Here are five tools that have helped me through 2022 that I plan to keep with me through 2023.
Financial wellness this year is all about cutting the fat! Honestly that is the only way that many new and continuing businesses are going to get through this very unpredictable economy. As we pace our spending and plan our Q1 budgets, I wanted to share five very valuable tools that I don’t want to live without and I hope that you find these to be so useful that you can’t imagine running your business without them either.
Clean Email - HOLY COW, Clean Email does everything that you need an email organizer to do for you at a super affordable cost ($50/year) to manage, not just one account, but… 5! Yeah, I know, how are you gonna top that? What was I doing on New Year’s eve? Unsubscribing from SPAM newsletters that I don’t have time to read of course. Speaking of that, here are a few newsletters that are very valuable to be subscribed to and I will never leave: Howard Lindzon, Tasafila, Jason Calacanis, Mat Sherman. (I need to subscribe to an awesome newsletter by a female or non-binary builder. Suggestions?)
Wise - Wise is my favorite tool for sending fiat overseas. They make it fast, easy and super affordable! The link you’ll find in this article with give you access to free transfers for up to $600 anywhere in the world. Even the costs that are charged after that are practically nothing. Goodbye Paypal! (can’t do friends and family when you’re running a business and PayPal transfer costs add up!)
Sesame - I have tried lots of telehealth options (the only convenience that I have enjoyed from the pandemic), and the ONLY one that I have had success with has been Sesame. For only $99/year you can access mental health, family medicine, delivery pharmaceuticals (and they’re not pushing ADHD meds on you, I checked.) This is really the greatest telehealth solution out there. Secure video calls with a professional that accesses your records before your call. They also offer so many options for health professionals with dates and time availability as soon as two hours from the time you’re searching. As a single mom, this amazing tool has been one of the only ways that my daughter and I have been able to stay healthy in body, mind, and spirit this past year. So, yeah, renewing my subscription this year for sure.
Canva - I love Canva. They just keep getting better and better and the only thing that they haven’t done as far as building with images goes is in the NFT space, but they might surprise us this year with a web3 feature, even if they don’t, I’ll still love them purely for being so easy to use and so accessible. Also, love that their co-founder and CEO is an amazing woman.
Headspace - Mental health is really the most important thing to keep focusing on throughout the year. This list isn’t tiered. Honestly, these tools are all number one on my list, so, now that I get that out of the way… I use Headspace every morning. Yup, every morning. It puts me in the mood to meditate. I don’t always want to sit and meditate. In fact just about every morning I don’t want to make time for it. Headspace makes it easy for me to have a new meditation to listen to, or a favorite one, every morning or evening. If you don’t think that meditation is essential to running a successful business, then you are really kidding yourself and aren’t willing to make the time for your own focus and mental health. Make the time and get grounded. Even for one minute every morning or night (yeah, there are one minute meditations on Headspace.)
I have endless gratitude for these tech tools, last year and the year to come. What are your favorite tools? What can’t you live without? Why? I would love to know. Shoot me an email at: amy@moodconnect.com.
Some of the links in this article are affiliate links, but trust that I use all of these tools and would not recommend anything to you without having used them myself. If you sign up for any of these deals or trials, then I will get a benefit from that sign up. I don’t write reviews for nothing! All of my reviews are honest and truthful though. The recommendations for the above newsletter signups is free though, I don’t get compensated for that… yet.
Happy New Year!