10 Must-Have Tools for Entrepreneurs With an Online Presence With these tools, the sky is the limit.
By Mike Templeman •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Some people think that if you have a smoking hot product, a honking computer and an ultrafast Internet connection, you can be online entrepreneur. These people are wrong.
You are not prepared to be an Internet entrepreneur until you have access to powerful tools. And to maximize ROI, these tools should be free or at a very low cost.
Here are ten must-have tools every Internet entrepreneur should have.
1. WordPress
WordPress is a popular platform for creating a blog or website. It is free and very easy to use, requiring only the most basic computer skills to create and maintain. Plus, it allows you to add pictures, photos and content to make your website look like you hired an expensive webmaster.
Related: 18 Effective Social-Media Tools That Will Save You Time
2. Dropbox
Have you always wanted to tell people that your company is "in the cloud" but you weren't really even sure what that means? Great news! Now you can have your own little place in the cloud with Dropbox, a platform that allows you to store information on the Internet rather than on your own computer. By doing so, you can transfer and backup large files in one place and allow certain employees, associates or clients to access them. Dropbox is free (for a fixed storage level), so you can save a bundle on data storage and transfers.
3. Google Analytics
Google Analytics tracks the traffic to your website or blog for free You can learn where traffic is coming from, what keywords they used to find you, demographics and other interesting information you can use to provide a more personalized website experience or product.
4. Skype
Skype allows you to use your computer and Internet connection to talk to anyone in the world for as long as you want free of charge. Hook an inexpensive camera up to your computer and you can hold videoconferences with colleagues and clients..
5. Bright Journey
Do you want insider information on how to succeed from some of the world's most famous entrepreneurs but never seem to run into them at the laundromat or grocery?
Bright Journey is the website for you. The platform warehouses a vast collection of startup knowledge from some of the most successful entrepreneurs you will never meet in real life. The website offers you a chance to post questions to a big group of top-notch business minds. Users vote for the best answers, which then appear at the top of the page.
6. Microsoft Office
Regardless of the type of business you own, you need a good word processer and spreadsheet program. Microsoft Office is, by far, the most widely recognized suite of programs. Microsoft Office includes the word processor Word and the spreadsheet Excel, a mail program, task scheduling features and more.
7. OpenOffice
If you need to save a buck or just cannot bring yourself to purchase another Microsoft product, you can use OpenOffice.org. The site lets you create documents, presentations and spreadsheets without having to shell out money.
8. Google AdWords
Keyword planning is the most thrilling boring job any entrepreneur will ever undertake. Keywords are like gold for Internet entrepreneurs, as magic keywords make paying website visitors appear out of nowhere. Coming up with these keywords, however, is a horrible task.
Related Book: Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords by Perry Marshall, Mike Rhodes, and Bryan Todd
Google AdWords takes the pain out of keyword planning. The tool allows you to search for keyword and ad group ideas, get historical statistics for keywords and even see how a list of keywords might perform. This little freebie can also help you choose competitive bids and budgets for your campaign.
9. Grasshopper
Grasshopper lets you get an 800 telephone number that gives your company a professional and legitimate image. You can forward as many phones and cell phones to the 800 number as you like, which will be great for your minions working in the office or on the road.
10. Shopify
As an entrepreneur, you probably like money but hate the idea of figuring out the complicated code for adding a shopping cart to your website. Shopify is a secure shopping cart system that allows you to accept credit card and PayPal payments over an encrypted server.
