My Favorite Resources for Running an Online Business in 2020
I’ve been running a online business for over a decade which means I’ve logged nearly 34,000 hours of work from home time. Having the best and simplest resources to run that business is one of my keys to success and today I will share with you my favorite tools that I use regularly for running my online business.
In this post I will share the tools I use on a regular basis but if you want the full list of tools that I have put together you can access that below
DOWNLOAD THE FULL LIST OF RESOURCES HERE https://bit.ly/OnlineBizResource
Below you will find a comprehensive list of software and tools available to help you in running, growing and scaling your business online. I have included my favorite tools and the ones I use in my business first under each category. My favorite options have been tried, tested and utilized in my business. Many of them (if not all) are simple and easy to use.
I have divided up the resources into different categories if you are looking for a particular type of software.
Client Communication:
Zoom – www.zoom.com
Hands down my favorite solution because it can do both one on one calls and one to many calls. It also has tons of great features and integrantes with so many other pieces of software.
Online Learning:
Thinkific – www.thinkific.com
This year we moved all of our content to thinkific and it is amazing! I had previously used wordpress along with a learning plugin however it got very expensive to keep up to date. Thinkific is an incredible all in one solution for online learning. As a bonus it can also take payments as well. It is a great way to keep students engaged.
Landing Page & Sales Page Creation:
Clickfunnels – www.clickfunnels.com
Clickfunnels has gotten easier and easier to use over the years. Their page builder is super simple and intuitive to use. Another added bonus to clickfunnels is their share funnel feature which allows me to share templates with clients so all they have to do is swap colors and copy for their sales pages.
Graphic Creation:
Canva – www.canva.com
Simply the best graphic design software. Simple. Easy to use. For creatives and non-creatives. Works on every device and with the pro version you can load you brand colors, fonts and more for ease of design creation.
Stock Photography:
Unsplash – www.unsplash.com
Best free stock photography site, users upload images and you are welcome to credit that but credit is not required. They have an extensive collection of photos and you can also create your own boards to create a stockpile of photos for use with your brand.
iStockphoto – www.istockphoto.com
An immense collection of photos, videos, illustrations and more. Although you must pay for all the images it is great option to source photos for your website or paid advertisements when the best practice is to buy rights to the photo.
Social Media Scheduling:
Planoly – www.planoly.com
Instagram scheduling tool that allows you to easily schedule both instagram stories and posts. This is a visual planner and is great for those of us who like to see what our feeds will look like simply and easily.
Sprout Social – www.sproutsocial.com
Yes, this is a bit more expensive than the other options out there Sprout Social hands down has the best analytics around plus they also have brand listening tools and competitor analysis. I also find that their scheduling software still gets lots of reach on the platforms!
Calendar Management & Scheduling:
Calendly – www.calendly.com
Life with calendly has gotten so much easier. I use the pro version and have access to multiple types of meetings. With Calendly managing my schedule has gotten so much easier plus I don’t overbook myself because you can limit the number of calls you take each and every day!
Live Streaming:
Zoom Webinar – www.zoom.com
Score more points for zoom because this is hands down my favorite tool and yes, you can stream live on Facebook and youtube with it! Yes, you have to upgrade but I always prefer to use one piece of software rather than two or three and Zoom fits the bill.
Email Marketing:
ConvertKit – www.convertikit.com
I am a new Convert Kit User and I love it! We have seen email open rates double and it is super easy to use! Technical support is right there to help you along the way as well. I highly recommend this email marketing software!
Team Communication:
Slack – www.slack.com
I was wary of adding another way to communicate with my team but Slack nails it. Why? Because you can create specific channels to chat about different topics within the business. For example you can create channels for each client or product you offer or for different initiatives in your business. It is searchable and has apps so that access it from different devices is a breeze.
Bookkeeping & Business Management:
Quickbooks – www.quickbooks.com
The best software for managing your bookkeeping and your business finances. It is relatively easy to use and connects seamlessly with your bank account. It is easy to pay all your bills from this software and the more you use it the more it gets to know your business streamlining the bookkeeping process. I highly recommend this software.
Project Management:
Meistertask – www.meistertask.com
While this isn’t the mainstream project management software, I love this option because it combines many of the features of Asana and many of the features of Trello into one piece of software. While this has a visual component to it like Trello, it also has the due date tracking, project contingencies and so much more like Asana. This is great for people who are visual but want a bit more robust option for project management. It also integrates with many other pieces of software.
File Storage:
Dropbox – www.dropbox.com
I have been a long time dropbox user. It is simple to use and keep organized when working with team members and large files. It is also easy to link files and folders with people and projects making for ease of use across different technologies.
Note Taking:
OneNote – www.onenote.com
I’ve long been a Onenote user and they have now rolled out Onenote for free on all devices. It is a great piece of software that keeps track of SO much. I love the different features that include adding audio clips, to-do lists, snapshots of website and the different notebook options. Easy to use, great to keep you organized and works across all of your devices.
Website Development:
WordPress – www.wordpress.com
Yes, I know you might be thinking really? But seriously if you hire a professional to setup your wordpress site once and you have a great theme – it is very easy to keep the site up to date yourself. Plus there are so many benefits that wordpress has over the other alternatives included way better search engine optimization and customization.
Billing & Invoicing:
Freshbooks – www.freshbooks.com
This is a great software for invoices and having a client portal. I like this software because it is simple, tracks hours and can automatically bill clients. This is great if you are in a service based business because clients can log on and see invoices, upcoming bills etc.
Document Management & Creation:
Google Docs – www.docs.google.com
My favorite document creation tool as it is so easy to work across multiple devices and with multiple users. The comment and tag feature is great when you need to assign information to someone else or get feedback.
Digital Signatures:
Adobe Esign – https://acrobat.adobe.com/us/en/sign.html
I’ve long been an adobe user since we use the creative suite within the business. We get this service as part of the creative suite so I haven’t tried too many alternatives. This definitely gets the job done and is easy to use.
Screen Recording:
Snag it – www.snagit.com
I love snagit for screen recording for several reasons. The first being it is a one time fee for the software which is great since so many others have a recurring fee. The second being it does images and videos which you can then mock up. Sure you have to upload the file to send it to someone else but it is simple and I love simple.
Podcasting & Podcasting Tools:
Libsyn – www.libsyn.com
This is my favorite hosting software for my podcast. They are super easy to use and get your podcast setup initially. They offer great support and analytics as well! They have a sliding scale priced based on the amount of storage you need which is great if you are just getting started.
Screenflow – www.screenflow.com
I LOVE using this software for recording my podcast because it offers very high quality audio capabilities and if you choose to use the video you can capture that as well. It is to choose which quality you want to save and creates files in a raw format which makes for easy editing.
Wavve – www.wavve.com
This is what I personally use to create audio-grams to promote my podcast. I’m sure you’ve seen the posts on social media which are audio snippets with a static background? Yes, this is the software that creates that plus it has captions too!
