Why I Still Use Trello for Business (And Why You Don’t Have to Outgrow It) | 114

(Note: This is a formatted and slightly edited, AI-generated transcript to make it easier for you to read through. Please excuse any spelling, grammar errors and filler words – it’s just how I speak LOL)

 All-in-one business tool sound great until they make your business more complicated, heavier, and a little bit more overwhelming than it actually needs to be.

Hey, if this is your first time on the podcast or the YouTube channel, I am Lucy Reyes, a productivity and Trello strategist, and I absolutely love using Trello for my business. I have been using it for several years, including with contractors that I’ve hired to do projects with my VA, who’s been with me for several years.

This has been a tool that has definitely helped me in my business, and I’m recording this because I’m honestly tired of hearing that you have to outgrow it or that you will a hundred percent absolutely outgrow Trello for your business if that’s where you started and that you should go to this more all-in-one type of tool like Clickup or just a more sophisticated tool like Asana.

But you know what? Like I’ve been running my business on this tool for several years, and yeah, it’s not the only tool that I use, and I love it that way. I love it that way. It works for my brain. I still know where everything is. But you know what? Let me jump ahead and we’ll get to that.

Point is I help business owners build a sustainable, simple systems using tools like Trello. So today I’m going to share why I intentionally chose Trello for business over other, all-in-one platforms, and how this decision has saved me time, mental energy, and tech overwhelm.

And if you are a Trello user and you want to know how to make a Trello work for you, using some really cool hacks that you may not have known about, then head to the description or the show notes to grab my free Trello hacks guide where I’m going to give you some simple ways to implement smarter tweaks into your Trello workflows within a matter of minutes.

Alright, let’s go ahead and dive in. So let’s start with the biggest misconception, which is you haven’t actually outgrown Trello, you just haven’t optimized it yet. Okay. Trello is more than a to-do list, even though the Trello company itself might even push that narrative because yeah, they are an amazing to-do list, but you can make it into so much more even as a business owner. 

So many entrepreneurs start to assume that they need something more complex as they grow. But then, let’s be honest, we are business owners, which means we like our craft. We want to do the thing that it is that we’re doing. We don’t necessarily want to figure out how to manage all of these complicated tools and systems. 

We don’t want to do all of the other things that we need to do as business owners. If it were up to us, we would just do the thing. So if you are, you know, boutique shop and you are selling bows or jewelry or whatever the case is, then you likely would rather just do that instead of having to do the marketing, the systems, et cetera.

For my digital online business owners, you love creating courses and printables and helping your members, and helping your clients. And if it were up to you, you wouldn’t need to be changing your systems every few years just to keep up with something that’s going to really hold onto your business. 

And if you’re listening to this on the podcast, I’m using a lot of air quotes here, but yeah, it’s… You do not need to outgrow Trello, you just need to use it a little bit more strategically and go beyond what the business world might be pushing, which is Trello can actually really support you with your launch planning, with strategic planning, with content operations, with client tracking, it can really help you do so much.

And the difference isn’t the tool itself, it’s the structure. If you don’t really take the time to figure out how to make the structure work for your specific business, you’re going to have the same problem with other tools because either way, you need to figure out the structure in a way that meets your business. So if you like Trello, if you like a tool, then stick with that tool and make the structure work for it. And that has been the case with me choosing Trello for business, for my business. 

And listen, even I, when I first started in my business, I wasn’t immediately gravitated towards Trello, so I did try to test out these other tools, but for me, this one just felt like one of the most simpler tools, one of the most simpler options. And even when I felt like, wait. Do I need to? Like why are people saying to go and search for these other tools? And I signed up for Clickup. I signed up for Asana, and my brain got all fuzzy and frazzled and I was just like, nope. 

I don’t care to figure it out like I have even tried for my own business because I help you with Trello systems for your business, and I know that my audience doesn’t all use Trello. So I even try tapping into like, “Okay, well let’s see about Clickup. Let’s see Asana.” And for me it just doesn’t click with my brain and honestly that’s okay. Trello may or may not click with your brain, and that’s okay too. 

So this episode is really just sharing the story of why I picked Trello and how Trello has supported me so that way you can see if ultimately, if this is a tool that you have chosen but you’re in that place where people are trying to push this narrative that you can’t keep using it even though you’re like, “But I really want to!” I’m here to tell you that if that’s you, you can definitely make it work. Okay?

Trello itself is not the limitation. So let’s dive into why Trello works so well, especially for entrepreneurs. So here is what makes Trello such a strong fit for solopreneurs, entrepreneurs, business owners, and why it can actually grow with you. So one, it has a very flexible structure and layout that adapts to you working solo or with a small team.

So they are very much, you’re able to create it in a way. So yes, there are Kanban style board where they have like the columns and then different cards, but you can make those columns and cards serve you in so many different ways than it appears to, at a glance. It is very visual and intuitive, so there’s not such a steep learning curve, at least when you compare it to other tools and at least that was the case for me. 

Because when I switched to Trello, I was coming from that paper planning world. I was a big, huge paper planner. It got to a point where Trello was, or where my paper planner was just not enough for all of the things I needed to do in the business. And that’s when I started searching for tools.

I used Trello first, felt overwhelmed. Went to the other tools, felt even more overwhelmed. And so I came back and I was like, “All right, you seem like the most simple, the most visual one out of the bunch. So let me try to make you work, figure you out.” So, for me, it definitely felt like a much lower learning curve than others.

It is a lightweight tool. Like yeah, it is a lightweight tool, but it’s still powerful. And when I say lightweight, I mean the not all-in-one tool, right? I can’t use Trello as like a spreadsheet or a dashboard, and honestly that’s okay. That is okay with me. I mean, I guess technically I could incorporate some power ups, but like I said, I like to keep things simple, so I actually don’t even use that many Trello power ups in my systems and my workflows. 

If you are not familiar with what Trello power ups are, they’re just these little extra add-ons to boost your workflows but we’re not going to get into that today, especially because I’m not really one to use a whole bunch of them. So I try to keep it lightweight and I use other tools for what they’re known to and then I still use a Trello as my home base. 

But again, we’ll get to that point. And this is something that can scale with you. So you can assign tasks over to an assistant or to a service provider who’s maybe writing some copy for you or doing some marketing assets for you. You are able to track progress of your own progress, your VA’s progress.

You’re able to collaborate in the comments you’re able to assign off. You can still use this as a tool that scales with you. And when we talk about, let’s say payments and the cost of the tool, the majority of the tools you will have to pay in order to work with more people. 

And the thing with Trello is you can still set it up in a way where you can use the free version for a bit longer than you would if you had to use other tools, right? But again, as your business scales, a cost like a project management system is minimal when it’s running the entire or almost entire backend of your operations. But it is a tool that can scale with you. 

So Trello works because it adapts to you and it doesn’t have to replace everything else that you use, which let me tell you, in some cases that’s not, that’s not even fun. Because if you have an all-in-one tool and then that tool stops working or goes through a glitch and everything goes through that tool. Now you’re out for several hours until that one tool can, you know, gets its operations back up and running.

And lately there seem to be a lot of glitches throughout, all over the internet for different tools, different platforms. So in those moments, I’m definitely extra grateful that only… Yes, while it’s the majority of my business, I can still do other things on some of these other tools and then reconnect them when I need to.

But honestly, here is the real shift. Trello is not trying to replace every tool. Like I said, like they themselves are not even trying to be this all-in-one tool like some of these other tools are promoting, and that’s exactly why it works. That’s exactly why they’re staying in their lane as to what makes them great and what they are great at, which is organizing and connecting the tools that you are using to really boost your productivity and your workflows.

So again, you can track tasks, workflows, and deadlines all-in-one place. You can link to Google Docs, Airtable, or other folders and documents as you need to. You can centralize actions so that way things are not scattered all across platforms. So no, it doesn’t replace every tool, but it does organize and connect the tools that you are using.

It becomes your operational hub where everything is being tracked, where everything is being linked to, so that you always have exactly what you need whenever you need it. So Trello is definitely the tool that I always have open no matter what it is that I’m working on, because it is that central hub.

But from that hub I have linked to the Google documents that I’m working from to write any blog posts or the podcast episode outlines right, or it links out to Airtable where I’m tracking some spreadsheet, data information, some databases, right? I can use other tools and connect them into my hub so that I only need to use my hub to get to these other places.

So all-in-one tools really try to be like everything, right? They try to be the entire house, all of the rooms. “Look at me. I have all of these other things.” And for someone like me, the way my brain works, that gets very overwhelming to me. And so I prefer something more simple where I see Trello really as the control center instead of everything. 

So Trello really tells you where everything is and what to do next, and that’s why I love it. That’s why I love its simplicity. Okay. So let’s actually talk about some practical application. So here are just some of the few ways that you can use Trello to support your business and honestly, even your life.

This is something that is so simple enough to where it’s so simple and yet powerful enough to where I manage my entire business out of it. And I’ve gotten my 12-year-old son to be able to use it for parts of his school life and even his little startup business. So it’s that… Like it goes to that scale.

It’s simple enough, but it’s also powerful enough. And here are some reasons or some ideas of as to how I use Trello and how you could use it too in your business. So it’s great for brain dumping and capturing ideas. It’s great for planning and tracking content, for managing launches and projects. For creating repeatable workflows, for basically anything and everything.

So for me, this includes blog posts, YouTube videos, podcasts, episodes, contributing to bundles or summits, just all of these different things, collaborating with a VA or freelancer. Like I mentioned, I have been working with my VA for several years, and we do everything out of Trello. I’ve also worked with other people where I have created them a central board in my workspace, so that way they can work out of, without adding extra cost to me as well.

Track goals and metrics. So this is something that I’m able to do in Trello as a well. Keeping client information accessible. Tracking course progress. So you know, when you sign up to a bundle of products or courses and you want to be able to track your progress in all of these courses, like I do that in Trello too.

Linking to outside docs, Airtable, everything. Organizing a personal life alongside business. So these are just a few of the different ways where I use Trello. You can definitely check out my Trello template shop, or you can see some very specific and very detailed workflows or planning hubs that teach you the methods and the process of how I use Trello very specifically for certain aspects of my business.

But in general, it can do a lot in case you haven’t gotten that point. And it’s really not just about doing everything, everything, everything in Trello, because every tool and platform is great for what it does. And so it’s really more for us, especially as business owners when we’re trying to manage so much in our business and also our day-to-day lives.

It really becomes about knowing where things are happening, where things are, and what I need to do next. Right? So this really brings me to the real biggest advantage, which is that the real advantage isn’t just Trello itself.  It’s how you use it to run your business. I talked about it in the beginning.

It’s not about the tool. Even this whole thing is not about the tool, it’s about how you use the tool and structure it to fit your life and business. That is the real magic. So you could do all of this in whatever tool you choose. I’m just tired of hearing people say that, “You can’t do it with Trello,” because it’s like, hello?

I have done it myself. Like what do you mean? Like it is possible, just like it’s possible to do certain things and other tools that maybe you didn’t think about. So it’s not just that it’s Trello, it is the fact that I have learned how to really incorporate it and figure it out for my business and how I’ve helped other entrepreneurs that are in similar businesses to me, I’ve helped them figure out how to use it for their businesses as well. 

So the moral of the story is that you don’t need a new tool, and if the tool that you’re using is Trello, stop hearing the lies that you’re gonna have, a hundred percent, switch or that you’re absolutely going to outgrow it so might as well use another tool from the beginning. 

And like, if you like it, and this feels like the best option for you right now, especially if you have given the other tools a try, which by all means, I definitely highly recommend go find other tools, play with them and see how you feel with them.

See if they, you know, how they work with your brain. And if ultimately Trello feels like the best option, then don’t worry about what if I’m gonna need to outgrow it in the future because I’ve been using this for several years. I have tried other tools again and I’m still like, “Eh! No. I think I’m gonna stick around here as long as I can.”

So you just need a smarter way to use the tool that you already have. Okay? Trello or any tool becomes the backbone when it is structured intentionally. So it being Trello itself is not the advantage, it’s how you use it. Okay? So again. You can make Trello work for you. You do not need to feel like you’re going to outgrow Trello.

You can do so much with it. No, it’s not an all-in-one tool and for me that’s okay. For a lot of the business owners, entrepreneurs, the students, my clients that I have worked with, it’s fine with them too. We make it work and it really still takes away so much relief, so much overwhelm with knowing exactly what to do next.

Exactly where to find things when I need it within a matter of seconds. So use it strategically for your business and it can grow with you. So remember, you haven’t outgrown it yet but maybe you haven’t fully unlocked it yet. And if that is how you are feeling, if you are feeling like, “Okay, I really do like using Trello but I also feel like I could be using it better,” then that is what my free at Trello Hacks guide us for.

It’s there to give you a few simple ways to really boost your productivity and workflow with some simple Trello hacks that you may not have known existed. 

So definitely either check out this QR code if you’re watching it from YouTube, or head to the link in the description or the show notes, depending wherever you’re listening so you can grab my free at Trello hacks guide. And of course, please subscribe or wherever you’re listening or whether on YouTube or the podcast, so that way you know, once the next episode is released. 

All right, my friend.