No matter where you are in your business, having systems and processes in place is the only way that you can really maximize your time and efficiently allow you to scale and grow your business.
With so many shiny new tools on the market, it can be a little overwhelming to go through and pick just the right ones. Especially if you’re bootstrapping – you’re trying to save money, not spend it!
I get it. And I agree that the tech and tools can feel a bit like going down the rabbit hole. So that’s why I’ve put together my top 9 favorite business tools that anyone, at any level can use (and afford!).
Trello. Price: FREE (there are paid versions, but the free one will do just fine for most of us). I use Trello for ev-er-y-thing. Like really. I use it for my businesses, for my family, and for personal things too! What exactly can trello do? You can create boards for various projects or businesses and within those boards, you create lists that contain movable cards. For example, I have one board called “All Girl Shave Club Marketing.” On this board, I have various lists made including: influencer collaboration, facebook ads, and social media campaigns. Within each list, I can create cards that can track my marketing efforts in regards to that particular topic. I can upload photos of the influencers I’m working with, attach files that include ad copy and creative assets for my facebook ads and even create checklists with due dates to keep track of all the things I need to do for each campaign or activity. If you have a team, you can share boards so that you can all work together to complete projects. There’s seriously so much you can do with trello, think of it as your virtual workspace that will free your mind and keep all your thoughts, to-dos, passwords, files – whatever – in one happy little place. You can create a free account here.
Google Drive. Price: FREE. I never jumped on the google drive bandwagon until about a year ago. It wasn’t widely used when I was in college (now I’m dating myself) and I always had access to Microsoft programs so I never really got what all the buzz was about when it came to google drive. Until one day when my Microsoft word subscription decided to stop working and no matter what I tried I couldn’t get any of my documents to open. Plus the fact that they were isolated to just my computer (and I couldn’t access them remotely). I decided to give google drive a whirl. I have a business email account through Google, so it made sense to create my documents and spreadsheets there. Now, I couldn’t live without it if I tried. It holds ALL my work, it’s easy to organize and categorize things into appropriate folders – and best of all, you can access your stuff no matter where you are! If you have a gmail or Google account, you have access to Google Drive.
Canva. Price: FREE (there is a paid version, the free one is excellent and the paid version is very affordable and totally worth it once you get into a groove with it!) I have never claimed to be a graphic designer…not even close…but with canva, I can make it look like I know what I’m doing when it comes to social media graphics, marketing materials, business cards, insert cards for my boxes and images for my emails and website! It’s seriously the easiest design tool out there and you do not need to be an experienced pro!
SimilarWeb. Price: FREE (up to 5 searches per day. There is also a paid version for unlimited use and more robust features). This is a super cool tool if you want to check out your competition and how much traffic they are getting to their website and where it’s coming from. It will also show you any display ads they have running so you can check out what their ads look like and what their messaging is like. It’s a great tool to use particularly if you are trying to launch a new product or business and want to see what kind of success the competition is having with similar offerings.
HauteStock. Price: $99/quarter. Ok so I know that price tag sounds steep, but stick with me here. HauteStock is a membership gallery that is FULL of (over 2,000!) beautifully branded, polished stock photos and insta quotes. AND, she adds new images monthly! You can find pretty much any color palette and style you need. The images are absolutely stunning and I use them almost every day. It’s well worth the price when you consider how much work it would take to create your own or to spend hours and hours hunting the free sites for anything remotely close. I use these images on my insert cards, social media, in my emails and pretty much anywhere else when I need a good, high-quality image on the fly. Check them out here.
Planoly. Price: FREE (there is a paid version but I still use the free one!) This is my favorite instagram scheduler, especially now that it will post directly to instagram! I love it because I can upload my images in batches and then lay them out using their visual planner to see which images look best in which order. Then I can schedule them, write out the captions and used any saved hashtag groups that I want. Batta-bing – now that’s social media done easy! Pro tip: did you know that you can insert emojis into your scheduled posts even though you may be using a desktop? You can. The shortcut code to access the emoji keyboard on the mac is control+spacebar and if you’re using Windows 10 it’s Win+period. You’re welcome!
HelpScout. Price: $20/mo per user. This tool is SUCH a time saver when it comes to managing customer service. All of our customer service emails are filtered into HelpScout, users can tag, assign or write notes to other team members about a support ticket that comes in so we can all be on the same page, communicating at the top of our game and handling customer service with precision and lightning speed! I seriously don’t know how I ever got by without it. My favorite part is once you’ve cleared the inbox, they shoot off on screen fireworks to celebrate inbox zero! YES!! If you’d like me to send you a unique link where you can get a $50 HelpScout credit, email me at info@jessicaprincipe.com.
DPD Store. Price: $10/mo (prices go up from there). This is the perfect, easy to use tool if you are selling digital downloads. It’s simple to set up and makes it easy for your customer to buy from you. You upload the products you want to sell and assign a price, then DPD Store delivers that product to your customer digitally immediately upon purchase. You don’t have to do a thing! Talk about passive income.
Shower Speaker. Price: $18.99. I had to throw this baby in because it really is a very important tool in my biz life! I’m a lifelong learner – I love to learn about anything and everything and I never want to waste one second of my day unnecessarily. So, I bought this little guy. It suctions to the wall of my shower and connects to my iPhone via bluetooth so I can tune into my favorite podcasts or audiobooks in the shower and while I’m getting ready for the day! How cool is that?! You can grab one for yourself here!
What are your favorite tools or apps for keeping your business running smoothly? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below! And if there’s a particular area that you’re struggling finding the perfect solution for, let me know that too. Maybe I’ll have a recommendation for you!