It’s never easy running a business, let alone trying to do it all on your own. In fact, more than half of all startups are run by solopreneurs. With so many opting to go alone, it’s more important than ever to choose the right technology to aid your entrepreneurial journey.
According to TechChrunch, more than half of all startups are run by ‘solopreneurs’. This means that every company role is often undertaken by a single person, leaving potential gaps in skills and expertise.
Thanks to constantly evolving technology, it’s now easier than ever to uncover and tackle these blind spots before they become unmanageable. Selecting the right solutions and addressing problems early could help improve your chance of success and boost your entrepreneurial efforts.
Whether you’re choosing to go the journey alone or looking for help with hiring talent you can trust, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a handy list of tips, tricks and tech that’ll supercharge your business and make your journey running a small business a little lighter.
Incorporate AI into your startup’s workflows
It’s likely you’ve heard all about AI by now.
When integrated correctly, it can significantly reduce the amount of time spent on lengthy admin tasks and repetitive background work. AI can free up company time and allow you to focus on bigger, more important goals.
These types of automated solutions are improving rapidly across many industries. With all this choice, how do you pick products that will best suit your needs? Here are a few tools we’ve been using:
- ClickUp: A project management software designed to help streamline your workflow, manage teams and keep organised. With the integration of an AI writing assistant which can help you with writing marketing copy, planning events and anything in between.
- Lumen5: AI powered video creation software which allows you to create short form videos from scratch. From education to entertainment, Lumen5 can assist you if you’re not a video editing expert.
- Otter.ai: An AI transcription tool that allows you to convert any audio or video that you upload to the software into text. Essentially, Otter.ai is your note taking buddy.
If you’re looking for even more information, we’ve put together a comprehensive resource on all the ways you can use AI in your startup journey, which you can read here.
We also recently teamed up with Currys Business. As part of the ‘Kit Up With Currys’ campaign, The Pitch community was offered an exclusive opportunity to win a tech bundle designed to help supercharge startups.
All our winners have been announced on our socials. They’ve been telling us how the tech will help them with their work moving forward. Interested in seeing more? View Sleep Toniq’s video here.
Use AI-powered tech to better inform your decisions
There are a wide range of tasks and processes that AI can assist with across every nuance of your business, helping you to make more informed decisions.
For example, AI-enabled tech can enhance analytical data, financial analysis reports, market research and project planning. These are all integral parts of your business that will be essential to monitor as you scale.
Currys Business offers AI-powered tech that can automate these aspects of your startup quickly and easily. The Intel Core Ultra Processor unlocks AI experiences that can allow you to increase productivity and simplify tasks, such as:
Quick and easy access to Microsoft Copilot: Microsoft Copilot can help answer your questions quickly or compose drafts in Word, simplifying your daily tasks.
Streamline your business with voice command: Use voice commands to perform tasks, find information and create.
Fast charging and long battery life: Charge up to 80% in less than 60 minutes through Surface Connect or USB-C®.
Find the right accountant by engaging in online spaces
We recently spoke to a handful of founders about the biggest challenges they’ve faced while running their startups. One of the main struggles they cited was finding a reliable and dependable accountant.
If you’re also in this position, it’s worth asking around and speaking to those in a similar field to you. Chances are they’ve already gone through various accountants and might be able to offer you some insight on what worked best for them and their business. Online spaces are an ideal place to find like minded peers who can help you to make the right connections.
Here are a few online accounting platforms that you might find handy:
- Quickbooks: Quickbooks is an online accounting software that offers a complete bookkeeping solution for businesses.
- Xero: Xero is a cloud-based accounting software designed for SMBs. Xero allows you to automate your admin and work from anywhere, anytime.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks is an invoice and accounting software designed for small businesses. From invoices to tracking expenses, FreshBooks will have your business covered.
Hire talent by utilising digital third-party services
Now that you’ve established your business as a solopreneur, you might be starting to think about expanding your team and hiring a few more helping hands. When you’ve already built your business from the ground up, it can be hard to find people you trust. They’ll need to share your passion, drive and vision.
One of the best ways to find talent is through word of mouth. Consider connecting with other founders and see what helped them, whether online or at networking events. For rough ideas on how to get started, we’ve previously written an article outlining how top entrepreneurs approach talent acquisition. You can read it in full here.
We know that solopreneurs are strapped for time. Sometimes the most straightforward approach is to use a third party service that can do the lengthy tasks for you.
Here are a few companies that do just that:
- Move: Move is a talent consultancy for high-growth businesses. Move will help you optimise and scale your hiring.
- GoodHire: GoodHire is a FCRA-complaint platform that helps you carry out employment background checks to ensure a safe and secure workspace.
- UpWork: UpWork helps connect businesses with talented, independent professionals and agencies around the world. You’ll be able to connect with freelancers that are just right for you and your business.
- Work In Startups: Work In Startups allows professionals to search for a role in the startup industry. Equally, startups are able to post a job on the site and connect with people that are looking to advance their careers in the startup industry.
Acquiring a team that you trust is one of the most integral parts of running a business. Once you do find the right people, you’ll need to work hard at building a strong and happy team morale.
Haven’t built a team before? No worries, we’ve got you covered. Check out our article, ‘the importance of a strong team and how you can build one’, to learn all about team building.
Use digital platforms to manage teams on the go
As a founder, you know how difficult it is to manage a team, especially if you’re spread thin. Now that we’ve established ways for you to hire talent easily, let’s look into ways of managing them while you’re on the move.
A great way to manage your team on the go is by using a digital platform that can help you structure your tasks and objectives. Most of these offer integration with multiple different services, so you can communicate with your employees easily and keep projects up to date seamlessly.
Here are a few software platforms that can help you manage your team better:
- Monday: A cloud-based platform that allows you to track projects, manage workflow and keep your business on track.
- Asana: Designed to keep your team organised and keep projects on track. Asana is a great tool if your team is working remotely.
- Notion: Notion blends your every day apps into one handy management platform. It’s an all in one workspace for you and your team.
Management platforms vary in design and structure, so you’ll need to test out which one fits your business model best. Most project management tools will offer a free trial. Keep an eye out for opportunities to test different services without having to fork over cash.
Stay productive with cloud-based digital tools
Productivity is key to keeping any business afloat.
Yet, it can be one of the hardest aspects to manage. Productivity often ebbs and flows, and there are a lot of factors that can affect your performance, such as team size, fatigue, management style and overall company structure.
There are a wide range of cloud-based, online tools that can help you to keep track of tasks, stay organised and keep your team all clued up. With many startups now working remotely, it’s important to find productivity tools that everyone can access easily from anywhere.
Here are some platforms that may help you keep your productivity high:
- Todoist: A software that helps you keep your to-do list organised.
- Zapier: A software that automates routine tasks to help you work more effectively.
- Toggl: An app that offers time-tracking services for all your projects. Additionally, Toggl also analyses where time may be wasted and gives suggestions for improvements to keep you and your team productive.
If you need some guidance on how to stay productive, check out our article, ‘how to stay productive when you’ve got a tiny startup team’. We’ve also published plenty of handy guides and resources on how you can promote wellbeing and prevent burnout. Check them out here.
