Curious what tools I use to run my business?

Here are all the things I use day in and day out.

Curious about my favorite books? Then head here and check out the Creative Business Owner’s Bookshelf.

This page contains affiliate links. (All links with a * after them.) I use them because the small commission I make allows me to keep creating intuitive, practical legal (and biz) resources. Plus it never changes the price you pay. I own/use each of these resources and am including them because I think they might help you.

Tools I use to work on the road

As you might know since 2020 I’ve been puttering around the west in my travel trailer with my pup Ozzy. My preferred campsites are what’s called boondocking (camping on land owned by the government for free), which means that the majority of time I’m in pretty remote places.

These are the tools that make that possible:

• Just before I left I switched to an AT&T Business Unlimited Plan the pricing isn’t all that different than a consumer plan, but I’ve noticed a significant performance difference when comparing speeds with other travelers using their consumer plans. AND you get far more data, which is critical when working remotely.
• While the weBoost Drive Reach RV* isn’t cheap ($500+), it was one of the best investments I’ve made. Allowing me to amplify a weak cell signal so that I can get a stable cell signal in even more remote places.
• Since my iPad has it’s own data plan, I use the Apple Magic Keyboard* to turn it into a mini-laptop. While the screen isn’t quite as big as my MacBook, it’s plenty big for emailing, writing blog posts, and many of my day-to-day tasks.
• Northwest Registered Agents* functions as my LLC registered agent of service of process, so I’m confident that if any legal documents arrive, they’ll be properly accepted.
• My mailbox is at a The UPS Store that offers scanning and forwarding services. So I always know what’s inside and can get the important documents sent to me.

Tools I use to run the business side

• For the day to day to-do list, I use Post-It notes and my Bullet Journal hack in an A4 Leuchtturm1917 notebook*
• My daily to-do list is pulled from Asana where I keep a running to-do list and plan for all my projects
• Because I work between a MacBook, an iPad, and an iPhone I keep my work synced using Dropbox and Google Drive (Sheets and Docs)
• To manage my passwords and create strong secure ones, I use LastPass
• To handle my email, I’ve got a G Suite account (which also gives me Google Drive and Google Calendar)
• So I don’t have to worry about printing, signing, and scanning contracts I send them via DropboxSign*

Tools I use to run my email marketing

• Most of the email opt-in forms are powered by Gravity Forms* (but a few are powered by Convertkit*
• I started off with MailChimp, but starting in 2016 I’ve sent emails via Convertkit*
• As part of the editing process, every email is run through Grammarly and Hemingway Editor

Tools I use to run my website + blog

• I host my site at Flywheel*, run it using WordPress, and Dan designed it using the Genesis Framework*
• VideoAsk* lets me have video conversations with members and potential members of the artist’s Courtyard and powers the Ask Kiff series.
• As part of the editing process, every piece of content is run through Grammarly and Hemingway Editor
• Before I settle on a headline, I run it through both the CoSchedule Headline Analyzer and the Emotional Marketing Value Headline Analyzer
• To get a rough transcript of the videos, I use the Watson Speech to Text demo tool from IBM
• To create graphics, I get images from Pexels, Unsplash, and Creative Market*
• Most of the opt-in forms, the contact form, the Ask Kiff form, and the speaking page form are powered by Gravity Forms*
• Of course, Fathom Analytics* provides me lots of data on how visitors interact with my site, while still putting their privacy first.

Tools I use to run the artist’s Courtyard membership community

• I host my site at Flywheel*, run it using WordPress, and it’s powered by BuddyBoss.
• The educational content is all powered using LearnDash and the shopping cart is powered by Easy Digital Downloads
• VideoAsk* lets me have video conversations with members and potential members of the artist’s Courtyard.
• As part of the editing process, every piece of content is run through Grammarly and Hemingway Editor
• To get a rough transcript of the videos, I use the Watson Speech to Text demo tool from IBM
• All the artist’s Courtyard videos are hosted on Vimeo using my Vimeo PRO account
• To create graphics, I get images from Pexels, Unsplash, and Creative Market*
• Of course, Fathom Analytics* provides me lots of data on how visitors interact with my site, while still putting their privacy first.