When you are first starting out on your journey into entrepreneurship, it’s easy to get overwhelmed trying to figure everything out. If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably already spent many evenings after work searching for tools and resources to get you started. One thing I’ve found to be extremely helpful was recommendations from others. I’m here to be your bridge to connect you with those resources and tools that made the biggest difference for me, in the hopes it will help you too.
Email Service Provider
- Flodesk
When you have your own business, one of your most important assets is your email list. Social media has it’s place too, but you don’t own it. However, it can be hard to get started with all the different email service providers (ESPs) out there.
Early on in my journey I tried Klaviyo because it was highly recommended for integrating with Shopify. It seemed so simple at first, and yet, I could not figure it out. I threw in the towel and it wasn’t until I heard about Flodesk, that I decided to give email marketing a try again. Flodesk was a complete 180 from Klaviyo. It’s so easy to use, and the layout blocks make it so easy to design an email exactly the way you want it. They also make it easy to create your opt-in forms, and the best feature, is that you don’t even have to have a website to get started! They offer full page forms so you can begin building your list right off the bat! I would absolutely recommend Flodesk to anyone, whether your just getting started or you’ve been in the game a while.
Check it out through my link above, and when you use my link, you’ll get 50% off your first YEAR!
If you have any questions, please let me know and I’ll be happy to help!
Website Platforms
Oh my, there are so many website builders out there now, it can seem impossible to choose.
- Shopify
I built my website on Shopify because it was recommended as the best ecommerce platform, and I must say I love it! Especially since the update to Shopify 2.0. You can do so much with their basic plan and their free templates are amazing. The flexibility of the templates make it easy to get your website looking great without a lot of work and your already set up to sell. I highly recommend Shopify if you are selling physical products. You can even host a blog on your Shopify site. Granted the blog aspect may not be quite as flexible in design, but for a product-based business, it’ll get the job done.
They have a trial available so you can try them out to make sure they are a good fit. And if you sign up with my link below, you'll be eligible for a $100 subscription credit after your first month at full-price.
- ShowIt
Next is ShowIt, and had I not needed an ecommerce site specifically, it probably would have been my top choice. It was very easy to use, and I would highly recommend this builder for anyone starting their business based on blogging or services, such as coaching. I know many people who use it for these types of businesses and love it. It’s great for beginners because it’s so easy to use. Thanks to the templates and block layouts, you can create a beautiful website in record time. Those who use and recommend it have absolutely stunning websites!
Branding Tool
- StoryBrand Brandscripts
This is one of the more recent tools I have found, and it’s taken so much of the frustration out of the branding process. This is one tool that I wish I’d heard about a few years ago when I first started thinking about creating a business.
One of the hardest parts of getting started as an entrepreneur is branding. I’m not talking about the design part of branding, like your logo and brand colors. I’m talking about the part of branding that is the identity of your business, the story about why your company exists.
StoryBrand Brandscript was created by Donald Miller (author of "Building a Story Brand") as a tool to help you get clear on your brand’s story. You can get started with a Brandscript for your business for free, and I highly recommend doing this before you do anything else in your business. I also recommend reading the "Building a Story Brand" book as well, as it helps you get clear on each of the seven steps in the Brandscript. Once you identify your brand's story, everything else will becomes so much easier.
You can check out the StoryBrand Brandscript tool by signing up at the link below.
And you can find Donald Miller's book "Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen" on Amazon
Project Management Tool
- Asana
There are quite a few project management tools available to choose from, but the one I use and recommend is Asana. Asana has free and paid plans, but the free plan has all the features you need to get started.
Even if you are just a Solo Mompreneur, it’s really never too early to get organized with a project management tool.
You can use it to plan new projects, plan out email marketing strategies, etc. You can use it to help organize your blog posts from ideas, to research, to final draft. Any part of your business that needs to be broken down into tasks, can be added into Asana to help you stay on track.
Graphic Design/Scheduling Tools
- Canva
Canva is often recommended as the best graphic design tool, and I have to agree. They have templates for pretty much anything!
- Logos,
- social media posts,
- Pinterest pins,
- infographics…
Whatever you need to design for your business, they’ve got you covered.
Their free plan is amazing, and you can do a lot with it. However, I highly recommend that you upgrade to Canva Pro as early as possible do you can benefit from the full scope of what Canva can do.
With the Pro plan, you can create a brand kit so you don’t have to go searching for your colors and fonts every time you create. You can also schedule your pins and posts directly to the common social platforms. It is limited to one pin or post at a time, but Canva can get the job done.
Canva Pro’s features definitely make designing for your business so much easier! I upgraded early on in my journey when I was first trying to create a logo, and I’m so glad I did. If I had to do it all again, knowing what I know now, I would still upgrade early on. For only 12.99 per month, it is well worth it. Plus, when you find a template you like, you can save it in your brand templates and easily use it again and again. If you’re anything like me and tend to get lost down the rabbit hole when looking at templates, this is a big time saver.
https://www.canva.com/solutions/
- Tailwind
I’m actually pretty new to Tailwind myself, but I can honestly say, I am sold on it! You can actually create pins and posts in Tailwind directly, but I've actually found that I prefer creating in Canva and then uploading into Tailwind. (Canva allows for a little more creativity, I feel, thanks to their extensive library of templates) But I recommend trying them out for yourself and seeing which works best for you.
What makes Tailwind so great is being able to schedule all your social media posts and Pinterest pins at once! For instance, say you've create a weeks worth of Facebook posts, Instagram posts, and Pinterest pins. Instead of posting each one at a time, you can…
- upload them all into Tailwind,
- pick the platform, date, and time you want each one to post,
- then schedule each one
And just like that, you've taken care of your social media for the week! It’s one of those tools that is truly a game changer.
Plus, they have a new AI tool, Ghostwriter! It has been a gamechanger for me, and if you sign up through my link below, you can get 50 free Ghostwriter credits with you first month on one of their paid plans!
https://www.tailwindapp.com/i/UqjmG
Summary
Well, there you have it. My top recommended tools for mompreneurs. I hope this has helped provide you with some clarity to take action. I know how easy it is to get stuck in research mode, wanting to have it all figured out before you take the next step. But it’s so much more disappointing to get stuck and realize months or years later you still haven’t taken action on your dream, than it is to just try something, it not work out, and you have to try something different. I want to help you keep moving along the path so you can create an amazing business!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links and if you make a purchase through them, I will earn a commission. Participation in these affiliate programs does not influence my decision as to which products I share. I only share about companies that I truly believe in, and which I believe will offer value to my readers.