It does not matter if you are a new online entrepreneur or an experienced one – you need tools to get this ship moving. Our aim is to help you identify our favorite tools of the trade for those just starting and for those scaling up to more experienced levels.
Affiliate Disclaimer: some links below are affiliate links which means I may get a small commission for recommending a product (I have used) to you. There may be discounts or special offers as part of that so keep an eye out for that!
Just Starting Out
Every online business requires tools to get started. You may not need ALL of these to get going but you’ll for sure need some and you’ll grow into things as you get going. Here are my recommended tools for the trade:
I love to buy domain names from Namecheap. They provide hosting services as well, but they are for sure our go to source for domain names.
Website hosting is done on SiteGround. We have tried many others and we build all our sites with these guys. It is a reliable webhost that allows things to run very smoothly. Their support is amazing as well.
Recommended for entrepreneurs to get going on their email campaigns. They have a free plan to get up to 1000 contacts so sign up for that and start using this tool. They also have checkout carts built to help selling digital products right from their site. It is awesome! Mailchimp is another worthy option as they give you 2000 contacts for free.
If you are getting into growing as an online business owner then you need secure password management. You already know you have a million sign ons – let us help you make your life easier. I keep all my logins safe with LastPass.
We use Canva all the time for any social media, banners, covers, ebooks, thumbnails, basically anything that needs graphics. You can go as big as your imagination lets you. You’re welcome.
I love Thrive Themes. You can create your own drag and drop sites, pre-built templates, quizzes, banners, and more. They have a host of tools that really focus on converting and I have loved using them for YEARS. I think they are a great start for your website and for hosting courses without having to charge more!
I use this for create all team documents and it is great for storage and file sharing. Get it set up for your own business email (now or eventually).
OneDrive I believe has the best plan for file storage. They give you 1TB for an incredible price. You get it for free if you get the Microsoft Office product suite, so it is kind of a no brainer. I use them for all my podcasting files and video files. I am probably eating it up quick but it’s a good deal here.
I use Camtasia to record my course material and edit it. It is simple, easy to use, and affordable. If you have a Mac you can use ScreenFlow. There are a ton of option out there, but this is what I use. You need a tool to record stuff!
Payment Checkout. I have used this as I have progressed and would recommend anyone starting out to use it. You can get by with others, but this lifetime license is hard to beat. They update customizing the cart and tie into your email responder with ease. It is powerful and simple.
I use this to schedule appointments, one on ones, or any coaching I might do. It’s a life saver as you get point out your free time and this will schedule it all around you.
This is THE go-to place to find freelancers willing to help create about anything. Slides, logos, virtual assistant work – you name it they have it.
If you are ready to upgrade to a platform that does it all then we recommend Teachable. They can handle checkouts, payment plans, sales pages, and more. We will always recommend starting by doing things yourself but if you have a little money to spend them Teachable is our recommendation for an upgrade.
Ready to Upgrade?
Here are tools we recommend as you are ready to scale up your business. As you get more experience and more income the tools we recommend come at a cost – but they are WELL worth it. I promise.
As you start to grow, you will need to get an accounting software to help sort out your expenses. I recommend QuickBooks Online. They are about $12/mo but will save you a TON of headache and at the end of the year taxes will be SO much easier.
We use Teachable to host our courses. There are many other options out there but these guys are a one stop shop if you want a easy way to host courses, use their affiliate tracking system, use their checkout card, or even use your own checkout like ThriveCart.
Gravy is the magic to any recurring revenue retention for business subscriptions and memberships. If you offer a payment plan at all then these guys are a 24/7 team that handles all failed payments for you and will save your clients, you worked extremely hard to win. Gravy is good on everything and it’s good for your business.
I currently use Active Campaign for all our email marketing. They are a powerful all-in-one solution for online businesses. They do everything from automation, tagging, to handling members getting access to a course and more. It is an amazing tool and the one we use.
99Designs has helped to create logos, professional slides, banners, and more for me. They connect you with highly skilled graphic designers. Their turn around times are awesome. You may find cheaper if needed on Fiver or Upwork but these guys are great when ready to upgrade.
Instead of using PayPal (which charges quit a bit in fees) I use this to help pay contractors when I need them. If you hire anyone from outside the US to do work, they will want to use this. You will save hundreds or even thousands on fees.
This piece of software is THE tool you need to help act fast on limited time offers. They help with conversions and can be integrated on any site or email that you create. Once your time is up on the offer this will block anyone from still scoring the deal.
We hope these tools can help quickly get you up to speed on things I recommend. If you have questions about any of them please reach out to me on our contact page and I’ll get right back to you.