When you’re starting and growing a business it’s great to have a quick list of resources that have been tried and used by others!
** Make sure with everything you use that it talks to other software and apps you use.
There is nothing worse than going down the road with a particular program only to find out that it doesn’t talk to your site, or your email service or your payment processor. Always check before you buy!
Here is our list (ever growing of course!)
Hosting/Domain
Love this one. Easy to use and customer service is fantastic. Have had very few down times.
Great for finding .co and other extensions not commonly found elsewhere. Just started using their hosting services and similar to Bluehost it is pretty easy to use and has great articles/help desk.
The user interface is pretty busy and they’re always trying to up-sell you. I’ve used them for years for past sites but much prefer Bluehost! Not a bad #3.
Email Services
We recently moved to ConvertKit and so far I’m loving it. I’ve used super complicated systems (Infusionsoft.. urgh!) in the past for doing campaigns and weekly emails so ConvertKit was a breeze to get up to speed. It is easy to get started, to import contacts from another system and has simple to use landing pages/sequences that help subscribers move through your offerings. Although this was created with bloggers in mind it is a great overall email system.
Lovely interface and easy to use. Affordable too. Sometimes it can be tricky to find things but once you get the hang out of it you’re on your way!
I’ve used this in past – I feel rather “Bleh” about it. Nothing particularly outstanding comes to mind. Ugly interface (at least it was 2 years back). It’s totally functional and if you’re on there and you find it easy to use and affordable in comparison to others – they’re may be no reason to leave. But would I start here? Not really.
I haven’t personally used this although I have friends who swear by it. Super affordable and easy to use. I’ve heard it’s a great place to start (although in my opinion if you’re planning on growing and need more segments and a larger list you may want to pick one of the above).
Social Media Managers
Relatively easy to use to schedule posts and tweets ahead of time. It’s free. You can also bring on your assistant or VA for an additional monthly charge.
Note: Keep in mind that Facebook isn’t a fan of you scheduling ahead using another site so if you’re always scheduling ahead and forgetting it you won’t show up as often to your followers on FB. Also people will see that you used hootsuite to post, if that matters to you.
I like Buffer because you can simply click an article you want to share and then have it automatically go into your queue for later. If you’re combing articles and don’t want to share everything immediately but also don’t want to have to copy the link and go over to Hootsuite to schedule it – this is a great option. Free version gives you 2 social media platforms that you can link too. The paid version allows for many social media platforms and allows for scheduling based on time and
Edgar has a lot of functionality including recycling posts which is super handy because who wants to remember to reschedule and recycle all the wonderful content you’ve created over the years. It is pricey so make sure you’re ready for this type of functionality (and that you’ll really use it!). Twitter and FB.
Pinterest and Instagram focused.
If you use Pinterest you really NEED to have this service. It makes scheduling and repinning a snap and has great analytics for tracking purposes. Unlike Facebook who doesn’t like schedulers, Pinterest and Tailwind are tight and you don’t get dinged for using a 3rd party service.
Outsourcing
Upwork (fka eLance and oDesk)
Such a crap shoot. When you post a job you will be inundated with a lot of crap that you have to sift through. Make sure you’re uber specific on what you’re looking for and that the request is very specific. Make sure you check out their reviews.
When I was looking for an editor for my book, I went here to find someone. So many quality women who are itching to do some work. Great place to post an ad and see what you get.
Great service for small needs. Need someone to upload the latest theme to your wordpress site. Done. Need someone to add music to video. Done. Need someone to transcribe a podcast. Done. It says $5 but most projects will require an add on of +$5, +$10 for getting it done faster or if your request is a bit more robust. Remember: You get what you pay for. Check reviews.
Web Builders
If you’re not going to build a site using WordPress (and choosing a theme and all the fun plugins) then these sites help you get up and running faster with less of a learning curve.
Have not used this myself but have heard really great things about how easy it is to use. Also their theses and templates are visually beautiful!
For e-commerce based businesses this is the latest go to. Again, have not personally used it but have heard great things from friends who use it. Great templates, plenty of options to choose from, wonderful visual elements and again, easy to use.
There is also Wix and Weebly but I don’t know much about them other than they’re fairly easy to use.
Payment Processing
We recently moved over to Stripe and have been really satisfied with this merchant service. Super easy to use, dashboard has a user friendly interface, customer service is ON it. Straightforward pricing, no hidden fees and it’s affordable compared to other services. If you’re going to do a subscription or membership it is more affordable (and easier to use) than PayPal.
Typically most people’s go-to merchant processor because they already have accounts and are familiar with using it. As you’re starting a business please make sure you keep your business accounts and personal Paypal accounts separate. Otherwise it’s a huge pain for yourself or your bookkeeper to keep track. If you plan to do subscriptions (where people pay you monthly for a set period of time) you will need to add the businesses services option which ends up being about $15-24 more a month (Stripe doesn’t charge you for this!). Easy to use and to add PayPal “buttons” to your site
When I had my acupuncture practice or when I sell books at events, this is my definite go to! It’s incredible easy to use and the swipe device makes it a breeze. Now that people are used to using it (at Farmer’s Markets, local coffee shops, etc) – people won’t stare at you suspiciously when you pull it out and attache it to your mobile phone (unlike when I first used it. 
Security is top notch too!
Logo Design
I’m mixed about this one. I like the concept and we had lots of great logos presented to us (for a past site we owned) but in the end I was entirely happy with the experience. You really have to keep up on reviewing what is coming in and make suggestions. It wasn’t entirely clear to us that when we finally narrowed in on the person we wanted to work with, that the final image they created was the done product. So make sure you get all the work done before you make your final choice. Lesson learned. Other people I know have had great experience with gorgeous logos. $299 on up.
You can also try Upwork, Fiverr or elsewhere. If you have a very specific idea and you can provide font, color and design direction you may be ok with these. If you need a full on logo/branding image from scratch and you think it’s crucial right now to have, you may want to go with 99Designs or get a referral from a friend.
Images
Unsplash (free)
Thousand of images! The size are HUGE so make sure you resize them on PicResize before you upload to your site!
Death to Stock Photo (free and monthly membership)
When you sign up for their free newsletter you get a pack on photos monthly for free. But if you want access to their full library you have to pay their $10/month subscription fee.
You can find the occasional gem in here but you usually have to dig. There are so many other great services out there these days you could skim quickly and skip if you don’t find quickly what you want. Again use PicResize because like the name says – they’re jumbo!
Stocksy (paid)
This is my favorite paid site for quality pictures. Tons to choose from and in varying sizes. They have video too you can purchase. Pics start at $10 for small sized files and go on up! If you’re looking for an image you won’t see everywhere – something for your header or front page of your site this is a good place to look since most people will exhaust the free stuff before using paid.
Getting Sign Ups
Pop up windows, bars, etc.
Free but it will have the “H” on the site. You can purchase the upgrade that removes the marketing. People used to swear by this opt-in tool but I’m not so sure it is as effective as it once was. Try it out and check your analytics. I found it didn’t talk with our email software so make sure your contacts are being sent to the right place once you’ve gotten sign ups.
We’ve been using this for our optin. It has a lot of options to play with including Welcome Mats (full screen opt-ins), bars, etc. You can A/B test content and images and do tons of tracking. We’ve used in on our WP sites so I’m not sure if it’s compatible on non WordPress related sites. There is a free and paid version.
LMS (Learning Management Systems/3rd parties)
This is a paid plug-in for WordPress. You will be housing your courses on your own site vs. the two options below.
I found it incredibly easy to use and the folks who built it are super helpful and also improving on it. It’s affordable for the ease and functionality if you’re looking to do classes on your WordPress site.
If you don’t want to house your courses on your site Kajabi is a great service to use. I’ve used their older version which was clunky and labor intensive to get it to look the way you want. The latest version New Kajabi that came out a few years ago has massive improvements and people seem to really like it. Not cheap! Over $100/month!
Haven’t use but again have heard very positive things about it. You won’t be hosting courses on your site but you will have all the support from the guys there to help you get up and started.
Check out Chris Lema’s blog for reviews on LMS plugins for WordPress. Nearly every year he gives the low down on each – the pros and cons and the his top pick. So valuable! Site here!
Membership Plugins/Software (WordPress)
Pricey membership plugin but it integrates with some of the big dogs like Infusionsoft and the LMS, LearnDash. I’ve heard it can be difficult to use so you may want to consider that before diving in. They have lots of webinars on memberships that I find useful.
We have been using MemberPress. The guys there are super easy to work
I found this article by Chris Lema super helpful when I was looking to choose the best plugin for us. Find it here.
Landing Pages
We have used LeadPages for years (until recently to try out other options). You can create visually attractive landing pages, webinar opt in pages, opt in boxes, book selling pages and more. Easy to use and has a ton of ‘proven’ templates that have high-conversion rates. You’ll recognize the templates because they’re often used everywhere! If you decide to go with them make sure you plan to stay with them for awhile or be ready for a lot of work to extract/detach all of your opt-ins from their software. $25/month on up
CRM
Typically not needed when you first start out unless your business is super complicated and requires multiple sales funnels, tagging of different clients, customer follow-up, you have a sales team, you need to have specific triggers and follow ups based on certain criteria or other complicated tracking.
It’s a beast and requires you to spend a pretty big chunk of change and time to get set up. The training is absolutely necessary because it’s not user friendly. But… it has amazing capabilities. And it’s expensive at $199/mo for basic. You typically need to buy the “get started” package to get you to even know how to set up something as basic as your email footer. If you’re tech savvy, have patience or have someone on your team you may find it ok to use.
We have not used this CRM although we have friends who have and it’s pretty mixed. People say it’s much better than Infusionsoft and many people have jumped ship to move everything over to ONTRAPORT.
When things DON’T Talk
I’ve had moments when I realized (too late) that a particular software wasn’t talking to my CRM and that was a huge problem. People would sign up but their information wasn’t be transferred to my list so I had to MANUALLY add each name to the email list. URGH. Zapier to the rescue. Basic services are free but there is a paid version based on what you need to connect.
Easy to use.
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