So, I feel like I may be a bit of an expert in this field considering that I’m almost never home and have been travelling to a different part of the world nearly every year for the past 10 years for a MINIMUM of AT LEAST 3 months at a time each time… So whether you’re just going out to do some groceries or are doing a full on world tour for the next year, I’ve got you covered!
If you’ve been here awhile, then you know I LOVE the idea and concepts of being your own boss and working for yourself. One of the biggest perks for many — including myself — is that you’re not tied down to a specific place or boss. You could literally be chilling out on the toilet and getting your work done and no one could ever judge you for it….except maybe yourself… lol
Today I want to share some of the tools I use for business as well as others that I haven’t personally ever needed according to my business needs but could definitely be useful for others!
First thing’s first, the #1 tool you need if you work online if you don’t (or can’t) carry your laptop/computer around everywhere you go with you is….**Drumroll pleeeeease!!!!**. YOUR PHONE! Did you guess? I bet you had NO idea…kidding, it’s pretty obvious. In today’s day in age, our phones have become mini computers in our pockets so if you’ve got an online business or even a physical business, you need your phone either way.
As a reference, I am currently using an Iphone 12 Max 256GB which allows me to do EVERYTHING I need for my business while still being able to be used for personal purposes as well like binge photography of my babies and husband ❤️. So if you can afford the extra $1300 USD, then I’d recommend it, otherwise there are also some other awesome phones out there for a fraction of the cost. The reason I use Iphone (I had an Iphone 7 before this) is because I love how streamlined everything is. I can go from my phone to my computer (Macbook Air 2017 model) and never have to worry about transferring data or compatibility issues because all my equipment is from the same company. As far as my macbook is concerned, honestly, I had absolutely no interest in getting it before. It was actually my husband who decided to get it for me, otherwise, my personal laptop company of choice is Asus all the way. I LOVE their computers and would go back to them in a second. Not only are they wicked machines (they may not be for everyone but I have loved them when I had them. I’ve never had a single issue with them — please do not confuse with Acer. When I graduated high school, my mom got me an acer laptop as a grad gift and college prep gift and it literally stopped working as soon as I turned it on so Acer is not one I would recommend personally to anyone but Asus on the other hand 👍🏽👍🏽 gets 2 thumbs up from me.
If you’re like me though and all you use are apple products (Iphone, Ipad, etc…) then I would recommend getting a macbook as well. They’re super lightweight, fast, beautiful design and incredibly efficient. Now I’m not an insanely technical person so it was definitely a learning curve going from Windows to MacOS but once I did, it’s been smooth sailing since.
Alright, now, back to what you can use when you’re away from home — which means you may not necessarily have 24 hour access to your laptop/computer.
As I mentioned previously, you need a phone. On your phone, you need apps. Here are some of the apps that I use and/or have heard amazing things about!
1. Canva
I personally use Canva pro but you can use both the free and the paid version on your phone. I personally use the paid version and would recommend it to anyone with a business strictly for all of the extra features. For example, the paid version has a branding kit where you can save all your selected brand fonts and colours in one place instead of having to write in your hex code (colour code) and font everytime you create a new graphic. Another perk of having the paid version is that you can create your graphics AND schedule/post them directly onto your social media accounts so it also includes a content calendar as well. The best part, they’ve included all of the major social media platforms so you never need to go and manually post anything, you can do it straight from Canva on your laptop and if you’re away from your laptop then your phone.
2. Google
When I say Google, yes, I mean the search engine but Google is also so much more than that! If you’ve got a gmail email account then you also get free access to LOADS of other free tools as well including email, Google drive, Google Calendars, Google photos (which gives you 15 GB of free storage per account), Google docs (Equivalent to Microsoft Word and Pages on Mac), Google Sheets (equivalent to Microsoft Excel and Numbers on Mac), Google Slides (equivalent to Microsoft Powerpoint and Keynote on Mac) and SO MUCH MORE! So, if you’ve got a business then Google apps are must-haves on your phone to keep everything going on the go.
3. WordPress
If you’ve got a wordpress website, then it’s only natural to have the wordpress app on your phone. By having it on your phone, you can write as you go and either save as a draft until you can get onto your laptop and do some editing or you can post live straight from your phone. Not only that but the app also offers a bunch of other features such as your site stats (number of visitors, views, follower numbers), you can add images, pages, add/remove plugins, change your theme, etc…)
4. Project Management Tool
Now for this, you can go according to your own preferences. I’ve recently started using Notion (as per many productivity guru recommendations — specifically Ali Abdaal — who I’ve mentioned at least a few times in previous articles). I use the free version and so far, it seems to have everything I need. However, if you like something simpler, you can check out Asana, which I also really like. If you’re into super simplicity then I would recommend Trello. I personally love all three. However on a scale of 1-10 in terms of difficulty where 1 is super simple and 10 is super difficult to figure out, I would rate Trello around a 2 or 3, Asana between 4 and 6 and Notion around an 8 or 9 so get what you’re most comfortable with.
5. Some type of social media tool
Now if you’re a social media manager then there are tons of options out there for you to be able to post to multiple accounts. For Facebook and Instagram, I’ve used Facebook business suite which allows you to post to your client’s/your own Instagram business account and Facebook page. But the business suite is limited to these platforms only. Currently, because I have the paid version of Canva, I use their platform to post directly (as well as schedule posts to) Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Pinterest all by just linking my accounts to Canva. The best part is you can actually create your designs, add your captions and then schedule. Once you schedule, you actually get a whole content calendar that shows you exactly what is being posted when as well as where. Again, if you post for clients then there are so many other tools as well such as Tailwind (Instagram and Pinterest), Buffer (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn). There is also Hootsuite (though it is a bit pricier than the other platforms mentioned however, you can post to Facebook, Instagram, Youtube, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest). Again, there is such a variety of platforms you can use that have an incredible array of features that I could sit here all day describing them to you and still wouldn’t be done. You just need to look into what your own needs are and find an app according to your own personal needs.
6. Social Media apps
If you’ve got a business then chances are that you use social media so why not have social media platforms on your phone for when you’re on the go? Depending on your business, there are a variety apps that you can use. You have a variety of choices to choose from including Facebook(Groups, Business pages), Instagram (Instagram for business – visually stimulating), TikTok (Video content up to 10 minutes), Twitter (great for snippets of information), Youtube (amazing for brand awareness and long form videos), Clubhouse (great for networking and interacting with others in your industry and possible collaborations)
Other free apps according to your own personal business needs:
Time tracking: Toggl
Customer communication: Whatsapp Business but you need to have a separate phone number if you have a regular Whatsapp number. You can’t use your personal existing Whatsapp number for your Whatsapp business account. This can also be a landline — just select ‘call me’ when going through the verification process.
Google Business profile: Google My Business
Ecommerce: Shopify
CRM: Mindbody Business
Email Marketing: MailChimp
I hope this article helped you find some clarity on some different ways you can work from home….away from home 🙂
If I was able to help you in any way, shape or form, or if you have any additional suggestions, please leave them in the comments below letting me and everyone else know your thoughts!.
And if you liked this, then check out any of my previous posts or my latest one about my favourite business youtubers here
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