12 years ago when I started my first online company, things were really friggin’ different. Every time I wanted any form of business advancement, marketing material, advertisement or website change made – I had to hire someone to do it.
And let’s be real, I wasn’t exactly swimming in the cash to do so.
Today though, starting an online business or blog is easy and can be super affordable!
We’ve come a long way in the last decade and now every corner of the internet is offering a new, incredible, and affordable platform to help you run your business.
If this information intrigues you and you’d like to learn more about building an affordable (and profitable!) online business or blog, click here for more info on how you can work directly with me! I’m teaching all my tips and tricks in my Online Coaching Program, The Biz Launch.
Here are 5 Online Business Tools I Can’t Live Without
Canva
I’d say this is my number one!
Canva.com is an online design platform that could not be easier to use. Every piece of promotional marketing, ebook, training manual etc. for my business are all designed in Canva. It’s truly a life saver and has saved me thousands of dollars in hiring expensive graphic designers.
It’s free to use, and has a very affordable paid option depending on your needs!
Zoom
Made famous by COVID-19, but a tool that has been a staple for my entire business since 2017.
When you are a Coach or have a service based business that involves talking on the phone to your clients this tool is a dream.
First of all, clients having your personal number is a huge no-no as you begin to scale larger and larger. It’s too much to manage your business through your personal life channels. Plus there are also huge boundary and privacy issues with this, too.
Zoom is an online video chat or call service done though your computer. The connection is excellent and there are so many options in the ways to use it. One-on-one calls all the way up to hosting a call for us to 100 people!
Zoom is truly a tool I can not live without!
You Can Book Me
There are many great online booking tools out there – Acuity, You Can Book Me, Calendly, etc.
I use You Can Book Me to schedule in my clients and it’s a dream.
I control from the back end to show when I’m available – and other than that the clients can book, reschedule and cancel all on their own without a million back and forth emails between us. It also sends them a reminder email and text message before the appointment with the ZOOM call details.
It’s been a real life saver in my scheduling and I know this can apply to many, many businesses.
My Website
There are limitless ways to start an online business or blog, I’m a huge advocate of having a website above all.
Today, building out websites on DIY website building platforms are simple, easy and affordable. Wix and Squarespace are two I recommend to my clients often.
Personally my website is wordpress, which is the platform I recommend if you are planning to scale into a large e-commerce based company or want many custom facets. I have someone on staff who manages this for me, but this is not necessary at all to get started!!
My suggestion is teach yourself to build out on a DIY platform if you are tech savvy, and if not – spend the money to have it done right with a reputable company that will teach you how to post, update and use the website yourself instead of paying someone every time you need a simple update or change.
My Email List / Mailchimp
One of the biggest things I teach and Coach my blogger / online business clients on is this: The most important thing you can do for your business is build a mailing list. Social media is rented space and could be gone tomorrow. But capturing your contacts via email is yours forever. I could go on and on about this (Want to know more? work with me! Go here).
I use a more advanced CRM system for my email marketing and funnels now, but Mailchimp – you served me oh-so-well for many years.
It’s an email service that allows you use it for free until you’ve accumulated 2000 contacts!
The company has also recently come out with some pretty incredible features such as landing pages, campaign funnels and segmented mailing lists. Which are all incredible tools when you are ready got scale your business.
New to blogging or online biz and not sure what this all means? It’s important!
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Want more business and coaching tips?
– HOW TO DO WHAT YOU LOVE
– SELF DEVELOPMENT BOOKS THAT HAVE CHANGED MY LIFE
– 5 REASONS TO WORK WITH A COACH
