Here are the 8 Business Tools My Business, and Yours, Can’t Live Without
I think we can all agree that running a successful business isn’t something you can magically do on your own. And if you’re a Type-A personality like me, I know some key things that drive you:
1.You love making lists (seriously, I have lists for my lists)
2.Organization is your love language
3.You are constantly on the hunt for ways to streamline things in your business as it evolves (and let’s be real, in your life too – #momlife)
As someone who loves to be productive and not waste time, there are several tools I’ve found to help streamline my processes in my business. They truly help me to make the most of my time, which ultimately leads me to serving my clients, and my family, better.
At the end of the day, I am an old-school, pen and paper gal, so I have been rather minimalist when it comes to online business tools. So you know if I’m using it, it’s a necessity! So today I’m share my top 6 online business apps that keep me and my business moving!!
Planoly
This app has seriously changed my Instagram game. I have always struggled with the flow of posting to social media in real time, as that is when I feel I am most likely to fall into writer’s block. I know I need to post today…..oh goodness, WHAT DO I SAY?! (raise your hand if you feel me). I love that Planoly allows me to upload, manipulate, and schedule my images for a visually cohesive look. I can plan an entire month – or more! – of posts, which keeps me ahead of the game. Who doesn’t love that? Since incorporating Planoly, I’ve noticed a more cohesive look to my feed and is helps hold me accountable for posting daily!
Want to check it out AND receive a discount? Click here! https://www.planoly.com/referral/courtneycarneyphoto
Pixieset
I don’t even remember what it was like to deliver my client images before using Pixieset. I can say with certainty though that it wasn’t pretty. With its beautiful Pinterest-like galleries, Pixieset is super user friendly and allows me the freedom to control the aesthetics and branding. It’s been a great addition to enhancing my client experience!
Trello
Oh my gosh, DO I LOVE TRELLO!! My Type-A personality means I make lists for my lists and then those lists are probably going to make it onto another list. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle of so many lists, but Trello has helped streamline all my ideas into one spot. This holds my social media planning, my wedding and portrait workflows, business goals, and my never-ending to-do list! It’s this list-maker’s dream come true!
Honeybook
Man, I don’t know how I did life before I had Honeybook!! It’s literally the one online tool that has given me my sanity when it comes to my business. It’s an all-in-one system where I can create booking proposals, send invoices, create questionnaires for my clients, track my workflow, and is the perfect place to store all my communication with each of my clients. And lucky me, they have an app too, which is perfect for when I’m on the go and an inquiry comes through!
Showit
Canva
When I’m making social media posts, flyers, templates, email headers, etc. I love using Canva! It’s another free resource with a huge library of templates I can use to help make my marketing materials, keeping the look of my brand cohesive.
Evernote
Remember those lists for my lists that I love to make? Evernote is my list-making app come true. It’s prefect for organizing so many parts of my business and I love how user friendly it is. I always have it with me, so it’s easy to open in the moment and add notes to my content or reminders for myself throughout the day. It’s basically all the scrap paper and post-its I leave scattered everywhere now living a digital life in my phone. It has helped to get me ahead in my blog game, as I created simple templates I can use to outline my blog posts in Evernote before transferring them to my blog for final drafting. Because goodness knows my best work on blog posts comes not when I sit down at the computer to write it – hello blank screen that stops me in my tracks! My easiest flow of writing often comes when I’m doing the most mundane thing, such as laundry, showering or drying my hair. Who knew those were such inspirational times??
BeFocused App
This app is simple but mighty. In this digital age, there are so many devices and the notification “dings” that come along with them, it’s so easy to become distracted when I sit down to work. Time is such a valuable commodity when running your own business, I strive to not waste a second of it. BeFocused is a timer and goal tracker that is great for keeping my mind engaged, which keeps me on task and slims down my time spent on items on my to-do list. Now even the mindless, I’ve-fallen-down-the-rabbit-hole scrolling on Facebook or Instagram is limited to the 5 minute break times the app gives me.
So there you have it, friends! Of course there are so many other awesome tools that are essential to running my business (I’m looking at you Lightroom and PhotoMechanic), but these are the supporting ones that I couldn’t live without! Know of a great tool that my business and I would love? Help a girl out and drop it in the comments below!!
Much love friends,
Those links I shared above? They’re affiliate links! What does that mean? It means I get a little kickback when you click and sign-up for those services, but they save YOU money by using those codes!!
Great suggestions! I love using Canva. I’ve heard good things about MileIQ for tracking mileage!
I used canva for instagram stories occasionally! Otherwise, trello is a lifesaver and show.it is THE BEST!!
What a fantastic post!! Thanks so much for sharing Courtney. I’m also a huge fan of Planoly, Trello, Canva, and Showit! I haven’t delved into Honeybook yet – but I am definitely going to look into it and I was extremely excited to hear about that last app – Befocused – I definitely need that!! I get distracted SO easily!!
I use 3 of these, but I must be living under a rock because I’ve never heard of trello. I need to look into it to perfect my list making skills!
Great tips girl. I am obsessed with most of these myself and making lists is my jam. The beFocused App is next on my list (I need an intervention). Thanks!
I needed this! Thank you so much 🙂
I lovvve HoneyBook and ShowIt for sure! I’ll have to give Trello a shot. Thanks! 🥰😘
gonna have to check out the befocused App! Great post!