Running a business smoothly takes a lot of work! Take the guesswork out of your processes and create a system from the get-go so you can focus on providing an excellent experience for your clients. These are the tried and tested business tools that every entrepreneur needs to stay organized, productive, and of course, on-brand.

1. Dubsado

The first entrepreneur tool is Dubsado, a does-it-all for you CRM (client relationship management) system that you need to have. Dubsado collects information through customized forms for potential leads. You can easily integrate this with any website platform you are using. As soon as someone fills out an interest or application form, you receive an email straight to your inbox with the details. From there you can create workflows that automatically send emails with meeting requests, subsequent forms, contracts, invoices, etc. Dubsado hosts your contracts and invoices so you have your entire client’s database organized into one system. You are able to track which clients have yet to sign a contract or make a payment. You can also set up automatic payment reminders for payment schedules. Basically when it comes to the client experience journey, Dubsado will securely store information and seamlessly integrate with other systems while staying on-brand. 

If you would like 20% off your first month or year, you can sign-up with my affiliate link right here: https://www.dubsado.com/?c=herbrande.

2. FloDesk

My second must-have tool for entrepreneurs is FloDesk. WOW. This one takes email marketing to the next level. Say goodbye to figuring out how Mailchimp and Convertkit work. The complicated user experience is not the only thing that is solved, but the emails themselves have never been so customized and beautiful. I can easily create and modify templates that are unique to me. I can use the platform to create intake forms, so anyone signing up for a freebie or subscribing to my list can easily be added to a group. A huge plus is that the platform is programmed as a two-way communication tool, so anyone responding to my email marketing lands straight to my inbox. It’s a win-win-win situation.

You can get 50% off for life (yes, I said for life!) by signing up with my affiliate link. In return I receive one month free. The link to sign up is here https://flodesk.com/c/XVYL7A.

3. Google Admin

Getting legit means having a professional email address. No more @gmail.com. Google Admin allows you the comfort and “homeyness” of Gmail while being professional. I use Gmail and Google Calendar to connect with my clients. I use Google Drive to share and store files in the cloud. It makes it super easy for me to grab my IG captions or hashtags from my phone even though I wrote out all the content from my laptop. I am able to create a folder for each of my clients and store the documents and files in one spot – and have comfort knowing that we’re both looking at the same, most up-to-date document.

No affiliate link here, but still go get it! It’s like 6 bucks a month.

4. Later – #1 social media tool for entrepreneurs!

Being on my phone 24/7 is something I’m always working towards minimizing. One thing that allows me to focus on my business and less mindless scrolling on Instagram is Later, a must-have entrepreneur tool for up-leveling business and social media. I can visually plan and schedule my IG posts with the caption, location, and hashtags that I want on the post. This allows me to stay visible and online when in fact, I may have decided to take the day off and have a drink at the beach. It lessens the stress and worries when I know the entire month’s posts are scheduled and will post without a problem.

5. Calendly

After toggling between Calendly and Acuity Scheduling – I landed with Calendly as my calendar/scheduler platform. I tried out the paid versions of both and right now I am just using the free version (I don’t find the paid version necessary). I think the platform and user experience are kept very simple and to the point. It sends out reminders to my leads and clients before the meeting and integrates seamlessly with Zoom, a must-have entrepreneur tool to keeping track of multiple calendars!

Once you have your business backend set-up and running smoothly, you can move on to setting up your website. Read: Five Things Every Website Should Have.