As a small business owner with lots of small business clients, I’ve used and tested quite a variety of small business tools over the years. Below I've compiled a list of some of the tools and software that have proven most valuable for me. If you own a small business or are thinking of starting one, I hope this list offers a helpful starting point as you figure out the systems that work best for your business.
— Micron Pens and sketchbook. As a brand designer and illustrator, most of my best ideas and initial design concepts begin in my sketchbook. These are my pens and notebooks of choice!
— Adobe Creative Cloud. Illustrator, InDesign, and Photoshop are the apps I use most. I occasionally also use Lightroom, After Effects, and XD.
— Laptop. As a 100% remote business, I use a laptop instead of a desktop computer because I’m so often on-the-go or traveling.
— Moniter. When I’m working at my home office, I plug my laptop into a monitor for an additional, larger screen.
— Printer/Scanner. I’ve had my HP Printer/Scanner for 12 years(!). It’s nothing fancy but still works great for scanning and black-and-white printing. I usually outsource color printing to local print shops.
— iPhone. Useful for photography, photo editing, notes app, scanner app, and client communication.
— Bonsai. I’ve tried several different invoicing methods over the years, but Bonsai is the one I’ve stuck with longest. I also sometimes use Bonsai for contracts, proposals, and project management. Get a free month of Bonsai with my referral link.
— Quickbooks for bookkeeping
— Google sheets for keeping track of billable hours
— Dropbox for file storage, backup, and sharing.
— Webflow is the platform use to design and manage my website.
— Convertkit for email marketing.
— Spyfu, Google Analytics, and Google Search Console for SEO keyword research and analyzing web traffic.
— ChatGPT can be a great starting point for preliminary research, learning about a new industry, or summarizing a topic into which you intend to dive deeper.
— Otter.ai can take meeting notes for you.
