Trying out new tools can be a hassle and doesn’t always work out.
We know that you don't have time to try out every new online service during your busy schedule of back to back meetings, networking, billing, and all sorts of admin work. That’s why we have tried out the best time-saving tools for you. Let’s make 2021 the year you kick start your business.
All these tools are easy to use and affordable. So, throw out those post-it notes and diaries as we show you how to cut your workload in half with our top digital tools:
Organize your thoughts, idea, and projects
Airtable
Before we even talk about setting goals as a coach or consultant, it can be hard enough to organize your thoughts and ideas.
Airtable is a great place to collaborate and centrally organize information. It allows you to integrate all of your thoughts, plans and notes in one place.
It acts as a more advanced excel sheet and is exceptionally adaptable. These templates will give you an idea of how Airtable can be used. It is a great place to arrange your market research and networking information. It is particularly helpful if you are in a meeting and you want to access specific pieces of information. It provides a space for you to represent your thoughts, plans, and is a place for collaboration should you wish to communicate this information with a group of people.
It takes a little bit of time to get into it (try using a template and watch the online tutorials), but it is extremely useful if used effectively.
Price: Starting at $0
ProofHub
ProofHub is a cloud-based all-in-one project management and team collaboration tool that gives you ultimate control over your projects without switching between multiple tools. Manage everything from project planning to ongoing communication, to final project delivery effectively and conveniently under one virtual roof.
You can save a substantial amount of time on your projects without having to juggle between tools to get your work done. This tool allows you to plan, organize and prioritize your daily tasks so that they do not overlap each other. ProofHub can help teams of all sizes significantly improve overall productivity and efficiency by ensuring seamless coordination of tasks at a centralized platform.
Here are some exclusive features of ProofHub
- Create customized workflows across multiple work streams to help you manage your projects efficiently
- Set a milestone in your project that helps you view your progress and adjust your project plan according to the adversity or challenge you might face.
- With the Kanban boards and table view, you can easily visualize your project and evaluate your task progress.
- The Gantt chart feature enables you to keep track of all the project timelines and dependencies, helping you identify a potential risk at any project stage.
- Furthermore, you can also share inputs and get real-time updates on your projects using ProofHub’s Group Discussions, @Mentions, Chat function.
One-stop solution to all your project planning needs and over 85000 teams worldwide to love that.
Price: $89 per month
Motivation and To-do Lists
Strides
Old habits die hard. It is all too easy to fall back into the same old habits, shortly after setting out your plans for the new year.
However, 2021 is going to be different. With Strides, you can track all your goals and habits in one place. The app helps you set up achievable objectives based on the idea of S.M.A.R.T. goals, which increase your chances of reaching your targets by 10x.
The app is terrific for coaches or consultants who want to track and organize the perfect routine around client meetings. It provides visual charts and reminders to keep your motivation and productivity on track. It also provides a great space for you to work out your work life balance; helping you to create a healthy work environment.
Price: Free
Trello
Trello is a great visual tool to layout all your daily tasks on a to-do list. Dive into the details by adding comments, attachments, due dates, and more directly to cards. You are also able to collaborate on projects from beginning to end with whoever you would like.
Most people miss deadlines due to:
- Underestimating how long it takes to execute a job
- Forgetting about tasks set far in advance
- Deadline miscommunication
- Disorganization
Trello helps you visualize and manage all these problems while giving you a mental boost as you check tasks off. The app is bound to boost your productivity. Trello is better for people who want to collaborate or are waiting for other people to complete jobs.
Price: Free
Simplify your emails and your campaigns
Superhuman
How many hours of your week are you spending reaching out to prospective clients? The answer is probably: too many!
If you write and receive many emails every day, Superhuman will save you hours of time and cut your workload. It really helps you reach the goal of "inbox zero" each day. It is aimed at helping you speed up your email workflows with quick templates, reminders, and other tools. You can find most of these functionalities on Gmail as well, but Superhuman makes the whole experience faster and better. Unfortunately, Superhuman only works if you have a Gmail email address.
Email campaigns are still one of the most popular and effective ways to market yourself as a coach or consultant. 81% of small and medium-sized businesses use emails as the primary customer acquisition channel, and 80% to retain customers.
Sadly, they have a waitlist, but it doesn't take long to sign up. Definitely worth the wait!
Price: ~$30 per month
Perfect your image and brand
Canva
Over 30% of people believe a business’s logo and branding is a significant indicator of its overall quality and service. So, if you have any doubt about the presentation of your website or social media, then Canva is the place for you!
Canva is a space for you to design your social media presence, logo, or any documents. This design tool offers thousands of templates that you can use and edit simply, without advanced computer skills, making it a great tool for coaches and consultants.
Canva has everything you need for amazing design:
- Millions of Images - Design with millions of stock photographs, vectors, and illustrations. You can even upload your own.
- Photo Filters - Edit your photos using preset filters or get advanced with photo editing tools. You will never run out of choices.
- Free Icons & Shapes - Use icons, shapes, and elements with ease. Choose from thousands of elements for your designs, or upload your own.
- Hundreds of Fonts - Access a great selection of fonts that will be perfect for every design; all ready to go and accessible within Canva.
Price: starting at $0
Picmaker
In 2021 and beyond your online presence is everything.
Your brand needs to have a stellar online presence, that’s in sync with your theme and guidelines. Graphics are an important part in establishing that online presence for your brand.
But how do you design graphics that stay on brand?
Picmaker is the perfect option for this.
It is perfect free graphic design software for brands and individuals alike. Here are some reasons for you to choose it.
- Free background remover tool - Picmaker is the first and the only design tool with a free background tool. No more using complicated software to remove the background from your images.
- A dedicated AI design tool - Picmaker has recently gone MAD with their dedicated AI design tool (it’s called the MAD button). This will give you suggestions for your colours, background and fonts. Designing graphics got a whole lot easier with their MAD button.
- Millions of pictures, fonts & graphics - Picmaker has millions of free fonts, stock pictures and graphic elements on its platform. You can use all of it to create stunning designs online.
- Hundreds of free templates - Picmaker also offers you the ability to choose from 100’s of ready-made templates. Use these templates to shorten your design time to mere minutes
Price - Starting at $0
BrandCrowd
BrandCrowd lets you fasten the process of logo design while considering the output's quality. Whether you’re a complete beginner or a seasoned designer, you’ll find the logo maker tool a helpful partner. Through this platform, you can design your own logos using pre-made templates. BrandCrowd lets you edit the style of the template by clicking a different color, font, and layout on the options provided.
Apart from the logo maker tool, here are some of the other best features of BrandCrowd:
- Business card maker - You can edit your own calling card. Find a design that is suitable for your business and profession. Then feel free to modify the style using the drag and drop button.
- Cheap and Free Options Available — Some design templates are available for free, perfect for starting business owners with no budget for branding. And even for those with a limited budget, the paid options are so inexpensive that you will have access to the design tool and the thousands of design templates. Monthly or annual subscriptions are available.
- Social Media Templates — You don’t have to go far and search for quality social media templates because BrandCrowd provides them too. Like the logo maker, you can edit the social media templates for free and download them for a very affordable price. You’ll have a working social media post in no time.
Millions of people have already used BrandCrowd’s millions of images, pictures, and icons. Ramp up your brand identity using BrandCrowd’s inexpensive and beginner-friendly tools.
Network and Communicate
Slack
If you are looking to communicate with coaches and consultants or other businesses, Slack is an amazing way to interact quickly and effectively.
Slack helps reduce and eliminate the number of emails you send by inviting people to chat rooms. You can have chat rooms for different topics, share documents, add reminders, and even video call.
People can work together more effectively, connect all their software tools and services, and find the information they need to do their best work all within a secure environment.
It is a great space to bounce ideas off each other - Over 750,000 businesses use Slack to get work done.
Price: Starting at $0
Automatically schedule, remind, meet, and bill clients.
MeetFox
Last, but most importantly, we had to recommend ourselves. This is “the tool” to cut your workload and boost your productivity.
MeetFox allows you to schedule, remind, and have video meetings with clients while automating your billing process all in one place.
Scheduling and billing can take up to 25% of your working week as a coach or consultant. Can you afford to waste that much time?
The answer is: “No!” The platform allows you to maximize your time slots to prevent you from wasting unnecessary energy and money. And video meetings are the best way to meet clients; they are accessible and effortless for the client to arrange. With MeetFox, you can conveniently integrate meetings into your website, social media and emails, massively boosting the client experience.
Price: Starting at $0
Summary
Cutting your workload and boosting your productivity is no easy task. But with our recommended tools, 2021 can be the year that you make your goals a reality. Remember to stay positive! If you want to reach out to new clients this new year, why not read our blog on “Identifying and Attracting Your Ideal Client” found here.
What other tools do you think we missed out on in our list? Let us know by writing in our Community.
