Best CRM for solo entrepreneurs in 2024

As a solopreneur, you wear many hats—managing client relationships, tracking sales, handling marketing, and keeping your business organized all by yourself. A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system can help you stay on top of these tasks by organizing your contacts, automating follow-ups, and providing valuable insights into your business—all from one platform. With the right CRM, you can streamline your workflow, save time, and focus more on growing your business.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the best CRM options for solopreneurs like you, focusing on tools that will help you stay organized and boost your productivity while running your business solo.

Why you need a CRM

A good CRM can help you streamline your processes and boost your business so that you can prioritize the tasks that matter.

Challenges without a CRM

Managing different parts of your business that all need your attention without a CRM can be a daunting. You're more likely to face some challenges including...

• Disorganization: Without a CRM, keeping track of customer information and interactions can become chaotic.
• Missed opportunities: Important follow-ups and potential leads can slip through the cracks.
• Inefficient processes: Manual tasks consume valuable time and reduce productivity.
• Lack of insight: Without data analytics, making informed decisions is challenging.
• Inconsistent communication: Maintaining consistent and professional communication with clients becomes difficult.

Benefits of a CRM

Fortunately, the right CRM can help you address these challenges. You might also find some extra benefits along the way that can help you streamline your business operations and efficiency as a one-person band.

• Centralized information: All customer data is stored in one place, making it easily accessible.
• Enhanced efficiency: Automating routine tasks frees up time for more strategic activities.
• Improved customer relationships: Better tracking of customer interactions leads to more personalized service.
• Better decision-making: Data-driven insights help in making informed business decisions.
• Increased sales: Streamlined processes and better lead management result in higher conversion rates.
• Consistent communication: Automated follow-ups and reminders ensure no client is forgotten.

How to evaluate and choose a CRM

With a lot of CRMs to go through and not enough time to do so – it can feel a bit overwhelming. To help you out with your decision making process so you can hit the ground running with your research, we've put together these quick tips that you can adapt according to any specific needs you have.

1. Define your requirements

As a solo entrepreneur, it's crucial to identify the key features that will streamline your business operations. Look for a CRM that offers contact management, task automation, and email marketing capabilities. Additionally, ensure the platform integrates seamlessly with tools you already use, like email services and invoicing software. You may want to start with these features in particular.

7 features a small business CRM should have for solo entrepreneurs

• User-friendly interface: A CRM should be intuitive and easy to navigate. Solo entrepreneurs often wear many hats, so a system that simplifies tasks is crucial.
• Sales and marketing automation: Automating repetitive tasks such as follow-up emails, data entry, and scheduling can save valuable time.
• Customization: The ability to tailor the CRM to your specific business needs ensures it fits seamlessly into your workflow. This should include dashboards, custom fields, workflows and sequences.
• Integration: A CRM that integrates with other tools you use, such as email clients, marketing platforms, and invoicing software, can create a more cohesive system. This way you can fully tailor it to your needs.
• Affordability: Budget-friendly options are important for solo entrepreneurs who need to manage costs carefully.
• Mobile accessibility: A mobile-friendly CRM allows you to manage your business on the go.
• Customer support: Reliable customer support can help you troubleshoot issues quickly, ensuring minimal downtime.

2. Budget considerations

While budgeting can be tricky, balancing cost and return on investment is particularly important for solo business owners. Opt for a CRM that offers a free tier or affordable pricing plans. Remember, the goal is to enhance efficiency without breaking the bank. Look for platforms that provide essential features at a reasonable cost, ensuring you get the best value for your money.

3. Selection process

Researching and choosing the right CRM vendor involves several steps. Start by reading reviews and seeking recommendations from other solo entrepreneurs. Attend webinars or watch demo videos to get a feel for the platform's usability. Ensure the vendor offers robust customer support, as you might need assistance during the setup and usage phases.

4. Get a demo

As a solo entrepreneur, it's crucial to ensure that the CRM you choose aligns with your unique business needs. One of the best ways to do this is by getting a demo. A demo allows you to explore the CRM's features, interface, and usability, helping you determine if it's the right fit for your solo venture. Get started with a demo of folk,

4 Best CRM platforms for solo entrepreneurs

‍

1. folk

Best for: Customization and ease of use – a truly personal CRM that can scale with you when you're ready.

folk is designed to be a flexible CRM solution, making it ideal for solo entrepreneurs who need a system that adapts to their unique processes. It's user-friendly and focuses on simplifying customer management.

Key features

• Customizable and multiple pipeline management for lead generation and sales cycle overview
• Custom fields and dashboards, de-duplication and data migration
• Contact management and contact sync
• Multiple business function support including sales, fundraising, recruitment
• Integrated calendar
• Sales and marketing automation
• Mail merge with AI assistance
• Mobile app

Pros

• Customization: Folk allows you to create custom fields and workflows, which means you can tailor it precisely to your business needs. This flexibility is great for solo entrepreneurs who need a system that grows with their business.
• Ease of use: The interface is user-friendly and intuitive, making it easy to get started without a steep learning curve. This is crucial for solo entrepreneurs who need to hit the ground running.
• Mobile access: The mobile app ensures you can manage your contacts and tasks on the go, which is perfect for busy entrepreneurs.
• Sales automation for founder-led sales: Make use of free Chrome extensions including folk X, and LinkedIn social listening tools that can turn your social media engagement into warm leads, and help to keep track of lead activity, create a messaging template library and import search lists directly into your folk CRM.
• Marketing automation: Including AI assistance to personalize bulk email campaigns using custom variables.
• Contact sync: So you can bring all your contacts into one place and keep them updated without switching context every time.

Cons

• Reporting isn't available in folk yet but is coming soon.

Price and plans

You can try folk for free with a 14 day free trial. After that, a monthly or annual subscription plan is as follows. 

• Standard: $20 per user, per month. 
• Premium: $40 per user, per month.
• Custom: Starts from $80 per user, per month.

2. HubSpot CRM

Best for: Basic free CRM software

HubSpot is a well-known CRM platform that offers a robust set of tools even in its free version. It’s designed to grow with your business, making it a great choice for solo entrepreneurs planning to expand.

Key features

• Basic contact management tools
• Email tracking and templates
• Meeting scheduling
• Task automation
• Sales and marketing workflow automation
• Comprehensive reporting

Pros

• Free Plan: HubSpot's free plan is one of the most comprehensive on the market, offering tools that many other CRMs charge for. This is ideal for solo entrepreneurs on a budget.
• Integration: HubSpot integrates with a wide range of other tools, allowing for a seamless workflow across different platforms.

Cons

• Cost of advanced features: While the free plan is excellent, some of the more advanced features come with a higher price tag, which might be a stretch for some solo entrepreneurs.
• Scalability: Once you're ready to scale, or need access to more of HubSpot's advanced features, it becomes a steep investment.

Price and plans

Once you're ready to scale, HubSpot becomes an expensive option. Price and plans depend on whether or not you're after their marketing, sales, customer service, content or CRM suite.

CRM suite

• ‍Starter: $15 per user, per month.‍
• Professional: $450 per user, per month.‍
• Enterprise: $1,500 per user, per month.

3. Less annoying CRM

Best for: Simple CRM option

Less annoying CRM is designed to be simple and easy to use, making it a great option for solo entrepreneurs who need an agile CRM solution that is straightforward to set up.

Key features

• Basic contact management features
• Calendar and task management
• Email logging
• Simple customization

Pros

• Simplicity: The straightforward interface means you can start managing your contacts and leads without any hassle, which is perfect for solo entrepreneurs who need to focus on their business rather than figuring out a complex system.
• Affordability: At $15 per user per month, it’s one of the most affordable CRMs, making it accessible for solo entrepreneurs who need to keep expenses low.

Cons

• Limited features: It offers fewer features compared to more comprehensive CRMs, which might be a limitation if your business needs grow significantly.
• Lack of integrations: The range of integrations is more limited, which might pose challenges if you rely on various other tools for your business operations.

Price and plans

On a monthly plan, Less Annoying CRM offers one price plan at $15 per user, per month.

4. Zoho CRM

Best for: Sales-focussed solopreneurs

Zoho CRM is part of the Zoho suite of business applications. It's more for mid-sized businesses, but can be used by a sales-focussed solo entrepreneur who just needs access to sales automation tools and pipelines.

Key features

• Contact and lead management
• Sales automation
• Workflow automation
• Email marketing integration

Pros

• Integration with Zoho Suite: As part of the Zoho ecosystem, Zoho CRM seamlessly integrates with other Zoho applications like Zoho Books, Zoho Campaigns, and Zoho Projects. This integration enables a more streamlined and cohesive business operation.
• Versatility: Zoho CRM’s extensive range of features allows solo entrepreneurs to manage various aspects of their business from a single platform. This versatility is excellent for entrepreneurs who need a comprehensive tool that goes beyond basic CRM functionalities.

Cons

• Complexity: While Zoho CRM’s extensive features are a significant advantage, they can also make the system appear complex and overwhelming for new users. Solo entrepreneurs might face a steep learning curve when first adopting the platform.
• Limited free plan: The free plan, although useful, has limited features and is only suitable for very basic CRM needs. Solo entrepreneurs who require more advanced functionalities will need to upgrade to a paid plan.
• Customer Support: Some users have reported that Zoho’s customer support can be slow and less responsive, which could be a drawback for solo entrepreneurs who need prompt assistance to resolve issues quickly.

Price and plans

There is a limited free plan available. After that, an annual subscription plan is as follows,

• Standard: $14 per user, per month.
• Professional: $23 per user, per month.
• Enterprise: $40 per user, per month (Zia AI tier)

Conclusion

As a solopreneur running a (or several) small businesses, client relationships are at the centre of your customer experience. Making the customer relationship management you choose crucial. It's got to be able to help you manage your business effectively. While HubSpot, Less Annoying CRM, and Zoho CRM all offer valuable tools for solopreneurs, folk stands out as the ideal choice. Its simplicity, flexibility, and customizable workflows are perfectly suited for solopreneurs looking to efficiently manage client relationships without unnecessary complexity. folk’s user-friendly design allows solopreneurs to stay organized, automate tasks, and focus on growing their business, making it the best fit for individuals seeking a streamlined, powerful CRM solution. Try folk today, free.

More resources

• folk price and plans

Frequently Asked Questions

What do solopreneurs use as a CRM?

Solopreneurs typically use CRMs like folk, HubSpot, Less Annoying CRM, and Zoho CRM to manage their customer relationships, organize leads, and streamline their day-to-day tasks.

Do I need a CRM?

Yes, as a solopreneur, a CRM is essential to help you manage and grow your business. A CRM helps you:

• Organize contacts: Keep all your client information in one place, making it easy to track interactions and follow up on leads.
• Save time: Automate routine tasks like email follow-ups, reminders, and data entry so you can focus on delivering value to your clients.
• Improve client relationships: Stay on top of your communications and ensure that no client interaction is overlooked, helping you nurture relationships and drive loyalty.

Even as a one-person business, having a CRM allows you to operate more efficiently and provide better service to your clients.

How does folk's CRM help solopreneurs?

With its focus on simplicity, flexibility, and relationship management, folk is the perfect CRM for solopreneurs looking to organize their business, automate tasks, and nurture client relationships effectively.