TOOLS & RESOURCES
When you’re an entrepreneur or small biz owner, having the right tools and resources can make a great big difference!
Below are the business tools that I personally use and recommend – and yes, some of them are affiliate links and at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you decide to invest in them. But I love them so much, I would recommend all of the following tools even if I weren’t an affiliate for them!
WEBSITE
SITEGROUND
I recommend creating your website with WordPress while using Siteground for hosting. Their system is easy to navigate and they saved my site when I accidentally deleted everything a few years ago – PLUS, their customer service is always GREAT when I have questions!
Elegant Themes
I use Elegant Themes for my websites and for new bloggers and business owners, this is the one I highly recommend. No coding required to start a beautiful website for your business. It is so easy to use and extremely customizable!
The Contract Shop
To keep things legit, you need a contract, a Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy, and potentially a number of other legal agreements like an NDA. Don’t waste time googling or hiring a pricey attorney when The Contract Shop has all of the templates you need to run your business legally!
Systems & Communication
ConvertKit
For email marketing, I absolutely love ConvertKit. I’ve tried everything from Mailchimp to ActiveCampaign and still always come back and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to segment their email list and/or automate email marketing sequences. It’s easy to use and has great features to optimize your email marketing!
DUBSADO
Honestly, I feel like it’d be quicker to tell you what Dubsado doesn’t do because the list would be shorter! This platform is my client hub and allows me to keep all communication, invoices, contracts, proposals, planning and scheduling all in one space. If you are a service-based business, you MUST give this one a go. Plus, get your first 3 Clients FREE!
Asana
I use Asana for project management and don’t know what I would do without it! It’s perfect for keeping projects organized and on track – plus the version I use is free! It makes planning projects, assigning tasks, communicating with team members, setting due dates and managing collaborations so, so easy.
Social Media Planning
CoSchedule
CoSchedule is one of my non-negotiable tools. When it comes to getting my blog posts seen, CoSchedule makes it easy to plan my promotion schedule from inside WordPress. It also has a function that lets you circulate some of your top posts so that you continue to bring in traffic from your socials!
Tailwind
For Pinterest scheduling & analytics, Tailwind is great! I love that I can schedule pins to multiple boards at the same time and the analytics are so helpful in determining which pins/boards are performing well (or not). I’ve seen a HUGE increase in referral traffic (and email subscribers!) from Pinterest since I started using Tailwind. Highly recommend – you can schedule up to 100 pins for free!
Plann
Plann is my go-to Instagram Scheduling tool! I have been using it since their beginning a few years ago and they have continued to WOW me with each added feature. They have just added a desktop version of their app as well which has taken my scheduling to the next level for both myself and my clients!
Customer Experience
Interact Quizzes
If you are looking to incorporate quizzes into your business strategy, I highly recommend Interact who has made it simple to build and share quizzes in as little as 5 minutes. I’ve used this to create ads that have helped me grow my email list while collecting awesome data about my audience!
Bonjoro
When it comes to adding a bit of extra WOW to my clients, I love sending them personal video emails through Bonjoro. I got my first Bonjoro video when I signed up for a course with Elise Darma and was hooked ever since! The little added touches can make all of the difference and Bonjoro makes it super easy!
Stock Photos & Images
Pixistock
If you are looking to create a consistent theme on your social media and websites, nothing is better than having stock images that reflect your brand personality. I have been using Pixistock since the beginning of my business and she adds new styles and designs nearly every month!
PLUS, she loves getting sent suggestions on colors and styles to help more businesses make a great impression online.