Running your business: A few essential tools and apps


So, what does your business run on? What are the tools, apps and systems that power your business? On a scale of 1 to 5, what level of “smooth” would you use to describe your business?

As a virtual assistant, I often have to work on multiple projects and with multiple teams simultaneously. Which means, using the right tools is a must.

The following are the tools I use to keep my business running and well-run.

Tool: Asana

Purpose: Task/project management

Asana is an easy-to-use cloud-based software that lets you track and manage your projects.

To do this, it allows you break down the project into tasks, assign them to your team members (if any), set due dates for completion, monitor progress, comment and share relevant documents. It also notifies you and your team of approaching deadlines.

Asana provides a bird’s-eye view of project status and eliminates unnecessary emailing, phone calls and meetings. If seamless collaboration and personal organisation mean anything to you, you want to check out Asana. Ask me how.

Tool: Siteground

Purpose: Web hosting

When we are talking about your own corner of the World Wide Web, a.k.a. your virtual storefront, you want to make sure that your hosting company is solid as a rock.

Siteground offers web hosting services. The company offers strong security and the best customer service I’ve seen. With an uptime of 99.9%, Siteground is one of the most reliable hosting companies on the internet today.

Tool: Toggl

Purpose: Time Tracking/Productivity

Because productivity is directly related to profitability, you want every penny to count and because time has wings and flies away before you know it, you have only one choice. Track it.

Toggl takes the guesswork out of it by telling you how much time you and your team spend working, and on what specific tasks. And because you want to charge your clients appropriately and receive payment for your hourly-billed work, Toggl will come easily handy.

Tool: Hellosign

Purpose: E-Signatures

With the exponential growth in virtual companies, there is a rising need for electronic signatures since more files and documents are shared electronically.

Hellosign’s solution enables you to sign documents electronically, reducing stationery and mailing costs.

Tool: Lastpass

Purpose: Password Management

Have you ever been locked out of your account because you entered the wrong password 3 or more times? It’s annoying. Even simply having to reset my password makes me want to pull my hair sometimes.

Say bye-bye to that with Lastpass. This intuitive password manager senses when you’re logging into password/membership sites and asks if you want it to save your login details for that site. The premium version allows you to store digital records, generate strong passwords and share these with your team. If you’re certain you don’t want to spend your days remembering and resetting passwords, do yourself a favor. Get Lastpass.

Tool: Canva

Purpose: Make Beautiful Graphics

Canva is an amazingly simple graphic design software that does just that. Canva comes with free and paid templates and photos; you can store your design,  access design inspirations, create your brand colours, make and share graphics with your team. With Canva, you are limited only by your imagination, and even when that happens, Canva’s tutorials and design inspirations can bail you out.  And guess what? You can get Canva Pro for only £8.99/mo when you pay annually.


What tools and apps do you run your business with? If you think you need to put some systems in place, email me at; let’s make it happen.



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