Flodesk: Email Service For Newsletters

Through the years I’ve used three different email service providers for my email newsletters and when it comes down to it I much prefer Flodesk. Their designs are beautiful, it’s easy to use, and their workflow automations make sending a welcome sequence and delivering an opt-in freebie so easy.

If you’re interested in signing up for Flodesk, here’s a link to get 50% off their monthly fee.

Canva: Graphic Design

I freaking LOVE Canva, for real I don’t know what I’d do without it. I’ve tried Adobe products but I don’t have the time or patience for the massive learning curve involved in teaching myself how to use it… and they cost more than I’m willing to pay so I ended up unsubscribing.

Canva has a free option which is great but I recommend the paid version because there are lots more options including importing brand fonts and colours.

Asana: Project Management

When it comes to staying organized Asana is my go-to — it’s like a to-do list on steroids. You can break your tasks down by project (I have farm projects, client projects, and personal projects) and then add your tasks with due dates. There are a million things you can do but you can make it as simple or as complicated as you’d like. Oh and I almost forget there’s an app so you can check your daily tasks on your phone so you stay on track.

Google Drive: File Storage

Please, please, please make sure you’re storing all your important files off your computer! Google Drive is accessible from any computer or your phone and allows you to get your hands on any photos or documents whenever and where ever you need but more importantly it’s a backup to make sure you don’t lose them. You can also give others access to certain files, for example my book keeper and accountant can access my financial documents remotely — Don’t worry, it’s secure and password protected.

Sling: Employee Scheduling

I use this app for my employee scheduling and time sheets including our teenagers. They can request time off through the app, I schedule their shifts, and they use the app on their phones to clock in and out — Bonus you can even set it up so they can’t clock in unless they’re on site. This feature comes in handy when we’re managing employees on more than one property between our farm and ranch. Then my book keeper can export the time sheets to do our payroll.

Quickbooks Online: Bookkeeping

When I first opened Central Park Farms, I started with a free option for our bookkeeping but once we grew a bit, I soon regretted not setting ourselves up right from the start.

Now we use Quickbooks Online and it allows us handle our books, payroll, tax remittance and more with ease.

My favourite part is, our accountant can remotely access any information they need.