After 20+ years in the biz, you tend to stuff your sleeves FULL of tips & tricks. My favorite go-to's will keep you, your employees, & your customers happy! Here are some of the best resources money can buy (at least the best that my money has bought):
Apps:
I've always been a huge fan of apps & automation. Yes, I'm the girl that will say, "Oh! There's an app for that!" Because really, there is. Here are some of my favorites and oh, believe me, the list is never-ending.
Dashlane
I don't know how I ever lived without this. Dashlane is a secure way to store all of your passwords & logins in one spot. You can access it from your phone or your computer. It might sound a little sketchy but it's not, trust! You can get it on your Android, Apple device, & Mac/PC.
Evernote
Evernote lets you create a bunch of different notebooks - essentially, a spiral notebook just online. You can have work chats to share books or pages with everyone! Plus, it's an app and desktop program. Everything syncs and hallelujah, you can access it anywhere.
T-Sheets
TSheets by QuickBooks is pure genius! First of all, you get to set it up with all of your unique job codes, customers, etc. AND it's perfect for time tracking employee time, especially if they work remotely. It tracks locations (in case John Doe tries to charge me for his lunch break) AND it can be set for facial recognition to deter buddy punching. There's even a wall-mounted time clock app (TSheets Kiosk), which is ideal for job sites. Plus, it syncs with QuickBooks! What else do you need?
Neat
Have a receipt? Scan it from your phone or into your computer. It'll populate everything for you (from the amount to the store), you can search later and bam! - access it from anywhere.
Nextdoor
Like Facebook, but with your neighbors! Find an accountant, an extra pair of hands, get rid of your extra spray paint.. whatever!
Milanote
Get organized. Stay Creative. Milanote is an easy-to-use tool to organize your ideas and projects into visual boards.
Books:
7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Just listen to this while you're walking, driving, gardening - doesn't matter! Just listen to it. You won't regret it and you will be sooo inspired. Oh, and this link will give you a free audible download!
But Are You Making Any Money?
I finally had aha! moments in my career and what did I do? Wrote a book that solved my own problems in hopes that it would solve other people's too. Well, it worked! But Are You Making Any Money? teaches entrepreneurs how to double their income (and work less!) by using a proven, specialized method of job costing that's so simple, fast, and effective, even y'all creative types who hate numbers will be thrilled to put it into practice.
He Did You A Favor
Debra Rogers wants you to know that the bad thing, could be THE best thing for you.
Gifts:
Boxfox
I don't know what to say other than these are BEAUTIFUL gift boxes to send to clients, employees, me, whoever! They are so perfect and you get to include a note that the Box Fox people HAND WRITE. Easy peasy.
Bouqs
These are THE people to order flowers from. The bouquets look like they were just picked and hand packed by the lord himself. None of the basic grocery store stuff (sorry, Vons). Perfect to send to your sick boss, sad employee, clients, etc. The flowers look so great, they'll definitely get you some brownie points.
Other Business Resources:
One Page Business Plan
They will give you just that, a One Page Business Plan, but it will be the best piece of paper you own.
Kolbe
The most in-depth personality test everrrrr. I use this for ALL of my employees - I save a crap ton of money & hire the right people. Kolbe will tell you their strengths & weaknesses and you'll kind of be able to gauge how they might act in certain situations.
Honeybook
Honeybook is an easy to use, customizable, clean CRM platform that has all of the right features to run your business. It helps you create proposals, final invoices and everything in between. Plus, clients can pay right in the program! PS - If you use this link, you'll get 50% off!
Ruby Receptionists
Ruby® Receptionists are REAL & super nice people that will answer your phone that rings off the hook! So those solicitation calls? Yeah, don't worry. They take care of that for you. In a meeting? A real person will answer the phone and take a message for you.
Infusionsoft
The Ferrari in the sales & marketing software industry is now Keap. And that is all.
Unbounce
Here's an example of a hard squeeze page! I've tried every program under the sun and Unbounce is by far my fave.
SumoMe
Grow your site and turn those leads into paying customers!
MixMax
Life.Changer. Easy followup reminders, campaigns, scheduling links, you name it and MixMax can probably do it.
Restaurants & Venues:
Pez Cantina
AMAZING. Great food, great atmosphere, great owners. Whether you need an event space or just lunch, check it out. You won't regret it.
Smitty's Grill
Yeah, it's a pretty cool place.
Miscellaneous, But Good:
Ebates
Ebates is now Rakuten. Ok, running successful businesses means I don't have a ton of time to physically go to a store and shop. The time I do have goes to lying in bed on my phone. SO, if you too suffer this same issue, or just love online shopping, get PAID to do it! Well, technically you're not getting paid to shop but you will get $$$ back on your hauls. Yes, it really works and yes, it's easy. PS - get $10 off if you sign up through this link!
Kristy Rice
If online shopping is not your stress-release-activity of choice, adult coloring books are the way to go. No, I don't mean adult as in coloring lingerie, I mean coloring intricate flowers and designs instead of the fruit and puppies you'll find in your kids' coloring books. #Natch.
Dollar Shave Club
Keep the body lookin' fresh for $1/month. Really.
Acorns
Invest your spare change without even thinking about it! And no, I don't mean the pennies under your couch - I mean the $.37 cents from your $25.63 purchase at Ralphs! You might think I'm nuts (get it? hehe) but, it adds up fast & pretty soon we'll all be lounging in Turks & Caicos with our Acorns funds. #Likely. You'll get an extra 5 bucks if you sign up with this link!
Oh by the way, are you searching for easy steps to charge more without losing clients? Learn where you're leaving money on the table and discover simple costs to cut PLUS get productivity tips! And the best part is it's all FREE!
Any other suggestions?! Let us know in the comments below!
