4 Business Tools Every Business Owner Needs (+ One Extra!) -

Having the right business tools are essential to getting your business running in a way that works for you. I’m a huge proponent of automation and working smarter, not harder. There are literally thousands of tools that can help your business accomplish all sorts of things. Some, of course, are easier to set up than others but don’t let the set up deter you. I promise, once you get some of these things in place, your business will run so much more smoothly! Here are four of my favorite tools (plus one bonus). Some of these do contain affiliate links but the opinion expressed are all mine.

Flodesk – Email Marketing

Email marketing is an essential part of your business! I’ll be doing a whole series on my weekly #WisdomWednesday Instagram lives on the importance of other ways of marketing besides social media – and email marketing is a huge one! Outside of your website, your email list is the only thing you own. Email marketing helps you talk directly to your ideal clients and nurture them into paying customers. I (and several of my clients) use Flodesk for email marketing. It has beautiful templates that are easy to use and set up. While not as dynamic as other platforms like Active Campaign, it does have workflow automations and segmenting which is essential. Flodesk also currently does not charge based on the number of subscribers or the number of monthly emails sent so it’s very cost-effective.

Wave – Accounting, Invoicing, & Bookkeeping

If you’re looking for a simple (and free) way to invoice clients then you need Wave. Wave allows you to create invoices and allows clients to save their payment information for quicker processing. They also allow you to establish reoccurring invoices that can automatically be sent to clients and that clients can select to autopay. Who doesn’t love getting paid faster?! Wave also allows you to link bank accounts and credits cards which makes your bookkeeping and accounting super easy. I do a monthly reconciliation during my monthly goal setting time and come tax time, I can easily pull a detailed report to send to my accountant.

Monday.com – Project Management

If you have a team, Monday is perfect for managing projects internally. I like it for creatives because it allows you to visually see where each of your projects is. You can set statuses and due dates, assign tasks to team members, and even create automations based on task completion. I have one client that has been able to completely streamline her onboarding, design, and offboarding process for clients by utilizing Monday.

Dubsado – Client Management

I absolutely LOVE Dubsado. I’ve tried a variety of client management systems such as Honeybook and 17Hats, and I overwhelmingly prefer Dubsado. Not only can you invoice through Dubs (as I call it), you can create contracts, client portals, proposals, product/service packages, workflows, and so much more! I’ve used it when working in the stationery business and it has easily transitioned into my strategist business without too much extra work to set everything up.

Bonus* Trello – Project Management

If you’re not ready for the as many features as Monday.com provides, I HIGHLY recommend Trello for project management as well. I use Trello specifically to organize my weekly social media posts. I’m able to create cards for each week and put my post ideas together in one spot. I’ve been able to plan a month’s worth of content thanks to the ease and organization that Trello provides.