Hope I don’t regret telling you this, but up until last year I was operating my business without knowing exactly what tech tools I was using and paying for.
AKA: I had zero visibility into my tech stack.
I’m proud to say that’s no longer the case (thanks to my Head of Ops, Hannah!) and every single tool we use to run Digital Brand Kit is meticulously documented in Notion:
- Name of Tool
- Function
- Subscription Type
- Cost
Okay, blah blah blah. Why am I telling you about my tech stack tRansFoRmAtiOn? Because through the process of combing through my subscriptions, I identified the top 7 MUST-HAVE TOOLS that make entrepreneurship easier and more efficient.
Wanna see what’s on that list of tools? Keep scrolling! (BTW: None of these are affiliate links. I get $0 if you purchase a subscription.)
7 Tools Every Entrepreneur Needs In Their Tech Stack
1. Emails: Flodesk
I love Flodesk because it simplifies the whole “I need to send emails to my list” process. It’s got intuitive design and sweet automation capabilities. Flodesk gives you unlimited sends and contacts (which means you can grow your email list without worrying about costs). As a designer, I’m in looooove with the visually appealing templates and easy integration with websites.
2. Project Management: Notion
Notion was an “oops baby” that everyone at Digital Brand Kit ended up falling in love with. In the early days of DBK, I needed a centralized location to house my documents, unload my thoughts, and manage projects. I had heard good things about Notion so I gave it a shot and oh baby, am I glad I did! Notion is now our Single Source of Truth for documenting strategy, managing content calendars, and maintaining internal knowledge bases. It’s not as complicated as you might think it is.
3. Client Prospecting & Scheduling: Calendly
Does this one even need an explanation? The automated workflow feature in Calendly is ace. It eliminates the back-and-forth emails you’re currently sending to collect information and documents.
4. Social Media Scheduling: Planoly
TBH, I fell in love with Planoly because I am obsessed with seeing how all my Instagram posts look together after they are posted to my grid. And look, social media scheduling tools are more abundant than finance bros in Patagonia vests, so it can be overwhelming to choose The One. We like Planoly because its user interface is clean and quite simply, it gets the job done.
5. Instagram DM Automation: ManyChat
You’ve seen those Instagram posts where they say “Comment << WORD >> and I’ll send you this really cool thing?” They’re likely using ManyChat to automate the delivery of that really cool thing. You choose a keyword and that keyword becomes a trigger to tell ManyChat to immediately DM the person with the link, message, or document you want to send them. ManyChat makes it stupid easy to build these automations on the backend. *Highly* recommend.
6. Website Conversion Optimization: VideoAsk
The modern marketing funnel is broken. Your audience wants async, personalized communication that doesn’t feel robotic or scripted. Enter: VideoAsk. You embed this tool on your website and it allows visitors to contact you via voice, text, or video. Then you respond to them with your very own video, audio, or text. Perfect for increasing website conversions and gathering that sweet, sweet data needed to optimize your customer journey.
7. Client Intake & Surveys: Typeform
Speaking of collecting data to optimize the customer journey, ta-da! Please welcome Typeform to the stage! You can create sleek and sexy surveys for all sorts of use cases. For example, you can create a survey to qualify prospects before you reach out for a discovery call. Or create a survey to gather intake information from new clients. Or create a survey to request testimonials from customers. Fun fact: I built the Brand Personal Quiz on Typeform.
So there you have it. The top 7 tools that make entrepreneurship easier! Are you using any of these?
