favorite free resources?