I crave organization, love a good system, and dream about completed to-do lists — blame it on the Virgo in my chart. If there’s a tool out there to optimize business, I’ve probably tried it. Here’s the 2023 round up of tools that keep things streamlined — and help keep me sane.
Client Management
I use Dubsado to handle our client inquiries, proposals, and invoicing. With Dubsado I’m able to automate our process from contact form to contract signature. I purchased the Search & Grow Dubsado Template to customize the appearance of our proposals & contracts for a fully branded experience through and through.
Notion is getting all the love lately— but I’m still die hard Asana fans. I use it for everything— from our content calendar, internal organization, to managing ongoing client projects. I wrote a whole post on it (here). Asana recently released a template feature that allows you to auto-calculate due date based on the project start date— this has made creating client project boards 10x faster.
Eliminating back and forth emails is my MO. Acuity makes it super easy to schedule calls with a single click. No more confirming time zones, or “finding a time that works for both of us”, it’s all just right there.
Social Media
I’ve tried every popular Instagram scheduler out there, and Plann has been the one I’ve stuck with the longest. I love that you can input your content pillars (they categorize it as “Strategy”) and fill out your grid with placeholders to allow you to work on your caption game even if you’re not quite landed on a graphic.
I won’t lie to you — she’s ugly and clunky — but the amount of time I save makes it all worth it. Tailwind is the ultimate Pinterest scheduling tool. You can bulk schedule re-pins as well as your own content. This means I only have to update my Pinterest content quarterly— which is a MASSIVE timesaver.
Organization
Google Drive
Basic but necessary. I use Google Drive to store all of my client files & business content. Being able to quickly share files with clients to gather assets & complete questionnaires makes life infinitely easier. I use Google Back Up and Sync to bring my drive right to my desktop which makes saving and accessing my work a breeze.
Dropbox
Again — not sexy but makes all the difference. I use Dropbox to upload and house all client final deliverables. That way there’s no risk of them accidentally taking it out of Google Drive or another shared space.
TDLR
Finding ways to get out of the weeds and keep a global perspective as a business owner is essential for growth. Having timesaving tools is the way to get there. You’ve got to find the stack that works for you and your business — but these are some that I always come back to / can’t imagine running this business without.