Approximately 70 percent of companies are run by one person, the U.S. Small Business Administration reports. While you may work solo, you're not alone in the maze of start-up success. Remember that every company was a small business at one point or another, including Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook launch from a Harvard dorm room.

The path is well worn for small and emerging business owners looking to take steps for success in the New Year. But don't let a sea of available tools and resources intimidate you.

Keeping your business on track for success doesn't have to be a complicated, or even stressful process. Here are five tools to turn your 2014 business goals into a success.

Keep tabs on all your clients, potential customers, contractors and other contacts in one place for easy communication. A free email marketing solution like Mail Chimp allows you to input thousands of emails free of charge. Send out newsletters, sale offers and notices with easy-to-use templates to your entire contact list.

An email list can also help convert potential customers into paying clients. If you run a service from a website or blog, ask customers to sign-up for a newsletter in exchange for a free report or eBook filled with advice. Let them know you'll be sending them periodic newsletters and updates. Next, email your database of potential clients when you launch your next service or sale.

Streamline your invoicing

Don't let client bills slip through the cracks with poor invoicing strategies. Staying on top of invoicing with a reliable online system is crucial to getting paid on time. A system like Intuit invoicing works with QuickBooks and automatically records transactions for better accuracy. It's easy for customers to put a bill aside and think about cutting a check later. This means late payments and delayed revenues for you.

Instead, an online invoicing system lets customers pay safely online from their bank account to yours. It's easy for you to keep track of bills and get paid instantly. Intuit is also cheaper to use than credit cards and offers low, flat-fee pricing of $.50 per payment received.

Keep track of your clients in one place

Can't remember if you followed up on that last bid to a potential client? It's easy to get overwhelmed with business building strategies. A good customer relationship management (CRM) tool like Capsule allows business owners to keep track of everyone they're working with. Keep track of email correspondence, sales pipelines, calendars and more.

Business owners can easily set up alerts to follow-up with clients or submit new proposals and additional information. Capsule also allows you to easily integrate your information from Google Apps, Mail Chimp and even your accounting software.

Leverage your LinkedIn page

LinkedIn is a powerful business tool to keep in touch with clients and business partners and see what your competition is up to. Connect with customers and find out who is in their network with similar positions. They may be able to refer you to colleagues or offer a testimonial for your LinkedIn page.

Properly filling out your profile and professional page means your services can show up in a search. Join groups that target your customer base and answer questions, offer tips and act as an expert resource. You can also join business groups to get your own advice on the best business tools and resources. LinkedIn can also alert you to who has looked at your profile. Send a message to the person and introduce yourself and ask if you can help them with anything.

Get free press

Unlock an avalanche of free press with Help a Reporter Out (HARO). The free service helps journalists and writers find sources for upcoming articles and projects. Business owners, or anyone with something to promote, can sign-up as a source and specify topics of interest. Sources get multiple emails a day with new listings.

Follow the instructions and reply to the message for a shot at being quoted in an article. Most journalists need some expert input and advice, so the time commitment to respond is usually minimal. Most outlets will mention your business name and usually link to your site. It's an easy, painless way to generate some press without having to send out press releases and hire a PR freelancer to drum it up for you.

Author Bio
Susan Finch is a freelance writer with a passion for travel deals, arts and great food. She is an eclectic writer with over 10 years of experience contributing to guidebooks, magazines, iPhone apps, online publications and more. She can be found at BySusanFinch.com.