I’ve been doing this for a while now – 16 years give or take a few months to be exact, so you could call me a work from home pro. I love it, there is nothing better than waking up in the morning doing your thing then heading into the office in your jamjams and getting to work sans makeup and shoes! Working from home is becoming so much more common so I thought it would be a great time to share my can’t-live-without work-from-home tools that I seriously love more than anything and could not do what I do without them… Well maybe I could but it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun! So, are you ready for the ultimate playlist of tools to make your work-from-home life oh so sweet? Let’s dive in…
TRELLO
Trello is a tool that allows you to organize your projects, notes, meetings and anything else into handy lists and tasks that are so easy to organize with movable cards. You can also invite team members and assign tasks which is incredibly helpful if you even just have a mini team with a VA. Trello is my project manager, my agenda, my launch organizer, my social media and blog home base and I use it anytime I need anything and I mean anything organized. I don’t know how I could live without this amazing tool.
RUNNER UP: Asana
GOOGLE DRIVE
Does anyone use anything else anymore? It’s amazing for file storage, photos, docs, spreadsheets, file sharing, team collaboration. I could not run my business without this amazing tool.
RUNNER UP: Dropbox
SLACK
If you have a team even a team of you and a VA this is the software you need to effectively run your business. Slack is like Messenger on crack. You get to organize projects into “channels” so you can easily organize your projects and keep team relevant team members informed. This allows you to communicate with your team instant message style, and you can log off when you are in a meeting, out for a run or done for the day, allowing your team to know when you are off the grid. If you love boundaries Slack is definitely for you.
RUNNER UP: Google Hangouts
CANVA
As a graphic designer, I can honestly say that Canva has changed the way I design. I used to open Indesign or Photoshop if I needed to create a quick social media post, now I turn to Canva. The ease of use, the extensive photos and fonts, make it so simple to create what I need in a fraction of the time. I used to be scared of what Canva meant for my graphic design business now I embrace it like a warm comforting hug! I don’t know anyone who has ever said a nasty thing about Canva, which goes to show you just how awesome it is!
RUNNER UP: NONE
ZOOM
A cloud-based video conferencing service, Zoom is my go-to for any face-to-face meetings my business requires. Gone are the days that I take physical meetings, and zoom makes it so easy to be able to eliminate the commute. It’s fast, reliable and the glitches are few and far between. Zoom has made it possible for me to say good-bye to in-person meetings which means no more wasting time and money.
RUNNER UP: Google Hangouts
SPARK MAIL
If you have more than one email address you need Spark mail. Spark is a personal email client that organizes, prioritizes and allows you to look at all your email accounts at once. You can invite team members, set follow-up reminders and pin important dates right to your calendar. I’ve used others I love Spark.
RUNNER UP: Apple Mail
WAVE
Wave is an invoicing and accounting software that has amazing customer service is easy to use and has increased my payment rate from 2 weeks to 2 days. They are always adding new services, like payment options for customers, bookkeeping and integrations. I love it for its user-friendly interface, simple and sleek design and unparalleled customer service. These guys care and you can feel it!
RUNNER UP: Honeybook
HELLO SIGN
I used to send my clients contracts I had designed myself self and it was always a hassle to get them to sign the document and send it back to me. Then I found hello sign, super stylish and easy to use, and clients can sign it directly on their computer or phone and send it back to you. You can store templates online if you have multiple contracts and you can integrate your account with Gmail so storing your contracts is easy peazy! Love this app!
RUNNER UP: PANDADOC
FLODESK
I used to use a free popular email service provider that will remain nameless and I hated email marketing… like loathed it. It was overly complicated, finicky at the best of times and the templates were boring and completely off-brand for a graphic designer who loves everything neat, tidy and beautiful ( I meant that’s not too much to ask is it?) Enter Flodesk and I have never looked back. Flodesk has made my life easy, effortless and now I absolutely adore… like ADORE email marketing. They have stunning templates (designer approved)that are fully responsive, the ease of use if off the charts ( seriously your dog could figure it out) and you can add pop-ups and sign up forms directly on your website pages or host stand-alone signup pages right in Flodesk! And unlike that nameless email service provider I mentioned earlier, Flodesk doesn’t charge per email, you can add as many as you like for the same low price each month. Come on people this sis a no brainer!
RUNNER UP: None in my opinion, but others have raved about Covertkit
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LOOM
If you have a team and need to do walkthroughs to show them processes and procedures this is a great tool that will screen record your computer and you at the same time. Videos are hosted online and you can send people links once completed. I love how easy it is to make walkthroughs for clients, for team members and for products. I used to use QuickTime and upload my videos to youtube, I can’t tell you how much time loom has saved me. Total gamechanger.
RUNNER UP: Quicktime
OTTER.AI
If you are tired of taking meeting notes, or not that great at taking notes in general I would like to introduce you to Otter.ai. This little guy saved my life. I used to spend hours watching courses taking notes and then trying to go through them to retain the information, or I would struggle to write blog posts like this one that sounded like a real human was writing it. Then I found Otter.ai. Download this app to your phone, open it up, hit record and start recording your thoughts, notes, blog posts, book chapters while Otter transcribes it in real-time for you. I mean does it get any easier than that! I think not. Thanks, Otter, I love you forever!
RUNNER UP: REV.COM
