My 5 Favorite Business Tools
Being a business owner means being able to wear many hats. One moment you’re working on your numbers and playing accountant, the next you’re re-strategizing your marketing plan. All in a day’s work!
While you may be a team of one (or rely on a small team!), there are many resources that ease the workload, make your day to day a little easier, and ultimately contribute to your business’ long-term growth. Here are five of my favorite business tools.
Honeybook
Honeybook is an all-in-one platform that streamlines your workflow by keeping everything from proposals to booking and invoicing, all in one place.
Using a software like Honeybook can not only keep you organized, it can help keep you on track by allowing you to visualize every step you’re at with each client. And when it comes to entrepreneurship, community is another resource that keeps us motivated -- Honeybook has a built-in community of fellow creatives for you to collaborate and connect with.
From referrals to advice, the help from others on this platform is the cherry on top of a must-have tool.
Quickbooks Self-Employed
Accounting for a small business is a necessary and sometimes confusing process. Luckily, Quickbooks offers a self-employed version of their software that helps immensely.
Using Quickbooks, you can keep track of both business and personal expenses, track mileage and even pay quarterly estimated taxes online. The software is pretty straightforward and easy to use and best of all, comes with a low monthly cost.
It’s a worthy investment that will prevent many money-related headaches down the road.
Instagram Planner
We all know how important Instagram is as a branding tool, but it can sometimes feel all-consuming when we have so many other tasks on our plates.
That’s where planning apps like Later or Planoly come in. You can use these tools to plan and schedule all of your Instagram posts ahead of time without ever having to go into the app each time you want to post.
Scheduling social media is a major time saver and allows you to focus on more pressing things on your to-do list.
Camera
People are very visual creatures, which means having high-quality photos at the ready are a must-have in order to market your brand.
Whether it’s for your website, social media or marketing materials, photos of both yourself and your brand are necessary in order to tell your story and draw people in to what you have to offer.
And good news -- you don’t have to be a professional photographer to snap photos for your business! If it’s for social media, iPhone photos work just fine.
If you need product shots for your website, a nicer camera might come in handy. Either way, photos add to your brand’s overall image and help communicate your message.
Face-to-Face Interaction
No matter how many apps or gadgets or online communities come to the forefront, nothing beats face to face interaction.
If you work with clients in your area, offer to have an in-person meeting instead of going back and forth over email. If you’re looking for new clients or business connections, attend a networking event.
And if you hit it off with someone at the event, invite them to grab a coffee with you sometime to continue the conversation and build a meaningful relationship. While it’s easy to work behind the laptop all day long, there are plenty of opportunities to get out of the house and have genuine face to face interactions with people that create connections for the long-term.
