‘What do you think the con in consultant stands for?’, someone asked me recently.
‘That’s a bit harsh’ I said, ‘Consultants bring a fresh perspective and have the benefit of working with multiple companies so they have a deeper insight into what works’.
‘That’s all very well and good’ he said ‘but a start-up can’t afford a consultant and more importantly a consultant doesn’t know best practice in something that hasn’t yet been invented.’
And his right most start-ups can’t afford consultants, or freelancers for that matter. They are one-man bands, struggling to master every function themselves. Thankfully, there are many digital tools which can save time and a small fortune on consultant and freelancer fees.
Design
Create professional looking social media images, headers, posters, brochures, pitch decks and more with Canva.com. A free and easy to use tool loved by millions.
Strategic Direction
Find out whose visiting your site and tailor your communication efforts to them using Google Analytics. Also now available on android and iphone
Video
Create a video explainer use www.wideo.co the site has lots of great templates to help you simply and inexpensively articulate your message.
Relationships
Business is built on relationships. Manage yours better. Use nimble.com, a lot cheaper than saleforce.com and a lot easier to work with. Plus it integrates with all social media platforms, so your communications are always in one place.
Thought leadership
Establish your start-up as a thought leader. Create an inforgraphic about something niche in your industry with www.infogr.am
Design
Hiring a designer is risky. Crowdsource your logo and web design and avoid hiring the wrong freelancers with 99designs.com
Press
Sign-up to Response Source to receive daily emails about journalists looking for stories in your industry. This is the secret tool most PR agencies use.
Hiring
Get The Crowd Works free widget and see who in your network could fit your vacancy instantly.
Social Media
Save hours cross populating social media accounts with Hootsuite. Tweet, Facebook post and LinkedIn share with one button.
Do you have a tool that saves you time and money? Share it with me in the comments below.
Great post, keep up the good work. It would mean the world to me if you just came and checked out my blog and maybe even give it a follow if you like what you see! Thank you.
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I was wondering if you ever thought of changing the structure of
your blog? Its very well written; I love what youve got to say.
But maybe you could a little more in the way of content so people could
connect with it better. Youve got an awful lot of text for only having 1
or 2 pictures. Maybe you could space it out better?