The tools I use to run my business changed after I left the corporate world and started out on my own.
Aside from creating great websites, Pink Toad Studio is a small business just like yours.
I still have everyday business tasks – time and money management, keeping track of where I’m at, things to write – to manage.
My solutions are always evolving – I’m a sucker for a new shiny object – but here’s a list of what I currently use…
The Tools I Use to Run My Business
Notion
Notion is where I organize all my notes. Blog posts, emails, website info – it’s all in here.
Everything is organized and easy to find with the Quick Find feature.
It can do a lot more, too – task management, databases, project management – but I keep it pretty simple for now.
I did have a bit of a scare last week, though. Notion is getting so popular it that it suffered access issues. I have to say it was a little scary. I still use Notion but I’m open to other suggestions!
Notes
As great as Notion is, it doesn’t work offline unless you leave the pages open in a browser as you go offline. I jump around a lot so that doesn’t work for me.
Next in line is Apple’s Notes. It’s simple, always with me on various devices, and gets the job done. It’s not fancy but it does what I need on the road.
Hemingway Editor
I love the Hemingway Editor app for its simple interface and great suggestions for improving our writing.
It has two modes – writing and editing. You can turn off the suggestions and highlighting while you’re writing so they don’t distract you.
It checks grammar, spelling, sentence length and complexity and word counts.
They have a free online tool if you’d like to try it!
Canva
Canva is an amazing online tool for creating images for websites, social media and business in general. I use it for blog post images, Facebook posts, list builders and more.
You can use templates to get started or create designs from scratch. It’s fun to play around with all the different features!
Once you’re done, they export as .png, .jpeg or .pdf file formats so you can share them.
Numbers
Numbers is a spreadsheet app from Apple. It’s a little too simple sometimes but it gets the job done.
I find that it focuses a too much on making things look pretty rather than functionality. But, with a little digging you can find all the functions you’re used to seeing in the bigger players like Excel.
Except printing a selected area. It drives me crazy that you can’t select cells and print only those. I have a workaround but it still bugs me.
Pages
While not my favourite word processor, like Numbers, it gets the job done.
Again, it’s more about making things look pretty than making the functions easy to find. But then maybe I haven’t taken the time to learn how to use it properly.
Luckily I don’t need this one too often!
Keynote
This one is fun. Making slides for a presentation and presenting them is a breeze with Keynote.
There are some great templates that make presentations engaging and entertaining.
Doing a tutorial on YouTube? Try using a Keynote presentation – it works a treat.
QuickBooks Online
Since I use a Mac here at Pink Toad Studio, accounting apps are hard to come by – until recently.
I took a while to warm up to QuickBooks Online but it has been a great timesaver. Sharing information with our accountants is easy and reports are easy to create.
You can slice and dice your financial info in any way that suits you.
I’m not so fond of the data entry – it’s pretty clunky. But I do like the ease of finding information when you need it.
ImageOptim
Optimizing images scores you points with Google. The better the images are optimized, the faster your website loads.
Optimizing means scaling back the size of an image file without losing quality.
We’ve been using the free version of ImageOptim and, other than a limit of 10 images per day, it’s done a great job.
I didn’t include a link to their website – it’s in Chinese!
iCloud Drive
All of my files are saved to iCloud Drive. All of my backups are there too.
I love that I can access anything to do with Pink Toad Studio from any machine or device – online or off.
LastPass
Do you struggle with remembering passwords? Have a spreadsheet with all your passwords? Or notes scattered all over your office?
That was me, too. My “systems” got ungainly and I started losing things so I finally tried LastPass.
LastPass was recommended by several people – people I trust. It has turned out to be a game-changer.
As a small business owner, I have to wear many hats. It helps to have great tools supporting all the different tasks that make up my day.
The tools I use to run my business can be as varied as the business itself. Do you have any favourite tools that help you run your business? Which apps can’t you live without in your business? I’d love to hear about them in the comments below or email me at amanda@pinktoadstudio.com
