Some of the Resources I Use for My Business

Some of the resources I use and love in my business.

When we first start our business we can get bogged down in the details, or get overwhelmed with all the things we need to learn and know. Here are some of the resources we use at Creative U.

Zoom is a must for online. You can create a free account to record for up to 40 minutes at a time. I use Zoom for almost all my recordings. I rarely record directly to my camera anymore. Want more features in Zoom for less? You can switch your Zoom account to have it through Working Live and you get Enterprise level Zoom, it includes webinar hosting, a phone number, and more cloud storage space for only $13 a month. 

This is my favorite finance tracker, and I have tried a lot of them. The Organized CEO's Business Finance Tracker. Tracking your income and expenses is often one of the last things we want to do, and yet it is vital to the viability of our business. Use whichever tracking system works well for you, but make sure you are tracking.

Canva is a must unless you have a graphic designer in your pocket. There are other platforms you can use, however, Canva is one of the most popular, super easy to use, and has a free account available. A Cava Pro account has many extra features like videos, premium graphics, music, and more. With Canva you can create worksheets, workbooks, graphics for videos, social media, presentations, and more. They have thousands of templates, plus royalty-free graphics and music. You can also purchase many Canva templates which you can customize quickly and easily for your needs. Click this link to get a Canva Pro Free Trial

Add extra graphics and fonts to Canva, or any other product with Creative Fabrica.

AppSumo is a must-have for all online businesses. Sign up for free to learn about all the new technology and products to simplify your business. They often have lifetime deals for products that are typically much more per month. They also highlight a lot of up-and-coming programs/businesses so you can get their software or program before they become mainstream. I have found some amazing products to streamline and simplify my business.

Some of the products I have purchased through them include:

Heartbeat which we use for our Creative U Healing community is one of my favorite purchases. I love that platform.

Kingsumo is an excellent product for creating contests that link to your social media and website. Participants can get more entries in the draw by visiting your sites.

Woorise which allows you to create giveaways, contests, forms, surveys, quizzes, polls, and much more.

Smart Quiz Builder Even though this product is created to be used on WordPress, you can have someone on a WordPress site build your quizzes to add to any site. They have recommendations for that.

PublishDrive is a platform for creating books and pushing them out to different platforms such as Amazon, Apple, Kobo, and many others. You can even create your Amazon ads, and other store promotions directly from the platform.

ProcessStreet is a platform to capture your processes so you can share them across your team or recreate things easily. Highly recommend starting to capture your processes from the very beginning. Even if it is just on a spreadsheet or document.

Plus AppSumo has trainings, templates, and graphics. Some items are even free.

I have also bought products that I don't yet use, but figure I may need them and they were too good a deal to pass up.

Please note: The deals on AppSumo are often only available for a limited time, so you may not be able to get the same products that I have purchased, so I linked directly to the products.

Scheduling If you are scheduling coaching, free calls, interviews or anything else having a scheduler makes it much easier and saves you a lot of time. You don't have time to go back and forth with people to set a time. I often even send my calendar because someone else doesn't have one and I don't want to waste time finding a time that works for both of us.

I have been using Calendly for years, I use the free version for my non-profit, and the Professional version for my business. Calendly is one of the most popular for integrating with different platforms.

Asana is a great free project management tool that lets you map out any project, add deadlines, and even delegate tasks if needed. Our whole team uses it.

Payment Systems such as Stripe, Paypal, and Square are necessary for you to collect money. Having people etransfer or mail you a check will completely end your business before it gets started. Check with your WebHost to see which platforms they support. Also check with the countries you have clients in, as some countries do not have (or in some cases allow) certain payment platforms. I use Stripe and Paypal as they both integrate with Kajabi. Check fees, and how long it takes for your money to be released. Fees are a part of doing business. 

I used to wait 7 days for my money to release via Stripe, it is now 2 days. Stripe is a fairly common payment platform and integrates with many different systems.

With Paypal, I recommend Paypal Business. Paypal pays out immediately, but occasionally Paypal will withhold a certain amount for one or two weeks to verify funds, in 5 years this has happened to me only twice. If a person puts in a claim with Paypal, they will freeze that amount until resolved. They usually side with the customer, even if you have proven otherwise. You then have to appeal and start the process all over and it can take months to get that amount back. But, you can get it back. In 5 years I have had this happen once, so it is not common.

I know some people dislike Paypal, however, having more than one payment type makes a huge difference to your sales. Many people are afraid to use their credit card online, or only have a bank card. Paypal lets you use your bank account directly.

I use Square for in-person sales because they have an app and an inexpensive tap base. I also use it for my non-profit as an online payment system, so that I don't have to pay extra to my Webhosting platform for a payment system. I can create buttons in Square to embed on the site.

Due to the nature of online sales, you need to prove yourself to any payment platform. Each one is different you have to decide for yourself.

Kajabi 30-Day Free Trial Kajabi is the platform I use to host everything. websites, courses, podcast, email lists, offers, coaching programs, and they have a new community that we use for the business side. When I added up all the little bits I was paying all over and then the time I was spending trying to get all the pieces to talk to each other, it actually saved me money and time. They also have amazing customer service and a huge community of other users to bounce ideas off of. 

Sign up with our link and I will personally give you 3 hours of free training/support that you can use all upfront to set up, or as needed over the next 6 months to build out your platform. 

What are some of your favorite business resources?

Please note that some of the links used are affiliate links. We only promote products we use, have used, and/or find value in. We may make a commission if you do decide to purchase any product, however, you will never be charged extra for any of the products.