tools making my life easier

Dear You,

I curated 15 tools that have been making my life easier for over a year now.

1. Fireflies: I am a big fan of Fireflies.ai. It records and transcribes my meetings on Zoom and Google Meet. This means, I have a secretary, without actually having a secretary. I also use it in content settings too, to turn my events/webinars into podcasts and ebooks, because it makes audio recordings available, as well as transcriptions. You can view more about it here.

2. Spike: My husband introduced me to @SpikeNowHQ. It helps you achieve 0 emails by grouping emails into threads and in a chat-like/conversational format, that way you feel like you're just chatting, as opposed to responding to an email (this also helps with email anxiety). It makes it easier to read and respond to your emails. Check it out here.

3. Flodesk: I migrated from Mailchimp to Flodesk because it was cheaper, less complex, and clean. I love sending personal letters to my community, and Flodesk helps me do this. I have a 50% discount, so if you would like to try it, click this link.

4. Notion: Notion is such an amazing organization tool. You can organize your thoughts, ideas, and even build a website with this tool. You can also pen down your thoughts in audio format. It's also a great collaboration tool for teams and companies. Great filing system too!

5. Done: I've been using The Done App Done app to track my habits and it's been super. It helps you create healthy routines based on your goals. With it you can track your progress, and be motivated with streaks/. You can see how consistent you are and it can really make you sit up! You can check it out here.

6. Podcastle: I've been using Podcastle to record podcasts that require interviewing someone remotely. It works like magic and has been really great! It also helps with cleaning up the sound for the podcast. You can learn more about it here.

7. Anchor: If you want to start a podcast, Anchor is such a great tool to consider. The editing process is so easy. Love the drag and drop features. It reduces the stress of editing, and also auto distributes your podcast across its distribution network (Apple, Spotify, etc). It has now been acquired by Spotify and is now called Spotify for Podcasters, but the offering is still the same, probably better + it has really cool analytics, and you'll get the #SpotifyWrapped for your podcast. You can check out my 2020 One Minute UnbrandedPodcast here. If you want to start a podcast on this platform, get started here.

8. Planta: This tool reminds me when to water my plant. If you are a plant mom or dad (as in you have/own plants) this tool will help you figure out how to keep your plants alive. It helps you monitor your plant and gives you caring suggestions. So cool! You can check it out here.

9. ytmp3.cc: This tool can help you convert your YouTube videos to mp3 (audio) files. These audio files can then be used for podcasts and audio content in general. I use it to convert my YouTube videos to podcasts and audio bytes.

10. remove.bg: If you want to remove the background of a picture and place it on a solid (or a new) background, then this is the tool you need. It’s so simple to use, especially when you need images to design flyers. Ps: The paid version gives you higher resolution. Canva also has a feature that does this too.

11. Placeit.net: This tool makes it super easy to create mockups. You can create visually pleasing brand collateral mockups (tshirts, books, ebooks, caps, mugs, magazines, phone etc.) for social media or to give your audience a feel of what a product would look like.

12. Captable.io: This is an equity management tool you can use to keep records, and plan financing rounds. It helps you with model financings and exits, convert notes,SAFE, ready-to-raise cap table, stakeholder impact analysis. It simply simulates a cap table.

13. Snapdrop.net: This is literally a browser-based version of Apple's airdrop feature. It allows you to instantly send, share and receive files across multiple devices or with people nearby. No setup or signup required. You can send files from your Mac to a HP easily.

14. Startup Runway: This tool helps you calculate your company’s runway (how many months your business can keep operating before it's out of money). It is a free, visual tool to help you understand, manage and extend your cash runway.

15. Duolingo: If you want to learn a new language for free, Duolingo is great! With this tool and a few minutes a day, you can learn/access a new language with simple lessons. Learning feels like fun not a chore + it tests all learning types - listening, writing and oral. You can start learning a new language here.

Bonus: If you are in the EU or the UK or have a bank account in that region, and you need an app to help you save and invest better, you might want to check out Plum. My friend was raving about it and it is totally worth the hype. It helps you calculate an amount based on your account balance and saves it for you. It also saves the change from every expense you make. It is super cool. If you want to try it, click this link.

If you would like to see more tools, I curated 101+ tools in an ebook. Get it here.

With love,

Blessing Abeng.