6 Apps I Can't Run My Business Without

I hate #hustle. In a culture where being "so busy" is applauded, we see increasing levels of burnout (and bullshitters). I started working for myself to do better work, earn more and work a little less - not more. I do this through pricing my services what they're worth, creating repeatable processes and relying on a suite of apps that make my life a hell of a lot easier.

Here are a few I thought I'd share in case they also make your life easier (and no, I haven't hidden any affiliate links):

1Password (Paid)

Why are you still using the same password for everything? It's crazy. Most people don’t realise how dangerous it is - if any one site gets hacked, there go your login details for god knows how many sites, enabling access to your (or even worse, your clients’) sensitive data. This is by far the most important app too few people have.

1Password automatically generates random passwords when you create new accounts and saves them inside a multi-layered “vault" that can sync across your devices. It only takes two clicks to enter them next you log in (and no memory power!). It’s a couple of dollars a month well spent.

Xero (Paid)

I held off on using Xero for way too long, but now I wouldn’t go with anything else. Once your accountant walks you through it, it’s super easy to use and saves me tons of time in reconciling expenses, running payroll and submitting BAS. I just wish there were a more small business-friendly payment plan...

Asana (Free)

I tend to work remote a lot, so clarity and organisation is essential for me. I used to love Trello, but now Asana is my go-to project management tool - I’ve introduced so many clients who now run their whole internal teams’ day-to-day tasks on it, instead of email. It’s super customisable, allowing you to assign sub-tasks, due dates and labels. Plus the Inbox feature is really satisfying when you get to the end of it!

ToDoist (Free)

Ahhh, ToDoist - my love. I went through many a to do list app in search of the holy grail - and this is it. It’s super simple to use. You can shift items to later in the week (perfect for us procrastinators) and it syncs across devices. That’s all I need.

Sketch (Paid)

For a digital marketer, Sketch combines all the best parts of Photoshop without all the bloat. When designing multiple campaign assets that need to align visually, the art board layout is a godsend. They have an array of free UI templates so you can easily mock up or wireframe sites and apps. There’s an annual licence fee, but it’s worth it.

Google Data Studio (Free)

I love data, but I’m all for any sort of automation that reduces time spent on manual tasks. Data studio isn’t perfect, but it saves me a ton of time so I can instead spend it analysing and drawing valuable insights. It lacks a few key integrations, so Supermetrics helps fill the gaps. There are a bunch of pre-built templates that integrate with Google Analytics and Adwords, but you can build your own. Recently they introduced a PDF download feature which makes sharing client reports much easier.

What about you - are there any apps you can't live without? Tell me in the comments.