Running a full time or even a part-time business requires a plan, strategy and tools. Lots of tools to stay organized and productive. As a mompreneur, I have learned just how important these tools are and most of them I could not live without. Seriously. They make my life and my work more streamlined and I don’t know about you friend, but keeping my sanity intact as much as possible is pretty important.
Now if you have followed me for any length of time you know that I am not a fan of the whole work/life balance philosophy. I find it too restricting and unachievable for most moms who are trying to hold together their life and a family while pursuing their passions. So having the right tools to help me blend these areas of my life together are invaluable. I am excited to share 10 tools every mompreneur should have to run a thriving business AND how I made $6.000 in my coaching business in 7 days with you. (Seriously this is not a joke, keep reading!) I no doubt know this info will help you tackle life and mompreneurship a little easier while creating some awesome momentum in your business.
1. WEBSITE
Having a website allows you to combine all of your info into one centralized location. An online space to direct traffic, give value and capture leads for your business. You don’t have to spend a fortune on design. I love and use Squarespace for my website.
2. ONLINE CALENDAR
I use Calendly to book appointments with clients and to keep my schedule in one place. I love how easy it was to set up my calendar and availability and clients can book a time with me right online. It sends email reminders to cut down on no-shows and missed appointments. You can see how it works HERE.
There are other online tools and if you are a pen to paper type girl, that’s great. The goal is to find a simple solution that works for you.
3. EMAIL SERVICE
As traffic comes to your website it’s important to capture email leads so you can keep building relationships with your network. Mailchimp is a great solution especially if you are just getting started as the first 1,000 subscribers are free. ConvertKit, MailerLite, Aweber and Constant Contact are great solutions too. I recently moved to ActivCampaign and am still testing the integration of my CRM and emails.
4. VIDEO EDITING
I am a MAC girl and love to do video as part of my marketing strategy. I love iMovie to edit my videos before uploading them to YouTube.
5. CANVA
Canva is a great tool for creating social media headers and other graphics to help your online brand take shape. It’s very user-friendly and fun. It can help bring out or discover your inner creative. There is a free option and a Canva For Work option but just starting out the FREE version has tons of free images, templates and fonts.
6. BE.LIVE.TV
This is a super cool Facebook streaming app that allows you to engage users through Facebook Live. With BeLive you can broadcast together with your friends and teammates, and create a high-quality live broadcast directly through Facebook Live on your wall or page. Stream live video into a BeLive production.
7. BILLING AND PAYMENTS
This is a part of doing business that is usually not anyone’s favorite. I mean, we all like to make money and be compensated for our time and talents but the actual process of billing and collecting is never the fun part. There are lots of tools that can help make this easier like Fresh Books, SquareUp and Stripe.
8. VIRTUAL ASSISTANT
You may be reading this and thinking “I can’t afford to hire a VA right now” but hear me out. You don’t have to spend thousands of dollars a month to have someone help you with a few tasks. It’s all about looking at where you are spending your time and if that time is spent on revenue-generating activities. Look at your budget and see what you can afford. Even one hour a week to have someone send an email newsletter so you can schedule another call and close out a client is worth it and pays for itself.
I have doubled my business in the past month because of my VA as I am not spending so much time bogged down behind my computer.
9. LINKEDIN SALES NAVIGATOR
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I am super excited to share with you one of those best-kept secrets in the world of lead generation. You may know that LinkedIn is a great platform for professionals to network, you may even have a LinkedIn profile that you hardly if ever log into or check because you just don’t get how to use it but what you may not know is that there is an amazing lead generator within LinkedIn called Sales Navigator.
The cost is $80 a month and there is a quite a learning curve in how to use it, time that I simply did not have to spend but I saw what a game changer it could be in finding qualified prospects for my coaching business. That is when I found someone who is a pro at using this awesome tool allowing me to focus on my strengths and areas of my business where I thrive.
And I’ll be honest, I was hesitant at first about outsourcing because I have heard horror stories and had experiences with other companies that offshore and outsource which means the quality of the experience drops. With Jeff and VA Staffer this was not the case at all. Jeff takes tremendous pride in his work and his staff does too. He personally vets each employee and makes sure they are an extension of you and your brand.
VA Staffer is bringing me the leads and I am connecting with them which saves me the daunting task of chasing down people to work with. And the beauty of it all is that because they are looking for the types of services that I provide, my conversion rate has been very high to the tune of bringing in $6,000 in just 7 days. An investment that has obviously been well worth it in taking my business to the next level.
10. HAPPY KIDS TIMER
As busy moms we all know how important it is to start the day off on the right foot. There is nothing more stressful than chaos, tears and tantrums before 8 a.m., right?! The Happy Kids Timer schedule app leads kids through their entire morning routine. Brushing teeth, combing hair and getting dressed is much more fun with cheerful music and cute animation. Your mornings will never be the same with this app!
Are you excited to try some of these tools? What are some of your favorite resources? Be sure to leave me a comment, I would love to hear from you!
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