141. 6 Tools I’d Use If I Started My Business Today

One of the most popular questions I receive is: “Sarah, What do I need to actually launch a business, and how do I do that without slapping a bazillion dollars on my credit card?” I love that question. You really want to take tangible steps, and I’m going to give those to you today. Before I get into the tools I use, let’s be honest about one thing: A business is simply an exchange of value for money. That’s it. You need to understand the finances and make sure you’re making a profit.  If you’re just starting out and you’ve got your business idea but you’re scared to get it off the ground, please hear this: Add value and learn how to explain your value. Now, let’s get into some tools that are efficient without breaking the bank. 1. ConvertKit (https://convertkit.com/email-marketing-fresh-start): I am an affiliate of ConvertKit, that’s how much I love them! They give you powerful tools for online marketing. You can tag each customer based on their behavior. Here is an example: Let’s say you’re just starting out and you were a guest on someone’s podcast. You share that podcast episode with everyone on your newsletter list. ConvertKit will let you tag the people who listened to the episode, so the next time you’re on a podcast you think those folks will enjoy, you can send them a special message. It’s such a great way to take care of  your people and show you understand them and what they are interested in. The other reason I really love ConvertKit is they give you the tools you need to build landing pages and form with freebies and lead magnets. You don’t even need a website. They will track the data for you and tell you whether or not the pages are successful so you can grow  your newsletter list. Cost: Free up to 300 subscribers | $9/month for growing creators 2. Stripe (https://stripe.com/): Next up, you need to be able to accept money. And Stripe is a great company that happens to integrate with ConvertKit. You can log into Stripe to create products and services that you can link to directly in your emails. People can make purchases right from their phone, and your business will look professional.  Cost: 2.9% off the purchase price (at the time of this recording). 3. LegalZoom (https://www.legalzoom.com/): Now that you’re accepting payments into your bank account, I’m going to assume you’re incorporated. Getting incorporated might not be necessary yet, but my recommendation is to check out LegalZoom.com. Depending on the state you live in, it will cost about $400 to get your incorporation papers. You’ll take those papers to the bank to set up your business banking account, which you’ll also set up in Stripe. Easy, right? Cost: About $400 4. Basecamp (https://basecamp.com/ ): Now that you’re set up with your newsletter and payment system, you’re going to want a project management system. Why? You want to be able to go back and understand how you’ve created things and where they are living. I love Basecamp. You can assign deadlines and tasks to people. There are a lot of alternatives too, like Asana and even Google Sheets. If you’d rather have a customer tracking system, I recommend HubSpot (https://www.hubspot.com/products/marketing/free). I use this to keep track of all our members, their birthdays, gifts we’ve sent, cancellations, etc. I want customer service to be number one — and I’m sure you do too. HubSpot is free up to a certain amount of people and lets you track how you’ve worked with them. Cost: Basecamp free up to 3 projects | $99/month unlimited features 5. Canva (https://www.canva.com/) and Hautestock (https://hautestock.co/): Beautiful graphics are key if you’re going to sell online. Canva is something we use in our business all the time. You can put in your brand colors, and the free version gives you access to templates. If you find you need stock photos, I recommend Hautestock — I have an annual membership — for their photos and videos, which you can then import into Canva to create beautiful graphics. It’s so classy, and it’s important in this online world that your content looks fantastic on social media. Cost: Canva free | Pro and Teams plans for additional features. Hautestock: $399 a year 6. Websavers (https://clients.websavers.ca/whmcs/aff.php?aff=282): Once you’re ready for your website, I’m going to recommend Websavers — I’m an affiliate by the way. And yes, they are a Canadian company. First of all, their customer service is fantastic, and their pricing is competitive. Use Websavers for your hosting, and then find a designer. One of my favorite things to do is to go online and find fantastic Facebook groups that support moms and women and ask anyone in the group if they have a web designer they’d recommend. And what I love about doing that is you might get someone who's new, so the price will be a lot less. But you're also helping someone else start their business. I love doing that. Cost: Plans are low as $3/month So as you can see, you don’t have to break the bank to get started.  I think anytime you're adding value, you can usually do that by communicating well online. Once you start making money, once your business is actually profitable, I would highly recommend two things: Learn how to write. Learning how to communicate your value well online is critical. There is so much nonsense out there. (I know this is self-serving, but I absolutely mean it with all my heart) Invest in a coach because success is 80% mindset and 20% strategy. You can get all these incredible tools and have them at your disposal, but if you start thinking negative thoughts, you're already out of the game! I can give you every strategy in the whole world, and it's not going to work because your head's not straight. So, the second you are able to get yourself in a course with a coach or to hire a coach, please do that for YOU. More resources to help launch your business: Legal support: https://www.laynelyons.com/   Coaching support: https://sarahwalton.com/programs/  Other Game On Girlfriend podcast episodes you might want to check out:  Best ways to THINK About Your Small Business: https://youtu.be/XHetnBTyw1U  How I’m Investing During Our Biggest Year Yet: https://sarahwalton.com/investing/  How to Manage Emotions When You See Your Balance Sheet: https://sarahwalton.com/manage-emotions/  You can check out our podcast interviews on YouTube, too! http://bit.ly/YouTubeSWalton   Learn more about your host by visiting www.sarahwalton.com