The #1 MUST-USE Tool Every Small Business Needs
I Like Pretty Things
I Like Pretty Things
Look, if you're not using Canva Pro yet for your small business you're missing out.
I could end this blog here, but I won't.
Let me go back in time and share the story of my love affair with Canva.
My Canva Origin Story
I can't design crap! Yes, I'm 100% design-challenged. Don't even get me started on the bougie tools "real designers" use. I am not bougie and I ain't a designer. One day in 2013, I was searching something like "online alternatives to photoshop" or "photoshop alternatives" and discovered this website, Canva, a few clicks later. I thought, wow, this is cool, and it's free? Yes, basic Canva was, and still is free.
Being the consummate Googler (that's a professional term) I am, I searched for some more info about Canva and discovered that the 22-year-old founder, Melanie Perkins, was stunning.
So, being a guy, that's all it took. (What can I say, guys are pigs!)
If someone this good-looking built something so rad, I am going to try it. Hey, I'm a guy, I am attracted to pretty women. Sorry, not sorry.
I quickly discovered that Canva was more than a free replacement for Photoshop created by a beautiful woman in Australia. It was a game-changing platform that allowed pigs like me — people who have no design skills — to actually design something half-decent.
I started playing with the app and soon found myself creating design after design for my business… then for my clients. Soon I was designing invites to my kids' birthday parties and friends' gatherings! It was pretty addictive, and it was all free.
Then, free became not free. Actually, It was still free. But it became better when they launched a paid version, Canva Pro.
Suddenly I had access to brand templates and color palettes, the ability to resize things on the fly and organize designs and elements into folders and build a team that could collaborate in the platform with me. Now you can design and schedule your posts in Canva.
When Free Wasn't Enough Anymore
Canva Pro Is The Way To Go
Oh my god, this unicorn app became my favorite tool.
Fast forward years and years later, and my company is a power user of the tool. Canva Pro is our go-to app for designing, tons of graphics, client ads, GIFs, short videos, etc. You don't need ANY design skills to use Canva Pro, you simply start playing with it and you'll find how easy it is to use.
I don't care if you make pizzas for a living, run a funeral home, or are an MLM. Canva Pro is for you. Stop trying to learn Photoshop and all of the other apps out there and spend time experimenting with Canva. Soon you will be telling everyone, this is the 1 must-use tool every small business needs!
Proof It Works
Here's a sampling of the stuff my team has done using Canva Pro, I hope it inspires you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Basic Canva is still free and has been since Ken discovered it in 2013. However, Canva Pro is the paid version that unlocks game-changing features like brand templates, color palettes, the ability to resize designs on the fly, folder organization, team collaboration, and the ability to design and schedule posts directly in the platform.
Nope. Ken describes himself as "100% design-challenged" and says he "can't design crap," yet his agency uses Canva Pro as their go-to tool for client ads, graphics, GIFs, and videos. You don't need ANY design skills—just start playing with it and you'll find how easy it is to use.
Ken's team uses Canva Pro to create tons of graphics, client ads, GIFs, and short videos for their direct-response advertising agency. He's also used it for personal stuff like birthday party invites and friends' gatherings—basically anything you need designed for your business or life.
When Canva Pro launched, it added brand templates, color palettes, resize-on-the-fly capabilities, folder organization for designs and elements, team collaboration features, and now the ability to design and schedule social media posts directly in the platform. These features transformed it from a simple free tool into what Ken calls a "unicorn app" and his company's most-used tool.
