Starting a business can be a tedious process, especially if you don’t have much financial leverage to hit the ground running. If you fall under the cash-strapped category but have an awesome product that you’re sure will sell given the exposure it needs, you’re better off not worrying about back-office functions and concentrating on what matters most. And to do that, your fighting chance is with tools that deliver but are either free or low-cost. Here are four of them:
1. JetRadar.com
If your business requires you to travel, air travel is still the best way to move around. And with the arrival of low-cost airlines and online ticket brokers, air travel has become more affordable as well. In recent times, however, competition among airlines has gotten so stiff that a lot of them now confine their promotional offers into their own sites instead of price-comparison sites. This, therefore, prompts the customer to check out multiple airline, travel and flight sites to find the most affordable tickets.
JetRadar.com is an airfare metasearch engine that strategically combs through 700+ individual airline sites and hundreds of travel and flight sites for the cheapest airfare tickets available, and makes the data it collects conveniently accessible to the public in a single site. This drastically cuts down the time and energy needed to find the best and cheapest airfare deals.
2. Comindware.com
Process automation in a business is the key to productivity, cost reduction, streamlining of manpower and other resources, and so on. To achieve this, most businesses employ tools that do just that – automate business process. Comindware.com is one of such tools.
Comindware Tracker is a breakthrough innovation and collaborative solution for cross-functional teams and workgroups. The application provides a safe and secure web-based platform for workflow management, task administration and issue tracking. Comindware’s Workflow Builder functionality allows for easy editing via the drag-and-drop method – all in a matter of minutes. And with ElasticData, the technology the software is built upon, you can formalize workflow processes now and edit them later if and when the need arises without disrupting existing workflow.
Comindware Tracker comes free with Comindware Task Management which makes full use of ConnectStep, a unique technology that automatically generates next-step tasks for employees. This way, processes are clear-cut and employees can focus on getting their jobs done. Comindware offers free trial, even discounts for bulk software license purchases.
3. PickyDomains.com
In a market that’s filled with hundreds, if not thousands, of similar products and services, a new business hoping to compete against bigger players should know that proper branding can do wonders. A brand name that people remember and relate with is the best possible brand name. Easier said than done, you might say. Well, you’re right. And it is for this reason that branding agencies continue to thrive. But if you’re just starting out and don’t have adequate funding to begin with, it is worth noting that branding agencies charge up to thousands of dollars.
In the naming business since 2007 and the first of its kind, PickyDomains.com utilizes the power of crowdsourcing to come up with unique, appropriate, easy-to-pronounce and catchy domains, names and slogans for individuals and businesses alike. To date, PickyDomains has a strong base of 50,000+ contributors from across regions of the world. To start receiving recommendations from this team of creative people, become a PickyDomains client by registering with the site, pay the required $50 for a domain or name (slogans cost $75), and present your naming criteria. If you find none of the suggestions good enough, you get your downpayment back.
4. Bitrix24.com
In a business, proper use of CRMs and intranets promote efficiency. This speeds up data delivery and eliminates the use of disparate work tools, which, more often than not, are the reasons for delays and inaccuracy in the reporting process. And if you think these tools are too pricey for comfort, you’re not looking in the right direction.
Bitrix24.com is a social enterprise solution that’s free for small businesses comprised of a maximum of 12 employees. Bitrix24 is a combination of several different work tools in a single platform – CRM for sales and transactions, social intranet, workforce management, calendar and activity planner, document and file sharing, live streaming, to name just a few. Also, Bitrix24 is cloud-based and therefore requires no installation. It can be accessed anywhere you are, anytime you feel like it via a smartphone or your web-based browser. If your company has more than 12 people, an upgrade to unlimited users starts at $99 monthly.
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