Starting, owning, and growing a business is no easy feat. At first, you play every role; photographer, admin, customer support, editor, social media manager… the list goes on. Eventually, as you grow, you get to hire people — but in the meantime (and even afterwards), you can enlist the help of software to make your life 10x easier.

Thank god for technology, am I right?

Here’s a list of the 5 essential tools I use in my business to keep it up and running.

 

1.) Tave

A photographer’s best friend! Tave is a client management system that helps me plan photoshoots, send invoices, keep track of payments, gather and organize leads, send questionnaires and contracts… basically everything! If you can’t afford to hire an assistant yet, you can enlist the help of Tave.

 

2.) Flodesk

Email marketing made gorgeous. Every business and digital marketing guru on the internet says that growing an email list is one of the most important things you can do as an entrepreneur. With Flodesk, I can capture email addresses on my website and send out the most beautiful newsletters and updates. Flodesk also makes it easy to organize giveaways and deliver freebies.

 

3.) ShowIt

My website platform! ShowIt is the perfect website building platform for photographers. The creative freedom is unmatched, which means you can tailor-fit your website to your brand instead of tailor-fitting your brand to your website. Plus, it looks great on all devices.

 

4.) Quickbooks

Three cheers for bookkeeping! Quickbooks helps me organize and categorize my business expenses + income, and makes paying taxes a BREEZE. It’s also a great place to budget, as you can see all of your accounts and info in one place. Even larger companies use Quickbooks to keep track of their finances, so you know your information is safe and secure.

 

5.)  Adobe Suite

… but mainly Photoshop, Lightroom, and Acrobat! If you’re a photographer or a visual creative in general, you need Adobe Creative Suite. I use it to touch up photos, fix lighting issues, and other photo-related edits. But you can also use Adobe to create graphics, edit videos, create website mockups, and so much more. It’s worth the monthly investment and will take your creative work to the next level.

 

So, there you have it! Whether you’re just starting. somewhere in the middle, or already have a team, all 5 of these softwares and platforms can make your backend biz systems just as luxurious as your client experience is. If you’re a photographer and in need of more individualized advice, check out my coaching packages. I’d love to help you grow your business to the next level.