10 productivity tools for your growing startup team

Challenges are everywhere and business startups are no exception to this. As the development in businesses is growing day by day, with it grows the responsibilities and also the opportunities on the side of an entrepreneur. According to figures from GEM global report, 100 million businesses are launched annually and it comes to over three businesses every second, or 11,000 per hour.  That’s a huge number and do you really think all these businesses are able to survive?

It is the world of entrepreneurship and survival of the fittest is a suitable statement that defines evolution as only the strongest business are able to live while others fail.  About 78% of small business startups survive the first year and about 8 out of 10 survive only for five years.

By seeing the numbers, I realized that one of the most common causes of failure for a huge number of startups is the set of organizational tools that they use for their business which kept them drowning in whatever they did.

For all the entrepreneurs who are struggling with the success of their business, here is a list of tools that will boost productivity in your business and are worth investing in.

1.ProofHub: ProofHub is a cloud-based project management solution to manage all your projects, and it makes it easier to share and discuss ideas across the entire team. With ProofHub you can access all your files stored across multiple platforms in one place. It serves as a simple business management software with task management features and collaboration tools.

With ProofHub you can:

• Deliver projects on time
• Create accountability in your team
• More satisfied work
• Have better control over projects

ProofHub will take care of all your workability needs and make your experience even better with ProofHub mobile, the mobile app.

2. Hootsuite: Social Media Management can not be ignored by any business for its success. As there are a various number of social media platforms, it may become difficult to coordinate individual accounts and thus you need a tool for it. Hootsuite will let you control all your social media accounts from a single dashboard. To execute amazing social media strategies, Hootsuite will let you track and analyze posts for multiple platforms simultaneously.

With Hootsuite you can:

• Protect your brand in social
• Measure your social ROI
• Do more with social in less time

You can connect with customers faster and safer by downloading Hootsuite’s free time-saving mobile app. It will provide a seamless experience from desktop to mobile.

3. Dropbox – Dropbox is a simple way to work together and to safely, securely, and easily store all of your documents. You can share your documents and access them on your desktop and mobile anytime and anywhere.

With Dropbox you can:

• Take your docs anywhere
• Send videos quickly
• Easily manage your photos
• Work on slide together
• Never lose a file again

You can also use Dropbox to collaborate team efforts with non-team members.

4. HipChat: HipChat is a group messaging mobile and desktop app designed and built for team communication. It is a private hosted chat service helping teams to collaborate more efficiently. The business owner can set a group chat with the team and review it anytime.

With HipChat you can:

• Do video chat without any hustle
• Work faster with group chat
• Share work and ideas
• Keep it all secure
• Share your screen with about 20 people

HipChat will save the conversation of users and avoid any miscommunication and redundancies. Hipchat saves the conversation for the convenience of users so that you and your team can upload and collaborate on documents and tasks.  

5. Buffer: Buffer is social media marketing application on mobile and web designed to manage your accounts in social networks. You will save a lot of your time by scheduling social media updates easily for Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest.

With Buffer you can:

• Schedule your posts for later
• Post to all of your social networks
• Engage with multimedia

Buffer also just launched a tool called Respond to keep track of any messages you get from prospects, clients, and followers on Twitter.

Also Read: Beware entrepreneurs! 6 common pieces of advice that do more harm than good

6. GitHub: Github has a collection of tools and resources for developers to allow collaboration and have conversations about and make changes to the code. It is a great tool for building software and creates a great user experience by offering a responsive interface.

With Github you can:

• Host and review code
• Increase efficiency of your workflow
• Manage projects
• Integrate with other tools
• Build software with other developers

At GitHub programmers and designers can work together to fix bugs, collaborate and contribute.

7. Google Analytics: Google Analytics has the tools that you need to analyze data from various points in one place. It is a must-have tool for a deeper understanding of the customer experience. Its mobile analytics app works well with both analytics and analytics 360.

With Google Analytics you can:

• Share your insights with colleagues
• Boost sales or find more users
• Manage and collect data
• Make smarter marketing decisions

Google Analytics can give your data team powerful insights into website engagement metrics, conversion metrics, and essential data relating to your audience. All the team members can save Google Analytics to build custom reports and set up event tracking to save time compiling data and searching for the right opportunities.

8. Evernote: Evernote is a cloud-based system that will let you share your ideas anywhere, access your data from anywhere and can be a great tool to leverage for boosting individual productivity. Evernote makes it easy for anyone to take notes, create to-do lists, and collaborate with others about ideas and ongoing projects.

With Evernote you can:

• Find it everywhere
• Make a note of it
• Find anything faster
• Share with anyone

You can always keep your notes in sync with Evernote on your mobile.

9. FreshBooks: FreshBooks is a cloud-based accounting software helps in sending invoices to clients and get paid for their time and expertise. It provides you the tools for invoicing, expense tracking and time management to make your accounting job easier. Your most of the billing activities can be automated and give more time towards projects and meetings.

With FreshBooks you can:

• Create professional invoices
• Always be in sync
• Reduce paper receipts
• Stay on top of your important conversations
• Never miss an update

With FreshBooks on mobile and desktop will let your business to work from anywhere.

10. Pocket: Quickly save, discover and recommend the best. You can create your wallet and save articles, links, videos, blogs, posts etc. whatever you want to view later. You can:

• Read it later without internet connection
• You can save directly from your browser or apps
• You can do it on every device and read it offline.

It is like a nightmare if all the hard work you put in the establishment of your startup is not fruitful. Entrepreneurs who succeed are not because of miracles, they follow a carefully planned strategy and organized tools. Try your luck with these tools.

Author Bio:

Sandeep Kashyap is the Founder and CEO of ProofHub — a leading project management and collaboration software. He’s one person always on a lookout for innovative ideas about filling the communication gap between groups, teams, and organizations. You’ll find him saying, “Let’s go!” instead of “Go!” many times a day. That’s what makes him write about leadership in a way people are inspired to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more.