Running a business in this day and age looks nothing like it used to.
Entrepreneurs have a lot on their plates. Remote employees. Customers in different time zones. Scaling their business. Trying to do it all simultaneously. The good news is…
There are now digital tools to make every part of running a company easier.
This article introduces the most valuable digital tools that every entrepreneur should be using to run their businesses. Tools that will help save time, money, and headaches.
Let’s jump in.
Here’s What’s Covered:
- Why Digital Tools Are A Must-Have Today
- Mail and Package Management Tools
- Communication & Team Collaboration Tools
- Finance & Accounting Tools
- AI Productivity Tools
- Putting Your Tool Stack Together
Why Digital Tools Are A Must-Have Today
Digital tools aren’t a “nice to have” anymore… They’re essential.
A recent Mastercard study showed that 75% of small businesses incorporate digital technology into their everyday workflow. Guess why.
Tools save entrepreneurs huge amounts of time.
In reality, according to recent stats, 82% of small businesses are currently using AI in some capacity. On average business owners are saving 5x more hours each week on repetitive tasks. That’s 1 entire work day back each week…just from using one category of tools.
Better still, the right stack helps you:
- Compete with bigger businesses
- Run a lean team
- Stay organised across multiple locations
- Make smarter decisions with live data
Now let’s break down the tools you actually need.
Mail and Package Management Tools
This is one of the most overlooked categories of business tools…
Yet it’s also one of the most critical tasks. When you have a remote, or hybrid business you’re not always there to sign for a package. You also might not be there to sort through your mail. As an entrepreneur always on the go, this poses a huge problem.
Here’s the fix: Digital mail and package management.
With a virtual mailbox service such as ipostal1.com you have an actual street address that receives your business mail and packages on your behalf. Your mail is scanned, you’re notified and then you decide what you want to do with each piece of mail via your cell phone or laptop.
- View your mail online from anywhere
- Forward packages to any address
- Have unwanted mail shredded securely
- Deposit checks remotely
- Use the address for business registration
Entrepreneurs will find this service invaluable. You have an elegant address instead of an itty bitty PO Box, and you won’t ever miss critical paperwork. What’s more, the market for virtual mailbox software services is expanding rapidly — expected to grow from $1.95 billion USD to $3.45 billion USD by 2034.
If you have any kind of business setup from anywhere… you should have this tool setup FIRST.
Communication & Team Collaboration Tools
Remote and hybrid work is the new normal for tons of small businesses.
It also means that powerful communication tools are no longer a luxury. If your team doesn’t have the tools they need to stay aligned, work will grind to a halt. Today’s favorite communication and collaboration tools for entrepreneurs are:
- Slack — for team chat and channels
- Zoom — for video meetings and webinars
- Microsoft Teams — for chat, calls, and file sharing
- Notion — for shared documents and wikis
- Trello & Asana — for project management
Avoid using all of them at once. Select which ones mesh well with your team and use them. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting precious time jumping from app to app and leaving messages in the process.
Tip: Work to connect your tools together. Slack integrates with… pretty much everything else. So leverage those integrations to increase productivity and eliminate re-keying data.
Finance & Accounting Tools
Money is the lifeblood of every business.
Entrepreneurs used to rely on cluttered spreadsheets and shoebox piles of receipts for years. No longer! Accounting technology has revolutionized everything.
Some of the best finance tools out there include:
- QuickBooks — for full-service accounting
- Xero — for cloud-based accounting
- Wave — for free accounting (great for startups)
- Stripe & PayPal — for online payments
- Expensify — for receipts and expense tracking
These tools do much more than recordkeeping. They provide you with real-time information about how your business is performing. View your cash flow, profit margins, and tax position… as it happens.
Visibility like that is game-changing for making decisions. Plus, most of these tools now come with AI built right in, so they can automate your invoicing and autopilot bank statement reconciliation.
AI Productivity Tools
AI has totally exploded in the entrepreneur world.
…but truthfully? It’s one of the biggest trends happening in business today. Recent research found that 66% of SMBs say AI has increased revenue, and 22% of those have seen an increase of over 10%! Those are huge numbers.
The most popular AI tools entrepreneurs are using include:
- ChatGPT — for drafting content and research
- Claude — for writing and analysis
- Gemini — for general productivity
- Jasper — for marketing content
- Otter.ai — for transcribing meetings
AI’s true value is that it’s essentially another employee you can add to your team virtually. You can automate massive amounts of repetitive work with it… freeing up time to grow your business.
One thing to keep in mind while using AI: fact-check. AI does not replace human intelligence.
Putting Your Tool Stack Together
Here’s the thing about digital tools…
You don’t need every single one. In fact, having too many tools will slow you down, costing you money rather than saving it. Aim to build a strategic, lean tool stack focused on these core areas of your business. Consider this framework:
- Pick one tool per category (mail, communication, finance, AI)
- Make sure they integrate with each other
- Onboard your team properly
- Review your stack every 6 months and cut what isn’t pulling its weight
This will keep things manageable and stop you from drowning in monthly subscription fees.
Bringing It All Together
Digital tools have completely changed how entrepreneurs manage their companies.
Whether it’s electronic mailrooms or AI productivity suites, technology should save you time, money and headaches. Here’s a quick review:
- Virtual mailbox services keep your business address professional
- Communication tools keep your team in sync
- Finance tools give you real-time visibility
- AI tools help you scale without hiring
And guess what? You don’t have to spend a ton of money up front, either. Many of these tools offer free plans/trials so you can try them out before committing. Choose one category at a time, select your favorite tool, and implement it correctly. Soon enough, you’ll ask yourself how you ever ran your business without these.
