642: 50+ Tools and Apps to Work Smarter and Get More Out Of Your Side Hustle
Nov 21, 2024
auto_awesome
Nikaela Matthews Okome, host of Side Hustle Pro and champion of Black women entrepreneurs, shares her insights on optimizing side hustles. They dive into over 50 essential tools and apps that enhance productivity, like ConvertKit for email marketing automation and Leadpages for landing pages. Nikaela emphasizes starting scrappy and scaling intelligently, encouraging listeners to embrace user-friendly platforms. She also highlights the power of interactive quizzes to identify ideal side hustles and personalizes engagement strategies for building supportive communities.
Utilizing platforms like WordPress along with reliable hosting services is essential for establishing a solid online presence for your side hustle.
Effective email marketing can be achieved through tools like ConvertKit and Leadpages, enhancing audience targeting and list growth significantly.
Incorporating productivity tools like Asana and Gmail enhances efficiency, allowing side hustlers to automate tasks and focus on business growth.
Deep dives
Website Tools for Side Hustlers
Having a solid website is essential for any side hustle, and WordPress leads the conversation as a powerful platform for building an online presence. The discussion highlights GeneratePress as a lightweight and customizable theme that enhances website performance. Both hosts emphasize the importance of reliable hosting, recommending platforms like WPX and SiteGround for their strong customer support and value for money. Tools like WordPress Theme Detector help users find professional themes, showcasing how many successful side hustlers borrow ideas from existing websites to create their own.
Effective Marketing Tools
Shifting focus to marketing, the conversation delves into the transition from ActiveCampaign to ConvertKit, noting the significance of segmentation and automation in email marketing. Both hosts appreciate ConvertKit's ease of use in managing their email lists and targeting specific audiences. They also discuss the effectiveness of Leadpages, highlighting how it helped them significantly grow their email lists through well-designed landing pages. Additionally, they share their positive experiences with quiz builder Interact, which personalizes user engagement by providing tailored content based on user responses.
Productivity and Collaboration Tools
Productivity and collaboration tools play a vital role in managing a side hustle efficiently. Gmail is favored for its filtering capabilities that help organize incoming emails, while SaneBox enhances productivity by prioritizing important correspondence. The hosts discuss their use of Google Calendar for scheduling and coordinating tasks, along with tools like Asana for project management and OK Relax for virtual assistant support. This streamlined approach allows side hustlers to automate mundane tasks and focus on growing their business.
Essential Podcasting Tools
Podcasting tools are explored extensively as both hosts share their experiences with various platforms. Riverside.fm is praised for its ability to capture high-quality audio and video during remote interviews, while Descript is highlighted for its innovative text-based video editing capabilities. The use of outsourced editing services, like Podcast Fast Track, allows podcasters to focus on content creation rather than technical aspects. Additionally, they discuss dynamic ad insertion capabilities provided by platforms like Megaphone, underlining the importance of maximizing revenue through strategic ad placements.
Financial Management Tools
Financial management tools are crucial for tracking income and expenses effectively. The hosts review Kik, a bookkeeping software that simplifies financial tracking while offering a free tier for low-volume users. This modern approach replaces tedious manual bookkeeping practices, streamlining finance management for entrepreneurs. They also mention Monarch for personal finance tracking and Affluent for affiliate income tracking, illustrating the variety of tools available to meet diverse financial needs in a side hustle.
I'm always looking for ways to work smarter and more efficiently, and to that end I took a recent inventory of my online business "toolkit."
Of course many of these will be obvious to you, but hopefully you discover some helpful new resources as well.
The good news? Many of these are free or at least have a free version!
And if you're looking for the definitive guide to online resources named by top entrepreneurs, check out the full collection in my book, Work Smarter.
One important note is I didn't start here. I've cobbled together this toolbox over the last 10+ years, and added expenses only as the revenue justified it.
Start scrappy, start lean, and then invest where it makes sense!
There are also a ton of great suggestions in the comments below!