Recommendations for the Artist + Small Business Owner

While I am continually improving my studio and business practices, I’ve learned a lot in the last seven years of business. Here are a few of my favorites tools + resources that have helped me along the way!

Note: Some items listed include affiliate links.

Client Management System

Dubsado is one of my favorite tools for juggling projects and inquiries. I’ve used it for a long time, and it’s greatly simplified how I work with 1:1 with clients in general. If you’re consistently sending similar contracts, invoices, or pdf’s, using a tool like Dubsado is a life saver. I will say, it is ROBUST, so starting off very simple is key. They’ve got a ton of how-to videos, great customer service, and a helpful Facebook group, and you can test your first 3 clients for free!

Simple Email Tool

Sending a branded email to my studio “list” used to be an intimidating nuisance. But Flodesk is perfectly simple and great for designers (like me!) and non-designers. It’s an easy-to-understand email marketing tool with a clean interface and no limit to how many contacts you can have (unlike mailchimp) — a plus!

Social Media Planner

I love Planoly and have used it for years. I love that I can access it from my desktop and my phone. It gives me a feed preview and a calendar that I can fill-in as I go. I’ve tried other tools, and it’s one of the best!

Favorite Quarterly Planner

The Full Focus Planner was recommended to me by multiple people that I really respect. It’s a quarterly written planner that helps you drill down into your quarterly, weekly, and daily goals. I used my first one as I was launching into “full-time artist” mode, and it helped me accomplish so much more than I imagined I could in those first 3 months. The daily format is a little repetitive for what I need right now, but overall this planner changed the way I think about work and what I choose to focus on.