Roughly a year ago I shared the 5 essential tools every solopreneur and small business owner should know about. It’s time for an update as technology moves fast. I’ve also discovered some new tools that I think you should know about.

Being a solopreneur has never been easier and more difficult at the same time. There are so many tools out there to make life easier for you, yet there is still so much to do and no-one else to do it. Building and updating your website, growing your email list, creating content to share, building a presence on social media, creating sales funnels, making sure your accounts are in order.

Life as a solopreneur can be quite overwhelming.

BUT with the tools I’ll be sharing today, you can feel in control and on top of what you’re doing.

Here’s a round up of my current 5 favourite tools.

To build your website: Squarespace

I’ve tried my fair share of website building sites like WordPress, Wix and Sitebuilder, but Squarespace gets the win for me. Their drag and drop functionality means you don’t need to know how to code whilst giving you full flexibility and freedom to create a site you love. They have a ton of great mobile-responsive templates available to get your started, have integrations with other important online tools/websites (like Google Analytics, Google Docs, Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook, Dropbox and Mailchimp, to name just a few) and have an extensive support section if you do get stuck.

To write engaging blog post + email titles: CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer + Email Subject Line Tester

David Ogilvy, also known as ‘the Father of advertising’, famously said: “On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

In this oversaturated world getting your blog post titles and email subject lines right is more important than ever. Don’t leave it to chance and use CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer and Email Subject Line Tester tools to make sure your headlines make a killer impact. No one wants to write content that nobody reads and with these tools you increase the likelihood that yours gets read (and shared!).

To edit photos: ColorStory

I’m not a professional photographer and take all of my photos with my iPhone. I’m sure it’s possible to take gorgeous photos with an iPhone (or any other phone with a good camera), but somehow mine always end up looking mediocre at best. Certainly not the type of photos that capture attention. That’s where the ColorStory app enters. I can’t live without it! Its filters gives my photos that little bit extra.

Before I edit my photos in ColorStory I often brighten them up a bit and remove shade in the Snapseed app. Together they make the perfect combo to turn average photos into social media worthy ones.

To create killer content: Canva

This one was on last year’s list and remains on it, because it’s just so damn good. Of all the tools i’m using Canva is probably my favourite.

Thanks to Canva you don’t need to hire a graphic designer to create stunning and professional looking content. Canva makes designing marketing collateral for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, your website and newsletter an absolute breeze.

To set and accomplish goals: Daily Greatness Success Planner

Another one that remains on the list! Daily Greatness has a range of journals to help you set and achieve your fitness, wellness, health, yoga, personal development and business goals. I’m currently using their Success Planner and LOVE it. It’s an unmissable tool if you struggle to stay on top of everything that you need to do. In the first section of the journal you’ll create your one page Success Plan and then break than down into smaller chunks so you know exactly what to do to achieve your bigger vision. The rest of the planner prompts you to set monthly, weekly and daily goals that will help you to stay focused and track your progress. There are also monthly check-ins to reflect on what you’ve achieved, what’s working and what isn’t and what you can do to boost your growth and progress.

These tools are total game changers to solopreneurs and small business owners. I wish that either they had been around or that I’d known of them when I first started working for myself back in 2013, because it would’ve saved me a lot of time, tears and money.

I hope you’ll love these tools just as much as I do and that it makes your working life a whole lot easier.

PS Know someone who needs to know about these tools as well? Please share it with them! I’ll be ever so grateful for it and I’m sure they will be too.

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