Grab a cup of coffee and let me tell you about my business BFF- Honeybook. It is the best tool that I have in running my small business, BY FAR. I love how it was created for creative entrepreneurs, and specifically for wedding industry peers, like wedding florists, wedding planners, or wedding photographers! It really does meet virtually all of my needs for a software system that manages contracts, invoicing, questionnaires, reminders and more! As a small business owner, branding is so important, and I love how everything that is sent from Honeybook is perfectly aligned with the Courtney Inghram Events brand. Their platform continues to update, and I love how they are always improving the site and making it more and more intuitive! Since Honeybook has just recently rolled out some new updates, I wanted to share a few tips and ideas on how to best utilize Honeybook for your small business!

Ready to get started with Honeybook?! CLICK HERE to try it out for free, and take 50% OFF!!

1. Did you know that you can now customize your Pipeline?!  I LOVED when I saw this update on my Honeybook account, because it allows you to personalize your workflow! So, I added in “client gift” to help me visualize which clients were next up on my mailing list, “final meeting” to let me see which weddings were upcoming, so I could reach out to schedule those brides’ final meetings,  and “review received” reminding me to request a review from each completed wedding! You can obviously add in whatever steps help you the most in your business, but I found just adding in a few more really helped me stay on top of things!

2. Since the beginning, Honeybook has had a built-in contact form that automatically creates a new workspace for inquiries sent through your website, which is awesome!! You just copy the code into your website, and then Honeybook will move any new inquiries immediately into your Pipeline. But with the new updates, now you can actually completely customize your inquiry form, so you can ask the right questions, make sure you have substantial information, and even add in a branded color to your form, all done right in Honeybook’s “settings” page! I love this because I’m now able to receive the information I need to set up a consultation and prepare a proposal, with less emailing back and forth. 

3. One issue I have heard of fellow creative entrepreneurs having is consulting with a client, or giving a proposal, and then not hearing back from them for months! When they finally return ready to book, pricing has changed, and they feel bad emailing back the potential client letting them know! It can be an awkward conversation , but if the client didn’t have a signed contract/retainer, then unfortunately, nothing is set in-stone and pricing IS subject to change with any growing small business! Honeybook to the rescueeeee! They now offer the option to set an “expiration date” to any proposals you send out! Now, I can tell a potential client that the proposal is only valid for 14 days (or whatever you choose), but then after that, Honeybook handles the rest! You can decide how long you would like it to be valid for, but once that date has passed, Honeybook notifies the potential client that their proposal has expired, and that they need to contact the business for further details about booking!! It takes the awkward conversation part away, AND Honeybook automatically times when it expires, so I don’t have to keep track of it! Win-Win!!!

Honeybook is an awesome tool for any small business owner to consider investing in, and with their continued updates, I know my user experience will only get better!!

Interested in Honeybook? Head over to this post to learn more about how it saved me time and sanity in my small business!

What other systems do you use for your small business? Tell me about them in the comments below! :