Recommended Tools & Tech

Tools and tech are the secret sauce to running a sustainable online business, they allow us to systemise, automate, delegate and save us a great deal of time and energy.

I’ve been running my online business for 5 years and during that time I have worked with many others to help run theirs. During that time I have gotten to know what works and what doesn’t and these are the tools that I use in my business and couldn’t live without. 

FYI I’m an affiliate for some of these, so if you sign up I may well receive a commission. But rest assured, I only ever recommend something I love myself.

ASANA

This program allows you to create recurring tasks (it regenerates the task for the next due date once you hit complete) and you to go back to tasks you have completed. You can also assign a task to another person and see what others are working on. Once a task is done, simply click “Completed” and it will either go to your “Completed” list or will send it to the next due date. I would be lost daily without this amazing program!

TRELLO

I use this in two different ways. I use this to organize big projects/ social media content and break it up into smaller chunks, and I also use it for clients so that we can share information. It also makes it easier to communicate about different parts of projects since you can make a card for each process. Also, being able to move cards to different columns allows you to see what still needs to be done, what you are waiting on from others and when an item is completed.

clickup

A sophisticated project management tool, it’s like Asana and Trello combined in one. If you have a growing business, with lots of ongoing projects and moving parts in addition to a growing team, you seriously want to consider moving to ClickUp. Its a scalable tool for a growing business, easy to use and absolutely awesome at what it does.

Google Workspace

I switched to Google Workspace (formerly Google Suite for Business) and I love it. Everything is saved in the Cloud, so you can access from anywhere. I keep all my business documents in my Google Drive, because it is so easy to use and access. It’s just like Microsoft Office, you have email, documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and more. You can create and share these files with whoever you like. Brand them up. Collaborate in real time. It’s a one-size-fits-all kind of tool. 

DROPBOX

Is a cloud storage service that allows you to backup files and access them anytime and anywhere. Simply create an account and you can log in wherever you have internet access. You can also share your files with your clients and contractors, so they have access to them as well.

TAILWIND

Tailwind is a scheduling tool specifically for Pinterest (you can also use it for Instagram, but I just use it for Pinterest) If you create a lot pins and you want to pin them to multiple board and tribes, then this is the tool that will make your life easier and save you so much time. You can batch you pinning which saves you so much time and makes the process so efficient. The key to growth is joining tribes and sharing your content and the content of other tribe members.

LATER

Initially, this app was only to schedule Instagram posts, but now they have expanded it to include postings to Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. You can schedule content for a month and see it in a monthly view so that you can make sure that it all flows well. You can get an entire month scheduled in an afternoon!

PLANOLY

Beautiful and easy to use Instagram scheduler, just like Later. You can plan out your content in advance and visually see what it will look like from the grid view. You can also store your hashtags, which is something I love because I have different hashtags for different things.

CONVERTKIT

I started out using Mailchimp like many, but soon realised that I needed to upgrade to a more powerful email marketing tool. I love how easy to use Convertkit is and that is why I recommend it to everyone. You can create landing pages and seamless sequences and automations.

LAST PASS

I could not live without LastPass. This programme enables you to store all your passwords safely and securely in one place. I use this for myself and all my clients. It’s great because clients can either update their password themselves if they’d rather keep their passwords private, or you can update them. Either way, when you go to a site, it will autogenerate the login and password needed to sign in. Talk about saving time and keeping your client’s privacy a top priority!

ACUITY SCHEDULING

The perfect tool to make booking discovery calls and cleint calls easy peasy. Clients can click on a link that will take them to my schedule where they can pick a day and time that works for them. If there are certain days you aren’t available, no worries, simply put that into the program and those days/times won’t be available to clients. You can also look at your schedule daily, weekly, and monthly so you know what’s coming up.

CALENDLY

Just like Acuity Scheduling, Calendly is a super easy scheduling tool. It saves so much time and stops the constant back and forth emails trying to find a time that works for everyone. Give prospects and clients direct access to your calendar so they can book calls that fit your schedule.

ZOOM

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LOOM

Loom is a video recording tool that allows you to create videos to share with clients and team members efficiently. Instead of trying to type it all out, you can express your thoughts verbally and also share your screen when doing it. This makes creating your standard operating procedures and onboarding new contractors (or even clients depending on what you do), easy and straightforward.

VOXER

This mobile app allows you to interact with others, almost like you would with a walkie-talkie. It offers a live “push to talk” system as well as a voice messaging system. You can also add text, photos and location sharing to your messages. This is a great way to communicate with VIP or 1:1 coaching clients.

UNSPLASH

My go-to website for royalty free commercial images. The images on this website are absolutely beautiful. I often use them in my social media and freebies.

CANVA

I love Canva, it is one of my favs. It is perfect for creating social media graphics. You can either use a pre-made template or create something from scratch. The options are endless. You can create the perfect sized graphics for any social media platform including Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. 

VIRAL CONTENT TEMPLATES

These have been game changing for me and my business, especially for those days when creativity is lacking. I absolutely love these templates, beautifully made, easy to use. You just need a free Canva account (see above). In fact they are launching a monthly membership in 2021, which I would 100% consider joining.