Strengthsfinder Assessment($24)

So, you want to start a business? Are you ready? Like really ready for the sleepless nights, multiple do overs, the million decisions you’ll have to make over design choices, font styles, platforms to use, etc. The most important thing you need to do is ensure you have the right mindset and understand what you’re good at and what you’re not. So, carve out 20 minutes and take the assessment. You will learn what your top 5 strengths are and how you can develop them more in your life and business.

 

Affirmations(free)

I've put together a powerful affirmation for you to print off at the end of this resource. Stick on your wall, pin to your vision board, or keep with you all the time... use it however you want. It’s called the Elevator’s Manifesto. I recommend saying these to yourself every day. You have to stay positive on your journey to a full-time entrepreneur.

 

Tip: If you feel you need to work on having the right mindset to run a successful business and are really serious about changing you it, I highly recommend reading the classic Thick Rich Grow Rich. The nuggets of insight in this beauty are priceless! Warning- it’s a little thick!

 

ORGANIZATION/PROJECT MANAGEMENT

 

Following making sure you have the right mindset for starting and running a successful business, is making sure you, your thoughts, your home, and your time are well organized to allow you to be as productive as possible in the time given. Below are a few tools that can help with getting and keeping you organized to follow through on your planning if you give them a sincere effort!

 

Asana(free)

Whether it comes time to manage your own tasks or the tasks of your future team, Asana can help you prioritize. I use Asana every day to get tasks out of my email inbox. I set deadlines and priorities as well as task my team. John and I also have a "to-discuss" project that helps us prioritize what we need to discuss each week. I love it for creating editorial calendars, generating blog ideas as well as staying organized and checking things off my list!

Trello(free)

Trello is another great place to create a to-do list. It's more visual and reminds me of Pinterest so if you are a creative person, you'll love it. We have our operations manual loaded onto Trello so everyone on our team can get the training they need. You can use Trello for anything though from organizing documents to organizing your to-do list.

Airtable (free)

Absolutely love Airtable. I stumbled across this little gem while building my first e-commerce store and have used it to launch others, including E3C. I like how I can switch from grid view to calendar view (I mostly stay in grid view because I like the separation of statuses). They have a free plan packed with features but also a paid plan that offers a little more. Personally, we use the free plan and have never needed to upgrade.

 

TIME MANAGEMENT/PRODUCTIVITY

 

Although, a component of project management and organization, I believe that it’s such an issue that people have trouble with, myself included, that it needs its own section. If you’re just starting the process of launching your own business, you may still be working full-time, have kids at home or other loved ones to take care, or even be in school. So, you need to be intentional with your time and what you spend it on. This will become even more so, the more successful you become. So, start now learning how to properly manage your time, so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor when the time comes!

 

Pomodoro Technique and App (free & paid version)

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management technique developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique involves using a timer to break work down in 25-minute intervals (or whatever works for you), followed by short breaks. You can use the app or just set the timer on your phone. But basically, you work 25 minutes and take a 5-minute break. Or, if you can focus a little longer, work 45 minutes and take a 15-minute break. However, during the time you’re working, stay laser focused. Close apps that you’re not using and leave Facebook alone!!! You will find that you can get a lot more done by focusing for a set amount of time of a particular task. By taking a break after your interval, you’re giving your brain time to relax and catch-up sort of speak.  The app is available for both Apple and Android.

Rescue Time(free)

If you need some serious help, this is a beauty. If you really want to see what you’re spending time and get a handle on it, this one is for you. RescueTime helps you understand your daily habits and where you’re spending time so that you can get a handle on it. The free version works just fine. It can answer questions like, how much time did you spend on email? In meetings? It can do things like block distracting apps and you can setup alerts (those type features are on the paid plan). You can set timers, thereby integrating the Pomodoro Technique to put your time management on steroids. Whichever version you choose, this is a wonderful program for helping you with time management and by default productivity.

90-Day Planner (free)

Use this planner for 1 quarter to get you started or as your annual planner. I put this together for you as a PDF. So, you can review and make changes when you need versus having to purchase a new planner each year. You can print when you have completed setting your goals and priorities to form your own hardback planner. The planner will help you implement a lot of what you can learn in my courses and programs or on your own. Happy planning!

Habit Now (free and paid option)

This is a fantastic app. It’s available for both IOS and Android. Not only is it a great way to track habits you want to start or break but also your to-do list. You can set reminders to notify you when a habit or task is due. You can schedule activities as one-time or recurring and very far into the future. The item will remain on your dashboard until you check it off as complete. You can place habits/tasks into categories. For example, personal items for family appointments or errands or business related. You can color code entries as well. I use this daily and have come to rely on it quite a bit for personal and business-related items.

Email Marketing Membership

This is a monthly membership for $9/month. I placed it here because it is a true time saver when it comes to emails and newsletter. It comes with weekly newsletter templates and swipe examples straight to your inbox, mini email training videos weekly, larger trainings, Q&As, themed templates to get you clicks, make presales, and even an entire sales launch sequence. Great way to use your time wisely.

 

STORING INFORMATION

 

When starting and then running your business, you’re going to have a lot of information. Whether it’s information you’ve searched for online, courses you’re taking, or information that has been sent to you, you need somewhere to store it. Somewhere that you can access from different devices and somewhere that will help you keep all this information in an organized manner. Below are a few resources to help with organization all the information you need to store.

 

All Things Google (free)

Once again, there are a lot of options when it comes to storing information. However, one of the easiest, simplest, and least expensive is Google. Gmail has made a significant amount of progress over the past few years offering many of the features as Outlook. Ans when combined with Google Drive and Calendar you can have smooth and streamlined storage, communication, and scheduling processes to run your business. Google Drive frees up space on your computer and allows you to share files with your team or contractors hired to do work for you which in turn allows for better collaboration. Also, you can quickly add files received in Gmail to Google Drive with one click instead of downloading, saving, and sending somewhere else. This is much more efficient way to organize and store data.

Dropbox (free - $20/user/month)

If for some reason you don’t want to use Google Drive, there’s also Dropbox, which is great as well and integrates with many applications and systems. Just be weary of your storage needs and select the plan that works best for you. However, starting out, the free storage amount should be plenty. Also, Dropbox, like Google Drive, allows you to access files from any device, even mobile.

Evernote(free - $7.99 per month)

Evernote also falls under the organization/project management realm but it’s also a storage solution. Evernote helps you create and prioritize ideas, projects, to-do lists, so nothing gets left behind. I used Evernote a lot and still do when I first started my business to help me brainstorm and get my ideas out. I set up notebooks that help me focus on what is really important. All of your files and emails that you don’t necessarily need on a daily basis can be saved in Evernote as well. It’s easy to search for things you need. Evernote Clipper lets you easily save things while you’re on the web to your Evernote notebooks.

Intermediate Tools 

MARKET RESEARCH

 

Now, it’s time to start thinking about and learning more about your target market as well as your competitors. You also need to keep an eye on how well your website is performing once you get that up and running.

 

Alexa (free)

No, not the one that’s going to talk to you. This Alexa is for researching competitors and your website stats once up and running. You can enter a competitor’s website to see how their website is performing, keywords, etc. It has a paid version that is very expensive. So, use the free portions to start you on your way.

Survey Monkey(free)

It's now time to start thinking like your customers!! You'll have to know what their frustrations and challenges are so you can help them right? Use surveymonkey.com to get feedback from our current customers and potential customers. You have to know what’s working and what isn’t to quickly make changes for the better.

Wufoo(free)

This is a wonderful to use for intake forms. The intake form can be embedded right on your website. It looks very professional! You can also use Wufoo for your market research surveys as well.

Typeform (Free - $70/month)

Typeform is another survey/form builder website. It is user-friendly and easy to create a registration form, contact form, or survey to send out to collect feedback and data.

 

KEYWORD RESEARCH

 

In order to market effectively, you should have an understand of what people are searching for. Are they even looking for a business in your industry? If so, what are they typing in to find those businesses? Do some basic keyword research so that you know you’re headed down the right path and know what words to make sure are incorporated in your website and all marketing materials.

 

Google Keyword Planner(free)

Google Keyword Planner is great for researching keywords that your potential market audience is searching for. It’s free to use and setup an ad. However, you will have to "pretend" like you are setting up an ad to be able to use the keyword search tool BUT you can save it as a draft and not pay for it.

KeywordSpy(free)

This is a great check before you start your blog to see what people are searching for. You want to make sure that you'll have lots of people interested in your topic! Every blog post we create, we check the keyword first with keywordspy.com. You want to make sure that there are a lot of searches for the keywords that you are using in your blogs and articles.

 

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT

 

Depending of course on your business, you may or may not have to meet with clients 1:1 or invoice them for work completed. However, if you do, you should consider a customer relationship management system. There are quite a few out there. Personally, I enjoy Honeybook because of the invoicing and contract management part of it, but it’s not for everyone as there is a price involved. However, there are still good choices out there and below are the ones I have research and feel comfortable recommending.

Marketing 360 (free – varies)

I have this listed under CRM but it’s really a one-stop shop for marketing. Only the CRM is free, and this is a pricey option- just beware but it’s a great option depending on where you are on your business journey. They handle website design, CRM, payments, email marketing, ads, social media management, and much more. The great thing about them is that CRM is included on the free plan. It includes features such as managing leads, contacts, tasks, calendar track communication history store files, build email automation, and track communication history.

HoneyBook (free trial - $400/annually)

HoneyBook is a new player to the game of CRM but it appears to be a complete system. They hold themselves out as an all-in-one system for client management. Their features include invoicing, accepting payments, payment reminders and payment plans for clients, proposal creation to send to clients, contracts to send to clients for electronic signature, automation that includes emails, tasks, and workflows, integrations with QuickBooks, and Calendly, Gmail, and Google Calendar to name a few. The price is a little steep. However, they run specials via Facebook often. They have had discounts for 50% off the annual price, which then makes this a fantastic all-in-one option from a budget perspective. If you miss that special and still interested, I can offer 20% off the first year here.

 

FINANCIALS

 

Annual Financial Tracking (free)

Know your numbers!!!! You cannot run a business, at least a successful one without knowing where money is coming from and where it’s going. This is a simple forecasting spreadsheet, which you can also use to track actuals. It is already formulated to calculate appropriately, so if you edit, please check the formulas in the cells to make sure nothing is being thrown off. There more detailed and advanced financial tools out there but I like to keep things simple when I can. Hope you find this incredibly useful and insightful! Now, go get that money! Note- be sure to download a copy before editing!

Freshbooks ($15 - $50/month)

Accounting system to help track expenses, create and send client invoices, time tracking, and credit card acceptance. In my opinion, it’s pricier than QuickBooks with not as many features. FreshBooks is based on the number of clients you need billing for. But it may appeal to you so at least give it a comparison before deciding.

QuickBooks ($20 - $150/month)

This is my choice and I know a lot of small business’s choice. I think QuickBooks is easy to use and has come a long way over the years. Even on the lowest of plans you get a lot of features and the features grow as your business grows so you don’t have to leave it unless you just choose to at some point. Not to mention, it integrates with just about every payment/e-commerce platform out there. They offer a 30-day free trial and almost always run discount specials for after that. 

 

WEBSITES

 

Now, I don’t want to scare you, but this is an extremely important decision and you will spend a lot of time researching. There is no way I can list every single website platform available for your business. There are some more well-known depending on your business, such as Shopify or WooCommerce for e-commerce, Clickfunnels for an all-in-one solution, or Teachable or Thinkific for online course delivery platforms (I will break these out separately). This section if for general websites. I offer this advice, have a good idea of the features that are important to you (see bonus at the end). That may not be the case for you and that’s perfectly fine. But you will need some features to compare and analyze the platforms you’re considering making an informed decision. Also, make sure your platform includes hosting as well. Most do but double check! Also, with any of the following few sections, remember to register for a PayPal account, preferably a business account. This way you can accept a variety of payments.

 

BlueHost ($3.95/month)

They offer free domain name registration (free for 1 year), free SSL Certificate, 1-Click WordPress Install, unlimited hosting, E-Commerce features, Site Statistics, and 24/7 Support. They also have a very easy to use dashboard and fully customizable websites.

Weebly (free - $25/month)

Great for beginners. The pricing is very affordable. Granted like most free plans, you don’t get all the features, but you certainly get enough to get you started, especially if you’re just needing a website for credibility (who doesn’t need a website these days since it’s one of the first things customers look at and look for). They have a lot of themes and templates to select from to customize your site. You can add e-commerce options as well if you will be selling physical or digital products online. They, of course, have various app integrations, domain registration available, and people rave about their customer service. They also have built-in form generators and offer free hosting.

WordPress (varies but has a free plan)

WordPress offers free domain, free hosting, not the best storage space starting out but does offer unlimited storage on the higher paid plan. There are more features than what I can list here. But WordPress is known not just for websites, but it also has a well-known and well-built blogging platform, which of course can be part of your website. Just another platform to consider 😊

 Wix.com (varies)

Fantastic platform. Free hosting. Custom domain name. Professional mailbox (email address matches domain). Social media tools, Google Calendar sync. Fully customizable with over 500 templates and an app market to customize the site even further. It’s SEO friendly, mobile friendly, reasonably priced (although a free option is not currently available).

GoDaddy (varies)

I’m sure you’ve heard of GoDaddy so no need to go into a full explanation. But you can get a domain and website with email and a host of other features at a very reasonable price. Some features include fully customizable website, contact forms, promo banners, members-only pages, SEO tools, social media integrations, email marketing, and they do offer a one-month free trial. They have some of the nicest websites I’ve seen and very reasonable.

Google Analytics (free)

No matter your website platform, you will need to sign-up for and install Google Analytics. It’s easy and painless but necessary. You will embed the code generated for your business into your website so that Google can collect traffic data going to your website. This will allow you to analyze the data to figure out where traffic is coming from, what pages they are visiting and for how long, so you know what pages you may need to work on. Knowing as much about your customers as possible is key to improving your marketing and growing your business.

 

E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS

 

As stated above, I’m breaking out E-Commerce platforms from general websites for those who may have physical or digital products to sell. Full disclosure, I own a Shopify store and may sound a little bias towards it because it’s great but of course always do your due diligence to find what is best for you and your business. Similar to the list of features above, decide what it is you need from the platform at the price point you’re comfortable with.

 

Shopify ($29-$299/month)

As mentioned, I do run a store currently on Shopify. I stumbled across Shopify roughly 3 years ago when I started my first business. It has added even more features since then. Shopify is user-friendly and not hard to learn at all. It is all all-in-one e-commerce platform. Sell your products, integrate with a large number of apps to further enhance your store, collect payments, customize your store absolutely any way you want, and a lot more features. It can get a little pricey buying different apps and even some website themes, so be mindful and careful and do your research. Overall, it’s a great platform and the pricing is extremely reasonable for what you get.

BigCommerce ($30 - $250/month)

There are no transaction fees just payment processor transaction fees. They do offer a little more than Shopify. They include unlimited admins, eBay and Amazon integration, Social Media integration, SEO, variety of payment options, blogs, product ratings and reviews, reporting, and many more. However, read the fine print carefully. After $400K annually sales, they start increasing the monthly price!

3dcart ($19 - $229/month)

Very clear and easy to understand interface. You also get a nice onboarding video when you log in for the first time. Some features include a set of sample products in your catalog so you can see how the products are structured (I haven’t found another platform that does this. This eases the learning curve), unlimited storage, products, and bandwidth, upsell and cross-sell, SSL certificate included, daily backups, marketing and SEO features, simple shipping setup, and domain registration.

 

MEMEBERSHIP/ONLINE COURSE PLATFORMS

 

For those interested in coaching and consulting businesses where you’re delivering programs and content to your tribe, you will certainly need a great online course delivery platform. There are several really good ones. Full disclosure again, I use Thinkific. When doing my research, it was a toss-up between Teachable and Thinkific, very close call on my feature’s tabulation spreadsheet. Once again, do your research and choose what is best for you but make sure you have a solid understanding of what you need the platform to deliver.

 

Teachable (free- $499/month)

Teachable is an easy to understand and setup platform. The major downside to Teachable is the lack of being able to fully customize your website. You can hire a developer to help you if you really want something unique and different but just starting out, that should not be your biggest concern. The features and the customer support are there. Some features include the ability to setup payment plans, sell in over 100 different currencies, have an unbranded site (you won’t see a powered by Teachable sign in the footer), unlimited products, students, and bandwidth, email marketing, you can setup your own affiliate program, and there are no transaction fees on the $99/month or higher plans but on the lower plans there are transaction fees.

Thinkific (free - $499/month)

Thinkific has 10 beautiful site themes to choose from. This allows you to customize your site to more of liking. This was something that was very important to me. I did not want my site looking like everyone else’s. Other features that I enjoy include the ability to setup flexible payment options, social logins, ability to lock content forcing students to complete one module before moving on to the next, social logins, course welcome and completion emails, white labeled URLs, custom student dashboard, landing page creation, and so much more!

Wishlist Member ($197 - $297 One-time Fee)

Now this is an interesting concept. This is a plugin for a WordPress website. So, you can create a WordPress site and add this in to run a membership site or online course. The beauty in this is that you only pay the fee one time versus monthly, and the WordPress monthly fee is around $25/month. This option is great for beginners.

Kajabi ($149-399/month)

Kajabi is an all-in-one platform that makes it easy to create online courses, launch marketing campaigns, build landing pages, and design the perfect website. Their websites are gorgeous. Personally, I am considering switching to Kajabi at some point because of what it offers. However, this is a pricey platform. You do get a lot of bang for your buck. However, if you’re just starting out, there is no need to go bankrupt trying to pay for this one to get all the bells and whistles when there are plenty of other great cost-effective options available. Their lowest price point is $149/month to start. 

 

EMAIL MARKETING PLATFORMS

 

Now, that you’ve thought about a website platform, you’ll need a way to market to your potential and current customers. Email marketing software allows you send those weekly newsletters, special promos, or thank you’ s to all or a segmented portion of your email list. You can’t survive in any industry this day and time without one!

Below are some options. This list can get quite lengthy as new products pop-up frequently, so I’m listing a few here but these are some of the more well-known ones. Personally, I started with Mailchimp. I think it’s user-friendly and great for beginners as they do have a free option. As you grow, you may want to consider more sophisticated options for a larger subscriber base.

Klaviyo (free- will depend on # of subscribers)

This is one of my favorites and actually the email marketing platform that I use myself. It’s user friendly, have great templates, and flows are easy to setup. Customer service is also great. Now, they are lacking with not having landing pages that you can create and integrate with your store but depending on your business, you may not need landing pages. I use other apps to accomplish that, so it doesn’t bother me personally but definitely feel free to do your due diligence.

MailChimp (free - $300/month- will depend on # of subscribers)

Mailchimp is a great place to start learning about sending emails, newsletter, building landing pages, etc. They offer a host of templates to customize and create your template with the look and feel you want for your business. On the free plan, you get a decent number of subscribers you can start with, 2,000 and can send up to 12,000 emails per month.

Aweber (starts at $19 and goes up depending on # of subscribers)

If you are looking for the next step in email marketing, dive into a free trial at Aweber. This is a step up from MailChimp. I have actually never used it but I have heard great things about it from my business partners. However, it is pricey for what you get. The $19 only gets you up to 500 subscribers. But to be fair, they offer a lot more features than MailChimp.

Active Campaign (starts at $9 and goes up depending on # of subscribers)

Be sure to investigate this one as well. I have never used it but heard great things about their automation features. They even offer unlimited sending so no cap on the number of emails you can send even to a small number of subscribers.

 

LANDING PAGES/FUNNEL BUILDERS

 

So, you have a website and an email marketing platform. You may also need an application to building your landing pages, if this is not already included in your website or email marketing platform. Landing pages or as some call them squeeze pages or sales pages, are where customers “land” after clicking on some ad they saw of yours. This is where you collect a customer’s email address in exchange for something free, you’re giving them, i.e., a lead magnet- like how you received this resource! No need to purchase if this functionality already exists within what you have already purchased. The goal is not to purchase as many platforms as you can. It’s the opposite actually. Work smarter not harder and certainly don’t spend unnecessary money!

  

Leadpages (starts at $37/month and goes up)

Easily build landing pages, pop-ups, alert bars, and beyond. All plans offer unlimited page building, unlimited hosting, Facebook and Instagram Ad Builder, over 200 templates, and weekly group coaching calls.

Clickfunnels (either $97 or $297/month)

This is one of the most well-known platforms for creating landing pages and funnels. However, they are pricey but do offer a 14-day free trial. I know people who use websites in combination with ClickFunnels because of their robust landing page and sales funnel creation capability. They have hundreds of templates available for almost every industry. They have amazing analytics and marketing available all within the platform. This can be an all-in-one platform depending on the number or products or online courses you have. I completed their One Funnel Away Challenge (without purchasing the platform) and the information learned about creating converting sales funnels was priceless. Definitely check them out and judge for yourself, if you’re ready for this platform. This is way above what LeadPages can do and most other landing page/funnel provider out there.

OptimizePress ($97 to $297 One-time fee)

This is another plugin if you choose a WordPress site.  There is no limit to how many landing pages, sales pages, or marketing pages you can create. They have over 300 + templates to choose from.

 

VIDEO CREATION PLATFORMS

 

Your business may not call for videos, but they should. Even if it’s just video ads on Facebook to people clicking to learn more about your offer or business. Nowadays, Facebook is far more willing to put your video in front of people versus the standard image and text ad. They are far more likely to stop people scrolling through Facebook and definitely on Instagram, which is what you want. You may need to create videos to explain your service, products, introduce yourself, or to conduct quick trainings. Below are just a few video creating platforms out there. Luckily these are not as plentiful as some of the other topics 😊

 

Easy VSL ($9.99/month- varies)

Easy VSL is a relatively new video creation platform. You can create automatic slide creation videos which are good things such as explaining your services and products, introducing yourself, webinar presentations, Facebook Ads, and quick trainings. They have features such as custom slide background templates, custom fonts, 1-click transition, speech-to-text, and built-in audio recording. Great tool for your business. Tip- search them on Facebook to see if they are still running their 50% off campaign. Great savings if they are!

Wave.video (free - $399/annually)

Wave.video allows you to create short videos that are great for Facebook and Instagram ads. They have a library of roughly 200 million royalty-free videos and images. You can also upload your own videos and audio clips. A great feature with them is that you can make an unlimited number of videos each month on all their plans. It is very easy to use and learn. I use this one myself as well as Easy VSL.

Loom (free - $10/monthly or $96/annually)

Record video messages of your screen, cam, or both. Faster than typing an email or meeting live. There’s nothing to schedule or type. These are great for including in emails or when you need to convey something briefly verbally rather than in writing. The free version is great for beginners because you can access 100 of your most recent videos and record up to 5 minutes. If you need more than that, look into the paid plan but you should not need more than that at the beginning. 

 

SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULING

 

And the decisions keep coming. This one may be a tough one as well but really you cannot go wrong with any of these. I have used Buffer quite a bit and now use SocialBee, a newcomer. But as always research and figure out what works for you. These are very similar so it may come down to which platforms you plan to market on based on your target audience. They are also similar in price point so don’t let that influence you unless you absolutely must!

 

SocialBee (offers a 14-day free trial and then plans from $19-79/month unless you can grab a lifetime deal on AppSumo)

An incredibly easy to use SM scheduling tool. You can schedule posts for FB, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google My Business. Very user-friendly. You can view previews of what the post will look like before scheduling. You can separate posts into different categories with each category having a post time and so much more. This is what I now use exclusively, and I love it.

Buffer (free to $199/month depending on the # of social accounts to connect)

You can pre-schedule posts and Buffer integrates. With Buffer you schedule posts on FB, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest (but no Pinterest on the free plan).

Loomly ($15-400/month)

Unfortunately, Loomly does not offer a free option, but they do offer a 15-day free trial. With Loomly you get a ton of features at just the $15/month price point. Loomly allows 10 social accounts starting out, unlimited posts, unlimited file uploads, posts ideas, an approval workflow, and you can post on FB, Instagram (thru Buffer interestingly enough), LinkedIn, Twitter, and Pinterest. They also suggest the best times to post to each platform as you are creating your posts. I find this extremely helpful to get the best results possible from my posts.

Hootsuite (free to $600/month)

This is one of the most expensive scheduling platforms, in my opinion. They offer a free plan that only allows for 2 social accounts and 35 posts per month. They also offer a 30-day free trial on any of the other plans starting at $29/per month.

Viral Hashtags Mastery Workshop ($29.99)- must master this is using IG for marketing

Using the right hashtags is key to quickly growing your base and promoting on Instagram. This is an amazing 2 Hour Workshop Bundle to Boost Your Engagement, Go Viral and Reach More Ideal Clients on Instagram using a proven and tested Viral Hashtags System. They teach the latest IG algorithm trends that defeat the social media algorithm, break through the noise, and reach your ideal clients. 

 

DESIGN & PHOTOS

 

Below are a few recommendations to help with designs and photos. There are plenty to choose from but I’m going to mention the three here that I use in my businesses because they’re proven to be user-friendly and I’ve a great experience with each.

 

Pixeled (free- $9.95/month, if not available from AppSumo)

This is currently my go-to for designing. It’s less expensive than Canva and in my opinion has better looking templates. This was also an app I picked up from AppSumo. I purchased the software once and have lifetime access versus a monthly payment. This is much more cost-effective, especially for a start-up- another reason I love AppSumo apps!

Canva (free to $12.95/month)- at a minimum, setup a free account

I constantly use Canva. Canva can be used to design any and everything. You can design unique posts for Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as well as letterhead, posters, flyers, templates for PowerPoint presentations, business cards, logos, certificates, invitations, brochures, and so much more! You can do quite a bit with the free plan, but I do use the premium plan because I upload my own fonts and a few other things but trust me, there are plenty of features on the free plan as well.

Viral Content Templates ($29.99) - this is why you need a free Canva account

This is NOT just a bunch of social media templates. These are templates for creating content that gets clicks and shares! They are expertly formulated based on copywriting and influence, following the latest viral marketing trends that defeat the social media algorithm, break through the noise and reach your ideal clients. You get swipes and fill-in-the-blanks so you actually get your content done. Fully customizable w/ your fonts, colors, and logos.

Creative Market (free to purchase credits)

Creative Market can be a designer’s dream. You can find photos, fonts, various graphics, and templates from a variety of artists. A great feature of Creative Market is that when you register, you will have the opportunity to download 6 free items per week. After a few weeks, you will have a nice collection. I’ve been using Creative Market for over three years and have built a nice collection of design elements to pull from when I need. If you want to purchase other items, you buy credits and even then, items are often on sale. Definitely signup to get the freebies each week! But be careful, you can only download the free items within that week.

Envato Elements (free to $16.50/month)

Similar to Creative Market, this is a designer’s dream marketplace as well. They offer free items to download each week. I do think their library of design elements may be larger than Creative Market, which is probably why it’s a higher price but worth it. I have found their design selections to be more modern Canva and Creative Market. Can’t go wrong with any of these.

Burst (free)

I absolutely love Burst. Burst is a royalty-free stock photo website. All the photos are free and available for commercial use. You do have to register but there is no cost. They don’t have a million photos to choose from, but they have enough to get you started or even when you’re just looking for something unique. This is one where it definitely pays to leave your email address! 

 

OUTSOURCING

 

Get it in your mind now that you cannot do everything solo! You will need help. One of the most efficient tools I coach small business owners on is the importance of delegating. Focus on what you’re good at, your strengths and let someone else focus on what they’re good at, which will either be your weaknesses or just from a time-saving perspective, makes better sense. I live by the divide and conquer mentality. I can’t nor do I try to everything on my own. I wish I could clone me, but the world isn’t ready for that! These are a few sites to help hire virtual help. I have used all of them, with the exception of Onlinejon.ph (haven’t used at all), with great success and not-so-great success. My advice here is read the reviews and question, question, question the freelancer before you hire them.

 

Upwork (varies)

I have had most of my success on Upwork. You can post the job you need help with. You can request people send a cover letter and you can create questions for them to answer to further qualify them for the job. You can pay a fixed price for a job or pay by the hour, and you set the price.

99designs (varies)

You can a designer to design anything for you. From logos, FB header pictures (I hired someone for this), Facebook posts, website design, app design, packaging, and book cover designs. Like Upwork, you list what it is you’re looking, and you will be connected with a number of designers to interact with and select. Each category has a pricing range. They can be a little pricey, but the designs are gorgeous.

Fiverr ($5 and up)

When I launched my first business several years ago, I used Fiverr quite a bit and even recently used them. You can find good designers on this site, but you really have to hunt and read the reviews and question the prospects. Try the site out for a small task to see how it works for you. I once found a designer that I began working with exclusively for my designs. But I had to go through several bad ones to get to this good one but it’s possible!

Onlinejob.ph (varies)

This is the queen of sites for locating an inexpensive virtual assistant. You can find a good VA on Upwork as well. All the VAs on this site are located in the Philippians so a slightly lower price point for hiring. However, this site requires a monthly subscription of $69/month in order to communicate and hire workers. You can post and look through resumes for free but will need to upgrade to hire. Personally, I didn’t like this, especially just starting out. But if you can budget for it, I have heard of business partners finding rock star Vas to help with tasks and to grow their business.

 

APPOINTMENT SCHEDULING

 

I hope that in no time at all you will need software to help manage your calendar because you’re getting inundated with clients requesting to get on your calendar. These are some tools to help manage your availability. They are all affordable and great options. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of these.

Calendly ($0 - $15/month)

Calendly helps you schedule meetings without back-and-forth emails. Free version is a great for starting out. Great option for starting out.

Acuity ($0 - $50/month)

Another scheduling app for your clients to self-schedule. Clients can quickly view your real-time availability and self-book their own appointments—and even pay online and reschedule with a click. Some of their advanced features on the paid plans can include text messages, gift certificates, and subscriptions and memberships can be setup.

Timetrade (starts at $78/year/user)

Timetrade uses what they call intelligent appointment scheduling. Intelligent online appointment scheduling can be integrated into almost any channel, allowing prospects and customers to make meetings and appointments at the peak of their interest. Placing a “schedule an appointment” button on your website makes it easy for prospects and customers to schedule and confirm online appointments, at their convenience. These conversations enabled by artificial intelligence deliver the personalized attention expected by today’s on-demand consumers. Warning- it is a little pricey.

Schedule Once ($9 - $39/month)

Schedule One integrates beautifully with Mailchimp. Schedule Once may not have a free plan but they do have a 14-day free trial and the features at the $9/month plan are abundant. Some of them include unlimited booking, automatic booking, calendar integration, SMS notifications, cancel/reschedule policy, and reminders & follow-ups to name a few.

 

WEBINARS

 

You’re probably going to need that scheduling software to schedule all the clients you’ll have coming in after your fantastic webinar presentation. Below are some options for different webinar platforms. Like everything else, there are more out there than these so do your research. But note, for these and all of the other applications and systems listed in this resource, don’t go down the rabbit hole. You can waste valuable time that you can’t get back research and researching and more researching. This is why I’ve included a little bonus at the end to help with narrowing your choices!

 

Expertise.tv ($58-$298/monthly and often special pricing)

This is an amazing and somewhat of a well-kept secret automated webinar platform. You may have never heard of this one. Now, don’t be scared of the pricing. It may seem a little pricey. However, signup for their newsletter, if you cannot afford the pricing right out the gate. They often run promos including one that I got in on which was a one-time payment for $67 for lifetime access versus $58/monthly! This was just for their webinar platform but that was fine for me since I had other systems in place to manage some of the other things they offer. But they are truly a one-stop shop for coaches and course creators since they provide a webinar platform, course creation and sells, appointment setting, email marketing, and 1:1 coaching on how to use their platform.

GoToWebinar ($109 - $499/month)

This is not the platform for beginners because of its price point but I want to throw out a few options for different levels of entrepreneurs.  With this platform you can have anywhere from 100-3000 participants, custom branding, online and local recording, and automated emails to name a few. This is a great option for live webinars.

Zoom ($0 – 19.99/month)

This is the other great option for live and even recorded webinars. There is a free plan available so this is a great option for starting out, but you may need to upgrade quickly. The nice thing about Zoom is that you can purchase more participants- up to 1,000 if you need. You can’t get some of the fancy features like custom emails and company branding on the free plan but you will have features such as an unlimited number of meetings, unlimited 1-on-1 meetings, screen share, active speaker view, private and groups chat, and raise hand feature. However, on the free plan you’re limited to 40 minutes for your webinar, and they have an evergreen option.

WebinarJam (varies)

Webinarjam is a fantastic webinar platform for what is called evergreen webinars (recorded webinars that can be played over and over with no end). WebinarJam offers a unique payment structure. You can sign up for the monthly plan and pay 3 payments of $189 over the course of a year; pay 1 payment of $479 for a year; or pay $719 once for a 2-year plan. All plans can have up to 500 attendees, 3 presenters, and 24/7 support. Features include the ability to combine screen sharing, web camera, and pre-recorded videos in a single webinar, pre-event countdown page, can embed the webinar registration button anywhere, including on your website, SMS and voice messaging reminders, social media integrations, and push-to-attendee file sharing, and many more. This is one of my go-to’s for webinars.

EasyWebinar ($78 - $499/month)

EasyWebinar handles live and automated (evergreen) webinars for playback. Some features include multiple presenters, HD screensharing, can schedule to stream in 15 increments, analytics on attendance and reporting, email notifications before and after the webinar, integrate with Facebook Live and YouTube Live, embed registration button on website, custom thank you pages, and more. One of the most important features is the ability to watch on iPhones and Androids! Unfortunately, this one is pricey.

 

Advanced Tools

The tools listed in this section are labeled advanced but it you are tech savvy or have previous experience, give these a shot. Otherwise, there is nothing wrong with focusing on these after you’re up and running.

Infusionsoft ($199 - $399/month)

This is a powerful marketing platform. Infusionsoft integrates with thousands of apps for creating marketing campaigns. Infusionsoft is definitely not for the entrepreneur starting out because of its price point and complex features. But once you get some email marketing experience under your belt and sales start coming in, look at this system to help grow and scale your business even further.

PlusThis ($79/month)

There is a 30-day free trial and one flat price per month. PlusThis is a campaign toolkit. Some features include GoToWebinar connection, Zoom connection, WebinarJam connection, Facebook retargeting, timeframe triggers, email surveys, one-click upsells, SMS messaging, countdown timer, add to calendar, and so many more!

Digital Marketer ($49 - $295/month)

This is the premier community for digital marketers. I love Digital Marketing. It is all about education and learning the world of digital marketing. You can learn everything from writing copy content to execution plans and more. It is a membership website. But they offer a ton for free as well, just signup for the newsletter. Not only will you receive valuable tips and guidance, but you’ll also get the emails when they run sales off some of their popular products. You can purchase just that product versus a monthly charge.

Bonus

Below is a feature comparison spreadsheet for you to use if you choose. It is editable. So, if you need to add additional tabs at the bottom to compare more systems, please feel free to do so. Also, you can change the features at the top to what is important to you for evaluation purposes. I listed the features that I evaluated just to get you started. Hope you find this helpful in making a decision quickly and definitively to keep moving forward to the ultimate goal- launching your business!

Tool Features Comparison

Lifeboost Coffee

Now here’s something you probably didn’t think when browsing a list of essential tools. This is absolutely my most favorite coffee, like ever. It is incredibly low-acidic and smooth tasting. To the point, where I can almost drink it black. You can purchase whole beans, ground coffee, k-cups, go bags (1 of my favs), or a subscription to get a better price. You will spend a lot of long nights and weekends getting your business off the ground and you will thank me for this later. If you’re not coffee drinker, feel free to continue drinking whatever keeps you going!