A Resource List for Artists + Small Businesses

Written By Elizabeth Ibarra
 
 

Hello! You’ve made it to my on-going compilation of resources for artists and small businesses!

Thank you so much for stopping by. I’ve been working on this list for a little while based on resources I’ve used myself, and resources that my clients use.

A lot of these links are third-party apps or are software as a service (SaaS). Let’s just say - tech companies are really, really finding their niche 😁.

Beyond apps that will help you stay organized and manage your time and money, I’ve included resources for grants, awards and residencies that might be useful. Let me know!

FREE MONEY

COVID-19 Support:

Grants, Awards+Residencies

Loans + More:

  • SBA - yes the government has loans + many resources for you!

JOB BOARDS

  • Work for Impact - ‘meaningful’ work !

  • ilovecreatives - love this website, they have a job board and lots of great resources for creatives

  • Angel List - high paying, tech industry jobs, usually remote

  • Fiverr - freelance job board

  • Upwork - freelance job board (applying to these can be a job in itself)

ADMIN

MONEY MANAGEMENT

  • Wave App - I use this for invoicing, tracking sales, bookkeeping and hopefully one day payroll!

  • Quickbooks - Incredibly popular software that integrates with so many things. Its sibling company is Mint, which I used to use, but to be honest I didn’t feel like it was offering me any useful service except stalking my income, so I canceled. I now use other more useful services that stalk my income.

  • Verdi Advising - Financial Advisor / Coach I’ve used to help me get my $$ in order.

  • Gusto - Bookkeeping + Payroll

  • Catch - Budgeting, Savings, Taxes

  • Acorns - Investment app, I use this! My financial advisor told me I might be able to get a better ROI on something else but it’s easy and a great way to start investing.

  • Stash - Investment app

  • Annuity - Guide to Financial Literacy

  • Annuity - Income

TIME MANAGEMENT

This is something that takes PRACTICE. Be gentle with yourself - there is so much stimulation out there! And, to be honest, ‘time management’ and ‘productivity management’ is a very privileged thing to even get to consider. It’s important to acknowledge that some people do not have capability to do this - and I know because I’ve worked 3 jobs in 1 day just to make the rent and feed myself (which ultimately was unsustainable and led me to create this business, which I’m still working on growing everyday).

But to give you an idea of how I manage my time, I use a combination of the following:

  • Pomodoro Technique - I use this method to stay focused and work in short spurts. You basically work for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. When you do 4 rounds of that, you take a longer, 30 minute break. It is a great technique for people who have a hard time focusing or sitting at a computer for long periods of time. There are also tons of fun timers you can find on youtube!

  • Time blocking - A great article here on time blocking, which is essentially dividing your day into large category chunks. I use google calendar on my computer + my phone to time block.

  • Day theming - Make each day one specific category! So for me: Mondays are Admin days, Tues - Weds are client / work days, and Friday is my creative day (or overflow of any work). Weekends are free, and I do projects around the house, see friends when it’s not a pandemic, etc.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Project management software helps you stay organized and plan out different projects. It’s great for working in teams or managing multiple projects (what I use it for). It also can double as CRM (customer retention management) software, some offer email marketing capabilities, KPI tracking abilities .. the list goes on. Check these out to see which might be best for you:

  • Asana - My favorite project management software that I use and recommend to all clients! It’s free and integrates with most other third party platforms (squarespace, mailchimp, zapier, etc).

  • Monday - I love this app , but it’s pay to play so better for larger teams or a company with a budget.

  • Trello - Another app you can use, personally I don’t like the UX as much as asana but might be better if you need something simple

  • Zoho - Heard this one is popular, but I’ve never tried it

  • Zapier - automate your digital FLOWW baby!

  • Evernote - a place for all your notes

  • Dubsado - CRM management lots of functions for service providers.

STRATEGY

To be honest - I had a hard time coming up with resources for brand strategy. A strategy is essential to any brand running a business, but it is also completely abstract. There are content marketing websites and resources (a few listed below) that you can utilize, but no software that helps you do this. I was racking my brain and the internet for what I could include here, when I realized, actually - this is what I do 😂. Part of a brand strategy is asking yourself or your business the following series of questions:

  1. Why are you doing what you’re doing?

  2. What is your market positioning?

  3. Who is your target audience ? Ideal customer?

  4. How are you going to reach them?

These four questions are KEY to figuring out how to move through the digital or physical landscape. It becomes your roadmap for when times get tough. If you ned help navigating this, I’m always available for a consultation or brand audit - you can book that here.

MARKETING

SOCIAL MEDIA

  • Later - schedule out your social posts, upgrade and get analytics

  • Plann - another good app to use to schedule posts , very similar to later

  • Sprout Social - plan your posts + get analytics, best for a small company or biz

CONTENT CREATION

EMAIL MARKETING

  • Klaviyo - great if you have shopify or an e-commerce platform

  • Mailchimp - a simple service that I often use

  • Send in Blue - never used this but heard good things

  • Drip - automated email marketing for ecommerce yaaa

CLIENT RELATIONS

  • Hubspot - this is actually a full scale customer retention management (CRM) platform, and I am not totally sure where to put it - I actually use Asana as a CRM. A lot of email marketing / project management platforms are also CRMs.

  • Freelancer’s Union - Customizable Contract - they are a great resource for freelancers everywhere



THANK YOU FOR READING! If you don’t mind answering 4 questions for me it’d really help me shape how I can help you:

AND, I’D REALLY LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

If I missed anything that you think I should add or just want to say hi,

please shoot me an email: hello@ibarra-studios.com

I’ll be updating the list occasionally,

so be sure to follow me on my instagram for new resources!

xx Liz

 
Elizabeth Ibarra

http://www.elizabeth-ibarra.com
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