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Welcome to Part Two of the Keeping Your Sanity as a Solopreneur series. In Part One, we tackled mindset by busted some common myths about transitioning from employee to self employed. Today, I’m going to share some of tools I’ve been using to keep myself organized, along with some processes I’m constantly tweaking so I can spend less time on mundane tasks.

But first, spoiler alert:

You’ll always be testing and tweaking

Solopreneurs tend to be very DIY, and when it comes to keeping organized, getting paid on time, and knowing what I’m doing from day to day, I’m always testing out tools and processes, integrating them into my business, finding another tool or process that can potentially make my life easier, and trying that out. If you’re like me and like doing test runs for a period of time to test the waters, this may be fun for you. Some things work out, while others don’t. And some things you’ll know right off the bat aren’t for you. It’s like trying out a new face cleanser that breaks you out after 1-2 uses.

First, let’s start with tools. These are either tools I’ve been using for some time or are currently testing out.

Note: This isn’t a sponsored post nor does this post contain any affiliate links. In fact, these businesses, influencers, and developers have no idea that I’m sharing their products with you. Some of these tools are paid products while others are free (and there are plenty of free alternatives for some paid products, in some cases). Also, since my business centers on providing services rather than products (for the time being), this post centers more on that, though I feel these tools can also apply to product developers. Now that that’s out of the way:

Tools

Website

Your website is your virtual business card. It gives people a sense of what your business offers and also gives them a glimpse into your personality.

• Website Hosting: Bluehost– I’ve been using Bluehost for several years now. When I transferred my website hosting and domain name from Go Daddy, I found the process to be very seamless and straightforward. I’ve noticed that Bluehost is routinely doing maintenance which sometimes gets in the way of my website loading, and when this happens, I’m always met with very courteous customer service providers that are understanding and prompt. Another feature I enjoy is BlueHost’s one-click WordPress install to create a WordPress site via Bluehost.
• Website Content Management: WordPress– I often tell people that my business first started as a blog. A Tumblr blog, specifically. I started blogging in 2011 on Tumblr, and while I liked Tumblr, it didn’t have the functionality I needed and trying to get widgets to work in the themes I tested out sucked. When I noticed’s BlueHost’s one-click WordPress install feature, I immediately switched over to WordPress. Note the difference between WordPress.com versus WordPress.org. WordPress.org requires you to have your own web server, whereas WordPress.com can be hosted by Bluehost or whichever host you use. I’ve found WordPress easy to set up and navigate, but many website developers are very proficient in building WordPress sites. Creating blog posts and website pages is a breeze, and WordPress routinely updates my website so that I have the latest in functionality. Also, WordPress has lots of free themes, but I found myself more attracted to premium themes, like the next tool.
• Website Theme: Avada– Whenever I would find a website design that I liked, I would wonder, “What WordPress theme is that?”. Turns out there’s a website to help you figure that out. Also, many of the designs I liked were made with Avada. I have fun creating my website and relaunching it in November 2015, and I’ve gotten compliments on how clean my site looks and how easy it is to navigate. If spending time designing a website isn’t your thing, many developers are knowledgeable on Avada and other themes.

Invoice and Accounting 

Getting paid and tracking your expenses and time can be a drawn out process. Or not.

• Invoice and Accounting: Freshbooks– I believe I was listening to a podcast in which the sponsor of the episode was Freshbooks. I was able to get a promo code from that episode to test out Freshbooks for 30 days before I dived right in. Before Freshbooks, I relied on invoice templates downloaded from the internet and trying to do my accounting strictly from my business checking account. What I like most about Freshbook is its ease of use, the convenience of tracking expenses and creating invoices in one system, along with its ability to offer multiple ways to receive payments, including sending an invoice as a PDF to mail or email to clients or giving clients the option to make credit card payments.

Organizing

Some people are digital organizers while others prefer to do it manually. I’m trying to do both.

• Paper planner: Full Focus Planner– Not since grad school have I felt the need to use a paper planner, but I’m a big fan of Michael Hyatt. I consider him as one of the thought leaders of the personal development field. About a year ago, he launched the Full Focus Planner. I received my first Full Focus Planner in mid December 2017 to begin using this year. The planner can be shipped as a single planner or shipped quarterly as an annual subscription (so you get a new planner every quarter). Since I’m just testing it out, I only wanted to order a single planner. Between 2016 and 2017, I tried my hand at keeping a bullet journal along with more higher-priced planners that, while aesthetically pleasing, I needed something more straight to the point, without the fluff, so I can keep track of my tasks, goals, and appointments. And because Michael Hyatt incorporates the latest research in goal setting and personal development, I felt good about buying the Full Focus Planner.
• File and folders: Google Drive– For personal and business documents, I use Google Drive. I can easily search for documents and I’ve yet to run out of space.
• Digital notes and reminders: My phone- I’ve tried many digital notes, tasks, and reminder apps, including Evernote and Todoist, only to realize that my phone’s stock notes and reminder apps are alright with me.
• Manual notes: Notebook paper- While there’s notes sections in the Full Focus Planner, I still like having a spiral notebook or note pad to jot down notes
• Signing documents– I’ve used many online signature signing products, including Docusign and Hellosign, but I recently discovered my phone’s stock email app has the capability to sign documents, including PDFs.

Engagement 

Staying connected is important, from one-to-one to one-to-many.

• Phone calls: Google Voice– I have a Google Voice number for my business, and those calls come directly to my personal cell phone. I have my Google Voice number listed in my phone’s address book, so when a client calls, “Google Voice Business” shows up on my Caller ID to differentiate between personal calls and business calls. If you’re someone who likes to be accessible to clients via text, Google Voice has that option, too.
• Newsletters: Mailchimp– I was initially using Constant Contact for a few years before transferring over to Mailchimp. The reason? Mailchimp is free if you have less than 1000 subscribers, and I didn’t want to pay anymore for Constant Contact at the time. Also, I found the process of creating newsletters to be more seamless through Mailchimp.
• Web Applications: G Suite for Work– I found this nifty feature through Bluehost. G Suite (formally Google Apps for Work) is basically a personalized version of Google’s most-popular services like Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Sites, Hangouts, and Plus. Also, my business emails are through Gmail (named “Mail” in G Suite). For example, when I want to log into my business email, I’ll see the regular Gmail landing page and enter my email and password.
• Sending emails: Boomerang for Gmail– Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night because I forgot to reply to an important email that can’t wait. But instead of hitting “send” at 3am, I schedule it  to be sent during business hours instead. Out of all the tools mentioned in this post, Boomerang for Gmail has been my favorite. Outside of scheduling emails, you can “boomerang” an email to get a reminder that you need to reply or get a reply. Boomerang for Gmail gives an allotted number of scheduled emails per month for free.
• Appointment scheduling: Calendly– It’s very annoying to go back and forth with scheduling calls and meetings. I’ve been using the free version of Calendly for about a year as of the posting of this blog, and I find that it works best for me. Not because it’s free for one event (well, not mostly) but because I mainly use Calendly to schedule initial calls with prospective clients. I also like the aesthetic of Calendly.
• Surveys, forms, etc.: Typeform– About a year ago, I signed up for a newsletter, which contained a new subscriber survey. I decided to take the survey, and was blown away at how seamless and beautiful the survey was. Turns out the survey was made via Typeform. If you’ve seen my Client Questionnaire form, it was made using Typeform. In fact, I’ve gotten many compliments on the aesthetics of surveys created via Typeform. Depending on the client, I still use Survey Monkey, Google Forms, Qualtrics, etc. but for my personal use (outside of doing anything extensive), I use Typeform.
• Social media post: Buffer- Buffer is my second-favorite tool on this list. It works similarly to Hootsuite and other social media sharing tools in that it allows you to schedule Facebook and LinkedIn posts and tweets, and it sends reminders of when to post your Instagram pictures. It doesn’t allow you to see your feeds like Hootsuite does, but I’m ok with that as I prefer the stand-alone apps of the social media sites I use. I like scheduling out newer posts, older posts, and other interesting content days, sometimes weeks, in advance, especially when I have a lot of client work or am on vacation. It allows me to be on social media without having to be on social media. There’s a free version and a paid version.
• Social media graphics: Canva– I noticed when I started creating my own blog post graphics using my website branding colors in Canva, I had a higher response rate for people clicking on those posts to come to my website. Canva  is a simple tool for creating and editing images, and the site has thousands of free images to choose from. You can make images all your social media platforms, as well as blog graphics, flyers, posters, announcements, newsletters, and more. There’s also a free version and a paid version.

Processes 

• Policies and procedures manual: You may be a one-person show right now, but you might decide to expand one day by hiring employees or working with student interns. Having a policies and procedures manual takes everything out of your head and put it in a document. My manual currently has documents related to my client onboaridng and termination process, billing and payments, blog post and newsletter creation and scheduling, contracts, administrative duties, and others. Your manual can be one page per policy/procedure or more.
• Client questionnaire: In 2015 I wrote a blog post on creating a potential client questionnaire , and in 2019 I updated my actual questionnaire. A client questionnaire gives a snapshot of where they currently are, what problem they’re seeking to have solved, and how they see themselves using the final product. A client questionnaire also helps you to gain clarity on what the client needs, so as to avoid repeatedly going back to the client throughout the project to for more information. The questionnaire is the first phase in my client onboarding process. After a potential client completes it, I use Calendly to have the client schedule a time to speak with me. If we feel it’s a good fit, I move forward with developing a proposal and contract.
• Project contract: NEVER WORK WITHOUT A CONTRACT. I made my first contract using Freelancers Union’s contract creator, and I’ve been tweaking it ever since.
• Starting and ending a client relationship: This process is more reflective in nature, as I have particular things I like to do at the start of a client relationship and when the relationship ends.
• Blog post and newsletter creation: I currently use the notes app in my phone to create a monthly content editorial calendar. I keep track of what blog post ideas I want to write about, along with ideas for the various sections of my weekly newsletter. At the end of each month, I create a new editorial calendar for the next month

Stayed tuned for Part Three

This is Part Two of the Keeping Your Sanity as a Solopreneur series. If this is you first time coming across the series, be sure to read Part One. Come back next week for Part Three, were we’re going to have a discussion on being a multi-passionate solopreneur (aka, what happens when you think you have too many ideas).

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