When I started my first real business in 1992, it was much more complicated than it was to create Gojectory 28 years later. I want to highlight some great tools and services we used to help get Gojectory off the ground quickly.

Every business needs a great name

The first thing we needed was a really good name. We utilized Squadhelp to crowdsource a great name. In the course of a couple of weeks 178 participants suggested 809 names based on the brief we submitted. The cost? $299. It was worth every penny.

And a logo

99designs was used to deliver a logo and business cards we can be proud of for $468. We had 368 design submissions from about 50 different designers before we selected a winner and worked with him to finalize the design (unlimited revisions!). We continue to use him and 99Designs for other projects.

The Joys of Legal

We used LegalZoom for to form our S-Corporation. They were fast and efficient and it only cost $758.

Payroll

Gusto makes it easy to onboard, pay, insure, and support your team. It has a super slick interface and mobile app. A steal at $39/month and $12/month/staff person.

office Productivity

For office productivity we chose G Suite from Google. It is probably the best software I have ever used (and infinitely better than Microsoft Office in so many ways). Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Presentations, Hangouts and more are a joy to use. If I could only have one piece of software this would be it hands down. $12/user/month.

Website

For out website we really like Squarespace. It is super easy to learn and use and has great blogging and SEO feature which set it apart from the rest. $18/month.

Accounting

I used Quickbooks in the early 90’s and it has come a long way. Quickbooks Online is $70/month and is the easiest financial software I have ever used.

Imagery

Most of the images we use on this website and elsewhere come from Unsplash. They have thousands of great images - all of them are priced right (free!).

Launch!

If you are launching something new, I highly recommend all of the above services and software. Comment below with any questions of suggestions of great tools you recommend.