The entrepreneurial pool is growing day by day, whether you're a full time one or a part time one, finding technical or online resources that don't destroy your profit line do exist. No I won't say you don't need technical help or not to get a professional designer, but if you are just starting out or need your budget for these kinds of things is not huge, here are some things that could help.
Canva
Photo: Canva
I stumbled across Canva in my search for stock images and things of that nature on the Internet for my blog (which you are reading ;) and I definitely appreciate it!). Canva gives you the simple tools to design really nice digital or print graphics. Everything from flyers to menus, and for those that are building a brand on social media (i.e Instagram, Facebook, etc) it can create those too! There's even a template for gift certificates for those who wish to offer them but don't have the means to get one created and printed. Now there are some design elements that do cost but those are clearly marked and there's so much you can do for FREE! Not to mention you can upload your own photos and graphics and really get creative. They even offer some tutorials for people that really want to learn how to do their own graphics but need a little assistance. They also have an iPad app too for making graphics on the go!
Google for Work
Photo: Google
Have your own site? That means you own a domain, and you should have an email attached to it. Now I know that for alot of people it doesn't easier to just place your business name in front of an @gmail.com address (or @outlook) but it looks better if your email address for your business has your domain name in it. Google Apps for Work will easily allow you to configure that with the ease of use that you're used to with your Gmail. Your email will say yourname@yourbusiness.com. Now this service isn't completely free, it's free for the first 30 days and then $5/month per user thereafter. But for that amount you also get 30GB of online storage as well as video and voice calling. That's really not alot considering all that you get, you spend more than that on your lunch daily.
MailChimp
MailChimp logo (Photo: MailChimp)
MailChimp is an email marketing tool that will allow you to send newsletters (really nice ones I might add) to your subscribers. The great thing about it, for 2,000 subscribers or less you can utilize this for FREE! You can even create forms for people to sign up and embed on your site. I'll actually be customizing my stuff through MailChimp in the next couple of weeks to send all my subscribers more streamlined emails to keep you up-to-date with all the latest posts from ChicDivaGeek.com! You can upgrade to get more advanced features at a cost, but if you just starting out, business wise or new to email newsletters this is a good resource for you.
Hope these resources help you a little!