Solopreneur Toolbox: 50+ tools and learning resources for the small business owner.

This is the entire list of tools I use to run my business + my go to learning resources for certain tools. There are over 50 tools listed from what plugins I’m using for my site  to what I drink to stay caffeinated 🙂

Some of these links are affiliated links meaning I get a small payment if you purchase through my link or free service, it’s no additional cost to you. All of these tools are the exact tools I use and I would share them with an affiliated link or not.

Website

WordPress with a Genesis Beautiful Pro Theme (edited) hosted by SiteGround

Plugins (main plugins):

Yoast for SEO
Bloom for email opt-in forms
Divi Builder (sales page and home page)
Click To Tweet
Disqus (commenting)
Jetpack
Redirection
Akismet Anti-Spam
Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights

WordPress Resources:

Tiny Blue Orange
WordPress Barista

Of course the wordpress.org help is a great resource too. Since WordPress is an “open” platform there are tons of help out there. Also most hosting companies also supply good learning resources/articles.

Client Operations

Paypal + Stripe : Payment processing services
Acuity : Pay portal + scheduling
Typeform: for my more in-depth client questionnaires
Trello to organize emails (CRM)
Google Docs: notes/documents
Zoom :communication/meetings
Gmail + Canned Responses : email communication
I explain canned response a bit more in this post.
Slack :communication

Social Media

Scheduling

Buffer: Facebook, Facebook Group, & Twitter
Tailwind: Pinterest
Later: Instagram

You can read about my batching process for social media using these tools here.

Other
Feedly: curating content/learning

Graphics/Design

I’ve moved over from  Adobe Creative Cloud to Canva as it’s cheaper and quicker to use to make graphics. I started with Adobe because Canva was so buggy when it first started but they have grown their software to be SO user-friendly.

Descript: Video editing

Go to learning for graphic design and photography: Skillshare. Here are a few I found particularly helpful

Basics of Photoshop: Fundamentals for Beginners

Learn the Ins and Outs of Illustrator

The Complete Adobe Premier Pro Cs6 Course For Beginners

Basic InDesign: Layouts, Type, and Images

Fundamentals of Lightroom I: Organize Files and Boost Your Workflow

Smartphone Photography: Capturing Landscapes

Introduction to Mobile Photography: Capturing on the Go

DSLR Photography For Bloggers

Operations General

Google Apps (gmail, calendar, docs)

Email
Boomerang (Free version) to schedule send or inbox resend
Email Signature WiseStamp
Canned Responses (found in Gmail labs see this post)

Active Campaign: Email marketing, replaced ConvertKit in April 2017.

Interact: Opt-in Quiz (read this blog post for more about this tool)

Trello: To organize all the things!! Watch this video to see how I use Trello.

Grammarly: Grammer checker

LastPass: Password management

Wave: Bookkeeping

Toggl for project tracking
BeFocused as Pomodoro timer

Google Analytics: Website insight

Zapier: provides automations between various tools

MemberVault:  Course hosting. They are an amazing company, they offer SO much training to their community. In April 2018 I replaced Thinkific with MV, and super happy I did.

Video Recording:  Loom.

Hardware

Macbook Pro
Iphone
Ipad Pro w/ pencil: with apps Notability, GoodNotes, Procreate

Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone (ATR Series)
UPLIFT Stand Up Desk -Bamboo Top
Kindle PaperWhite

Other

Amazon Prime for office supplies and BOOKS!!! (see my list of business books read 📚)
Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Skillshare: General learning
Podcasts: General learning
Postable  + Punkpost: Cards
Moo: Business Cards

I’ve replaced all my planners (Get To Work Book +Powersheets)with Trello. You can see how Trello runs my business all year long in this video.

Caffeination provided by The Jasmine Pearl Tea Co. 😂

And finally if you are interested you can read about how I organize my day.

If you found this list helpful you can always share with your friend!