There are a lot of great resources available to grow your business, and it can be overwhelming to know what to use or where to go. To make it simpler, I’ve assembled my favorite books, apps and gear. This is your Toolkit for running a successful business.

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. I have experience with all of these companies, and I recommend them because I find them to be helpful and useful. However, do not spend money on these products unless you feel they will help you achieve your goals or save you time. 

honeybook: Proposals, Project Management, Accounting & Invoicing

HoneyBook is an integrated project management, proposal, billing and invoicing software designed to help professionals automate various operational processes. In short, it streamlines and automates your client's experience from inquiry to final invoice. Built for freelancers, consultants and other professional services providers, it automatically keeps track of leads, bookings, and payment schedules. These automated processes give you more time to work on your actual work! One of my favorite options is the availability to create a la carte proposals. Meaning, prospects can pick what services they want, and then pay based on that total. Watch my free webinar “Pitching and Proposals” to get a full understanding of how it can help your business. You’ll save 50% off your first year with my promo link.

HubSpot: Marketing, Sales, & Service Software

The Customer Relationship Management platform from HubSpot allows you organize your contacts, get deeper insights on every lead, and monitor deals with ease — all for free.This may sound similar to HoneyBook as there is some overlap. I’ll explain the use cases. I’m using HubSpot more for prospecting as opposed to booking my 1:1 services. For example, trying to get booked on podcasts or at conferences - or - letting my list know about an upcoming event. I can easily see the response I’m getting and determine the next steps to take. I primarily use HoneyBook once an individual has shown interest in my 1:1 services. It’s much easier to track the whole process and gives me time back in my day.

Zoom: Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing, & Webinars

Zoom is designed for hosting webinars, teaching online courses, conducting online training and video conference. With the majority of my consulting taking place remotely, I use this tool almost daily. I find it to be less problematic than Google Hangouts, and there’s a free version available. I suggest recording consulting sessions to reduce the amount of notes your clients need to take. This will help them better focus on you, and the value you’re delivering.

Best Self Planner

This is my go-to resource for documenting my goals, the associated tasks and progress to date. More than just a daily planner, it also includes a section for gratitude and self-reckoning on a daily and weekly basis. My productivity has skyrocketed since I started using it, and my decision making process has become much clearer.

ACUITY: SCHEDULING

This tool will save you time, and help you close more deals. Acuity makes scheduling meetings a breeze. Prospects and clients  can quickly view your real-time availability, self-book and even pay. You can easily sync Acuity with your existing calendar to avoid double-booking. Stop e-mailing back-and-forth trying to schedule appointments. You'll lose a lot of opportunities and waste a lot of time. 

I strongly suggest using this to set up free discovery calls with prospects. You can even embed an intake form so you're more prepared for the conversation. You'll be able to use this call to get a deeper understanding of a prospect's challenge as opposed to asking basic questions. For your current clients, using Acuity streamlines the scheduling - and rescheduling - process. Again, another time-saver that will increase your level of customer service.

ConvertKit: Newsletter

ConvertKit is a clean, simple tool for communicating directly with my audience. The interface is simple and easy to use, and their documentation on everything from beginning an account to more complex email sequences is excellent. ConvertKit also provides easy ways to create unique landing pages for different projects, tag incoming subscribers, and deliver incentives (like PDF downloads).

TESTIMONIALS.TO

This tool makes gathering testimonials – and displaying them on your website – easier than ever before. With a Testimonial.to account, you get a landing page where your customers can submit their feedback, a dashboard to manage testimonials, and a no-code way to embed a scrolling feed of testimonials on your website.

Dropbox: Storage

Quickly send and receive documents, photos, audio files, and videos with this cloud-based file-storing service. This will also help you avoid crashing someone’s inbox, or having your email bounce back.

Zoom: Video Conferencing, Web Conferencing & Webinars

Zoom is designed for hosting webinars, teaching online courses, conducting online training and video conferences. With the majority of my consulting taking place remotely, I use this tool almost daily. I find it to be less problematic than Google Hangouts, and there’s a free version available. I suggest recording consulting sessions to reduce the amount of notes your clients need to take. This will help them better focus on you, and the value you’re delivering.