8 Tools I Use To Run My Online Business
There are just so many tools.
So many different nooks and crannies of online businesses that some brilliant start up has built a solution for. I love that, I do.
I love that whatever problem we come up against, likely someone somewhere is working to build a smart solution.
But, all that choice can lead to a few problems...
1. Death by subscription fees.
So many tools can mean so many tiny subscription fees that amount to hundreds if not thousands of dollars each year. Five dollars here, 15 dollars there… it all adds up.
2. Paralysis by analysis.
Maybe you're looking for a CRM, for example, how do you know if you should use Hubspot or Active Campaign or commandeer another tool for your CRM?
How do you know what features you need now or what you'll need in six months?
Researching and testing can end up feeling so daunting that you just give up or put it off for another time (ie: never).
And that's just for one thing you might need in your business.
What about invoicing or landing pages or email marketing?
We have so many options and there are so many ways to put a tech stack together that makes up the back-end of our business.
3. Choosing the wrong solution at the wrong time.
I've seen people invest in the solution with the most bells and whistles long before they've needed it in order to avoid picking the wrong thing. It's an understandable approach but it can mean months or years of paying for functionality you don't need yet (if ever.)
I absolutely LOVE researching, testing, and choosing software solutions for a particular set of needs. And, over the past six years I've helped many, many clients choose and implement different tools.
Not to mention, the tools I've carefully selected for my own business.
I strive to find the SIMPLEST solution possible with the lowest cost. I lean towards tools with clean, simple design, a thoughtful user experience, great support and a friendly, approachable brand.
So, I thought I'd share a few of the key tools I use in my business that make my life easier.
(Some of these are affiliate links but they'd be on this list whether they have an affiliate program or not :-).
Consider this list a snapshot of what I need and use at the moment and I will do periodic snapshots as I refine, grow, and expand.
1. Convertkit
Convertkit is the Email Service Provider I use.
I'm a Convertkit super fan. I love the product and love the company behind the product. They strive to make email marketing as easy and painless as possible. Scratch that, they strive to make connecting with your people as easy and painless as possible. They believe in simple, clean design and doing as much good as we can in the work that we do.
If you're just starting out with email marketing, you may be deciding between Mailchimp and Convertkit. A big difference here is that Mailchimp subscribers are organized by lists and Convertkit subscribers are organized by tags. When you have to organise your subscribers based on lists, it can be limiting. Tags allow you have subscribers that fall into many categories and you can tailor your communication as such.
Not to mention the visual automations, landing pages and forms.
I am hard pressed to recommend anything else for email marketing for most people starting or running small online businesses.
2. Asana
Asana is my task and project management hub and the digital headquarters of my business.
Ok, I know I go on and on about Asana but it's so central to my business that it'd be bananas not to mention here.
Asana is a task and project management tool that helps me organise my business and life with ease. I live in Asana everyday.
It's free, easy to use, and once it's set up with all your tasks, goals, and dreams - it's the best way I've found to keep my priorities front and center. They are continuing to add awesome features and are open to community suggestions. Their free version likely offers much of what you'll need to get organised and, of course, I'm here as a resource if you get stuck.
If you’re just getting started with Asana or you haven’t been able to make it work for you then I highly recommend my Asana Mini Training. It’s fast, effective and free.
Grab the free mini training now optimize how you use Asana in under an hour.
3. Kajabi
Kajabi is the online course platform I use.
I've been using Kajabi for a few years now to create and sell all my online courses, and I absolutely love it! It's an extremely user-friendly platform that makes it easy to create beautiful, professional-looking courses.
Kajabi has everything you need to create and launch an online course, including templates, video hosting, and payment processing. Plus, their customer support is amazing - they're always quick to respond to any questions or concerns I have.
(I also absolutely LOVE Podia if you’re looking for an incredible and affordable online course platform)
4. AIRTABLE
Airtable is the database tool I use.
I'm a big fan of Airtable - it's a great database tool that is both powerful and user-friendly. I love its ability to filter and sort data easily. If you want to learn more about how I use Airtable, check out this post.
5. Loom
Loom is the video recording and screen recording software that I use.
It allows you to quickly record talking head videos or screen shares. I like the user interface and like that all my videos are stored in the cloud, tagged and categorized.
As a lot of what I do is showing the ins and outs of tools, I love being able to easily capture my screen and share it. It's great for talking a client through a process or demonstrating something visually.
I actually use it to record all of my videos for my online courses and then edit them in iMovie. (Loom as editing features but they’re not very good and still quite glitchy at the time of writing this blog.)
6. DEADLINE FUNNEL
Deadline funnel is the evergreen automation tool I use.
I love automated systems. I believe that if you can automate something, it frees up your time to focus on more important things. Which is why I use Deadline Funnel. It allows me to set up time-based campaigns that run automatically and can give each person a unique deadline.
When the deadline hits, deadline funnel automatically redirects the pages or ends the promotion for each individual person based on when they sign up.
I couldn’t run my evergreen course funnels without it.
7. LastPass
Lastpass is the password manager I use.
I can't even begin to explain the frustration that LastPass has alleviated in my business (and life!).
LastPass encrypts passwords and saves them in a vault, protected by a master password. The browser extension makes it super easy to access your vault and save passwords as you move around the Interwebs.
It's also brilliant for sharing access with contractors. Instead of giving passwords, you can share access through LastPass and then revoke it when the project is over. No more changing passwords every time you have a new contractor come and go.
8. Calendly
Calendly is the scheduling tool that I use.
Calendly is a scheduling tool that allows you to send a link to clients, prospects, and associates to click and select a time to meet with you. It syncs with your calendar so as long as your calendar is up to date, you're golden. You can set your availability within Calendly as well. Plus, it's beautiful and easy to use.
If you're still deciding on meeting times by emailing back and forth - Calendly will be a game-changer. Depending on the kind of business you have, the free account might even do.
A few other TOOLS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CHECK OUT
ZOOM
I suppose the whole world knows about Zoom now but it is by far one of the top tools that allows me freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere.
SQUARESPACE
I love Squarespace. I use it for my website but also to build any page I need from thank you pages to sales pages and everything in between.
SPLAIN.IO
Splain takes my cloud Zoom recordings, moves them to Google Drive (and then I use Zapier to set up a task in Asana letting me know that the video is ready to share.) You can find Splain in the Zoom app marketplace.
CANVA
Canva is my go-to place for creating ANY graphic and they’ve just launched some VERY cool features like the recording studio.
ZAPIER
Zapier makes my life easier everyday. I love to get creative with what I put on autopilot with Zapier.
STREAK
Streak is tool I love to use with Gmail to create a library of snippets (blocks of text that I can pull up with a short code.) One of the few YouTube videos I’ve made was a quick video on Snippets.
What tools do you use in your business? Any here that you’re interested in? I’d love to hear from you. You can always reach out to me here.
