The 5 Best Tools For Building Your Small Business!
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Hey! I’m so glad you made it! So if you are anything like me you’ve either been hustling to build your small business and just want to give it a more professional look or you are right out of the gate and want to build your business on a strong foundation? Either way, you’ve come to the right place!
Over the last few years, my business style has changed many times as I have grown with the business. The main things that stay constant are that you need a solid foundation for the content that you share with your audience to get the word out about your business.
This means that even if you change your business cards five times… (I’ve done that) You still know the tools that you use faithfully every time to go back in and try again! I am all about having a few great tools in my tool bag and making them work for me!
We cannot be perfect at everything but if we get really good at a few things and use them faithfully we should be getting somewhere!
Here’s my list of 5 tools that you need to manage for building your small business!
Fiverr
Ya’ll if Fiverr wasn’t invented I don’t know what I would do. I am super creative in the fact that I can run my business but when it comes to creating a brand, logo, marketing materials, I just freeze. I think it’s because I always want things to be perfect and if I am making the choice myself it takes me longer to commit…. Anyone else ever deal with that??
So Fiverr has saved my life on many occasions! My favorite things about Fiverr are that it offers a suite of freelance graphic designers who have specific styles. This makes it clear from the get-go which type of work the artist offers. They also show how long the work will take them ! - Sometimes under 24 hours ( WHAT?) That’s amazing!
They communicate with you through the platform which is phenomenal because then all of my conversations are in one place and I can track my questions and changes!
After you proof your products they will release your downloaded products and you are free to get started using them! Hats - Shirts - Website - Business Cards - Logos for your vehicle or trailers! It’s amazing! I’ve done all that and it's great!
If you ever need different renditions of the same design you can always log back in and reconnect with a previous artist you’ve used to help you get that fresh look!
When I was creating trucker hats I wanted the logo to be of the same style and font but my original logo had too much wording for a patch on a hat. At the time it was only about $35.00 to redesign a logo that works perfectly for my hats! Yep, they’re awesome!
Example of my hats that were created using the logo I purchased through fiverr!
If you’ve never checked out Fiverr start here because the first step in any business is getting your visuals together. Your audience will come to know you from them and it will make a huge difference when you are promoting them across your social media platforms!
Check out some of these artists below and start building your logo!
Vistaprint
Just as I love and use Fiverr, I need Vistaprint. Guys - Business Cards! They are not dead! I get asked for them all of the time! If your business is in the mobile event industry they are great to drop off at local restaurants or other businesses that you will work with! It’s the quickest way to promote what you do off of the internet. Let’s face it, some people don’t want to be searching the web or a social media platform for everything.
I used Vistaprint to make my gift certificates, business cards, yard signs, and pretty much any other marketing paperwork I can think of! Their website is super user-friendly and my products always arrive super fast!
They always provide me with great loyalty offers every time I purchase and through my email. I love that I always seem to have a coupon code when I need to make a purchase!
**Reminder: Even if you are just starting out - if it’s a business expense you can reimburse yourself! Save those receipts at the beginning for all promotional items and things needed to grow your business. Down the road, it will get easier as you have a bank account or business credit card that allows you to track all of your purchases!
Squarespace
For website novices like myself, I am grateful for Squarespace! There is still a ton I don’t know about it but after building this website using it and learning how all of the features work I am just so grateful for this platform!
There are always example templates to start from. It’s super user-friendly to set up. I am always going down the rabbit hole of how to make it run faster or look more visually appealing when reading all of the How To’s and explanations that they have for website owners!
I love that it provides a place for me to blog about all of these things I have learned to share with the small business and mobile bartending community but that I don’t have to reinvent the wheel. I’m busy. I’m sure you are too. We don’t have time for all those additional plugins and coding and mumbo jumbo! Just make a beautiful website dang it!
Canva
Attention…. If you have no idea what Canva is or you are boycotting it in fear of using another BUZZ word this is your little business fairy here to tell you that you should have FOMO (fear of missing out!)
What can Canva do? EVERYTHING.
Flyers.
Social media posts.
Posters.
Infographics.
Backgrounds.
Presentation Slides.
Pinterest Pins.
Blog Post Outlines.
Website Graphics Templates.
The possibilities are endless! The free Canva account will get you started but honestly, if you are going all-in with your business and have a few dollars a month, the Pro Account unlocks it ALL!
No more falling in love with a template for it to be locked because you don’t have a Pro Account. I was very thrifty when I first started building my business. Trying to save money and grow a healthy amount of money for the business expenses. Now that I have that, this is one of my monthly indulgences! For the fraction of what I spend on the account, I make at least tenfold because the promotional products I create allow my audience to find me and book services with me. Without these visuals, my customers wouldn’t know how to get a hold of me! It just makes sense!
Tailwind
Ever get sick of having to keep up with social media posting? Yes, me - every day!!! I love creating engaging and content-filled posts but they take forever! I am sure you are holding so many hats from building your business to working another job, taking care of your family, and maybe even school? I know from experience because that is a current peak in my list of responsibilities that posting to social media can feel like a chore. It’s also super important for building your brand.
So how can I help you hate social media posting less? Tailwind. It is the Bomb Dot Com! You can link all of your social media accounts. Create a posting schedule. Make sure everything looks how you want it to and then watch how beautiful all of your social media pages become!
It takes a bit of work upfront to make sure that you are linking all of the accounts and putting the posts together that you want but if you can find a set time during the week or month to sit down and plan it all out it will save you so much more time over those days when you don’t have to worry about posting anything!
Consistency is key and if your audience can have consistent content from you and you have now given yourself more time for other areas of your life, you will most definitely feel refreshed and ready to keep creating quality content and services for your customers!
The first week that I tried Tailwind, my very small Pinterest account grew from just a few monthly views to a few hundred monthly views. This doesn’t sound like much but trust me, you have to start somewhere!
Tailwind also suggests the best times for posting based on your social media platform and audience! You can choose the times you think work well based on their suggestions and the rest is done for you! It’s beautiful. That is all.
Where to next?
If you’ve found these tips helpful let us know in the comments section! Liked this post? Pin it to save for later or share with friends! We want to share all of the things that we have learned along the way as we navigate our mobile event business!
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Cheers,
