Being a small business owner isn’t easy, especially when you have multiple roles to play – owner, accountant or bookkeeper, marketing, tech support, customer service. Yes, the list goes on.

Using a few cool tools wisely can however, ease the pressure on you and help you strike that elusive work-life balance, everyone seems to be talking about.

Which tools?

Here are 5 must-have smallbiz tools ( most of them, FREE!) that we use everyday, all the time to free up our time as business owners and do more without getting stressed out:

 Dropbox

This is my trusty resource for storing pretty much anything that I’d like to access while on the go, from my smartphone or another computer. So, it includes proposals sent to clients, files I’m working on and other stuff that I may need when out and about and without access to my laptop. Plus, it is FREE and saves space on my laptop as well. Yay!

 Shoeboxed

Again, a go-to resource for storing important documents and paperwork so that we can have a paperless home office while keeping everything we need neatly organized and easily accessible. Again, FREE to sign up and keeps our small office clutter-free. Win!

 Bluehost

If you’re like me and lack a technical bone in your body, you’ll appreciate the peace of mind that having a good hosting provider can give. We’ve been with Bluehost for over 4 years now and they’ve helped me each time I’ve needed to do something as basic as adding another domain to as complicated as moving from Blogger to WordPress.

If you need to free up your time from tech trouble AND want a hassle-free hosting provider, Bluehost are your folks.

 Mailchimp

A good email marketing service provider is a must if you want to connect with your customers, share news and updates as well as provide customer service on the go. Set up autoresponders to go out when a new customer buys something from you. Share weekly tips on using your products and services with your audience using scheduled emails. You can go on a vacation and have a bunch of emails set up to go out with news and updates about your business. Plus, it is FREE as well Cool, isn’t it?

E-Junkie

Finally, every business owner, needs a good, reliable shopping cart solution. For us, it is e-Junkie. Not only is it extremely affordable, starting at just $5, it offers a TON of functionality – coupon codes, affiliate set up, product variants and more.

So, what smallbiz tools do YOU use to make being a business owner easy and stress-free? Share with us in the comments!

Photo Credit: Free Digital Photos