I love systems. For me, they make the world go round and they help small businesses or dreamers put legs on their ideas and amplify their impact.
One of the biggest challenges I've faced when setting up other companies & businesses is finding systems to automate and create process without having to spend lots of money on software. There's often a software that has been built to fulfil the given task, BUT, for a small business owner or entrepreneur, keeping overheads low is essential. Hence, I learned to use free or low-cost softwares to help automate and systemise tasks and processes and free up my time.
At it's core, building good systems & processes is about simplifying tasks down so they are repeatable, measurable, and free up time that can be better spent elsewhere. So, here's my top 3 favourite softwares that I believe can help do that.
Cost: Free
Best Features: Integrates with nearly everything, very simple, highly adaptable and versatile
I love Google Sheets. Firstly, it's free and as far as I know you basically will never have to pay for the functions that you would use a small business owner. Secondly, it integrates with pretty every software or platform possible from Facebook Ads, to Typeform and pretty much anything else you can think of. For this reason it's a highly versatile tool that can easily fill most basic functions you would need. On the same note, while simple at first, once you become more proficient there's a whole lot more depth that can be discovered as well to help automate & systemise your business.
Best uses I've found
CRM/Lead Management, Budgeting/Finance, Task Automation & Tracking
Cost: Free
Best Features: Simple layout, easily integrates with other systems, highly adaptable & versatile
Trello is one of the platforms I've used for years now consistently. It's basically a project or task-based organisation tool that can be used for a wide array of goals. I've personally used it for managing personal stuff, running larger scale projects, running day to day business, and even explored it as a CRM for a while. Like google sheets it has a high degree of integration & functionality so it can pretty much be customised into whatever you need it to do. There's also a great in-built automation tool which means you can customise buttons, tasks, calendar-based activities and rules around what you need done and when. For example, on my Trello board I have set automations for tasks that need to be completed each week. Rather than remind myself, they are set to automatically pop up as new cards each week at the same time. Once I've completed the task I simply archive it and the cycle repeats. Trello is easily one of the best free softwares (if not just one of the best) for business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone who likes to be organised with their work. Best uses I've found: Simple design & layout, multiple boards and categories for runnings multiple projects, tonnes of automations & integrations available.
Cost: Free (up to 5)
Best Features: Easily connect different applications to automate tasks and save time
One of the big challenges with creating systems is finding platforms that talk and can send information to one another. Often I require that information in one system also triggers an action in another. Zapier helps bridge that gap. For example, if you have a new lead fill out a form on your website, and you'd like that new lead to go into your lead database in a google sheet, and perhaps also get a reminder in Trello to send them a personal text or email, you can do that! Zapier will act as the middle man and connect all the dots. This may sound unnecessary, and some platforms have CRM management that can do it all. BUT, it's not often free and it usually has some parameters that might not suit your business perfectly. With Zapier, it becomes easier to figure out exactly what sort of system you want, and then create that flow where you'd like it to go.
Best uses I've found
Capturing data from multiple sources into a single place (google sheets, surprise surprise!), linking seperate platforms to create a customer journey.
So, there you go! There's plenty more out there, and only more coming! However, these are the best and most reliable platforms I've used so far that can help automate and systemise workflow to free up time for more meaningful tasks. - Sam