13 Tools We Use to Run Our Business

Running a small business isn’t a walk in the park, and as I shared last week, there are many things I wish I had known before becoming an entrepreneur.  Luckily, a team of fantastic people who like to #GSD just as much as I do, and a handful of apps and tools help me pull it off when all is said and done.  Today, I’m sharing our most-used small business tools that keep all the moving parts in motion.  I’d love to know if you, too, use any of these tools, and if you’re a fan of any others!  Truly, MKR

No. 1…Ahalogy.  Pinterest is a big part of our business; it’s our primary traffic driver to the blog and shop.  In order to keep the Pinterest mill churning, we use Ahalogy to schedule pins from our site.  While you have to apply for membership, it’s well worth it when you’re in.  We’re able to push out original content to the Pinterest masses at optimal hours over time, and in turn get noticed by new followers and for more brand collaborations.

No. 2…CoSchedule.  Running an editorial calendar with fresh daily content requires a few moving parts, and CoSchedule comes in handy.  This easy-to-use tool makes it simple to plan and schedule content (it’s linked directly to your WordPress account), and at the snap of your fingers you can schedule social amplification of the post through Twitter and Facebook.  Kat, our editorial director, has this dashboard open at all times to monitor the editorial calendar and archive old content on social media. Our favorite part about CoSchedule?  It offers an updated at-a-glance look at what’s coming up on the blog, and allows quick tweaking and shuffling when need be. 

No. 3…Dropbox.  I don’t know where we’d be without Dropbox.  It’s nothing glamorous, and I’m sure you’ve heard of this file-saving storage system, if not used it yourself already.  We house all of our graphic files and high-res photography here, and we use it to share bundles or large files with partners when needed.  Everyone on the team also has access, which allows quick replies to any requests and projects that need assets (we all wear many hats, like any small business). 

No. 4…Evernote.  Evernote is perhaps one of my favorite tools, now that I finally feel like I have the hang of it.  We use this tool to save must-read and must-share articles, to store important files (read: invoices, receipts and resumes!), along with any inspiration we want to share with the entire team. It makes bookmarking articles and posts THAT much easier, and it allows you to file content via notes and notebooks.  Our favorite part about Evernote: articles and links are no longer lost in the abyss of our inboxes. 

No. 5…FreshBooks.  Though I work with an accountant now, FreshBooks was my go-to small business accounting software that I leaned on before. Creating and sending invoices is very straight-forward, as well as simply keeping up with all of them.  That’s half the battle!  

No. 6…FreeConferenceCall.com.  Just as it sounds, this site allows us to schedule free conference calls for our weekly team meeting.  

No. 7…Google Calendar.  We have three Google Calendars as a team: our Blog Calendar, Marketing and WOM-All.  On our Blog Calendar, Kat and I manage the upcoming ideas for content.  While Kat uses CoSchedule (listed above) for the actual editorial content management, Google Calendar is the place for me to see our content flow as I schedule the photoshoots and projects.  It’s also where Kat notes ready-for-review-and-approve blog posts, so I know when I can hop in and finalize posts for publishing.  Our second Google Calendar is for all things marketing: email campaigns, paid advertising, shop promotions, etc.  Lastly, our WOM-All calendar is a separate, general team calendar keeps track of our busy schedules, and gives us all notice for upcoming team events, out-of-office updates and important projects. 

No. 8…Hootsuite.  Since not all of the content we share on social media is directly linked to the blog, we need another tool besides CoSchedule to share content for any shop promotions.  Hootsuite makes it easy to do so, and we’re able to have important information practically run on auto-pilot after scheduling. 

No. 9…LegalZoom.  LegalZoom helps you start a business (literally, as an LLC, incorporation, LLP, LP…you name it), register trademarks, create legal forms and copyrights, and so much more.  

No. 10…Mailchimp.  We send out a daily newsletter for the blog, as well as 3x week emails to our shop list to keep our customers up to date with sales, new arrivals, back in stock updates and exclusive offers.  Mailchimp‘s email platform is incredibly easy to navigate, with simple drag-and-drop templates for your graphics and links.  A fun feature of Mailchimp:  its automation, as well as A/B subject line testing.  We could geek out over the analytics for days! 

No. 11…Planoly.  We recently started using Planoly to help plan our Instagram content.  I always preach about the importance of a strong “quilt” on your Instagram account; the 9 photos that you first see on your account.  Planoly helps you see that overall look and feel before posting…#game changer. 

No. 12…Shopify.  We use Shopify for our shop, and it makes running a retail business truly 10x easier. The Shopify Blog has also proven to be an excellent resource for many questions, and we reference it regularly with all of our shop-related marketing questions. 

No. 13…Tiny Scanner.  This easy-to-use app quickly converts an iPhone picture into a PDF.  This especially comes in handy whenever I have to send in signed contracts.