The Programs That Run My Business

*This article includes affiliate links.  This means that if you sign up for one of these programs with my link, you may get a discount.  It also means that I get a payout from the program with no extra cost to you.

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If you are not even a little bit tech savvy, this is for you.

When I started to find my footing in the tech world, I realized just how much overwhelm there is.  So many entrepreneurs are not using platforms that would serve them because they aren’t accessible or easy to learn.  So today I am going to break down the exact software programs that I use (and a few I don’t use), what they do, and how they can help you.

But before you click away, my promise is that you won’t get overwhelmed.  There will be absolutely NO technobabble here and NO acronyms.  Stay with me!

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I would argue that the most important thing is your email marketing software.  Email marketing (or sending out emails to your list) is a list of qualified candidates just WAITING for you to email them.  Here’s a handy quiz that breaks down which of my two faves is best for you.  

Curious about some other email programs?  Click here to view my side-by-side comparison of the four most popular ones.

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I recently made the switch to Dubsado.  Dubsado is a giant machine that does a ton but I’m not going to lie, it has an intense learning curve.  So before I used Dubsado for proposals, contracts, scheduling, invoicing, and more, here’s what I used instead:

Proposals: Canva

It’s easy to whip up a pretty graphic and download it.  I’d attach these to an email and whisk them off to prospects.

Contracts: DropBox Sign (Get a free document)

Formerly Hellosign… Once you have a template, you can reuse the same one and just fill in the blank spots.  It’s very intuitive for both you and the signee.

Scheduling: Calendly

Not only is their free version awesome, it’s easy to set up and doesn’t have a ton of extra bells and whistles.

Invoicing: Stripe or Square

Square is great because it’s subscriptions are easier to set up and the options with the invoices are more robust.  Stripe is great because it looks cleaner and the processing fee is slightly lower.

Fun lead magnet: Interact

Interact quiz builder is a great way to add a bit of spice to your lead magnet and invite people into your email community. Who doesn’t love taking quizzes??

Bonus round

Funnel Building: Funnelytics

I use this platform to help visually display the client journey, funnels, and more.  I find it especially helpful when I’m building out my own workflow and client process.  If you’re a visual learner who does something with system building, you’ll love funnelytics.

Time Tracking: Toggl

Great for tracking time.  Plus bonus points because it can grow with you since you can add team members.  Toggl also has an app that will communicate with your computer so you’re always synced up.

Team Communication: Teamwork

This program is intended for teams, hence the name, however before I switched to Dubsado I used this program for client communication so it would be all in one place.  It makes it really easy for people to upload files, make comments, and exchange messages all in one centralized location.

Social Media Scheduling: Later (get 10 extra posts)

Later has an awesome free plan so that you can ease yourself into the idea of scheduling content.  The content has to have an image on it in order to schedule it into social media platforms but that’s where recurpost comes in.

Social Media Scheduling: Recurpost

Between recurpost and later you’ll have everything you could ever need.  Recurpost is great for scheduling text only posts.  It also works great for link preview posts where you’re sharing an article or a blog post.  Generally, for content with an image or graphic, choose later and for text-only content, choose Recurpost.

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I only shared the ones that I personally use, however I am intimately familiar with a handful of other platforms so if you have any questions or are looking for something specific, please do not hesitate to reach out to me.  I’d be more than happy to help connect you with the platform of your needs.

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