It takes awesome tools to run a successful small business! It also takes a lot of time and research to find and test these tools out.
Here is the list of tools I use to drive my business successfully. I am either using them now, or have used them in the past. I offer this list as a free service to all “solo-preneurs” and small businesses.
Email, List Managers, Shopping Carts
Constant Contact (Our Choice for 5 Figure Businesses)
We like this company because it is a legitimate, respectable email marketing and management company that can send emails to small or large numbers of potential clients while avoiding the spam engines. It is easy to personalize your emails (for example “Dear John”.They require opt in. They have a number of fairly easy to use, good looking template for email. We used to use them for our eZine and customer communications in our early years. They also offer good event marketing and survey management. They have a spectacular help desk!
* They offer 60 day free trial which is useful if you want to investigate before committing. Also if you click this link to sign up, you will get a $30 credit to start off your account.
Click here for free 60 day trial and a $30 credit if you sign up from this link
CartMuscle.com (Our Choice for 5 Figure Businesses)
This is a very powerful email and list management system in addition to it’s awesome shopping cart. It handles email management, opt ins, auto-responders, digital book downloads, customer list management , ad tracking, link tracking. Basically everything you need to make an online business purr. We used to use this in combination with Constant Contact. We especially like that you can email customers after purchases, keep track of who has signed up for events and also set up auto-responders and advance emails. Note: CartMuscle.com is my affiliate link for 1shopping cart.
Click here to check out their features and get a $3.95 trial
Infusionsoft(Our Choice for 6 Figure + Businesses)
Infusionsoft is an all in one platform that has incredible features for email management, CRM, Marketing, Sales, Social media, shopping cart, etc. **Keep in mind that Infusionsoft is great for more established businesses with a good sized contact database and more robust systems, but may not be the best choice for early stage businesses.
Check it out here
E-junkie
E-junkie provides shopping cart and buy now buttons to let you sell downloads and tangible goods on your website, eBay, MySpace, Google Base, CraigsList and other websites using PayPal Payments Standard, PayPal Payments Advanced, PayPal Payments Pro, PayPal Payflow Pro, Google Checkout, Authorize.Net, TrialPay, ClickBank and 2CheckOut.
Check it out here
WordPress Shopping Cart Plugins: Free and Low Cost
eStore Plugin
WordPress eStore Plugin – Complete Solution to Sell Digital Products from Your WordPress Blog Securely
Read more tips and tricks along with more information on this one here
WooCommerce (Our Choice for new businesses)
The most customizable eCommerce platform for building your online business. WooCommerce powers over 37% of all online stores.
Check it out here
Cart66
Wordpress Shopping Cart Solution.Cart66 is a WordPress e-commerce plug-in that provides Secure Connected Services.
Check it out here
Virtual Assistant/Team
CMBS Global
If you are looking for support and would like to build out your virtual support team look here. Whether it is a virtual assistant, business manager, tech support, or others this is a one stop shop for finding those individuals.
Check out more here
Telephones, Teleconferences and Webinars
FreeConference.com (Our Choice for new businesses)
We love this free service for teleconferences. It is free, reliable, good sound quality, sends great call statistics and provides low cost recordings. We regularly use their scheduled call facility and are very happy with it. You can pay extra and get toll-free numbers. Maximum of 150 callers and 4 hours.
Click here to check them out
GOTOWEBINAR (Our Choice)
This is the tool we use most for conducting webinars. It is easy, intuitive and very powerful. We especially love that we can see who is on the call, raise and lower hands and mute/un-mute guests from a simple panel. We use this to run all my classes and mastermind sessions and remain impressed. There are other scalable versions GOTOMEETING and GOTOTRAINING depending on your group size.
Click here to check them out
Stealth Webinars
You can record your webinars and have them run automatically as if they were a live webinar. It looks live from the clients point of view. Great tool to set your webinars on autopilot.
Learn how to use it here
ReadyTalk.com
Hosting a webinar shouldn’t be rocket science. Audio and web conferences aren’t brain surgery. And, customer care doesn’t include a system of beeps and prompts. It should be user friendly, reliable and supported by a team of professionals, which is exactly what they deliver.
Check here to check them out
Maestro
This is the super-deluxe conferencing tool. It has great interactive facilities. It allows the facilitator to see a control panel so that they know who is on the call. Participants can raise their hands to ask questions. The feature that really impresses me is Maestro’s ability to quickly divide the call participants into smaller breakout groups. Very cool! Ideal for coaches and trainers or anyone facilitating large groups. Note: We don’t think that teleconferences are as valuable as webinars anymore, so we seriously suggest using webinars instead.
Click here for a free trial
uReach
uReach provides communications solutions, designed exclusively to meet the unique needs of small businesses and sole proprietors. uReach makes it easy to stay connected by providing the most comprehensive, user friendly and affordable voice and fax products available.
Check it out here
Web Hosting, Domain Names, Web Design
iPage (Our Choice)
iPage was recently ranked the #1 web hosting company and I can see why. They are very low cost and very good! You can quickly register domain names for around $10 each. They offer great (easy) web building techniques for simple sites (great for getting started fast). They have truly excellent local help desk who have been very patient answering my stupid questions.
Click here to check them out
WordPress Expert (Our Choice)
Beth Hayden runs a teams of highly responsive and knowledgeable WordPress expert. They are also familiar with online marketing techniques.
Click here to contact Beth
CMBSGlobal.com
Online business management, professional management, website design and development. Cassandra Morgan runs a teams of highly responsive and knowledgeable WordPress expert. They are also familiar with online marketing techniques.
Check them out here
Audio and Video Editing
Audio Acrobat (Our Choice)
We started using this service so that we could edit recordings of teleconferences we had conducted, place audio on our website and make products. It does all that but also has a wealth of really neat marketing tricks and tools. Also, some excellent free education which every entrepreneur would benefit from.
Click here for a 30 day free trial
Sound Forge
This is a really neat, super-powerful tool with lots of features for creating products from recordings. We love it.
Click here to check them out
Camtasia Studio (Our Choice)
Powerful, yet easy-to-use, Camtasia helps you create professional videos without having to be a video pro. Easily record your on-screen activity or import HD camera video, customize and edit content, and share your videos with viewers on nearly any device.
Click here to check it out
Artwork
Ever wondered where entrepreneurs get their gorgeous artwork for their websites, brochures, E-zines and sales material? The secret is out…
iStock.com (Our Choice)
This is our favorite but there are many other good ones too. You can get pictures for your website and brochures for as little as a dollar!
Click here to check them out
Dollarphotoclub (Our Choice)
This website is amazing. Royalty free photos at 1 dollar each. Nice quality and variety.
Click here to check them out
Microsoft Images
This is limited in number of graphics, but they are high quality and FREE.
Click here to check them out
Veer
We use Veer when iStock has nothing suitable. They are a tad more expensive but do have some very exciting artwork available.
Check here to check them out
Online Image Editor
The Free Online image Editor lets you edit images online and create your own animations online!
Click here to check them out
Fulfillment
Vervante (Our Choice)
This is a company of magicians! Cindy Tyler owns the company and is truly amazing and responsive to work with. She can help you create information products and publish books, plus handle all the shipping and fulfillment with ease. The feature we like best ….. no minimum quantities required. An entrepreneur’s dream.
Click here to check them out
Kunaki
CD / DVD manufacturing-publishing-distributing-fulfilling-shipping.
Check here to check them out
Promotion, Branding
FedEx Office:
Business Cards, Letterhead, Brochures – Design and Printing. If you are on a budget it is hard to beat their pre-designed business cards and other templates. Note: You don’t need to spend a fortune when you are starting out.
Check out what they can do for you here
Business Loans Guide
Consumer Affairs Business Loans Guide
A free website to help you find the right business loan for your business.
Check it out here
Social Media Cool Tools
Hootsuite
This is just a better way to manage your Twitter messages. We especially like that you can schedule them ahead of time (like if you are out on vacation before a big event!) This is a free tool.
Check it out here
Tweetadder:
Professional Twitter Marketing Tools – Automatic Twitter Software – Automate Twitter Posts, Auto Twitter Follow, Automate Unfollow, Mass Tweets, Twitter Search, more ..
Check it out here
Mashable
The ultimate guide for learning about all things “social media”. Free.
Check them out here
ManageFlitter
ManageFlitter is a critically acclaimed Twitter tool that over 600,000 people have used to manage their Twitter account. With our powerful interface you can quickly sort your account and find people you might like to unfollow.
Check it out here
Follow Blitz
Twitter Auto Follow Back your followers, find who does not follow you back, fake followers check, and more with this Twitter Followers Management Tool.
Learn more here
Online Backup
Carbonite (Our Choice)
This is a tool that provides a busy entrepreneur who is running a big operation from a PC a lot of piece of mind. For around $50 /year you get a full system backup without any work at all on your part. We’ve had to test this once during a hard drive crash and it delivered as promised.
Click here to check them out
Copy Editing and Proofing
Writing Hot Copy for Marketing
Lisa Manyon from Creative Writing Services is an expert at crafting strong marketing copy for all your promotional materials. She will boost your marketing by connecting your target audience to your products.
Click here for details
Berman Editorial
I have used Jody Berman for proofing my website copy and as an editor for books. She is a long time professional in this industry and will do an expert job of proofing all your business writing. She is truly awesome.
Click here to check her out
Grammar Girl
Your free and friendly guide to the world of grammar, punctuation, usage, and fun developments in the English language. Note: Mass emails with spelling and grammar mistakes are not cool!
Check out more here
Coaching Resources
IPEC Coaching School
The Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching (IPEC), is one of a handful of schools accredited by the International Coaching Federation. We recommend this school for its intense and comprehensive training.
Click below to check them out
Center For Coaching Certification
The Center for Coaching Certification is another excellent coaching school accredited by the International Coaching Federation. We recommend this school for its comprehensive,multi-layered training.
Click below to check them out
Jigsaw Box
JigsawBox does three things to help you grow your coaching business. It can turn your expertise into online coaching programs — so you can make money while you sleep. Secondly, Help your clients get results faster, more effectively — by organizing your coaching conversations with them in one central place, clients can quickly see their past sessions, current goals and challenges to focus on. And finally, take care of the “techie” stuff so you can focus on what you do best.
Find out more here
Calendar Management
Timetrade (Our Choice)
This tool really saves you time when attempting to set up meetings with prospects. People are able to look at your calendar and find predesignated time slots that you are available. They can then choose the best time that works for them, and book it – all without involving you at all. We like that! This is a big time saver to prevent the common to and from trying to find a time that works. We are all about automation for entrepreneurs.
Click here to check it out
The Coaches Console
A great calendar and client management tool for coaches. Clients are able to log into your calendar and schedule/re-schedule their appointments easily. The system generates automated meeting reminders. It also tracks all meeting notes and keeps a log of coaching hours and appointments all neatly collected in one place. Plus, it bolts onto the back end of your website seamlessly. The Coaches Console has a very responsive help desk as well. Great for coaches.
Click here to check them out
Life Coach Hub
A great resource for coaches and clients. Coaches can register here to assist in being found by potential clients, and gain access to their online coaching tools.
Click here to check them out
Document Management Tools
Google Drive (Our choice for 6 Figure businesses)
Essential for when your team starts growing. You can manage documents between your team members easily. Put files in Google Drive and you can access them on your desktop, mobile phone or tablet, and drive.google.com. Make changes to a file in one place and it automatically updates everywhere. Get started with 15GB of free storage, shared across Drive, Gmail, and Google+ photos. You can upgrade to get more space at any time.
Click here to check it out
Dropbox
Put your stuff in Dropbox and get to it from your computers, phones, or tablets. Edit docs, automatically add photos, and show off videos from anywhere.
Click here to check it out
Box.net
Box lets you store all of your content online, so you can access, manage and share it from anywhere. Integrate Box with Google Apps and Salesforce and access Box on mobile devices.
Check out the Plans and Pricing here
Ispringsolutions.com
Easily convert your PowerPoint presentations to Flash to preserve your animations and trigger, keep embedded audio and video and more.
Click here to check it out
Shoeboxed.com
Easiest and fastest way to organize Receipts, Business Cards & Bills online. Generate expense reports or file taxes. Integrate with Freshbooks, Outlook, Excel & more.
Check it out here
Event Resources
Pcnametag.com (Our Choice)
Name badge, ID, and meeting supplies experts. All online.
Check them out here
mybadges.com
Buy Badge Ribbons, Conference Ribbons, Name Badge Ribbons
Click here to find out more
Cool Tools
Google Analytics (Our Choice)
A must have! Free!
This will help you figure out what is really happening on your website. Trace transactions to campaigns and keywords, get loyalty and latency metrics, and identify your revenue sources.
Click here to check it out
Tony Buzan’s iMindMap (Our Choice)
We use this tool daily for everything. We use it to brainstorm, organize, prepare for presentations, take client notes and onscreen demonstrations. Our clients always ask what it is so we are sharing it. We use the Professional version.
Click here to check it out
Survey Monkey (Our Choice)
Also free!
This seriously neat little survey tool can help you do your customer research for free. There are premium, paid versions of Survey Monkey but you get quite a lot for their freebie.
Click here to check it out
Snapengage.com
A live chat and support service for your website. Integrates with you CRM, Help desk and social media to save transcripts back to your system.
Check it out here
Financial Tools
Xero
Online accounting resources. Great tool for all your accounting needs, from Invoicing, payroll, bank reconciliation and inventory.
Click here to check it out
MileIQ
GPS enabled mileage tracking tool. Let’s you keep track of the miles your driving related to your business.
Click here to check it out
Tsheets
Great tool to keep track of the time you are spending with your clients.
Click here to check it out
Shoeboxed
Tool to keep track of your receipts. Sign up and use “magic envelope”. Shoeboxed will send, scan and archive your receipts.
Check it out here
Slice
Track packages and shipping.
Check it out here
Appear.In
One click video conversation tool!
Check it out here
Sparkmail App
App to manage your email.
Check it out here
All Pro Web Tools
Web toolkit for small businesses.
Check it out here
Recommended Reading List
I have assembled all of the books that have rocked my world while growing my business. Here they are for your enjoyment. I’m a huge believer in reading if you want to separate yourself from mediocre.
Check them out here
# In the interest of full disclosure this is an affiliate link. This means we will receive a small commission for referring you to this business. However, rest assured, we would never recommend something that we didn’t fully endorse. Our reputation hangs off of this.