This year has been my most productive year in business yet! From booking more sessions & weddings to working on some topic secret projects, I have really had to buckle down and get more efficient. I’ve dropped some of the names below in casual conversation with other small business owners and I’m quite often asked for my review on them. I’m excited to share a few of my favorite productivity tools on the blog today in hopes at least one of them can help others take their businesses to the next level 🙂

17hats

This website has completely changed my life this year! 17hats is an all-in-one business system for entrepreneurs. I am able to store each client’s contact information and give them a ‘project’ (i.e, a wedding). Within each project, I can assign the contract, invoice (and accept PayPal) and workflow (culling, editing, blogging, social media, wedding day questionnaires/timelines, album design, gallery delivery, etc).  The client can always revisit their invoice link to see past payments, remaining balances and receive automatic receipts. The website has a calendar that syncs to my Google calendar so I can see what events I have coming up and what items are on my to-do list. My favorite feature in this system is Bookkeeping. You can sync your bank to record my income and expenses (or enter manually) and also create financial reports. It’s super easy to print an entire calendar year of financials to give to my CPA when tax time comes around! Win!

You can try 17hats it for free for 15 days (no credit card required)! They are actually having a One Year Anniversary Sale so you can get the 2 year plan for 65% off (sale ends this Friday, 10/9)! If you try it, let me know how you like it 🙂

Sunrise & Sunset App

Whenever I schedule a session or wedding, I view what time the sunset will be that day. I love to shoot portraits during the Golden Hour for that beautiful warm light so I try to schedule a starting time of 2 hours before sunset. In the past, I’d look this info up on Google. Earlier this year, I downloaded this app and have the information accessible to me in less than 10 seconds! When brides book me a year in advance and ask for feedback on the timeline, I can quickly reference this app and give them the best time for portraits!

Google Apps for Work

I am a HUGE fan of Gmail. It has a clean & user-friendly interface and I pretty much love all of the other Google tools it connects to (Calendar, Google Drive, Google Hangouts, etc). With Google Apps For Work, you can get a custom email based on your domain. Instead of yourbusinessname@gmail.com, you can use yourname@yourbusinessname.com. So professional if you ask me! It’s also great for bigger companies because you can have multiple users under one custom domain (if you have an intern, assistant or multiple employees). It’s only $5 per month, per user and you can try it free for 30 days!

Think Tank Airport Takeoff

Game. Changer. I shot a double header this year (Emily & Kenny on a Friday, Brandi & Tripp on a Saturday) and knew I needed to downsize the amount of bags I lugged around. I used to carry my camera bag, shoot sac and a bag that carried my laptop + iPad all on my shoulder (talk about back pain). I can now fit all of my equipment AND my laptop + iPad in in this rolling bag. I still throw my shoot sac over my shoulder so I’m able to switch out lenses easily throughout the day but it’s super light and much better than the alternative! I grabbed these images off of the ThinkTank website so you see how packed you can load this rolling bag!

Voxer

This walkie-talkie app has been such a blessing over the past few months! What do you get from a group voice-chat with 3 wedding photographers and a wedding planner? Ideas. Support. Motivation. Reassurance. Hilarity. I could go on and on. During the busy days, it’s so convenient to press a button a speak the full thoughts that are in your head instead of abbreviating it into a text message. I can literally wake up with an idea and speak it to existence in our group chat and not only receive support from these girls but help with brainstorming! And I do the same for them! I am constantly inspired by these women. If I’m late to a conversation, the app plays through all of the missed messages in the chat. It sounds like a normal face-to-face conversation hearing everyone speak and respond back and forth. Running a one person business has the potential to get lonely but when you have a team of like-minded and driven individuals on your side, you can never feel alone. I love how this app has helped push us toward our big dreams!

There is no instruction manual on running a small business and so many efforts are trial & error. These are just a few of my favorite productivity tools and I’d love to share more later! I hope at least one of these tools can help you in your small business journey!

Leave a comment below if you have any tools you’d like to recommend for me and other readers! 🙂