it’s super easy to fall down the rabbit hole of Googling which tools are best for which purpose, signing up for free trial after free trial, and getting lost in a sea of overwhelm when you notice that you’re 50 applications deep yet you only use about 2 or 3 semi-consistently.

So, to prevent you from going anywhere near that rabbit hole and save the time that you would otherwise be spending on trial and error, we’re going to break down our ultimate list of tools for new service-based businesses! We’ll be listing a few options for different categories so as to not overwhelm you. Some of these we currently use and some we’ve used in the past before our business grew and evolved.

Client onboarding is the most crucial beginning phase to starting a project with a new client. It sets the tone for the working relationship and can make or break your project depending on how you handle it. If handled poorly, it can lead to your client having a bad experience with you, and it’s the client experience that determines whether or not you’ll receive positive testimonials, repeat business, and future referrals. (No pressure!)

After working with clients during both our time as separate businesses and even after we first became business partners, we know a thing or two about client onboarding and making sure the client feels comfortable and taken care of before, during, and after the project.

With that said, let’s dive into our ultimate guide to client onboarding, plus crafting an extraordinary client experience!

We preach often (probably entirely too often) about the importance of your client experience, but it’s one of the key defining factors between a client having a good time with you, referring you to others, and leaving a positive testimonial… Or not.

Mastering the art of providing an amazing experience for your clients is crucial to your reputation as a service provider. We know this sounds super scary, but it can actually be pretty dang easy. As long as you’re able to check in often, respond quickly, and provide important information, you’re already at an advantage.

One way of stepping off on the right foot with a new client is by sending a welcome packet. You may have also heard it called a welcome guide, onboarding guide, or onboarding packet. We’ve sent a welcome packet or two– or a million– during our years in business, and now we’re here to share 10 must-have details you should include in your client welcome packet!

One of our favorite features of Dubsado are the forms. They’re easy to design and even easier to send off to clients or embed on your website. In fact, the design possibilities are endless, and with Dubsado’s drag-and-drop builder, you’ll have them created in no time!

You’re able to add text boxes, images, questions, drop-down menus, columns, and more to your forms, but one of the most versatile blocks in the code block. With it, you’re able to integrate third party applications directly into your proposals, questionnaires, and lead capture forms!

This means that you can completely take your forms to the next level and amp up your client experience. The possibilities for what you can embed are endless, but we’re here to give you 5 ideas for how to take your Dubsado forms to the next level using code blocks!

So you have a freebie created, your opt-in form set up, and your freebie delivery email ready to go so that you can deliver the goods when someone joins your list. But before you start telling people about it… Do you have a welcome sequence?

When someone joins your list, they’re the warmest within the first few days. That’s your window to let them get to know you more and show them what you can offer before they forget who you are or why they even subscribed in the first place. After all, first impressions matter, and this is your way to make a great virtual first impression on your audience!

We’re huge fans of welcome sequences because it means that when the time comes to sell to someone, they won’t be in the dark about who you are– they’ll already know, like, and trust you (or at least that’s the goal). So, what actually goes into a welcome sequence? Read along as we walk you through how to write a welcome sequence that converts subscribers to buyers!

Listen, we’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to email marketing platforms. Over the years, we’ve migrated and re-migrated to a handful of different ones to find the best fit, yet we always ended up leaving. After our recent switch last year to Flodesk, we definitely aren’t planning to leave any time soon.

While we’re aware that moving over such a large email list with over 100k subscribers to a beta platform seems completely absurd and irrational, but honestly? It was absolutely the most no-brainer migration we’ve ever done, and here’s why.

If there’s a way to save time and be more productive in our businesses, we’re all over it. One of our favorite ways to do this is to plan all of our social content. Otherwise, it can be way too overwhelming!

Before we started batching our content, we quickly realized that posting a day at a time was not the way to go. Our thoughts would become scattered from all of the ideas we had, yet no actual system of turning those ideas into content. One we did create a system for batching though, it saved our time, sanity, engagement (no more gaps in posting!).

So, today, we’re going to walk you through our step-by-step system for planning a month’s worth of social content at once, so you can get back to being the productive queen (or king) you are.

Sending a project proposal can be intimidating for a number of reasons. If you’re new to business and this is the first (or even the fourth or fifth) client you’re sending a proposal to, it can be mega nerve-wracking. You’re likely having a ton of negative and worrisome thoughts. What if they have an issue with something? What if they decide to go with someone else? Does it look okay?

These are all common thoughts to have, especially when this is such an important piece to wowing your potential clients and making it a no-brainer to work with you. After years of running as a service-based business and sending countless PDF proposals to clients, we’ve learned a thing or two about making it as less overwhelming as possible for you (and them)!

So, keep reading to find out how to send project proposals, plus what information to include!

We’re very excited for this post today because we’ve been writing about Dubsado for a while, and we always find some way to sneak in workflows because they’re our absolutely favorite feature of the software. Finally, we’re here to dedicate a whole post just to workflows!

Workflows in Dubsado give you the opportunity to automate so many processes of your usual client workflow. In turn, this frees up so much space in your calendar for you to be able to focus on caring for your clients, completing their projects, and giving them the attention they need without worrying about the techy stuff that happens on the backend.

We’ve heard from many people that workflows allow Dubsado to serve as their VA of sorts because they can set and forget so many different things. So, keep reading to learn more about workflows, how they work, what you should do before creating them, and how you can be using them in your business right now!