My 10 Favorite Business Tools & Apps
Who doesn’t love a good top 10 list? Especially if you’re a small business owner – we need all the help we can get! I’ve been wanting to compile one of these for a while now and finally sat down to write it up. Here we go!
This post contains some referral affiliate links which will give you a discount and give me a little discount as well!
SOCIAL MEDIA
01. Meta Business Manager (website/app). I don’t love that FB updated their name to Meta – it’s just so… meta. But I do LOVE their social media scheduling capabilities! From the business manager, you can schedule out both Instagram & Facebook posts, Stories, and even reply to comments & messages. The best part? It’s free!
02. Unfold (app). This Squarespace-developed app is a great way to create easy, beautiful graphics for your soical media. I like to use the animated IG story templates to give my stories a little extra oomph, and I also like using them for Reels clips! I have their Plus plan, which for $3/mo allows me to create using all of their templates, plan out my Instagram grid, and see color trends on my feed.
EMAIL MARKETING
03. Flodesk (website). I used to exclusively use Mailchimp, and while Mailchimp does have a free plan option up to a certain amount of subscribers, it is not the most user-friendly option. I also struggled to design workflows and segments for my audiences, and it was difficult to create beautiful emails. When I switched to Flodesk, everything immediately became 100% easier – from creating opt-ins on my website to setting up new subscriber welcome email flows. Get 50% off your first year by using my referral link!
04. Cold Email Strategy (workbook). This is a workbook designed & sold by my friend Kirsten over at Alway Services, and it’s been a great resource for me personally when it comes to sending cold emails. I encourage you to give it a try!
LEAD MANAGEMENT
05. Honeybook (website/app). When I began my graphic design business, I was managing my projects solely through Asana. It worked for a while, but i began running into issues with the app and educating my clients on how to use it became more and more difficult as Asana updated their layouts. When I switched over to Honeybook, I saw a difference immediately. From building lead capture forms to generating contracts & proposals to organizing all of my brand projects, it has helped me streamline my client process beautifully. You can also integrate with your Quickbooks and website. Get 20% off your first year using Honeybook when you use this link!
WEBSITES
06. Squarespace (website/app). I can’t stress enough how much I love Squarespace. The layouts are consistently beautiful, I can customize as much as I need while still equipping my clients to edit their own websites when we’ve finished our brand projects, and their pricing is competitive! They are also offering a 20% off coupon right now with the code JUNE20WB. If you’re reading this at another time of year, check their site regularly, as they are always offering discount codes!
07. Google Analytics (website/app). I will be the first to admit that my brain doesn’t work very well with strategies, charts, and reports, BUT, with a basic understanding of Google Analytics, this has become my favorite way to track activity and keywords on my site. A good way to get started is by visiting Google’s Skillshop, a one-stop area where you can start learning more about all that Google has to offer.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT & LISTS
08. Google Business (website/app). This is CRUCIAL for growing your business on Google! When I finally claimed my website and filled out all the information, I began showing up in Google search (especially locally). It’s also a great place to collect business reviews, and that will further build your reputation online.
STOCK IMAGES
09. Pexels (website). Need to pad out your Instagram or website, but don’t have any professional photos of your business offerings yet? Try using stock photos! Pexels is free to use and full of thousands of beautiful images. I love scrolling through for inspiration and mood boards.
MONEY MANAGEMENT
10. Quickbooks (website/app/desktop). And last but not least, MONEY. I use Quickbooks Self-Employed, but even their basic plan is enough to get started for any business. Download the app and start using it to send invoices, keep track of your expenses and income, and see your profit & loss each month! You can even track your mileage, and at the end of the year, QB will sync up with Turbotax to do your taxes. Sign up with my link here to get 50% off your subscription of Quickbooks Online AND get a $50 Visa gift card!
Don’t forget to bookmark and save this post for later! Comment below with the tool you’re excited to use most!
