Would Recommend — The Ops Shop
Nikki's Little Black Book

Things I Would Recommend

The podcast is called Would Recommend for a reason; I'm the kind of person who tells you about the software, the human, the community, or the tool the second it changes how I work. This is that list, out loud, in one place, so you don't have to DM me asking what I use.

Quick heads up Some of the links below are affiliate links, and they'll be marked with an asterisk (*). If you use them, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you; often you'll get a bonus or a discount on top. Nothing lives on this page that I don't actually use or genuinely rate.
The Toolkit

Software & Tools

Wispr Flow
Software

Wispr Flow*

Voice dictation and speech-to-text that actually keeps up with the way I talk. It's the reason I can draft an email between sips of coffee instead of hunching over the keyboard.

Bonus: a free month of the Pro Plan
Get Wispr Flow
ClickUp
Software

ClickUp*

Project and task management that runs the entire Ops Shop backend; think of it as the LEGO baseplate every client project, launch, and podcast episode gets built on top of.

Try ClickUp
Kit
Software

Kit*

The email marketing platform I use for every newsletter, sequence, and launch; creator-first, easy to automate, and it plays nicely with basically every other tool in this list.

Try Kit
Descript
Software

Descript*

Recording and video editing that lets you edit a podcast or a video like you'd edit a Google Doc; delete the word, delete the audio. It's genuinely a paradigm shift once you use it.

Bonus: 50% off two months of the Creator monthly plan
Try Descript
Buzzsprout
Software

Buzzsprout*

Podcast hosting and distribution; where every Would Recommend episode lives before it lands in your Apple, Spotify, or wherever-you-listen queue. Straightforward, reliable, no drama.

Bonus: a $20 Buzzsprout credit when you upgrade to a paid plan
Try Buzzsprout
Podstatus
Software

Podstatus

Monitors your podcast rankings, reviews, keywords, and competitors across Apple, Spotify, and iVoox in 175 countries; one dashboard, hourly updates, no more toggling between apps like it's 2011.

Bonus: 7-day free trial
Try Podstatus
Metricool
Software

Metricool*

Social media scheduling and analytics all under one roof; I plan, queue, and track posts across platforms without opening seventeen tabs and losing my mind.

Try Metricool
Monarch
Software

Monarch*

Personal budgeting that pulls every account into one view so you can actually see what's happening with your money without a spreadsheet held together by hope and formulas.

Bonus: 50% off your first year
Try Monarch
The Growth Bench

Marketing & Brand

Brand & Web

Carly Ottaway

Web of Words

Brand messaging, visual identity, website design, and the copy that goes on top; a whole studio's worth of skill sets under one roof so your brand doesn't feel like it was assembled by five different Fiverrs.

Best forFemale founder-led service businesses in wellness, financial, and creative spaces.
Work with Carly
Puja Malhotra — Roop Creative Agency
Brand & Web

Puja Malhotra

Roop Creative Agency

Strategy-first brand identity plus custom website design, all handled in-house from workshop to launch. Eighteen years in, a decade of Roop, and nothing gets shipped off to a mystery freelancer along the way.

Best forFounders who've outgrown a DIY brand or a hands-off agency and want a real collaborator; creatives, wellness practitioners, PR agencies, coaches, and personal brands especially.
Work with Puja
SEO & AI Search

Jessica Holmes

LipService

SEO, GEO, and AEO strategy (aka getting found by both Google AND ChatGPT), plus websites, email, paid ads across Google and Meta, and AI marketing under one roof. A full-service digital agency without the corporate energy.

Best forPeople and companies doing good in the world.
Work with Jessica
AI Discoverability

Meg Casebolt

Love At First Search

AI discoverability strategy and training; the SEO, AEO, and GEO trifecta explained by someone who genuinely knows how the algorithms think. If you want your expertise cited in AI answers, Meg is the person you call.

Best forExpert-led businesses: coaches, consultants, and service businesses whose whole thing is what they know.
Work with Meg
Social & Podcast Mgmt

The Social Snippet

Kristina Bartold & Maria Tassi

Social media management plus podcast launch and management from the duo who also run High Vibe Women; two operators who know entrepreneurship from every angle and treat your content like it actually matters.

Best forEntrepreneurs and business owners who need social and podcast off their plate without losing the brand voice.
Work with The Social Snippet
The Craft Corner

Creative & Content

Samantha Burmeister — Nomad Copy Agency
Sales Copywriting

Samantha Burmeister

Nomad Copy Agency

Done-for-you sales copywriting, launch strategy, copy coaching, and copy on demand for service providers who want their next launch to actually convert. Her whole thing is she loves to sell so you don't have to; hand her the mic and go rest.

Best forService providers who want bigger, better launches without white-knuckling the sales page themselves.
Work with Samantha
Crystal Adair-Benning — Word Magic
Ghostwriting & Books

Crystal Adair-Benning

Word Magic

Ghostwriting, co-writing, book coaching, and Createcation writing retreats from a 4x NYT bestselling ghostwriter on a mission to help you protect your IP and build an Author Empire without giving your whole voice away.

Best forNon-fiction business and memoir writers who want a legacy book, not a rushed one.
Work with Crystal
Dana Castro — Three Crowns Studio
Brand Photography

Dana Castro

Three Crowns Studio

Brand photography, product photography, and headshots that don't look like everyone else's LinkedIn banner. In business since 2018, hundreds of women shot, and enough experience to guide you through it if a lens has never pointed at you before.

Best forWomen in business who know their goals and are ready for a real brand shoot, guidance included.
Work with Dana
The Backstage Crew

Operations & Systems

Scaling Support

Lindsay Johnson

The Radical Connector

Wrap-around scaling support for service-based businesses; ops and finance, marketing and ads, lead gen, CRM, sales systems, admin, and thought leadership all under one roof. They love partnering with other agencies and freelancers so clients get a full backstage crew, not a patchwork of vendors.

Best forService businesses that have hit their stride, want to scale, and are burning out holding it together with duct tape.
Work with Lindsay
Shaughnessy King — Success by Ness
Virtual Assistant Team

Shaughnessy King

Success by Ness

A Canadian virtual assistant team covering admin, customer service, research, file organization, expense management, and travel planning; long-term support that actually learns your business instead of ghosting after project one.

Best forEstablished entrepreneurs, coaches, and service businesses ready to delegate the day-to-day so they can go do the work only they can do.
Work with Ness
The Group Chat

Community & Education

AI All Stars
Program

AI All Stars*

Over 30 custom-trained AI assistants, comprehensive playbooks, and automated workflows built to handle your marketing, operations, and customer service; think of it as a whole bench of specialists you can call in on demand.

Bonus: $500 off with my link
Get AI All Stars
The Entreprenista League
Membership

The Entreprenista League*

A supportive community and business membership where women founders are actively creating Business Magic together; part membership, part board of advisors, part group chat you actually want to open.

Join Entreprenista
High Vibe Women Community
Online Community

High Vibe Women Community*

A space for heart-centered women entrepreneurs who want real connections, proven strategy, and business growth without the burnout badge of honour that usually comes with it.

Bonus: 7-day free trial
Join the Community
High Vibe Women Events — Kristina Bartold & Maria Tassi
In-Person Events

High Vibe Women Events

Kristina Bartold & Maria Tassi

In-person events for female entrepreneurs at every stage; the offline counterpart to the online community, where the group chat energy walks into the same room and orders wine together.

Best forFemale entrepreneurs who want their business community IRL, not just on a screen.
Bonus: use code NIKKI50 to save $50 on your full day ticket
See the Events
Jenn Morris — Ship Happens
Supply Chain Education

Jenn Morris

Ship Happens

Supply chain and logistics education plus sponsorship opportunities for companies who want to reach an audience that actually cares about how the sausage gets shipped. Real talk, no jargon walls.

Best forSmall and mid-sized business owners who need to demystify supply chain, and brands who want to sponsor women in the space.
Work with Jenn
The Home Team

Personal

Brittnei Gaudio — wellnested living Co.
Home Organization

Brittnei Gaudio

wellnested living Co.

In-home organizing and decluttering, home management for the errands and to-dos that eat your Saturday, plus virtual decluttering coaching if you'd rather DIY with a pro in your ear. She builds spaces that are actually easy to tidy, not Pinterest sets that fall apart in a week.

Best forBusy professionals and parents who want to reclaim their weekends from the tidy-up hamster wheel.
Book a Free Consult
AnnMarie Zezima — Organized A to Z Inc
Home Organization

AnnMarie Zezima

Organized A to Z Inc

Decluttering, organizing, and right-sizing for busy families and older adults across Toronto and the GTA, in person or virtually. Former home organization product buyer, so she knows what actually works in a real house, not a staged one.

Best forThe busy mom running her own household and quietly carrying the weight of her parents' stuff too.
Book a Free Consult
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