In this day and age, we don’t have to start from scratch when it comes to running our business. We’ve got tech and tools to do just about everything in our day-to-day lives so why not take advantage of these time-saving platforms to streamline your business operations as well. Everything from your inquiry workflows, email campaigns, brochures, timelines, questionnaires and much more - but the question is what Customer Relations Management (CRM) Platform is best for you?

Honeybook

This powerful platform has completely changed the way that we work through inquiries, send contracts, communicate with our clients and collaborate with other creatives. I love how streamlined the whole system is and that it is very mobile friendly. Recently, I was able to send a proposal and have a signed contract with payment back from the client within about 6 minutes all while I was in the airport security line. Mindblowing! You can sign up for a free 7 day trial and 50% discount with our referral link here.

Aisle Planner

Once our planning company consistently managed more than 15 projects simultaneously, we knew it was time to find a better way to organize our projects. In comes Aisle Planner to the wedding industry scene to completely revolutionize the tools available to planners. We’re talking master timelines, budget tracking, RSVP Management, Design & Layout Tools,.. yep pretty much the dream stuff right here. You can sign up for a free trial to give it a spin by using our referral code ozhf for a free 30 day trial and 25% off for your first three months.

Dubsado

Dubsado is a multi-faceted hub that allows you to create a very fluid workspace for not only your business but for your clients when they access shared information. What we also love about Dubsado most is their amazing customer service and support team who are always adding new features, the ability to manage multiple brands and users under one roof. Dubsado can be customized with your unique branding for a cohesive user experience. You can sign up for a free trial allowing you to have up to 3 clients/projects before needing to upgrade to the paid plans. you can lock in a lower rate before December 3rd by using our referral link.

Pops of Confetti

Who else is a fan of confetti? (raise hand emoji). Then you’re going to love my friend, Serena’s new offer through @popsofprettystock. The CONFETTI CLUB! This membership experience exists to make social media fun again! 

• Imagine always knowing what to post across your platforms

• Imagine knowing how to “hack” the algorithm and actually reach your target market

• Imagine not spending hours paralyzed with worry that you’ll post the wrong thing

• Imagine not being confused by stories, highlights, saves, collections and impressions

• Imagine showing up on the first page of Google 

• Imagine actually booking business from your social media

Shed the stress, spend more time celebrating your business and join a community of wedding pros and creatives that believe social media can be fun again.  

The Confetti Club membership experience includes: 

• Monthly social media training and tips from a wedding industry veteran of 15 years. 

• Weekly office hours via Private Facebook Group  + Voxer) with social media expert, Serena Waller of Delegate & Elevate - a social media strategist + manager that works exclusively with wedding pros over the last four years. 

• Expert advice from seasoned pros on the topics of branding, work-flow, systems, and more for your growing business

• Exclusive stock-photo galleries to use in your online & offline marketing

• A community of like-minded entrepreneurs 

• More surprises along the way!

From curating powerful hashtag lists and how to get strategic with your content to understanding your social analytics and optimizing your social platforms, you’ll finally have your go-to resource to help you make sense of it all in the rapidly changing social media space! You can join the Confetti Club with our referral link here!

A planner is only as good as their communication & organization, and where would we be without the tools that helps us maintain these two important traits? Thank goodness for the tools we have come to rely on, and we are so excited to share them with you!

Systems and processes probably doesn’t sound like a fun time, but when you relate time to money and know that you are saving both - it is a win-win! Here are the top ten resources that have been a game changer for our planning company The 530 Bride. We wouldn’t recommend these tools if we didn’t use them every day in our own business, and we are glad that we found these resources through referrals of other trusted professionals in the industry. **There are affiliate links which pass on a discount to you if you are interested and we do earn upgrades and small perks for sharing with new clients. **

1. Aisle Planner - This was the first tool that I really felt was developed by a wedding planner for a wedding planner, meaning it actually had tools that planners use!! Timelines, Design Galleries, Notes, Budget Tracking, Checklist, Seating & Layout functions & much more. When you are managing the details for one client or 50 clients, this will keep you organized with a dashboard for each client & helps you add value to your packages because each client has access to their portal. Interested in trying it out? Your first 30 days are free plus, use my referral code below to get 25% off any plan for your first 3 months! Referral code OZHF
   

2. Honeybook - You can tell we are fan’s of dashboards, and once you are sending out invoices & proposals on the daily it is really a lifesaver to have a platform that feels so fluid for clients. Of course there are things about Honeybook that I wish Aisle Planner could do in order to streamline into one program but right now, we really use both systems throughout our inquiry & booking process. Enjoy 50% off of your membership when you sign-up with our referral link and all members also enjoy discounts from sites like Matchology, Greetabl, Gusto, Zenfolio, Expensify, The Contract Shop, and Showit.
   

3. Canva - We all know that our clients are visual people, they consume a lot of content on the daily so it is imperative that we can create visuals & graphics that stand out and that represent our brand cohesively. Canva is a wonderful alternative to designing in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign etc that might not be as easily accessible for sharing with a team or producing content that can be resized for any need you may have. Canva does a great job with staying on trend with the latest social media dimensions and settings and now offers printing capabilities as well. Click here to watch the free tutorials on how to get started on Canva
   

4. Google G-Suite - Because we effectively have three businesses under one roof I have really come to rely on G-Suite for being able to easily switch from one inbox to another or see all activity for all inboxes at once. There are a lot of great integrations and Google is constantly adding more features to keep the modern business owner organized. Google G-Suite Pricing
   

5. Wave - Let me just preface this by saying I am not an accountant or even remotely capable of understanding Quickbooks online for some reason, so Wave was a breath of fresh air. I currently use the free version of Wave which syncs with my banking institution and makes it so easy to upload receipts & reconcile transactions. You can create invoices in Wave as well, which are quick and easy to receive payment online. Visit https://www.waveapps.com/
   

6. Chase Bank - Banking is totally a personal decision type of thing so if you are loyal to the bank that you love just skip right on to #7 but I was ready to jump ship last year from my previous bank and I put in some research to find the best fit as a small business owner. What I love about Chase Bank is that the banking app is easy, customer service both online and in the branch have been great & there have been no crazy fees to worry about. Learn more about Chase Bank and the $350 bonus when you open a qualifying checking and/or savings account.
   

7. Mailchimp - Email campaigns aren’t going anywhere because they work! Building your list may seem intimidating or daunting but once you set your goals it is easy to follow the guides to put together successful campaigns. As a wedding planner we have so much education that we can share with potential clients as well as use newsletters & automated emails packed full of tips to build value for our existing clients. https://mailchimp.com/
   

8. Squarespace/Blog Host - We use Squarespace for all of our websites because of the many built-in template & tools. Blogging has been an absolute catalyst in our planning company because it not only boosts your SEO organically which helps your Google ranking/page placement but it also helps to demonstrate your knowledge, personality and company values. Even if you aren’t ready to blog, being familiar with your website’s settings & tools will allow you to keep tabs on your analytics & site traffic so that you can determine your best traffic sources & data trends. Squarespace has a 10% off discount on their website for all plans.
   https://www.squarespace.com/coupons
   

9. Trello - Creating boards to organize your thoughts and tasks can help alleviate some of the brain fog and also cut down on all those crazy post-it note lists on your desk. I have personally found this free tool to be just what I needed for communicating with our team, organizing tasks and delegating work to our virtual assistant.
   We recommend checking out Trello to see if it is a good fit for you, while we don’t receive monetary rewards for sharing but we do earn extra “power-up” features that make it even more awesome! Check out Trello
   

10. Zapier - Choose the integrations and workflows that will save you time and bam you are on your way to zapping away! Use Zapier for tasks like adding a new subscriber to an automated email campaign to triggering an inquiry workflow or adding a task to your Asana board. With over 1,500 integrations available you are probably going to be doing a little happy dance very soon!
    Check out Zapier (https://zapier.com/apps/integrations/)

If you have questions about these tools, or would like more specific tips on implementing them into your processes be sure to drop a comment below or shoot us a message on our contact form at any time!