I’ll cut right to the chase…
I get a lot of questions about the tech I use to run my lean, one-man design business.
At the core, our businesses need a way to:
- Make offers
- Take money
- Keep in touch
Additionally, we need tools to help us do our jobs quickly and proficiently.
Anything more than that creates overwhelm and will delay your success.
So, I’ll break up my list based on:
- Business tools (tools that run my business)
- Trade tools (tools I use for my design business and the businesses I serve)
- Auxiliary tools (tools I use and recommend, but don’t use regularly in my design business)
So, without further adieu…
Here are my go-to apps/services to run a lean, one-man business for a few hundred bucks a month.
BUSINESS TOOLS (Tools I use for myself and my business)
- Moxie (CRM, Proposals, Invoices (one-time and recurring), Appointment Booking)
- QuickBooks Online – (Bookkeeping, Tax and Payroll Management, Accountant Access)
- Stripe (Credit Card Payment Processor)
- Google Workspace/Drive (Email, Docs, Sheets, Slides)
TRADE TOOLS (Tools I use for my business and the businesses I serve)
- WordPress (Website Creation & Management… Note, I do NOT recommend WordPress.com hosting)
- DIVI (WordPress Page Builder & Library for building Websites, Landing Pages, Sales Pages, Optin Pages)
- CloudFlare (Domain Name Registration and DNS Management)
- GreenGeeks (Hosting for small/med-sized WP websites…Highly recommend their Reseller Hosting packages for web design businesses)
- Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premier)
AUXILIARY TOOLS (Tools I use and recommend, but don’t use regularly in my design business)
- Kajabi (Summits, Courses)
- Skool (Online Communities)
- Membership.io (Video Transcription/Storage like Vimeo but way cooler)
What’s your favorite app to run your business?
Stay awesome
P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 more ways I can help you grow a more profitable and predictable business:
- Join my on-demand Profit Planner Workshop and plan your revenue goals and marketing activities for the next year.
- Check out the Recurring Revenue School and get on the waitlist for founder pricing.
- Want to work with me privately to grow your business? I have two spots opening up in my Coaching Program. Reply with “COACHING” in the subject line and I’ll get you the details.
P.P.S. Some tools mentions contain affiliate link