Tech tools for non technical managers
Today's blog focuses on a range of online tools that can make life easier when running projects and small businesses. It was prompted out of discussions with family members who run an SME (Small Medium Enterprise)
All of these tools are ones that we have tried and tested extensively, and found to be very effective. (note: some of these are not free for commercial use, so check the Terms and Conditions)
There are of course other options, but we only recommend those we have tried and like.
Communication tools:
Communication is fundamental for any collaborative work.
Slack and Discord are great free tools to use for instant messaging (IM) and team communication. Slack has both a free and paid version, while Discord is free. Both have a desktop application, and online version. Team members sign in, can set up different channels, and can chat and share information. They are searchable, so you can go back to search for old messages.
Online meetings: Microsoft Teams comes with many Microsoft applications, or can be bought separately. However, our preference is for Zoom, which can be used for free for up to 40 minute meetings with up to 100 participants. It has a desktop application, an online version, and can be used on mobile devices. It is able to record and transcribe meetings. A chat facility and whiteboard are built in, and it is also possible to share slides and presentations.
Collaborative online whiteboard. A new tool to us is Excalidraw which creates a whiteboard for multiple people to work on, allowing you to brainstorm together. The final product can be saved and stored for posterity. All your data is saved in your browser, which relieves some issues around data security
AI to write for you: Chat GPT - is a fantastic free tool to help in drafting letters; emails; reports etc, and was the subject of a recent blog.
Task and workflow management:
We have previously written about a range of workflow and task management tools here.
There is a great selection out there, and you may make different choices depending on the functions that you need. We would recommend Clickup based on how easy it is to use and set up. If you have a team who really like spreadsheets, then Bitrix is brilliant.
Clickup offers a wide range of functionality. It includes calendars, chat, document storage, timesheets; Gantt Charts as well as task management. It is easy to add tasks, and assign them to team members. Progress on tasks can be tracked, information and details added. It is also possible to have various views of your tasks, and those of the team, allowing leaders to track what needs to be done in a project.
Tip: ensure you review the settings for notifications before starting to use it, or you will receive multiple notifications for anything that happens on Clickup.
Document storage, collaboration and sharing
There are a wide range of tools for sharing documents and collaborative working in documents. A major advantage is that software for word processing, spreadsheets etc is built in, so you don't have to pay for this software. We have previously discussed a range of options here.
But in terms of functionality, Google docs manages multiple people working in a document better than any of these, and allows for version control, and rolling back to previous versions of a document. A caution however is that it may not be ideal for highly confidential information, as there is no privacy from Google.
Monitoring websites and staying up to date
If you want to keep up to date on a range of topics, Feedly allows you to group all of the sites you follow into one page that is easy to skim through, and select articles to read. There is both a free version and a paid version, but the functionality of the free version is excellent. It can also be used to share articles to social media, so is a way of curating (Collecting and organising) information from the internet. More info can be found here.
An alternative is to set up a Google alert, for any mentions of specific phrases online. This can be helpful to tracking anything about your brand, or the competition. You can learn how to do this here.
Marketing:
Marketing is essential for any business. The most basic requirement nowadays is to have a presence online, ie, a website. There are multiple sites that make it easy to create your website using a template, where you only need very limited IT skills. The alternative is to employ a Freelancer (see below)
This site is built on Webnode , which is simple to use. If you want to have your own domain name (ie web link that has your company name in it), then you will need the paid version on most platforms. The paid version is relatively inexpensive. We have previously used Wix as a web platform, and is also simple to use.
If you have more advanced IT skills, you may want to consider Wordpress, which is open source, but in our view is not straightforward to use.
The best paid site we've found is SquareSpace
Branding
A really simple to use branding tool is Looka that will help you find a great look for your project can be found here: You answer some questions, and choose colours and they present you with designs.
Free images
A good website needs really great images. Pixabay has a huge selection of images that are free for commercial use. Other options can be found here.
Social media management:
It is free to create accounts on Facebook; X(Twitter), Instagram and Tiktock. Alternatives to X are mastodon and Bluesky.
Managing multiple social media channels can be challenging, and the free version of Buffer allows you to manage up to 3 different accounts (non commercial) and schedule your posts, rather than having to post to each site individually. The commercial version starts at $5 per month, and is more than worth it in the time saving.
Find a freelancer:
There are a range of sites that allow you to hire experts on a casual basis to help out with your business , and fill in any skills gaps you may have. Graphic designers, artists, programmers, Personal assistants, writers etc are all available on sites such as: