Every year I update this post with the best platforms for small business owners that I use and swear by! Serving your clients is overwhelming enough without the added stress of all the other trivial tasks required to operate your own business. Outsourcing is a great way to take things off your plate, but for those times when outsourcing isn’t an option, there are hundreds of amazing platforms built to make your life easier.

But which platforms are best for creative service providers to leverage? If you’re ready to ditch the spreadsheets and streamline your project management (or just maintain your sanity), keep reading for my favorite tools for small business owners!

Notion

This is one of the best platforms for small business owners to manage client projects and communication, and organize tables, files, to-do lists, and more. I started using Notion in 2024, and now I can’t imagine going back to manual systems and spreadsheets. Notion contains all of my client project portals as well as my own to-do lists, company docs, important links, and content calendars.

Canva

Me and Canva go way back—I’d be lost without her. I use Canva to design all my social media posts as well as all of my clients’ Pinterest pins. I love the Brand Kit feature that stores all my logos, fonts, colors, images, and icons for easy access.

Honeybook CRM

I’ve been a Honeybook customer since 2020 and, maybe a hot take, but I think the platform consistently improves year over year. Their Smart Files feature allows me to fully customize proposals and contracts to align with my brand. Their library of templates is a great jumping off point and the Workspaces make it easy for clients to set up autopayments and respond to emails. Get 25% off your first year of Honeybook here!

Flodesk

No list of platforms would be complete without Fodesk email marketing. I am so passionate about sharing this platform that I was recently made an official Flodesk partner! If you’re looking to easily build aesthetic email newsletters that your subscribers actually want to open, Flodesk is the tool for you. The platform is user-friendly and intuitive, even if you have no previous experience with email marketing. Start a free trial, then get 25% off your entire first year of Flodesk here!

Claude by Anthropic

If you had asked me what AI platform I used a year ago, I would have been completely in my ChatGPT phase. Thankfully, I saw the light and have since gone all in on Claude. If you’re using AI to help refine your creative ideas, polish rough drafts, and increase your outputs, you’ll find that Claude’s writing ability and brand voice alignment are a million times better than ChatGPT. Claude doesn’t assume details, asks clarifying questions, and takes longer to generate an answer, all of which have helped me speed up my workflow (because I’m not busy yelling at ChatGPT for the 5 millionth time it gets something wrong). As with all AI platforms, do your research and fact-checking and use responsibly! 🤎

WordPress & ShowIt

I started using WordPress in 2022 when I first launched my blog, and the rest is history. WordPress is the best website host if you plan to incorporate a blog into your website or customize your design using ShowIt. With thousands (possibly millions) of plugin options available, the customization and SEO options are limitless. Get your first month of ShowIt free here!

Vistasocial

Vistasocial is by far the best social media scheduling platform I have ever used. Add trending audio to your Reels, answer DMs, manage reviews, schedule stories with links, run analytics reports, link Google Drive and Dropbox, and so much more. Use this link for 10% off your subscription!

Ubersuggest

Ubersuggest is an SEO research tool that makes finding low competition keywords easy and straightforward. You can store keyword lists, view your website SEO score, research search volume and traffic, and keep an eye on your competitors. Ubersuggest is my starting point before beginning any blog or website audit project. Now, with their added AI search functionality, you can find out which AI search prompts are leading to your site and which ones you should be ranking for.

Collective

Filing for S-Corp taxation structure would have been an absolute nightmare without the Collective team guiding me and walking me through every stage of the process. Their platform is intuitive, it houses my bookkeeping, and even lets me run payroll through Gusto.

Not to mention, Collective’s team and customer service is top notch. I actually spent the past couple of weeks chatting with their team to finesse a super sweet deal for y’all. Use this link to book a call with my guy Travis, get all of your tax-related questions answered (literally no strings attached!), and get two months free if you decide to sign up.

Also: Read my recent post on how to save money on taxes as a small business owner when you switch to an S-corp.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is like my ride or die bestie that I’ve known for ages, but find out new things about every day. This platform is SO robust with a seemingly endless array of functions you can customize to track and monitor your website and shop analytics. I use GA4 to report on my clients’ blog analytics every month. My go-to reports are User Acquisition, Traffic Acquisition, and Pages & Screens Engagement.

Google Search Console

And in that same vein, Google Search Console is next in my roundup of the best platforms for small business owners. GSC reveals which keyword or phrase someone searched for that led them to your website. When you know what and how people are searching on Google, you can create more content that resonates with your dream clients! Plus, if you’re a beginner, it’s less overwhelming than full fledged Google Analytics.

Slack

I’ve used Slack on dozens of teams and projects I’ve been part of over the years. When it comes to team communications, I haven’t found a platform as versatile and organized as Slack! I love that you can organize chats by channel and add people only to the channels relevant to them. Their desktop and mobile apps are both super well designed and easy to use. The best part is, it’s one of the few tools you’ll add to your tech stack that you’ll probably be able to get by on the free plan.

These are just a few of the amazing platforms I use to run my small business. What does your business run on? Are you interested in trying any of the platforms listed here? Let me know what questions you have in the comments!