Recommended Online Business Tools
Starting and running a business isn’t easy – and then there are all of these tech tools out there, and you have no idea which ones you need and which ones you don’t. Or which one to look at.
Here are my honest recommendations of tools I’ve used with clients for the last 7 years.
The links on this page are affiliate links, if you choose to use them I will receive a small commission as a thank you. I only recommend products I actively use myself or with clients.
My Top 3 Business Investments of the last 2 years.
I use A LOT of tools. These are my top 3 that I’ve invested in over the last 3 years and that I am constantly positively surprised with even after all this time.
Marketing Magic
Blank page syndrome ends today! My friend Menekse’s AI writing helper is honestly one of THE best business investments I made this year. Whether you need copy for a sales page, checkout or emails, or even do your transcripts, Marketing Magic can do it all and will save you tonnes of time in the process.
Liz’s Email Marketing Membership
Second best investment into my business (I just renewed for another year) is Liz’s Email Marketing Membership. You’ll never not know what to say in your weekly email EVER again.
Plus Liz has excellent other bonus resources that can help you write evergreen email automations.
Metricool Social Media Scheduler
If you’re making a lot of content, then I’d recommend Metricool. I personally love their data first approach, and the reporting is stellar. I can see all of my upcoming content and schedule it super easily plus I can adjust all the necessary settings for various socials and their link in bio is fab!
Trusted Templates
I love templates, because they can save you so much time and fussing around – and also produce better results than something you’d come up with yourself in a lot of cases (I speak for myself here).
These are my tried and trusted template recommendations.
Damn Copy – Copy Templates
Sandra’s copy templates are affordable, amazing and super-easy to implement.
Snoop around in her template shop to see everything on offer.
Dama Jue – ThriveCart Templates
Don’t waste your time trying to set up your Thrivecart pages and checkout. Dama has you covered. She has the most beautiful templates in her template shop – and they work!
Zoe Linda – Affiliate Program Toolkit
Affiliates are one of the five ways for your business to generate leads (and it’s powerful!). Zoe is the master of all things affiliate programmes and this toolkit is perfect if you want your affiliate to start selling for you.
Email Service Providers
Which email service provider to choose is one of the most common questions. If you’re starting out these are the best options available for you to compare.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit is one of the easiest ESPs to get started with, plus there are additional features such as the ability to sell digital products included, so this is a great starting point.
MailerLite
My second favourite choice is Mailerlite – this is great if you’re on a budget as the FREE plan has more functionality than ConvertKit’s free plan.
Flodesk
Flodesk combines a few different features into one which is neat, PLUS the cost does NOT increase as you grow your subscriber-based unlike all of the other ESPs, so this could be worth it.
If you need help selecting the right tools for your business, please don’t struggle along alone.
I’m happy to consult you on your best options and also show you around the tools so you have a general overview as you dive into setting things up.
Online Course Platforms
If you’re looking at selling online courses and delivering them via a course platforms, then these are my favourite options.
Podia
I love Podia because they’re consistently working on the product, it’s simple and easy to operate and makes for a great user experience. Plus they also offer memberships (and you can deliver a free trial without credit card which is great for bundles).
ThriveCart + ThiveCart Learn
If you’re looking for an all in one solution for checkouts, sales pages, upsells and course delivery, then I’d recommend ThriveCart, in particular because they offer a lifetime deal as opposed to a monthly payment.
Teachable
Teachable isn’t quite as intuitive to use as Podia, but they have been in the game for a long time, and the pricing is reasonable all things considered, so I’m still adding them here as a solid contender. The setup is a litt more clunky, but it’s reliable.
Website Stuff
Yes, even in 2023 and beyond your business needs a website, and anyone that tells you otherwise has lost their marbles. We NEVER rely solely on social media or any business model built on a platform we do not own, so here are my top website tools.
Lyrical Host (Domains + Hosting)
I’ve been with Lyrical Host for the last couple of years and love the company. Their support is second to none and they’re actual humans running a business as opposed to a big company you can never speak to, particularly for beginners I recommend them. Use my code JESS2023 for 10% off!
Divi Theme for WordPress
I build all websites on WordPress for the functionality and flexibility you get and the fact that in comparison to a lot of website builders WordPress is figureoutable for most people. Divi is my favourite theme, because of the drag and drop builder and additional functionality that makes building new pages easy.
Elementor for WordPress
My other theme option I use when Divi isn’t right for the purpose is Elementor. I do not use their hosting or any other options just the theme and page builder, it works similar to Divi and has its own oddities but is a solid option too.
Organisational Tools
I have ADHD and I learnt early on in my business that organising all my stuff is a top priority, this means organising my own thoughts and notes, organising my client notes and communication and streamlining everything as much as possible, so I forget less things. Here are the tools I use regularly.
Notion
I use Notion to literally organise my entire life. I have different dashboards for work and home and as well as projects for all aspects of the business and things I’m working at around the house. It’s a bit of a blank canvas but once you’re into it, it’s SO flexible. I also have a free course to get you started here.
Trello
If you need a more structured approach to managing all your work and share things with clients then I wouldn’t recommend starting with Notion because there is a learning curve and many clients struggle to understand, so they’ll end up messaging you instead, so Trello may be a better option for you.
Sunsama
If you struggle with getting work done and making sure you don’t overbook yourself, then please look at Sunsama. Sunsama allows you to connect your tasks and calendar appointments and then time block them into your day, so this is really helpful for you to see what you can actually reasonably get done in 24 hours.
Additional Tools
These are the other main tools I use regularly to make my business work for me (and my brain).
1password
Remembering passwords is NOT my thing, so I use 1password to store all of my own plus clients can share their passwords with me to get me access to their accounts. And unlike LastPass they don’t get hacked every few months.
Calendly
All my appointments run through Calendly and there are only a few scenarios where Calendly isn’t going to work for you. That’s mostly multi-instructor in-person classes, so for most Online Businesses Calendly works a charm, and it can collect payments.
Demio Webinars
Demio has been my favourite Webinar platform for years, because it’s easy to use and integrates well with all of the other tools I recommended here, so if getting into automated webinas (or even hosting regular webinars for larger groups) is something you’re looking into, then Demio might be for you!
TidyCal
TidyCal is my new favourite Calendly alternative and I’ve just made the switch myself. It’s currently on a $29 lifetime deal on AppSump and for coaches and freelancers this is hands down the better scheduling tool.
Go get the lifetime license before it’s gone.
If you need help selecting the right tools for your business, please don’t struggle along alone.
I’m happy to consult you on your best options and also show you around the tools so you have a general overview as you dive into setting things up.