My Top Free Online Business Resources by @brightsmith

by Kia Howey Dolby | Featured Contributor 

As a working mom who is always on the go, I have to have flexible tools for running my branding and design business. I have found a few go-to resources for making my business run smoothly. Here are my favorite resources for managing my online business. Best of all, they are all free.

Freedcamp for managing client projects
Freedcamp is a great, free project management  application that allows me to easily keep up with all the pieces of clients projects. Freedcamp eliminates the need for following complex email strings by allowing me to keep all correspondences in one place. With Freedcamp, I can add files, to-do tasks, project milestones, and ongoing discussions that I, my team and clients can contribute to- all from one online dashboard. (http://www.freedcamp.com)

HootSuite for all things social
HootSuite is my go-to tool for managing my social media presence. I love using this online dashboard  to post to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Using this tool helps me make sure that important information about my business goes out in a timely manner. It’s also a great tool  for monitoring social campaigns and activities. (http://www.hootsuite.com)

Google Drive for creating and collaborating on the go.
Because I am frequently working on the go, and may be using one of several computers,  I use Google Drive for creating and managing documents in multiple places. Google Drive is a cloud based application for creating and storing presentations, spreadsheets and more. Simply upload an existing  document or create a new one online. Drive features all the writing and editing tools you are used  to and eliminates the need to save and move documents from place to place. Plus, it’s easy to  share and collaborate with others via Drive docs. (http://www.google.com/drive)

WordPress for content management
I’m a huge fan and promoter of WordPress for building blogs and websites. It’s a flexible, expandable and dynamic tool for creating websites. Even better, it’s built-in content management system makes it easy to create and posts blogs and news without using code. (http://www.wordpress.org)

Google Analytics for measuring success
How can you easily track your online goals? Use Google Analytics. I use this tool to  monitor  traffic, visitor count, site referrals and a whole host of other important metrics to gain valuable insight on online activities. With Google Analytics, I can pull custom reports according to time frame, and other attributes to get both a big picture and detailed look at my online successes. (http://www.google.com/analytics)

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Kia Howey Dolby- Branding and Communications Strategist, Brightsmith Creative

Kia Dolby loves you and your brand, and she loves to share her experience, insight and expertise with you.  Kia is the owner of Brightsmith Creative, a boutique communications studio that offers brand development, web design and communication strategy services. Kia has a passion for entrepreneurship. Her specialty is empowering small businesses with the tools they need to build and communicate their brand.

Kia studied graphic design at Florida A&M University and Temple University. She holds over 10 years of experience in marketing, branding, and web design. When she is not working, she enjoys blogging about design and style, playing with her three boys, traveling and vegetarian cooking.

Kia Howey Dolby