Software You Should Use in Your Small Business

Apr 5

I am kind of a software junkie - I can’t deny it. I love to try out new software, learn the ins and outs, and see how I can use them to make things easier, more functional, or more pretty. I use all of these software regularly and I highly recommend them all! Let’s dive in.

Flodesk

Use: Sending beautiful emails

I am a recent Flodesk lover. I used to use mailchimp, and I much prefer flodesk due to the ease of use and the beautiful designs and fonts that come built into the platform. I also think the pricing is really reasonable considering all that you get.

I use the version of flodesk that costs $420 per year. You can have unlimited everything with this version! Unlimited users, forms, and emails. I love this about flodesk. You know what you’re getting when you sign up. You can get 50% off your first year of flodesk with this link.

Squarespace

Use: Build and host your website

Squarespace is fun and easy to use no matter your level of technological know-how.

Some of my favorite features:

You can easily buy and connect a domain name right within the squarespace platform
Beautiful templates to choose from to start your site
Easy to use behind-the-scenes to import your content, start a blog, or share the services you are offering

Pricing varies based on the features you are looking for. The most basic squarespace package costs $192 per year if paid on a yearly basis, and $276 per year for the package that allows for someone to buy something on your site.

Google Docs, Sheets and Slides

Use: Make documents, spreadsheets, and presentations

The google suite just keeps getting better! My favorite thing about the google capabilities is how easy they make it to share and collaborate on documents with other people. Use google docs for writing anything, sheets for organizing data, and google slides for creating beautiful presentations. The best part is you can access it all for free!

Asana or Notion

Use: Organize thoughts, ideas and tasks

Don’t even get me started on my love for task management software… it’s a little out of control. I currently use both Asana and Notion. I use the free versions for both. I think the paid versions have a lot of features that would be incredibly helpful if you had a team of people or multiple people accessing the platform, but the free versions for both are really great.

I utilize asana for task lists for projects mostly. You can create tasks, add dates, make recurring tasks, and the list goes on. There are a lot of options in asana, so don’t let it overwhelm you! They have a great tutorial site if you want to really get into how to best customize it for your needs.

I mostly use Notion for taking notes and organizing my thoughts for clients and content I want to create. It is incredibly versatile with the option to make really fancy tables and to do lists. You can also make things look really fun with the use of emojis and covers for your pages, kind of like uploading a cover photo to your facebook. I love pretty stuff with my organized stuff.

Canva

Use: Create graphics

Canva is an amazing thing for small businesses. My undergrad degree is in Graphic Design, so I am well acquainted with Adobe products for editing photos, creating graphics, and all other digital and printable content. I was skeptical of canva at first, and I was certainly a late adoopter. But WOW - that platform is amazing. Thousands of pre-made templates at your fingertips for social media posts, email headers, printable docs, and the list goes on!

There is a free version of canva, but I would highly recommend the paid version. Pricing is $119.99 for a year subscription. With the paid version you get access to more fonts, templates, and photos, and you get all the brand kit benefits which is fantastic for adding your brand colors and fonts and easily sticking to them in anything you create.

I must say, canva has won me over!

Lightroom for Iphone

Use: Photo Editing

There are so many great photo editing apps out there, but I must say that Lightroom is one of my favorites. Maybe it is due to my long standing relationship with adobe products. Either way, there is also a free version of lightroom that is available as an app for your phone. My favorite way to use it is by adding presets, and applying the same couple presets to photos everytime I use them. People ask me how I edit my photos pretty frequently and that they love the consistency. It couldn’t be easier!

You can find lightroom presets all over the internet. I love creative market for low cost and high quality templates of all sorts. You can get many of them for less than $10.

Whew, that’s a wrap! Is there any software you can’t live without? DM me on instagram and let’s continue the conversation!

Always cheering you on!