It's hard out there for a biz owner, when you trying to get that money for the rent (or the Adobe subscription, or the cell phone bill, or to pay for the fancy cat food).  

There are so many things you need to be working on to build your brand - Pinterest, Instagram, email marketing, blogging, and more. Seriously, unless you have an army of assistants, who has the time?

What you can do is use tools to save you time and money. That's why I decided to share some of my favorite resources that I use nearly every day to help build my brand and those of my clients. I'm also sharing some of my favorite biz professionals who can help you level up and grow your company. 

MASTER SOCIAL MEDIA

TAILWIND FOR PINTEREST: You shouldn't be bothering with Pinterest if you're not using Tailwind. Period. You should be pinning 5-7 times per day at peak traffic times, which would literally take up all your time if you were going it alone. With Tailwind, you can schedule a month's worth of content in under twenty minutes. BOOM. Learn more about Tailwind and get a free trial here!

LATER FOR INSTAGRAM: You should be posting on Instagram 1-2x/day, but coming up with all that content every day is overwhelming. With LATER, you can upload your content, prewrite all your captions, schedule it, and even use a handy-dandy tool to keep your grid looking fresh to death. There are a ton of Instagram schedulers out there, but LATER is the best and the only one I recommend, hands down. Get 10 free posts to try out here!  

EMAILS & MARKETING:

MAILCHIMP: Yes, there are a ton of email marketing platforms out there, but my heart belongs to Mailchimp. For businesses just starting their email marketing, or for those without a mega-huge list, Mailchimp is the way to go. Why? Its free plan is AWESOME. You can create gorgeous, professional emails in a snap. It's easy to use. Try it out here!

G SUITE: If your biz email is still "businessname@hotmail.com" or "mybusiness@gmail.com," you need to make a change. Not only does this look unprofesh, but it stops you from optimizing your reach in your email marketing. How do you get an "@domain" email address? You can use G-Suite! It's the same Gmail platform you're used to, but you have an @yourbusiness.com email. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy! Sign up for it for free here.

BIZ PROFESSIONALS:

ACCOUNTING: 

• Janet Grosso of Capri Tax - Janet makes your life so much easier. She streamlines your expenses, organizes your biz, and gives you peace of mind.  

LAWYERS: 

• Annette Stepanian is the best lawyer for creatives that we've found. 

GET ORGANIZED

TRELLO: Ditch the ten notebooks and planners that you can't keep track of. Trello makes your life SOOO much easier - I use it all day, every day to keep myself organized in business and in life. I use the free version - try it out here!  If you want to learn how to optimize it, check out this amazing course from Think Creative Collective. 

MAKE IT PRETTY

CREATIVE MARKET: My go-to shop for stock photos, fonts, and more. Creative Market carefully curates its vendors, so their offerings are all gorgeous. The best part is the wide range for every budget - you can find the cutest stuff for less than the cost of a latte. Browse till your heart is content here!

CANVA: If you're not a graphic design pro but need to create images for social media and your website, Canva is the place. Quick, easy, foolproof, with a zillion great images, graphics, and templates. Even if you are a graphic design pro, Canva is much faster than Adobe - I use it all the time to create quick graphics in a snap. Their free version is awesome. Get it here!

*some of the resources listed on this page are affiliate links, which mean if you sign up for them, I may get paid a small amount or get a bonus of some sort (one month of premium for free, for example) for referring you. However, I ONLY recommend resources that I adore and use all the damn time. If I'd recommend it to my biz besties, I'd recommend it to you (in my world, strangers are just biz besties I haven't met yet!).