Starting a business is hard and scary and requires a lot of faith. A. Lot. Of. Faith.
You are stepping into the unknown with hopes that it will be better than the known but the unknown comes with a lot of I-don't-even-know-where-to-begin's.
There have been so many times on my journey when I have made major mistakes or felt the road to get from where I was, to where I wanted to go, was impossibly long. Here's a list of tools that I wish I had known about earlier on in my entrepreneurial process.
1. Honeybook
Honeybook is a customer management software that makes you look professional AF. From your initial intake form, invoices, payments, contracts, file sharing, and more, it handles 90% of my business.
Initially, I definitely thought a platform like Honeybook was a waste of money. I am an organized person who is great at managing my email. I had all of my templates in google sheets and keynote, Honeybook didn't offer me anything I did not already have but man I was proven wrong.
It is seamless and intuitive, and you can customize all of the branding to make it really feel like your own.
Justin Welsh has Somewhat of a cult-like following. He makes 7-figures from his solopreneurship and is very transparent about how he got to where he is today.
His low-cost course ($150) describes the steps he took to get his incredible following which is the marketing bedrock of his company. I have been following his guidance loosely for 4 - 6 weeks and I have had more engagement on my posts, website, and dm's than I would have imagined.
This was a no-brainer for me. I wanted to be able to easily track my income and spending and have an idea of what I owed in taxes each quarter. Quickbooks has many offerings but I am a big fan of self-employed for small, single-person businesses.
Quickbooks self-employed tracks my business expenses and my personal expenses. I do not have a business credit card yet (it's on the 2023 to-do list) so it seamlessly allows me to divide my expenses into business expenses (and therefore tax write-offs) and personal expenses. It has been a game changer for my business and personal financial life.
Scroll down on the above link to get to the Self-Employed option.
4. Trello
Trello is a free organization and list management software. I love it for my weekly, monthly, and yearly to-do's. I keep my daily to-do's in my journal so that I can still satisfyingly cross off every item when I am done.
For the visual learners out there, it is very visual and easy to move around to see everything at once which I love.
5. Youtube, Audible, and Experts in Your Field
You can actually learn anything on the internet these days, like, ANYTHING. There was so much unknown when I first started my business, but every time I didn't know something I googled it. Or, I realized it would be helpful to have X skill, so I listened to a book about it.
I took a course on how brand designers should streamline their business. I was hesitant about the investment at first, but not only did it shape how I related to my clients but it drastically increased my confidence as a designer and business owner.
Sometimes it can seem like you should know everything before beginning your own venture but that is just not the case. I learn a minimum of 5 new things every day, it's an evolution that will probably never end.
6. Personal Connections
This can not be overstated. Personal connections are why I am able to run a successful business. Period.
I have gotten nearly all (with 1 exception) of my biggest clients through friends or friends of friends or acquaintances in town. Marketers hate for laymen to know this, but a recommendation from a friend or even an acquaintance, outways the best marketing tactics every single day.
I recommend getting really comfortable telling people what you do and what you are working on. Not in a salesly way, but when asked how you are or what's new, you can mention it. The more people who know what you are working on, the more of a network you have getting your name out for you.
コメント