Just Fucking Do It
I understand that fear can get in the way. That starting a business or moving your business to a new level can be scary. One of the main excuses I always get is to do with money. People can’t afford to start a business without money is said a lot. Whilst some money is required, you do not have to have it from the start and there is so much that you can do so that people start to know who you are, what you care about, what you are selling and what is your brand.
In this post, I am going to list 20 apps or online software that you can use in your business. All are FREE to get started.
I have broken them down into categories, Content, Organisation, Selling, Communication and Because they are good. I could probably have given you 300 different options but over further posts, I will add more.
So no more fucking excuses, from whatever point you are just get started.
Content
In this part of the blog I will give you some great apps/software to help you create and publish content.
Canva
Canva has become a powerhouse in the Graphic Design world for those of us that know nothing about Graphic Design. It is a free tool. (There is a pro version) but you get so much from the free tool. All of my graphics for my posts are done through Canva. My free downloads, client proposals and social media cards are all designed in Canva. I even found the other day that you can design and print tee shirts.
You can get Canva on all devices, have to say the online version is best but still a powerful, powerful tool.
Unsplash
An amazing place to get free images. They are not the standard boring images that you see everywhere. New images are added daily. I don’t really know what else to say I love Unsplash I use it daily.
You can access Unsplash everywhere and in fact, a lot of apps have created integrations with Unsplash. You can get to splash online and you can download the app.
Evernote
This app is a powerhouse. It was designed for you to organise your notes. The concept is very simple. So if you have an idea and want to map it out you can store it in Evernote. If you see a post that you find interesting that you want to remember so that you can use it for research and reference later you can store it in Evernote. The list of things that you can do with Evernote is endless. I would advise you with videos on how people make the most of Evernote because it is so versatile that you would want to make the best of it.
Again a free tool on all devices. If you love this tool you can upgrade and it opens up a greater world of options.
Grammarly
I truly think that one of the reasons that hold people back from creating content particularly long-form content is fear of being called out by the grammar police. I too have this fear. Grammarly is an amazing app that attaches to content creation tools that you use and will highlight errors or areas that can be improved in within your text. Including as I type this into WordPress.
This is a no brainer app to be used. It costs nothing, doesn’t impact performance it just provides excellent help.
Organisation
In this section, I will show some apps that will help you organise your life a little bit better.
Bitly
This is such a great app. It allows you to take a long URL link and shorten it. On top of that, you can create your own unique short link so you can use customised link when you are posting your links out. Also, you can see the stats, so you are able to understand how many people clicked on your link.
Available for all devices. Again free. An app I use daily.
Trello
This is an amazing app that allows you to organise all kinds of things. It starts with the creation of a board. For example, I have a board, that all of my blog posts. On each board you create lists. So on my Blog Post Boards, some of the lists are ‘Blog Post Ideas’, ‘In draft’, ‘Published’…… Each blog idea is created on what is called a card. You place the card under a list but you can then move the card to another list. So the board for my blogs posts, as an example, as soon as I get an idea I create a card in Trello. As soon as I start to make a draft of the post I move the card to the ‘In draft’ list and as I progress the post I move it to the appropriate list so I know where I am.
It is such a perfect free tool for you to keep track of all aspect of your business. Again you can get this app on all devices. One of my favourites.
Buffer
An incredible app that enables you to schedule social media post. You can link Buffer to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Instagram. You can schedule times, move posts around, posts to more than one platform at a time.
Another app I use daily.
The reason I picked Google in this section was because of the calendar and how you can blend calendars so you can truly keep track of your time. However, there are so many free tools in the Google Tool Shop, alone this will help you to start and grow a business.
Again all devices. All free.
Selling
There comes a point in your business you have to sell. So in this section, I want to show you some of the apps that are available for you to sell through.
Etsy
Another powerhouse in the small business, micro business world. This is a brilliant app for you to sell your products on. You literally can sell anything. You set up your shop add your products and/or services and you start selling. There is no monthly fee, you pay once you sell.
This app/software alone leaves you no opening for any excuses. Just this alone means you need to Just Fucking Do It!
eBay
The OG on the blog but it still works. I don’t know what else to say other than you learn to list well and write good copy for the items you are on to a winner. Gary Vaynerchuk did a whole series on YouTube videos a couple of years ago of him going to yard sales, purchasing items and then selling them on eBay.
It’s free available on all devices. Again there is no reason not to be able to sell.
Teemill
This is a new obsession. I love the idea of this. I have written and talked about it a lot. Teemill is a company that allows you to design teeshirts but instead of having to purchase them in bulk you can add the design to your website or other locations and they are printed on demand. All the responsibility is taken away from you. TeeMill prints packages and sends out the teeshirt. They handle the payment and they then pay your share into your PayPal account.
This could not be easier for you to create and make money.
Printful
Another company that offers print-on-demand services. The brilliance of this company is they do a whole host of products including hats, sweatpants, umbrellas, cushions. It is just brilliant. On top of that, it is designed to integrate easily with apps such as Etsy and Spotify.
Free to sign up, so get making some money.
Communication
You are not going to sell or grow your business if you don’t communicate. It has been, since the dawn of time, one of the key elements to being successful. Those that communicate well whether through the arts, the spoken or written word, are more successful than those that fail to master and develop their communication.
Whilst your content is also a massive form or communication in this section I will focus on the apps that allow you a more verbal face to face form of content.
Zoom
At the time of writing this post, we are deep into lockdown. So if you are not aware of Zoom you must have been living on another planet. It is a video conferencing tool that during this challenging time has enabled businesses to stay alive.
Whilst they have different levels of pro versions, there is a free version that enables you to speak to potential clients. It is all you need to get started.
Skype
Again the OG on the block. It has fallen by the wayside because of Zoom but it is still a good tool, especially used in line with other tools such as Ecamm to record interviews.
It is free and enables you to communicate with clients and potential clients.
Google Hangout
Another of the amazing suite of tools that are free to use from Google. It is a shame that it doesn’t get the same recognition as Zoom because some of the features you have to pay for in Zoom you get free in Google Hangouts.
It is definitely one to check out.
Facebook Live
Facebook is always adding new features. It’s Facebook live function has been a revelation to many businesses. Only the other week I was in a group that I belong to and one of the mentors hopped on live and did a free but very powerful 30 mentoring session. It was amazing. There is so much you can do with this free feature to communicate with your clients and followers.
Because they are good
These last four in my list are ones that I find really useful and use almost daily. Again all free.
Garageband
This a specialist piece of software for recording but I use this daily to record my podcast. It a free and very easy to use. So if a podcast is one thing you plan to start then Garageband is perfect.
Feedly
This is an excellent tool to find great posts that have been written that you can either use to repost, create content from or you can use for research. It aggregates content from other blogs and newspapers.
It links to social media platforms and other platforms such as Buffer. An excellent free tool, again I use daily.
A brilliant app that enables you to store links to posts that you want to save or go back to and read. It is such a simple app but really powerful and effective and efficient. Available on all devices. It is another free tool that I use daily.
Voice Recorder
There are a few free voice recorder apps, so I have not added a link but this is such a valuable tool. How many times have you thought of an idea or even a set of words for something you are trying to write or name for something. This is why have a voice recording app on your phone is so useful because you can start recording immediately.
It is not a fancy tool with lots of features but is a brilliant free tool to help with business ideas.
No more excuses
For as many excuses that you can make for yourself someone will be able to come up with an answer. You can make money a factor in starting and growing your business or you can use what is out there to get going and Just Fucking Do It!
