Helpful Side Hustle Tools

Utilising technology in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of your side hustle is a great idea!

Here are some of the best tools (that are free, or have free versions!) that can help you across the board from planning/organisation to finances to upskilling!

Planning and Organisation

Trello

Trello is crucial for project management, utilising boards, lists, and cards to visually organise and prioritise tasks.

Users can create boards and ensure that each ticket/card/project is visually within it's appropriate bucket. It's a powerful tool if your side hustle is online.

Asana

Asana is a versatile project management tool that aids teams in coordinating and managing their work seamlessly.

Plan and track work, set priorities, assign tasks, and ensure you know what status each of your projects are!

Evernote

Evernote is a powerful note-taking app facilitating the capture of ideas, organisation of research, and easy access to important information.

Take notes, jot down ideas, create to-do lists, save web clippings, and organise thoughts and resources efficiently.

Notion

Notion is an all-in-one workspace amalgamating note-taking, task management, and collaboration seamlessly.

It's an extremely powerful tool that can be a little overwhelming to begin with, but once you create a system that works for you, it can be your go to tool to track everything from project statuses, finances, calendars, to-do lists and more!

(It can even be a space where you write down content ideas, plan out your posts and ensure they get scheduled!)

Google Workspace (formerly G Suite)

Google Workspace provides a suite of cloud-based productivity tools, including Google Docs, Sheets, and Calendar, for effective collaboration.

As a free resource, the Google Workspace applications are a really strong set. As it is cloud-based, it means that you can access them from anywhere, anytime on any device!

Scheduling and Time Management

Calendly

Calendly simplifies scheduling by allowing others to book time based on your availability, reducing the need for back-and-forth emails.

If you are a producing a lead generation model and want to keep things quick and efficient, this is a great free tool to keep your calendar organised knowing there won't be any double bookings.

RescueTime

RescueTime helps users understand and manage digital habits to enhance productivity.

By tracking time spent on different applications and websites, you can identify areas for improvement in time management.

We're all guilty of going onto social media when we shouldn't! Track your time with RescueTime and fine tune your attention!

Todoist

Todoist is a simple yet powerful task management tool, aiding users in staying organised and focused.

I personally use Todoist as my thought capture model (instead of it's intended design of being a to do list!)

When I'm out and about, I capture a thought as a task knowing that I can come back to it when it is more convenient!

A great free tool that can even sync with your calendar. Its comprehensive language understanding makes scheduling super efficient.

Typing 'Next Friday at 4pm, take car to garage' will result in an appointment in your desired calendar effortlessly.

Marketing and Promotion

Mailchimp

Mailchimp is a popular email marketing platform facilitating engagement with the audience.

If you are looking at building an email list (which is a very smart move) then Mailchimp can be a great way to house them.

The free plan includes up to 500 contacts and 1,000 sends per month. Plenty enough to understand if you're onto something!

Canva

Canva is a user-friendly graphic design tool for creating visually appealing content.

It's every marketer's best friend and is really easy to get a grasp of. If you're looking to make any sort of marketing material (online or offline), Canva is a great place to start!

Buffer

Buffer streamlines social media management by allowing users to schedule and analyse posts.

Building an online presence is extremely important, and leveraging social media is a great way to do that!

Being able to batch load your social media allows you a bit of piece of mind knowing that you are consistently posting (even when you're asleep!)

Hootsuite

Go one step further from your social media and start to understand how it's performing!

Hootsuite is a social media management tool enabling users to manage and schedule posts.

Monitor social media channels, schedule posts, and analyse social media performance effortlessly.

Finance and Accounting

QuickBooks

If you're looking at being a bit more serious with your side hustle, up to a point of making it a fully fledged business, investing into finance/accounting software could really be useful.

QuickBooks is essential for managing business finances, tracking expenses, and generating financial reports.

Invoicing, expense tracking, financial reporting, and tax preparation are streamlined using QuickBooks.

Wave

Something that is a little cheaper than Quickbooks is Wave.

Wave is a free accounting software providing essential features for small businesses and freelancers.

You can handle invoicing, accounting, and receipt scanning efficiently without incurring costs.

PayPal Business

PayPal Business is an online payment platform facilitating transactions securely.

If you are creating and selling a product, a great way to accept payment would be through PayPal Business.

It's really easy to send and receive money on PayPal and this is translated into it's Business side as well.

Productivity and Collaboration

Zoom

Not to bring back memories of the pandemic, but Zoom has kicked on and proven itself as a really valuable collaboration tool.

Zoom is a widely used video conferencing tool for virtual meetings and collaboration. Host video meetings, webinars, and virtual conferences efficiently using Zoom.

Slack

Slack is a team collaboration platform facilitating communication and file sharing.

I've also used Slack to host the Side Hustle community that is run by myself. We are currently, as of writing, around 100 members. Be sure to join a group of like-minded people!

Google Meet

Google Meet is a video conferencing tool integrated with Google Workspace.

Similar to Zoom, it is great for collaborating with potential team members, or even pitching your services if you are looking at freelancing a digital skill!

Learning and Skill Development

Skillshare

It is important to be continually learning.

Skillshare offers a variety of online courses for skill development.

Learn new skills relevant to your side hustle, from graphic design to marketing, through Skillshare.

YouTube

Probably the greatest free tool out there.

YouTube is a video-sharing platform that has videos on pretty much every single topic out there.

If you want to learn about something, I'd bet good money there is probably a video already about it!

Website and Online Presence

Wix

Wix is a versatile and user-friendly content management system for building websites.

In fact, my website is built on Wix.

I am a digital marketer and so have some understanding of websites, but even as a fresh beginner, I think it is really easy to sign up, use and edit.

If you are looking at evolving your side hustle into a business, you will need a website, use Wix!

Google Analytics

Google Analytics provides valuable insights into website traffic and user behaviour.

By tracking website performance, analysing user data, and making informed decisions, users can enhance your online presence effectively.

Are there any other tools that I've missed? Let me know!

Don't forget to join the Slack community today!