These days we are expected to wear a lot of hats in our business, plus manage our personal lives as well. Still, hustle culture has become a thing of the past because it can lead to burnout and resentment. So what’s a busy business owner to do? Luckily, being productive is a skill that can be learned and improved. There are some incredible productivity tools out there that can transform your business operations to help your business (and life) run smoothly whether you are a solopreneur or have a growing team. As a card carrying organization and productivity expert, I’m sharing my 12 favorite productivity tools for coaches and entrepreneurs so you can get more done with less stress.
Productivity Tools for Coaches and Entrepreneurs
1. ClickUp
Every business owner needs an organized project management system! If you aren’t already familiar with a project management software in your business, you’re missing out on one of the basic productivity tools. These allow you to plan, organize, manage, and schedule your projects at a glance including assigning team members, due dates, attach files, and more.
There are many project management systems each with its own personality, so to speak. Find the one that works best for you and your business, and then dive in to make it your own! My favorite is ClickUp. I love how robust the software is, the versatility, the internal messaging for project communication, the integrations, and so much more. If it’s not right for you, check out other project management systems such as Monday, Trello, Asana, or Notion.
2. HoneyBook
Another must-have productivity tool is a good CRM (customer relationship management) software. To help with productivity, you’ll want to look for automated workflows and templates that will save you so much time on administrative tasks as your business, and client list continues to grow. HoneyBook is a great option for streamlining your client management, including invoicing, contractors, and onboarding.
Other CRMs to check out are Dubsado, 17 Hats, and HelloBonsai. Use my HoneyBook affiliate link and save 50% off your first year! Currently, HoneyBook is only good for residents of the US.
3. Call Scheduler
Nothing is worse than wasting time going back and forth to coordinate schedules. I love to share my link with a potential client or for a coffee chat and have them choose a time that works! You may not need a call scheduler if you use Honeybook or Dubsado since they are already integrated into the platform.
Or you may be just starting out and don’t want to make the investment yet in an all-in-one CRM. I started out with Acuity Scheduling and then purchased a lifetime deal through AppSumo for Book Like A Boss. You can also snag Tidy Cal for a low price of $29 depending on your needs. (Appsumo lifetime deals are addictive I am warning you!)
4. Google Drive or Dropbox
How much time do you spend per year trying to find a file? Likely a lot more than you think if you don’t have an organized file system. Keeping all of your documents and files organized online is made easy with either Google Drive or Dropbox. Each of these are searchable allowing you to find your documents and files quickly, but you’ll want to establish a consistent naming system or tagging system for your different files in order to make the most of this feature. One other thing to note: Dropbox can get expensive as you are charged for files shared with you. Google Drive has a much larger storage limit and a lower price point.
If you are a productivity geek like me, the best $37 course you’ll want to RUN to buy is Get Productive with G Suite from my friend Dara. She can help whip your Google Suite including Drive, Mail, Keep, etc. into shape in minutes!
5. Gmail Templates
If you are sending the same email over and over again, it’s time to save that time and create some Gmail templates so you can save some valuable seconds off your email time. It might not seem like a lot, but over time it does add up. Again learn more productivity tips from my friend Dara. Google Suite has so many shortcuts, you can’t possibly learn them all but you can start now!
Autoresponders, templates, and different mailboxes for different departments of your business assigned to different people.
6. Slack
The best tool for communicating with your team is Slack. You can create multiple channels for the different aspects of your business, such as customer service, client management, marketing, etc.
I recommend Slack as a one of my favorite productivity tools for coaches and entrepreneurs because everything is organized by thread and all the conversations are kept in one place. It’s much “cleaner” than filtering through an email thread, plus you can share attachments or voicenotes, and share direct messages as well as group conversations.
7. Voxer
Some people like to talk it out rather than type it out. Voxer is a walkie talkie style FREE app. If you choose to upgrade to the PRO version, it’s a minimal investment ($36 per year at the time this post was written). Having the PRO version allows you to scroll back in your message threads which can be helpful if you want to check something that was sent over a week ago. You can also access Dropbox integration as a pro user and get voice-to-text transcription features.
One thing I have loved about using Voxer with my business has been being able to add value to my programs through “Voxer Days.” These are essentially “Ask Me Anything” days that allow your VIPs or course participants to have exclusive access to you through the app. Elizabeth Goddard explains more in her Rock Your Day of Voxer training that you can learn more about here.
8. Tailwind
If you use Pinterest as I do, a tool to schedule pins is a MUST. Now you can use Tailwind to schedule out your pins. I share more about specifically how I use Tailwind to boost my Pinterest strategy in this blog post. If you are interested in an all-in-one solution, you can use it for IG and FB too!
I personally use and love Social Bee (another AppSumo lifetime deal) but have also used and recommend RecurPost & MeetEdgar, all of which repurpose your posts on autopilot instead of the one-time post. I love to repurpose my content so this is a must for any business owner. Who has time to post it once and then manually have to reschedule?
9. AirTable
AirTable is so much more than a spreadsheet or database tool. You could use it to collaborate with team members on a wide variety of projects or just keep a database of all of your essential information. The databases can integrate between the different tables making it relationonal. One reason I love Airtable too, compared to using Excel or Sheets, is that I can upload images and they stay in a thumbnail size compared to distorting the view of my table over multiple pages.
If you are more advanced, the automations are amazing and save so much time!
10. Zapier
Zapier is the one app that can connect all of your other apps. Want any new calendar meetings to be added to your project management system automatically? No problem with Zapier. And that’s just the beginning. The opportunities for automation and workflows with Zapier and your other tools are endless.
Zapier works with over 5000 different apps and programs. There are certain ones that work with their free plan, so you may find you need to upgrade to their PRO plan in order to access certain programs or create multi-step zaps, but the time and stress saved by this automation may be worth the investment.
11. RescueTime
Do you feel like you are wasting time online and not sure where all of your time goes? Too much time scrolling? Making those endless adjustments to your website and not taking money-making action steps? Download the RescueTime Chrome extension, and you’ll be able to see reports on where you are spending your time so you can make better use of the time you have.
This has been a game-changer for me in terms of reviewing my productivity. Even though I was feeling like I was spending “all day” online (and I was), I was able to really see at a glance which were client focused activities, which were income generating tasks, and which were admin focused tasks. Becoming aware was the first step in recalibrating my time and making adjustments where I needed too.
12. Grammarly
If you do a lot of writing for your business, Grammarly is a really great tool that saves you time on proofreading and editing. I know this has saved me a lot of time and headache as an entrepreneur. We are told to “write like we speak,” but we still want to be grammatically correct in order to be professional in our business.
Are You Ready to Get More Done?
If reading over these productivity tools for coaches and entrepreneurs makes you want to add some of these into your own business so you can start automating and being more efficient, but you are overwhelmed with the tech, migration, or integration with your current systems, I can help! I offer a variety of services from tech VIP days, maintenance, and OBM support that may be just what you need to help you streamline your systems and operations so you can be the CEO rockstar you are! View my services page or schedule a consultation with me now to see if we are a good fit for one another.
