Tech Talk: Productivity Apps We Love
Did you know that in the early days of my business, I sent a contract and invoice from the bleachers at my son's baseball game?
One of the main reasons I started this business was to be flexible for my family, and that means relying on technology every day.
As a small business CEO, you probably already rely on your mobile devices a lot, both for day-to-day communication and to check on things when you’re away from the office. There are so many apps out there to help maximize your mobile capabilities, allowing you to get more done.
Need to put together a presentation from the school pick up line? Sign a legal document from the airport? Process credit card payments away from your desktop POS system? With the right apps, your mobile phone or tablet can become a powerhouse of productivity and organization!
We’ve compiled a list of our recommended best apps for all kinds of small business needs, from note-taking to calendar consolidation and easy graphic design.
Otter
No need to worry about taking notes during business meetings with the free Otter app. Otter is a real-time transcription app available for iOS, Android, and web browsers.
It uses automatic speech recognition (ASR) to process and transcribe conversations in real-time, adding punctuation and distinguishing between individual speakers in the text. It's a great tool for creating a written record of a meeting or interview, freeing you up to listen and enjoy without having to worry about taking notes.
Once your conversation has been recorded and transcribed, you can edit the text directly in the app to store forever. I use this all the time for blog ideas and other notes when I’m inspired on the go.
Otter also allows you to share conversations with your contacts and link to your Google or Zoom account, which is great for small business collaborating. The basic version of this app is free, but there is also a paid version for $8.33/month which allows you to transcribe 6,000 minutes of audio per month.
HelloSign
As a small business owner, you always have paperwork to sign. The HelloSign app gives you the ability to sign documents on the go, from anywhere.
The app comes with both free and paid subscription service options. Pick your plan and you’ll have the ability to scan, edit, sign, and send documents via your mobile device. HelloSign integrates with Gmail, Google Docs, Salesforce, and Oracle.
For the free app download, you receive three free documents per month. You then have the option to upgrade to one of three paid plans: Pro, Business, and Enterprise. These range from $13 to $40 per month and include features like audit trail, data validation, branding, in-person signing, signer access code, and team transaction overview.
Canva
Canva is an easy-to-use design platform that allows you to create a variety of graphics for your business. Canva has templates for everything from social media images to marketing brochures, flyers to business cards, presentations to web banners, and just about everything in between.
Whatever marketing image you might need, Canva has a template for it!
Once you find a template with the look, feel, and format you want for your Instagram image, you can customize the template — swap photos, change the layout and background, adjust the fonts, or add additional elements like icons, illustrations, or frames. And all with a few drag and drops.
If templates aren’t your thing, you can also build your design from scratch.
If you want to squeeze even more marketing benefit from Canva, Canva Pro allows you to link your social media accounts and post your marketing images directly from the platform. It also offers a lot more elements, backgrounds, fonts, and stock photos.
Canva Pro does have a monthly fee, but you can try it for 30 days risk-free by signing up for a free trial.
Buffer
Schedule and manage every one of your social media posts from a single place. Easily send your message to your social platforms, without any of the added hassle.
Create posts, analyze the data, and engage your followers all from one social scheduling tool.
Up to 25 users can be added to your Buffer account, and you can choose who has full posting access or needs permissions. Choose from free or $15/month starter plans or their business plans.
However, based on what your needs are, take a close look at each of the plans so you can choose the right fit for you.
Mighty Networks
I know, not another social media platform. But let me explain.
Mighty Networks is the perfect business social network. It’s a website, an online course manager, a membership community, and so much more all in one! You can move your existing community with ease or launch your new brand on every platform all at once.
There’s 3 tiers: The Free Plan, which is free for up to 3 admins; The Community Plan, which is $28/month billed monthly or $23/month billed annually; and The Business Plan, which is $98/month billed monthly or $81/month billed annually.
A 14-day free trial is available for The Business Plan before you commit to anything.
ClickUp
I’ve been through every team organization and project management apps — Trello, Asana, Monday, Zapier, you name it. I introduced ClickUp to my team last year to replace it all, and I’m loving it!
It’s got multiple widgets and dashboards to organize everything you need internally, plus places to host all your client work! I especially love that I can invite each client to their own section without creating tons of boards for every project and person.
Overwhelmed by this all-in-one project management tool? We were, too. It does so much, but once you get the hang of it and use it to work for your particular business, it becomes second nature. You don’t have to use every feature all the time. Plus, they’re updating it constantly with new features and roll-outs.
These picks may not be compatible with all devices. If you’re looking for more insight on the best productivity apps, email me!