Being a business owner comes with great benefits and a few challenges. One of the benefits is getting to work with really neat clients which requires keeping track of all aspects of that client work and contact information. Tools such as the ones listed below are a few I use to help with these benefits and manage some of the challenges that come along with business ownership, and keep my business running smoothly. I would love to hear in the comments other great tools you may be using for your business.
Business Tools I’m Using Lately
Trello is a tool I use to keep track of projects I am working on, workday schedules and provide an overarching view of my business. Trello gives you “boards” to work with. These boards can be whatever you like to keep yourself organized. I created boards called clients, business goals, business accomplishments, Monday workday, Tuesday workday, Wednesday workday, extra day. Underneath each of these boards you can write more detailed “cards” and within each card you can write more notes.
If you have a business with employees it might be fun to add a card for each employee so they can share more about themselves. On a different card you could put meeting agendas, upcoming projects and who is working on it etc.
Having a reliable bookkeeping tool you use for business is a must for me. This type of tool keeps finances streamlined so that when tax season rolls around you aren’t scrambling to figure out how much you spent on varying categories. Tax officials appreciate this too! I am familiar with Quickbooks but I have heard of other business owners using Xero or their CRM to track finances.
- Google Suite
Google can be used for all sorts of things, but I mainly use it for non-private, back-end business type of stuff. This includes notes, Booth Business Support financial spreadsheets, rough drafts of blog posts, goals, business plans etc. It’s nice to have this type of information in the cloud on Google so I can work at a coffee shop if needed or on another device.
- CRM (Client Relationship Management Tool)
Once clients start pouring in it can seem overwhelming to keep track of them. Client Relationship Management tools keep track of all important information related to clients. This includes the type of work you’re doing for them, birthdays, start dates, end dates, project types, project dates, notes, invoicing features, batch email features, and so much more. I am a huge proponent of CRM’s. I have tried out a couple but the one that works best for my business is Honeybook. I love how professional it looks and it even allows my brand settings to carry over into emails and invoices I send through the CRM. I have found I like the look of the invoices better through Honeybook than on Quickbooks. That is a personal preference, but something to consider when sending invoices to clients.
Other CRM’s I am familiar with include RedTail, Evernote and Monday.com. Each of these CRM’s have different pros and cons. It’s important to trial out any CRM’s you might be interested in to make sure it’s a good fit for your type of business.
Other helpful tools to consider:
As a business owner I like to have “high walls of protection” around me. No one ever knows what the market will do, when clients will be hiring, home office protection etc. Here are a few things to consider having in place in case of rainy day:
- Business or equipment insurance
- Umbrella insurance to cover home office damages
- A certain amount in your business bank account in case of a rainy day
- CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
- Lawyer
- Life insurance policy Since you are contributing income to your family it is important to have a life insurance policy in case of a tragic life event.
- Retirement account It’s important to be setting aside money for retirement in an Individual Roth IRA since you won’t have an employer doing it anymore.
Reach out to Murphy if you would like more information on any of these tools.
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