Have you streamlined your business with the right tools, softwares, and apps? As a business owner, there are so many things to consider, so when it comes to optimizing the behind the scenes of your business! In today’s episode, I’m sharing the tools I use in my business, what I use them for, why I use them, and the cost for each. I always enjoy episodes like these when other creatives do them, and just really like knowing what other creatives use to run the day-to-day operations in their businesses.
Called to Both is brought to you by Joy Michelle, mom of two and multi-passionate entrepreneur who’s on a mission to help others find balance between the worlds of motherhood and business. Called to Both is the podcast for women who have big business ambitions and also want to be intentional and present moms. At Called to Both, we truly don’t believe you have to choose between these two worlds tugging at your heart You can be Called to Both.
You can stay up to date with the Called to Both Podcast by subscribing on Apple Podcast App, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player!
The Softwares, Tools, and Apps I Use to Run My Business
There are so many tools available for business owners to utilize, but how do you know which ones you actually need in your business? I personally love hearing what tools other business owners have found, utilized, and fallen in love with inside their businesses. Below you’ll find the softwares, tools, and apps that I use to run each branch of my business!
Honeybook
For my client management tool, I’ve used Honeybook since 2017 on both the photography and coaching sides of my business. It’s a fantastic tool for business owners to use for accepting payments, getting signatures on contracts, scheduling appointments, questionnaires, and tons more.
I also use the scheduling feature inside Honeybook to manage my calendar, client meetings, and even have started using it to schedule interviews for this podcast!
What’s the cost? The starter plan is $16/month and the unlimited plan is $66/month. You can use the link below to get 50% off your first year!
Try Honeybook >>
Notion
Now that we’ve covered my client management tool, it’s important that we highlight my project management tool—Notion. My whole business lives on Notion. It’s where I house my workflows, operations, brand images and files, and every single idea in my business.
Over on Youtube, I have a full video that shows how I organize my youtube content on Notion, but essentially it’s a super versatile tool for organizing your life. I even have some workspaces dedicated to personal projects, books I’m reading, courses I’m taking. etc.
What’s the cost? They have free plans! It’s pretty amazing and if you feel like your life is a little disorganized I would suggest you take a look at notion! Try it out!
Try Notion >>
I truly believe that team communication is essential when you’re growing your business or scaling it. That’s where three of the most important tools in my business come into play, especially to help maintain a line between work and life.
Slack
First and foremost, Slack is the tool my team uses for daily communication. Whether it’s to check-in, ask about work related questions, or give general updates.
What’s the cost? They have free plans!
Try Slack >>
Notion
For our project based communication, like this podcast, we use Notion. This allows all of our project related details to be easily accessible within the project management software itself.
What’s the cost? They have free plans, but I pay for additional storage!
Try Notion >>
Voxer
What’s the cost? They have free plans!
While I mentioned that my team loves Slack, we do utilize Voxer for the longer, more thoughtful communications. This allows me to share an idea or concept with my OBM and she can reference it later if needed.
Try Voxer >>
G Suite
Email management is another important component of any business, which is why I opted to use G Suite, also known as Google Workspace
What’s the cost? $10 a month
Try G Suite >>
Google Drive
Backing up your data is so important, so I expanded my toolkit within Google by using Google Drive.
What’s the cost? $10 A month
Try Google Drive >>
Showit
Showit is a drag and drop website design platform that gives you so much creative control without the tech headache. I have LOVED having my website through Showit. One thing I love most is that my blog is a WordPress hosted blog so I still get all the benefits of SEO and WordPress.
What’s the cost? There are plans starting at $19/month, but I pay $39 /month.
Try Showit >>
Yoast Premium
Within my website, I believe that investing in my Search Engine Optimization is key to getting found and growing my business, so I use the Yoast plugin, which helps you understand the content within your page and if you’re ranking on search engines.
What’s the Cost? There is a free option, but I pay $99 for the year.
Try Yoast >>
Now I have a couple of social media apps that I absolutely love in my business for both scheduling content and optimizing it.
Tailwind
Tailwind is a scheudling tool for pinterest and Instagram, but I primarily use it for Pinterest.
What’s the cost? $10/month
Try Tailwind >>
TubeBuddy
While it’s best to schedule within YouTube, a tool I do love is TubeBuddy, which is a Youtube Search Tool to help you understand how to better optimize your Youtube content. You can use my affiliate code: JoyMichelle or the link below to get started with a special discount.
What’s the cost? Plans starting at $7.50/month.
Try Tubebuddy >>
Planoly
Planoly just makes sense for planning your Instagram content. It’s easy to upload, rearrange, and schedule out your content within your feed to keep it looking beautiul.
What’s the cost? They offer a free trial and have plans starting at $14/month a
Try Planoly >>
Kajabi
Kajabi is an all-in-one tool for educators to host their video courses, product templates, email newsletter, landing pages with freebies, mail marketing funnels, coaching client pages, checkout carts, and more. I believe this tool is a super crucial option for an online education business.
What’s the cost? Plans starting at $149/month. Use the link below to get a 28 day free trial.
Try Kajabi >>
Flodesk
While I personally have my email marketing managed within Kajabi, I do recommend Flodesk for those who aren’t ready for the investment in an education platform.
What’s the cost? $39/month or use the link below to get 50% off.
Try Flodesk >>
Canva Pro
As a professionally trained designer, would you be shocked to hear that I haven’t touched InDesign in YEARS? Canva Pro has been a game-changer in my business and how I market and promote it.
What’s the cost? Plans starting at $14.99/month.
Try Canva Pro >>
Adobe Lightroom Classic
For my photography business, the professional photo editing software I use is Adobe Lightroom Classic! I even share demos of my editing in Lightroom over on Youtube.
What’s the cost? $10/month for the Photography Plan
Try LR Classic >>
Pixieset Galleries
As a professional photographer, I also use a gallery software called Pixieset to deliver my photos.
What’s the cost? They have free plans!
Try Pixieset >>
Zoom
For all of my face-to-face meetings, I use Zoom. This includes my calls for my mastermind, podcast interviews, and coaching!
What’s the cost? They have free plans!
Try Zoom >>
Audible
I love reading, but finding the time doesn’t always work out for me as a mom, which is why I love audiobooks on Audible. I think it’s one of the best ways to consume business books!
What’s the cost? They have plans starting at $7.95/month.
Try Audible >>
Amazon App
To diversify my revenue and create passive income, I’ve created an Amazon shop so that I can quickly grab affiliate links when i share about products I love. You can check out my affiliate episode of the podcast here.
Check Out My Shop >>
Toggl
If you’re not sure where your time is going, a great tool to use is Toggl. It’s a chrome plug in and phone app for time tracking!
Try Toggl >>
MileIQ
If you ever find yourself traveling for work, MileIQ is a great milage tracking tool!
Try MileIQ >>
Focus & Snapseed
Two apps that I LOVE for quick photo editing on the go are Focus and Snapseed. Here’s a video where I demo how I use this on my cell phone pics to get that creamy soft background even when I’m not shooting in portrait mode.
Try Focus >>
Try Snapseed >>
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Review the Important Sections:
About My Business (3:18)
Content Creation & Content Marketing as a Business Owner (4:03)
Tools (4:22)
Honeybook (4:33)
Notion (6:11)
Slack (7:42)
Voxer (9:13)
Email (10:00)
Showit (10:24)
Yoast (11:54)
Tailwind (12:43)
Tube Buddy (13:43)
Education Hub – Kajabi (15:48)
Flodesk (17:00)
Planoly (17:30)
Canva (18:39)
Lightroom Classic (21:04)
Pixiset (21:30)
Zoom (21:41)
Toggl (22:40)
Audible (24:23)
Amazon (25:25)
MileIQ (26:02)
Focus & Snapseed (27:02)
Connect with Joy:
Instagram: instagram.com/joyymichelle
Youtube: youtube.com/channel/UC-Ou6jRKxcjMrVMxWxLO_fQ
Facebook: facebook.com/joymichellephotography
If you decide to use any of the links above and buy through them, I’ll receive a small commission back. All of those affiliate income commissions really add up over time and help generate revenue to help support this channel
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