Married to the Hustle
Married to the Hustle
Harnessing Technology for Small Business Growth
Ever wonder which software tools can take your entrepreneurial partnership to the next level? Join Jessica and me as we reveal the top software tools that have turbocharged our business productivity. We kick things off with ClickUp, the ultimate project management powerhouse that's a blend of Trello and Asana. Hear Jessica's glowing endorsement and my journey from skeptic to fan, and find out why proper implementation and training can make all the difference. A comprehensive ClickUp course changed everything for us—learn how it can do the same for you.
But we don't stop at ClickUp. We'll share how Bamboo HR has streamlined our HR tasks and why GoHighLevel (FG Funnels) is a game-changer for client relationship management and marketing. Jessica shows how AI tools, especially ChatGPT, have revolutionized her daily workflow by assisting with content creation, financial analysis, and research. We dive into strategic software selection, stressing the importance of recognizing your business's needs and the impact on your team. Avoid common pitfalls and discover the key to choosing software that grows with your business. Don't miss these invaluable insights into maximizing your efficiency and effectiveness.
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Alex & Jessica Fortis
Welcome to Married to the Hustle, the podcast where love, faith and business come together.
Jessica:I'm Jessica, and with me is my partner in life and business, alex. Together, we're diving into the wild world of entrepreneurial couples.
Alex:Each week, we'll bring you real stories, hilarious moments and valuable insights from couples who are building businesses and rocking their relationships. Talk about living the dream.
Jessica:Or surviving the nightmare.
Alex:So buckle up and get ready for a fun ride with Married to the Hustle. Hey guys, welcome back to this week's episode. We had a few questions Jessica and I were asking ourselves the other day, and when we go to some of these networking events and we meet other business owners, one of the top questions that we see comes out at us is what type of software do you use in your business or businesses? Because Jessica has her coaching business and she's also part of the janitorial business. So we wanted to share some of the things that we use and what's worked best for us. And software is like everything else Some things work good, some things work not so great, so you have to make the decision sometimes to use what's best for you. So we appreciate you guys listening in and we're going to talk a little bit about what softwares we use. Joining me here is my beautiful bride, jessica.
Jessica:Hey guys.
Alex:And we're going to start with some of the softwares that we use, with some of the softwares that we use and what are the top three softwares or apps that have significantly improved productivity and efficiency as an entrepreneur. So can you help me with that?
Jessica:Jess, absolutely. You know it's crazy because you told me we were going to talk about three and I'm like man, that's going to be so hard because in a world where that's all we're doing nowadays, right, we're just using different apps and different softwares, and things pop up and we start to test them and use them too. So it's going to be hard. It's going to be hard to stick to three. But for me and I know this was a hard one for you was a project management tool and we've been using ClickUp. I absolutely love ClickUp.
Jessica:Clickup is one of the most robust project management tools that are out there and I always joke around when I'm speaking to my clients. They were like oh, you know, clickup just seems so complicated. And I always say you know, think about Trello and Asana. And they had a baby and the baby's name was ClickUp, right, so it's like the power of both. Clickup is just so mighty. I love it because it helps me with everything. It's like a container for my business. It helps me with project management, for organization, for workflows. Even this podcast workflow is inside of ClickUp and I absolutely love it. But you know, maybe you can share your experience with ClickUp when we first decided that that was the direction that we're moving in.
Alex:Yeah, that was definitely a tough one to take in for the most part when Jessica I mean Jessica was on it and we kind of do the same thing, right.
Alex:So Jessica find a software and she's all in it and she wants to learn this, and she wants to show me this, and I'm just like, oh my gosh, something else to learn, right.
Alex:And then I feel I do the same thing when I see a software that we should implement in our business and I show Jessica and I'm trying to get her buy-in for the most part and I always look for the ease, the ease of use right and ClickUp. At first I just thought it was wonky. I was like, oh my gosh, I have to do this, to do this and do that. But as I started getting used to it and going in there and seeing what are some of the tasks that we need or I need to complete is just I love it and Jessica does really, really well with the workflows in it. So once I respond to something, jessica get notification that hey, alex just completed this or whoever it's in the system, whoever it's in the system. So it did take me a while to get used to it but I must admit it's a really nice tool to have to stay to hold ourselves accountable for what needs to get done as far as project management.
Jessica:Would you say that, jessica? Yeah, for sure, for sure. And the thing is, you know, when it comes to implementing a software, there is a huge difference between implementing a software for yourself if it's a limited usage, just for you and maybe one more person, maybe you have an admin or a VA or something like that then to implement a software for 20, 30 people right, like if you have a team. Now you have to figure out how to train these people in utilizing the software to the best of its capacity, and so that's one thing that a lot of people don't take into consideration. Personally, I purchased a actual course on ClickUp. At that point, I had already been using ClickUp at a crappy capacity, I'm not going to lie and I realized that it had so much more potential, but I didn't know exactly how to maximize its usage, and so I purchased this course. It was the best investment that we have ever made, because it really helped not only me, but it helped other people on my team to go through the course and learn how to implement a lot of these systems, because I'm sure, if you heard, in some of our previous episodes we talked about systems and how Alex was like we need a system and I was like sure which one. Well, the purchasing this course helped us get a better use case type of understanding for our business, but we still need to train our the people that are using it, based on how we're using it.
Jessica:And I think that's one of the biggest things of why most companies fail in implementing a new software. Because, whatever change you have, if you have a team, you have to break it down into phases. First, you need to learn it yourself to figure out what's its capacity. Next, you need to probably get a couple of pilot people to pilot it out just to figure out what that's going to look like, and then, once you guys are ready to just kind of like rip the band-aid, then you go and you go, you know full force and implement it across the organization. And so it's really important that, regardless of what software you choose, that that you pace yourself, that you create stages and phases where you can implement at a level that doesn't feel overwhelming or overbearing towards your team. So that was the main one. Clickup was a huge, huge shift for us because of all of its project management capacity, and I love that one.
Alex:So you would say that that would be a number one software, that is your go-to.
Jessica:Absolutely.
Alex:Really.
Jessica:Absolutely. Why do you say that?
Alex:No, because I can see that with you, because you're all about structure and putting things in place, and that's definitely ClickUp is pretty much where everything rests at right. So whenever we're looking for something, an SOP, or if we're bidding a job, for an example, right so everything is in there and you know what steps to take or what has been done, what still needs to get done, timelines and all that. I could definitely see that that would be a number one.
Jessica:Yep, for sure. You said really. I was like wait, is there a different one that you want?
Alex:to talk about Right right Me. I happen to, like you brought this into exclusive was Bamboo HR. I absolutely love that software, Just what it does with the team, the culture that it creates. It does so much for our business and we love it. What do you think about Bamboo HR?
Jessica:Oh, bamboo HR was amazing. What I love about Bamboo HR is that it has grown with us, and so it has all the bells and whistles, but the reality is that, because we're still considered a small business, we don't need all the bells and whistles. We just need one step at a time, and one of the things that they've done differently is that within the last year. By the way, this is not any type of paid programming.
Alex:We're not getting paid for this, guys. We're just sharing some stuff, we're just sharing.
Jessica:What they started doing last year was you get an annual review where you have an opportunity to schedule with one of their representatives. I'm not sure what the title, what their title is, but basically what they do is they look at your usage, they identify areas that you can benefit, areas that perhaps you're not maximizing within the software, and they also get to show you some of the new things, the new stuff that they've released. We jumped on a review call last year and it was so great to be able to go through the software because you know we are paying for it right, so we want to use it to the best of its capabilities, and so I really love that. I also love the you know announcements channel. Whenever we post an announcement, our team gets to see it. Bamboo HR is basically a human resource management software, so it tracks all the way from candidates applying all the way through the hiring process and the offboarding process too, so that definitely has been really great software that we've implemented.
Alex:I still remember when they did the annual review. When you guys were done, you come over to me and you said oh my gosh, you have to check this out. Look at what Bamboo HR is doing now. And she always, when they have updates like that, she always gets so excited and I'm just like okay, what do I need to learn now?
Jessica:The little things, the little things.
Alex:It's the little things, but Bamboo HR is definitely a really good tool that we have implemented. What would you say would be another one, Jessica?
Jessica:Well, I'm just going to say even though we're still kind of in the process of truly learning is go high level. We use a white label which is FG Funnels, and it's a phenomenal software. It has so much capacity in it Not only schedulers for social media your email marketing campaigns, your blogs, your website, your landing pages funnels and then we've been utilizing it as a CRM as well.
Alex:Oh, right, right, that's what I was going to ask. What is GoHighLevel?
Jessica:Yeah, so GoHighLevel is. It's an all-in-one platform where it handles all of the things. It handles your client relationship management, it handles your client relationship management, it handles your marketing, it tracks your Google my Business. It has so much capacity in it. And the reason for the white label of FG Funnels is because FG Funnels has one of the best supports. They have a very active group, they are very responsive and I absolutely love the FG Funnels software and, like I said, we're still learning it. I mean, we just learned something two days ago about workflows and just last week we learned about invoices and even though, yeah, they've been announcing some of these things for a long time, you know, sometimes you don't have the time to explore the new features and whatnot until it comes up and you're like, oh wait a minute, didn't this software do this? Let's try this, let's explore that, and so that's been really cool.
Alex:Yeah, fg Funnels, for sure is I just, I just love the customer service you get with them too. I mean any questions, any doubts, you want to try something new? You email and they're quick to respond. So, jessica, I have a question for you. We spoke about these apps here. Has any of these apps that we share, or maybe something else that you can think of, has any of them particularly helped you overcome like a specific business challenge could be in your business, could be an exclusive cleaning has any of these helped you overcome?
Jessica:I guess we need to talk about AI. Ai has been around for some time now, but everyone's talking about Chad GPT and AI is so much more than Chad GPT. You know, obviously we, you know I called I called Chad GPT my assistant. It actually has a name, so I won't put the name out there because I don't want you guys to take my name, but she has a name, and one of the things that I love is that it's given me the ability to maximize my time when I'm building content, when I am looking to review our financials, when I am looking to do an analysis of something, doing research.
Jessica:Even when I build content, I don't just take their information and just post it as my own. No, I give it information, I help it create, I feed prompts to Chad GPT so it can get to learn my business, my behaviors, my niche, my ideal client, my messaging, and so whenever I ask it for something specific whether it's content, whether it's a blog or you know any type of article that I'm publishing it's very, very important that I go into it and add my own pizzazz, because clearly, taking content from ChatGPT is not enough. That's not a differentiator. It doesn't speak to your unique value proposition, but it definitely has helped me maximize my time, and on top of that, there are so many other ways to use AI. So Buzzsprout has an AI feature and I love their AI feature.
Jessica:It helps me with my transcriptions now. It gives me titles. It helps me with so many different things that I never had before that I had to purchase different softwares and do different things in order to get them ClickUp. Clickup also has a ClickUp AI and although I don't use ClickUp AI, I just prefer to use ChatGPT. That's just my personal preference. It is also a feature that's added within ClickUp AI. I just prefer to use ChatGPT. That's just my personal preference. It is also a feature that's added within ClickUp. So there are so many ways to use AI that it's hard to pinpoint one specific one, knowing that AI really has come to revolutionize the way we do business.
Alex:Right, just a few minutes ago today, earlier, you were showing me how to make chat GPT work for you better, right? If you remember, you were telling me you have to speak to it this way, so it starts knowing. Can you elaborate a little bit on what you were showing me there?
Jessica:Yeah, of course so. So it's basically telling chat GPT who you are. It's your prompt. When you're sharing with a chat GPT. What happens many times? People are just create a new thread and create a new chat and create a new chat and create a new chat and I'm not no AI expert, but one of the things that most experts have shared is to go into that thread and continue to feed information into that specific thread because it does something to its memory where, if you ask something three months from now, the software is able to remember that information and give you better content.
Jessica:One of the things that I do is I like to tell Chad GPT the prompts, because I do have coaching clients and each one of my coaching clients.
Jessica:I have a separate thread for and I like to tell Chad GPT the prompts because I do have coaching clients and each one of my coaching clients. I have a separate thread for and I like to give it some information the website, how long they've been in business, what do they do, If we have a unique value proposition, if they have core values there's so many different things that you can provide it and it's just one prompt. And at the end of all that information. I usually say save this information for future usage, and so what I do is I copy that and I put it in my notes on my iPhone, just in case I need to change the prompt in the future. I don't have to dig through all of my chat GPT to look for the specific prompt, but I like to feed it the information prompt, but I like to feed it the information, and I found that that has been very, very helpful when it comes to positioning myself or creating a new product or creating my webinars or anything like that.
Alex:And I've noticed using it that the answers are like unlimited right. So you ask it anything, it's going to give you an answer for it. It might not be what you're looking for, but you can go ahead and ask it specific things. So I love it for that. I mean, you've shown me how to use it to the best of our advantage. So it's definitely I think that chat GPT being one of them that's the big one out there it's definitely going to be around for quite some time and it's, I think, it's the new way of doing not everything in business, but helping businesses grow and giving pointers and things like that. Jessica, so when, when you evaluate right and you choose a new software for your business or for our business, how do you ensure that they align with the needs and the goals that you're looking for or that we're looking for as a business?
Jessica:I have to tell you that's such a great question. There's a couple of things that I like to look at when it comes to selecting specific software, and I'll be honest with you. This is actually how I found Resound, one of the things that I told you guys. I couldn't keep it to three, and so I was having some challenges finding a good podcast editor and someone that was willing to stay for a while right, because the biggest challenge with freelancers is that they're working with multiple clients, and sometimes they work for a little bit and then they don't come back, and so I was trying to figure out how can I go from the recording to publishing with minimal time without having to wait for someone else, and so one of the things that I started to look at was what are some great editing, podcast editing or audio editing platforms? The first thing for me to look at is like okay, do I have a problem? What is my problem? Right, my problem was that I was taking too much time to edit a podcast episode because I am no editor, so I really needed a software that can be, like you know, editing for dummies. For those of you that have been around for a while, there used to be a series called you know X for dummies, right? So QuickBooks for dummies and Microsoft Word for dummies, and so I needed a podcast editing for dummies. Knowing that, I started to search for a solution to that problem. When I identify what you know, the solution to the problem, then I look at my purpose, right, like what is the purpose of me investing in this product? So remember, I'm not talking about costs, yet what is the purpose of it? The purpose of it helps me save time. It helps me take the recording from recording to publishing in a shorter time without having to wait for anyone else. It eliminates that middle person. And not only that, it also helped me improve efficiency, because even when I was sending the episodes to my editor, I was still listening to the episode again for quality control, and sometimes I had to give it back to them so that they can edit it again, and so it created a lot of efficiencies for me, and if it ticked those boxes right, it's my problem, my purpose.
Jessica:Then I looked at cost. However, there's one thing that I'll add to that when it comes to my business, I'm a solopreneur. I work with contractors for my social media, for marketing. When it comes to our janitorial business, it's very different, because before the cost, I have to look at the impact. What's the impact on my team? How many people are going to use it? Does the entire organization need to have access to it? If it's going to be specific people on the team, do I have the capacity to create new trainings for it?
Jessica:Right, and so now I look at the impact. So first is identify the problem, second is what's the purpose, and third is the impact. And then the last thing, when it's impacting a team, that's cost, and so the cost is important. You know a lot of people think that the cheaper software is the better software, but that's not always the case. Sometimes you have to pay a little bit more to get a better value on your money, and if it hits all the other marks, it solves your problem, it was aligned with your purpose and it also had minimal impact to your team. If you're building a team, then the cost is worth it. That's an investment, that's not just spending money. You have to make an investment in the business, and so those are some things that I look at Right and software is.
Alex:I mean you're always looking for your all in one.
Alex:You want this software to do what you're looking for it to do and unfortunately we've had where we've tested some softwares and they start off great and then, as the business starts to take on maybe another phase in the business, you're looking for that software to kind of grow with you or to offer some type of support. And we've had some issues with software where we started and where hey, yeah, this is great. And then all of a sudden, you know we use geofencing for an example, right, we've used the software in the past where we had issues with geofencing that we couldn't tell when our team was out there in the buildings or doing, you know working right, because the geofence was off. So it's little things like that that you learn and you doing you know working right Because the geo fence was off. So it's little things like that that you learn and you test, you know as you're going and then you to make the ultimate decision because it is an investment, right, and you want it to be the right investment for your team.
Jessica:Yeah, I agree, and I'll even add one more point. Not every platform is the best platform just because they have the feature, and a perfect example of that is ClickUp. Clickup, yeah, it has a CRM and, yeah, it can be easy to use. But if we already have a CRM that helps us manage our team and it's janitorial specific, then why would I you know what I mean Like, why reinvent the wheel? And I think that's the biggest hang up. Many times they're like oh, you know I love ClickUp, but you know it's not good for invoicing, right? Because that's not what it's made for. And so, yes, it might have a lot of bells and whistles and a lot of features that you might be able to benefit from.
Jessica:I'm a huge proponent in using a software that meets all of your needs or, let me rephrase, that meets most of your needs, because, at the end of the day, I don't know any software that will meet every single need. And, guys, if there is a software that's meeting every single need, every aspect of your business, please do tell. I want to hear more Because you know these are some of the tools and resources that are working for us and we've done the trial and testing throughout the years and you know, we're at a place that we're like, okay, well, this is, this is good, this is really working for us. So, like I said, not all all in one platforms are the best ones.
Alex:Yeah, I a hundred percent agree with that one. So, in your experience right, what are some common pitfalls entrepreneurs should avoid when integrating some new technology into their workflows? What are some experiences for you on that?
Jessica:Yeah, I would say for me it's going with the cheapest version, number one, right going with the trials. You don't know how many times I talk to people and they're like I have the free version of Canva and I'm like, yeah, but you know for what you're looking to do, you need the paid version of Canva. Save money and and you know I'm all about you know, being frugal when it comes to throwing money, you know all over the place, but if there is a specific software that you find yourself constantly using, why not invest in it? You know it's helping you with your business. So in the meantime, that feature that you're not paying for in Canva, for example, you're actually going into another software and another software to use their free versions when you could do all the things in one. And so that would be my number one. It's the pricing, not investing in it and just going with the free trials.
Jessica:Another pitfall is investing in the expensive one just because it works for someone else and not utilizing to the best of your capability, of your capacity for your business. And the perfect example for me on that oh my gosh, it was ClickFunnels. Clickfunnels was costing me $297 per month and it was painful and I was paying that software for like three months and all I had was one funnel in it. I didn't know how to use it and I even paid someone to build my funnel, and so it was a funnel that I had for my planner. And then, when I discovered FG Funnels and how it really helped with all of the things funnel related, I moved my funnel from ClickFunnels and now I only paid $997 for the year, and so that's a significant difference, you know, when it comes to investing in software, so definitely utilizing what works best for your business, forget about what everybody else has.
Jessica:I think that it's great to have a trial with different platforms and go with what feels good for you. If you feel like you have to do a whole build out and all of these things, then maybe that's not the platform for you, but you need to have a system. Regardless of what you use, you just need to have a system. So those will be two of my top ones, that these are things I discuss with my clients all the time. Those two pitfalls Were there any that came to mind for you?
Alex:We've learned what we have now. We're super happy with it when we were doing the payroll, for an example, and then we found out that Bamboo now does payroll and it's been working great right. So, just as far as pitfalls go, making sure that the software that you're trying to implement aligns with what you're trying to get Where's your vision with that? Because it can get very, very costly, Very, very costly. So my tip is just you know, look into it, do the free trial. They do offer it. Most of them offer like a 14-day trial. Yeah, usually. Yeah, in those 14 days, make sure you use the software to the capacity of it to know if this is the software you want to go with.
Jessica:Yeah, and not only that. Giving up too soon on a new platform. Right, you go all in, you know, and you're realizing that there are some hiccups. I'm a huge believer in that. Everything that you notify the company, they keep track. Everything that you notify the company, they keep track. It's important that if you're having issues or something specific, that you reach out to the developer and let them know. Hey, I'm having this issue, this is what I'm looking to do. I have a different platform. This is what that platform did. How can this platform help me? And most times they'll come back and give you alternative solutions.
Jessica:But giving up too soon on a new platform is hard because, let's just say, you spend two to three months on QuickBooks and you realize, oh my gosh, quickbooks is not for me. And then now you go and spend another two to three months at Gusto and you're like, oh, you know, gusto was just not efficient. Let me go to FreshBooks. Now you just spent nine months of your time and headache and your books are a lot of whack. Right, because you're giving up too soon on the platform that you need in order to get your, your business, where it needs to be. And so those, those will be some of the pitfalls.
Jessica:Love that I loved, loved this conversation. I think this was so great and we can keep going to. I told you guys we can keep it to three. That was just me, but anyway, listen, guys, we had such a great time with this episode. I am so excited to be able to continue to share with you guys on what's working for us, what's not Expect some cool interviews happening very soon on the show as well to be able to amplify other couples in business and their voice and their struggles and then also amplify their areas of strength and what's made them successful. So we're super excited to be able to continue to share with you guys and in the meantime, hey guys, don't forget, keep hustling.
Alex:That wraps up another episode of Married to the Hustle. We hope you enjoyed today's show and found some inspiration and practical tips to apply to your own business journey.
Jessica:We love hearing from you, our amazing listeners. If you have any stories, questions or tips to share, connect with us on social media or send us an email. Your input makes this podcast even better.
Alex:And don't forget to subscribe to Married to the Hustle on your favorite podcast platform so you never miss an episode. And if you enjoyed today's episode, please leave us a review. It really helps us grow and reach more entrepreneurial couples like you.
Jessica:Join us next week for more exciting stories, insightful interviews and valuable advice.
Alex:Until then, keep hustling, keep thriving and keep loving what you do. Thanks for tuning in and happy hustling.