Google Business Profile
FreeBest for: Every local business
Your listing on Google Search and Maps: hours, photos, reviews and directions. Free, and the single most important profile for a local business.
Small Business Toolkit
The tools we'd use to grow a local business
Organized the way growth actually works: get found, capture customers, follow up, create content and sell. Several are free. Every paid pick has a full independent review behind it.
How we make money: some links on this page are affiliate links, marked “Partner link”. If you sign up through one, SunriseOwned may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes which tools we recommend, and it keeps the directory free for local businesses.
Step 1
Get found
Before people follow you, they Google you. Start where customers already look.
Lovable
Partner linkBest for: Building a website without a developer
Describe the site you want and Lovable's AI builds it, then you edit in plain English. Good for landing pages, booking pages and simple business sites.
Step 2
Capture and follow up
Followers are rented. An email list is owned. These tools turn customers into repeat business.
Kit
Partner linkBest for: Email newsletters and simple automations
Email marketing built for creators and small businesses, with sign-up forms, landing pages and automated welcome sequences. Has a free plan to start.
Flodesk
Partner linkBest for: Beautiful emails with little design work
Design-first email marketing with polished templates, popular with boutiques, salons, photographers and service businesses.
Brevo
Partner linkBest for: Email plus text messages in one place
Email, SMS and a simple CRM together, with a free plan. A good fit for businesses that send appointment reminders and promotions.
ActiveCampaign
Partner linkBest for: Advanced automation as you grow
Powerful email automation and CRM for businesses ready to build multi-step follow-up based on what customers do.
beehiiv
Partner linkBest for: Running a local newsletter
A newsletter platform with built-in growth and monetization tools, for businesses that want to publish regularly.
Step 3
Create content
You're already surrounded by content: jobs you finished, customer questions, behind the scenes.
Canva
FreeBest for: Flyers, social posts and signs
Drag-and-drop design with thousands of templates. The free plan covers most small business needs.
Descript
Partner linkBest for: Editing video and podcasts
Edit video by editing the transcript, like a document. Great for testimonials, how-to clips and short social videos.
Later
Partner linkBest for: Scheduling social posts
Plan and schedule posts for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and more from one calendar, so you post consistently without living on your phone.
Step 4
Sell and stay organized
Tools don't create growth. Systems do. These keep leads and conversations from slipping.
Close
Partner linkBest for: Service businesses that sell by phone and email
A CRM with calling, email and follow-up reminders built in, for businesses that quote and close deals.
SurveyMonkey
Partner linkBest for: Asking customers what they think
Quick customer surveys and feedback forms. Ask every customer how they heard about you.
SaneBox
Partner linkBest for: Taming a busy inbox
Automatically sorts unimportant email out of your inbox so customer messages don't get buried.
Tools don't create growth. Systems do.
See how these fit together in the free keynote from the Sunrise Business Summit, then make sure customers can find you here.