Top tools for the weekend entrepreneur

South Africans are known for their entrepreneurial nature. From the undiscovered fashion guru selling vintage clothing and accessories through her boutique online store, to the high-flying tax attorney peddling artisanal jams at the farmer’s market on a Saturday morning, we are a nation of opportunists and weekend entrepreneurs.

However, Trying to juggle the stresses and pressures of full time employment and casual entrepreneurship can prove extremely challenging.

To make your life just that little bit easier, we’ve profiled the five essential tools that every weekend entrepreneur needs to ensure that they are able to prosper in their enterprising endeavours.

• WordPress

No matter the size of your side business, if you’re selling a product or offering a service, customers are far more inclined to take you seriously and trust your brand if you have a website. And if you don’t have the kind of disposable income to hire someone to build a website for you, WordPress might just become your best friend.

Not only is it one of the most robust, intuitive, and widely-used web platforms available, WordPress has a range of different themes which come with a ‘drag-and-drop’ CMS (Content Management System) allowing you to completely custom-build and manage your website without any coding ability.

Throw in a massive library of plugins that make SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), design, analytics, and e-commerce extremely simple to master and you’ll soon realise that taking building your own powerful website really isn’t that difficult.

• Hootsuite

Marketing is probably not something you’ve even considered for your micro enterprise, especially if you’re keeping your operations as lean as possible, but you shouldn’t disregard the power of social media as a marketing and client service/information tool. Having a strong social media presence will cost you nothing and it can really give you the edge in the highly connected contemporary marketplace.

Hootsuite is a fantastic tool for coordinating and managing your social media accounts from one place. You can link all your accounts, track your mentions and analytics, interact with your followers, schedule updates and much more through the website, making your life – and your business – that much easier.

• The Absa Payment Pebble

We’re moving into the gadget space now with the Payment Pebble, our very own invaluable tool for the entrepreneur on the go. The Payment Pebble is a pocket-sized POS (Point-of-Sale) device that plugs directly into your smartphone or tablet, allowing you to accept VISA and MasterCard debit and credit card payments from anywhere, anytime.

If you’re selling a product or offering a service on the go, the Absa Payment Pebble will allow you to get paid on the spot, hassle-free and is completely secure. You also eliminate the need to carry around large amounts of cash.

• Evernote

The Entrepreneur on the go has to keep track of a lot of information, from meetings and dates to sales figures, stock forecasts, and so much more. Let’s face it, the notepad is dying out, everything is going digital and you want to do your part for the planet. Evernote is the ultimate in note taking and list making and seamlessly integrates itself into all your devices, allowing you to keep on top of your day with ease.

Evernote is ideal for mapping out your day with to-do lists and keeping track of what you need to accomplish, a real advantage for the busy entrepreneur.

• The Absa SME web portal

Starting and managing a small business is not easy. There are many challenges that the entrepreneur faces, from logistical and administrative issues to finance and funding concerns and many more in-between.

The Absa SME web portal is an invaluable resource for all entrepreneurs, from established business owners to casual weekend opportunists, at any stage in the business lifecycle. Packed with resources to help you access new markets and funding, non-financial guidance and advice, enterprise development and incubation centers and much more, this free online portal will help to give you the edge in your entrepreneurial endeavours!

You can access the portal here.

So there you have it, our top five picks to simplify your weekend entrepreneurship. Don’t let the small things get in the way of your success, follow your dreams and prosper.