My Favorite Business Tools

As your business grows, it becomes more and more important to use tools that help you to streamline and keep everything running smoothly. 

Not only is it important for you as a business owner (so you can keep track of important information, dates and tasks - not lose your mind) but it’s also an important part of your client-experience. 

The more organized and automated your process is, the easier it is for your clients and customers to work with you. 

I’ve always been a “systems” person. In my past life (aka before starting Abloom), I worked in process/program development and strategic planning for nonprofits. Creating systems that streamlined our work and improved our outcomes was what I lived and breathed. 

So, naturally, when it came to starting my own business, finding tools that helped to make all of my operations work like a well-oiled machine was first on my list.

Some of the tools I started with three years ago I still use, and some have changed. I wanted to share the ones I use today that help me organize, streamline and automate so that I can spend more time doing what I love in my business. 

*some of the links in this post are affiliate links meaning I may earn a small commission, at no expense to you.

1) Dubsado

Dubsado is Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and I literally could not run my business without it. From client inquiry and onboarding, to project feedback and invoicing, Dubsado is the magician behind the scenes. Here are all of the ways I’m currently using it, though I know there are more features that I haven’t even begun to explore.

Inquiry Forms: I created my inquiry form that’s on my contact page in Dubsado and then embedded into my website. When someone fills out the form on my website, it automatically creates a new “lead” for me to manage in Dubsado. From here I can create a “workflow” that allows me to put that lead through my client journey, if you will. You can completely automate this process so that emails and forms are sent out at specific “steps” in the process. For my business, I always read the inquiry form before responding, but if I feel like the person might be a good fit, then I assign them a status that initiates a workflow.

Scheduling calls: Dubsado includes a scheduling system where you can create different meeting types and applicable schedules. I use this to schedule all calls in my business - from discovery calls, to strategy sessions. You can create confirmation and reminder emails that go out at specified times prior to the call. 

Proposals: You can create your project proposals in Dubsado and customize them to match your branding. You can add different project/package types for the client to choose from and when they choose a specific option it automatically creates an invoice that matches. It’s seriously MAGIC!

Contracts and Invoices: All of my client contracts and invoices are managed through Dubsado. You can customize your contract templates and use smart features that pull in specific project information from your clients’ profile and invoice details. For the invoices, you can set up payment plans and payment reminders, and manage client payment details. 

Email templates and forms: You can create email templates that go out as call reminders, invoice and contract notifications, automatic responses, etc. I use the form templates for my projects all the time. At each step of a project I collect feedback about the designs and I use Dubsado forms to do that. You can create the form, add it to a client project and copy the link to send to your client, embed it in a presentation, or just send it through a Dubsado email template. 

Client Portal: do your clients ever ask you to resend contracts or invoices or update their contact information? Mine do! The Client Portal houses all this information! I include a quick tutorial video on how to access the portal in my Client Welcome Packet and always direct them to it if they ask for copies. 

Workflows: As I mentioned, you can create workflows for different project statuses/types. This is a feature that I haven’t quite utilized to the extent I could. Essentially, you can automate the entire customer journey, creating emails, forms, and scheduling invitations that get sent out at specific “steps” of the process.  It’s a very robust feature and something that can save you hours if you put in the time at the beginning to set it up. 

Time Tracking: There’s even a time tracking feature! You can track your time spent on a specific project and/or task and link it to populate an invoice when you’re ready. I used this for a bit but I do A LOT of time tracking in my business and needed a tool created specifically for that, so I don’t use it anymore, but it’s there if I ever need it!

As you can see, Dubsado is very comprehensive business management software. When I started using it nearly three years ago I just used it for contracts and invoices and now, as you can see, it basically runs the whole BTS of my business.

Use this link to start a free trial!

2) Asana

Asana is a project management tool and helps me track all my project tasks and to-do lists. Once my a client signs their contract and pays their first invoice (through Dubsado), I create a project for them in Asana that has each and every step of the process and invite them to the project using their email.

From there you can set due-dates and assign each step to a different person. This way, my clients know what they need to do, by when, and can see what’s coming up. This keeps my whole process very transparent because they always know what I’m working and what’s coming next. 

For my retainer clients, every time they have a task for me, they can go in and create the details, assign it to me and let me know an ideal “due date”. It’s SO much easier than trying to keep track of random emails.

Once a task is completed, you can mark it as “complete” and a little unicorn on a rainbow flies across your screen. It’s very satisfying. 

I also use Asana for my own business to-do’s and projects. I create “to-do”, “in progress”, and “done” dashboards where I can drag and drop tasks from one to the other. 

3) Loom

Loom is a screen recording tool and plugin. I LOVE recording videos. Sometimes it’s easier to answer a question I get in an email with a Loom so I can show the person what I mean. I also record client presentations using Loom and copy the recording link to Asana when it’s ready to view. 

Loom allows you to host your videos, track engagement (viewers, reactions, etc.), and upload/download videos. You can record just your screen, your screen and video, or just video. 

4) Toggl

Toggl is what I use to track my time for projects. Any time I’m working on an hourly-based project (like a retainer), or am just curious how long something is taking me, I use Toggl. I usually always have a Toggle tab open on my browser so I can easily go over to type in what I’m working on and click “start”. You can also enter time manually AND they have an app so you can track on the go.

You can sort and filter by client and project and download time reports to attach them to invoices. It’s so simple and quick to use. When I first started I would often forget to start the time, but after awhile it becomes natural and because it’s so simple and intuitive, it’s not this big extra step.

5) Slack

I think of Slack as instant messaging for business. I’m sure theres a more professional definition of it’s capabilities, but that’s how I like to describe it. You can create different workspaces and then, within those workspaces, you can have different threads and channels. It is great for team communication. I use it with a couple of my larger retainer clients where we need to be able to update each other on statuses throughout the day. I’m also on Slack workspaces for different courses I’ve been a part of so that when people have questions for other members, they can just start a thread. 

As my business grows, I’m planning to hire a few team members and Slack will definitely be our hub for internal communication. 

6) Airtable

I’m only now just starting to use Airtable. It’s robust-ness is a little intimidating, but I’m already seeing a number of different ways I can use it. It’s essentially a cloud-database. 

I first started using it because one of my retainer clients uses it for their team. They created a “base” for graphic design projects and within that base they can create tasks and assign different statuses to each task (in that way it’s similar to Asana, but it is much more robust). They also have it integrated with Slack so that each time a conversation happens in sack related to a specie task, it updates the task in Airtable. 

Since then, I’ve started using it for my course. Each time a student enrolls, they are automatically added to my course base (using Zapier, which I’ll get to next). Then, when I send out feedback forms or monthly Q+A surveys, they can select their name from the Airtable form, submit their responses, and those responses are logged in Airtable. From there I can keep track of questions I’ve responded to.

Think of Airtable like Excel on steroids. You can sort and filter in million different ways and create all sorts of conditional logic. Like I said, I’m only just starting to use it in my own business, but am super excited about it’s capabilities.

7) Zapier

Zapier is straight up MAGIC. Zapier allows you to connect all your different web applications through “Zaps”. It integrates with A TON of different programs and basically allows them to talk to each other and automate steps of your process.

Here’s an example: 

When a student purchases my course through Thivecart (the checkout system), a “Zap” automatically enrolls them in Teachable (the course platform) and adds them to my “student” segment in Flodesk (email provider). These three steps happen automatically in the background in a few seconds and I don’t have to do a thing. 

Another example:  I created a “Zap” that crawls my Gmail account so that anytime I get an email that contains the word “receipt”, it automatically moves it to my “Receipts” folder and logs that transaction in a designated Excel Spreadsheet. Whaaaat?!

Zapier is free to use for your first 5 Zaps, then there are affordable paid plans. With over 3,000 app integrations, there are literally a million ways to use it. This program is a serious game-changer.

8) Flodesk

Flodesk is my email marketing provider. Like Mailchimp or Convertkit, it allows you to create automated campaigns for email marketing. The reasons I love it over the other options basically come down to it’s simplicity and intuitive design. For one, there’s just one payment plan and it includes all the features. Unlike it’s competitors, you don’t have to think about how many subscribers you have, how many emails you’re going to send a month, or how many automated campaigns you need. It allows your email marketing to grow with your business without having to change plans and try to fit into a certain box.

It’s super intuitive. For me, trying to figure out how to set up campaigns and organize subscribers by tags and segments was a bit overwhelming in other platforms. Flodesk is super simple. You can easily see your different segments, set up workflows, and track engagement activity.

Also, it’s made by designers, so it’s beautiful!

Use this link and get 50% off for your first year!

9) Thrivecart

Thrivecart is is shopping cart platform that allows you to create checkout pages, manage your products with pricing plans (including recurring payments), and track affiliate sales. My favorite thing about Thrivecart is that you pay a one time fee and are never again charged for monthly subscriptions or transaction-related commissions. With most checkout cart platforms you are charged a monthly rate to use the system. I use Thrivecart for my course and am also starting to use it for my website templates and other products I sell. 

10) Canva

Most people know about Canva already, which is why I saved it for last. But if you don’t, you should definitely check it out! Canva is an online graphic design platform and lets you create beautiful graphics such as social media posts or workbooks. I love using Canva to create social media templates for my clients so that it’s easy for them to go in and change the content or switch out pictures. It includes thousands of fonts and different design elements from basic shapes to illustrations and photos. You can even create animations using Canva.

It’s free for basic use but if you upgrade to the Pro version, you can also upload your own brand colors and fonts for quick and easy access, download graphics with transparent backgrounds, access thousands of quality stock images, and more.

BONUS: Headspace 

When thinking about all of these tools and how to use them in the best way to make your business run smoothly, it may be a bit overwhelming. I HIGHLY recommend incorporating a mindfulness practice in your daily schedule. I love Headspace for my daily meditations. You can choose from different themes, time lengths, and even voices. I’ve used Headspace for years and it’s a huge part of my self-care practice.