Software tools are a game changer, in my opinion. If I were to start a new business *right now*, these are the platforms I’d use, and why. Of course it goes without saying that nothing is perfect, so I have my drawbacks with some *ahem please add some more customer service ppl those who shall not be named but ily anyway*, but these are still really great platforms in my eyes! Check out the best software tools to run small businesses.
*Marketing changes so fast, so these answers could change at any time.
Showit to Host my Website
I’d create my website in Showit. So much shifted for me when I moved to showit, because I was creatively able to do so much more. What I love most about being an entrepreneur is the ability to take action whenever I am feeling inspired, and the creative abilities of Showit allowed me to lean into inspiration when I was feeling it! I love xxx for templates to get you started. Get a free month here!
Google Suite for my Domain
I’d purchase my domain and use google suite to organize my business.
Acuity for Meeting Scheduling
I currently use Acuity scheduling for all of my appointments and session packages. If I can give you a piece of advice that will save you TONS of time – please stop going back and forth to schedule a time to meet a client or colleague. Tip: get very specific about your appointment types and tie that to your CRM so you can understand your client journey a bit better.
Momence for Studio Scheduling
If I were an in person studio, I’d use Momence. The reporting capabilities of Momence are best in the game right now. Easily see your intro offer conversions, packages sold, and so much more. Bonus – they integrate with Zapier and customers love the UX. Lot’s of my clients use Momence and they are happy with the capabilities!
Arketa for a Virtual Studio
If I were a virtual studio, I’d use Arketa. Their virtual library is so aesthetically pleasing, and you can organize bundles and classes easily. They integrate with Zapier, and marketing reports are also great!
FloDesk for Email
For email marketing, I swear by FloDesk. The emails are so pretty, client segmentation is super easy to do and visually easy to understand, understanding your statistics is somehow made fun, and it’s all $19/month (with discount code 51DKUS)… truly my fav.
Zapier for Organization & Automation
To organize everything together, I’d use Zapier. I use this for SO much to run my business, and it has saved me hours and hours each month. For example, when a client enrolls in The Friday Society Membership I have created a zap to automatically put them into a FloDesk welcome sequence along with a Google Sheet for client appreciation purposes.
Stripe for Payments
I use stripe to capture payments. For a long time I used Venmo because I didn’t want to pay the 3% Stripe fee. However, I started to notice how much I was doing manually around payments. In the long run, I’ve saved so much money by moving to Stripe because it has freed up my time! Ease of use of the platform, ability to see your payment data all in one place, and customer segmentation is all super easy.
Brag About It
& a quick bonus — once you launch your brand, don’t forget to brag about it! StickerMule & 4imprint have been my favorite lately for promotional items — I use 4imprint for my welcome sweatshirts, and StickerMule for my brand packaging (super cute bubble mailers) and custom stickers! You can view the stickers I recently created HERE. StickerMule is giving you guys $10 towards your first order by clicking here.
Do you use any of these software tools?
Want a part two? I haven’t even gone into blogs, courses, etc! Let me know in the comments what’s helpful and what you’d like to know more about.
The Friday Society Membership
The Friday Society Membership is your one-stop shop for everything you need to learn how to effectively market your business, connect with your clients on an authentic level, and do it all without wasting time or money. For just $58 a month you will receive expert marketing advice with no strings attached commitment. Learn more here!
[…] I received so many questions about automations which makes sense for busy small business owners. My first recommendation is you need to understand how your client is interacting with you right now, and then in an ideal world how they would interact with you. Map out your client pathway and then notice where something takes manual effort or where you are involved. This will quickly point out to you where you can find an automation for this step. There are so many great resources within systems that we already use such as campaigns, follow-up, workflows, etc. So get to know your systems or start shopping for a better option. (If you haven’t checked out my blog about my favorite tools, read it here). […]