tech: Camp Tech resources: 1)View Camp Tech’s Instructor Sara Norton’s List of Favourite Free Low-Cost, Beginner-Friendly Tech Tools; 2)How to Fix Your Wi-Fi
1)View Camp Tech’s Instructor Sara Norton’s List of Favourite Free Low-Cost, Beginner-Friendly Tech Tools
Speaking of tech tools, Camp Tech instructor Sara Norton has recently overhauled her entire list of her favourite free, low-cost, beginner-friendly tech tools that she recommend for small business owners, including tech for: starting your business, contracts & invoicing, managing client data, organizing projects, plans or people, marketing your business, and automation & AI. View Sara’s list of tried and tested fav tech tools here: https://www.reply-all.ca/tech (see below)
SOME TRIED & TESTED FAVES:
For starting your business
☁️ Access your everything, everywhere: Google Workspace for your gmail, calendar, cloud storage, files, slides at $15/month for business account
???? Register your business in Canada with: Ownr* starts at $40 for sole proprietorship
???? Get business insurance: Zensurance starting at $19/mo
Most small business’s first app is their invoicing/finance app go there next ⬇️
For sending contracts + invoices
$$$
The big 2 accounting apps are Quickbooks vs Xero. But there’s a cheaper one…
WaveApps is $0-20/mo + payment processing fees
If you’re ???????? and need business banking, check out Venn, Float, or the BMO Digital Small Business account
Contracts & Legal Stuff:
TIP: some document signing apps aren’t actually legally binding in Canada.
✍???? Send contracts via e-signature.io at $1.39 per document
For managing clients
TIP: If your customer relationships are simple, stick with an email marketing tool instead of a CRM (client relationship management tool)
????Folk*: if you love Notion but know it’s CRM abilities are limited, meet folk. Looks like Notion, operates like butter, can pull contact info from gmail, Linkedin, and any browser. Starts at $0-24/mo.
????Capsule*: The only CRM I know with a decent free plan. Starts at $0-21/mo.
???? Copper CRM: Made for gmail users. Starts at $12-24/mo.
For organizing your projects, tasks, or team
TIP: Project management tools almost always start with a free plan, so don’t pay until you need to!
???? Notion* my favourite second brain – dump all ideas and plans into Notion.
????♀️Asana: a classic,
☑️ Todoist: a simpler project & task management tool.
????️ Basecamp: best for if you want your clients to be able to submit files, see progress, and communicate with you in one simple dashboard.
???? Monday* the most robust project manager, with tons of automations and integrations.
For marketing – design, email, social + more
????️ Build your first website on: Wix or Squarespace, starting at $16/month
Need something cheaper? Check out readymag.com or carrd.co for a simpler site
????️ Canva: for all of your creative and branded assets. $0-18.99 and I have to say the upgraded plan is worth it for the AI features, easy resizing, and free stock photos, videos and audio.
Buffer ($0-6mo) to schedule your social media content and get ideas, inspiration and analytics.
✉️ Mailerlite* ($0-9/mo) for email marketing and automation to nurture your leads.
For automations & AI
Our favourite AI tool is Claude instead of ChatGPT. Claude claims to be more ethical, more inclusive of diverse perspectives and information, and a better creative writer.
Our favourite tool for integration tools, automating workflows, and creating simple AI agents is relay.app
It’s a Zapier alternative! Though we still definitely use Zapier often, as it integrates with more tools than relay.app does.
NOTE: These are general recommendations for solopreneurs and tiny businesses with simple needs. For more custom recommendations for your specific business, industry, or unique workflow, book a call. That’s what we do!
2)How to Fix Your Wi-Fi
Courtesy of Camp Tech (original article by WIRED Magazine
If your WiFi network is giving you trouble, there is a brilliant list of systematic step-by-step things to check in this WIRED magazine article: How to Fix Your Wi-Fi