7 critical business tools every designer needs in 2023

As a designer, your brand is more than your awwward winning website and the final_final_v2 assets you deliver to your client. It’s the entire client journey from start to finish. Unfortunately, designers are forced to use tools that are dated, clunky, and give clients an experience far from “designer”. The good news is that there are tools you might not know about that can fix this. See for example this free invoice generator that was created for creatives. To build a brand that enables you to raise your rates, you have to connect every client touch-point in an experience that is beautiful and intuitive. To do this, every designer must decide if they will use individual tools or an all-in-one platform like Bloom. While individual tools will give you more features, they are far more expensive and require a full-time job to connect and maintain. In this article, explore the business tools designers need in 2023. 1. Lead capture Bloom - All-in-one Studio CRM for $33/mo Typeform - Starts at $25/mo Jotform - Starts at $39/mo 2. Lead management Once you start capturing leads, you need a good way to organize them and make sure that no opportunity falls between the cracks. Your Gmail and DM’s aren’t a CRM. Sometimes leads need a follow-up in 1-2months. Some need more nurturing and selling before you can send a proposal. Unlike e-commerce, a designer’s sales-cycle will average 1-3 months, which means you need robust tracking tools to know the next step for each prospect.