Business Tools and Resources: What I Use to Run my Business and Make Money from Home

If you are looking for the best business tools and resources to run your online business and make money from home then you are in the right place!

Below are the top business tools and resources I use pretty much every day to run my business and make an income from home.  I placed an asterisk in front of the tools I started with as a beginner.  The ones without an asterisk are ones that I invested in as my business grew.

This post contains affiliate links.  Please see my disclosure page for more info

Business Tools and Resources: What I Use to Run my Business and Make Money from Home

Website Platform

• Showit*

Your online business needs a website and you need a platform to build your website on.  A website building platform is simply a tool/place to build a website without needing to manually code your site from scratch.

When I started blogging back in 2014, I used the platform Blogger and quickly realized its limitations.  I knew nothing about website platforms at the time, so I then switched to WordPress.com only to realize the same drawbacks, then I made my way to WordPress.org for quite a few years before finding Showit when trying to help out my clients and students who were not tech or design savvy.

Showit is a drag-and-drop website platform that provides total creative freedom over the layout and design of your website, all without a single line of code. The big appeal of Showit is how simple it is to design in.  You can literally drag and drop things exactly where you want them, change colors, sizes, etc which makes it a lot less restrictive and easier to use for non-techy people. If you are familiar with Canva, it is kinda like the freedom you get with that.   

AND one of the huge things that separates Showit from platforms like Squarespace, Wix, Weebly etc. besides the design freedom, is it uses WordPress for the blogging part– so you write your blog posts in WordPress & you get the amazing SEO power of WP, but you design your site in a much more user-friendly visual editor.  There’s no need for any hosting through something like Bluehost or Siteground.  Showit covers that all for you and unlike WordPress they have AMAZING customer service for any design questions you have. 

Check out my Showit videos on my YouTube Channel for more info.

Domains

NameCheap*

If you need to purchase a domain for your business website, look no further.

I love and use NameCheap for any new domain names I buy. They have the best prices around.

You can search and register a .com domain name for under $10 and get free lifetime protection for your domain.

7 Things you Need to Consider when Researching Domain Name Ideas

Email Marketing

• ConvertKit*

Your online business needs an email list (Period)  This is how you reach and connect with your target audience.  Give them valuable content and your business will grow over time.  Email marketing is the key to a successful online business! 

Your email list is your most valuable marketing asset, so this is one of the areas you want to invest in from the beginning if at all possible.

Something amazing that ConvertKit just launched is a free version for beginners!!  This is huge!  If you are just starting out with email marketing, you can now use ConvertKit for free and upgrade whenever you feel ready to get more email automation options as your business and income grow!

You no longer need to use sub-par email marketing platforms like MailChimp when starting without a budget!  Start with the free version of ConvertKit and upgrade whenever you are ready!   You won’t have to learn a new system or update all your links as your business grows and you update!

Graphic Design/Social Media Graphics

• Canva*

This is quite possibly my very favorite business tool of all!  I use Canva EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. in my business and would be lost without it!  Canva can be used to create social media graphics, blog images, workbooks, ebooks, printables, opt-ins and so much more!!!

I started with the free version, but upgraded to the pro version to get access to 60+ million premium stock photos, videos and graphics as well as the ability to quickly resize any of my designs to fit a variety of social media platforms.  My most favorite feature of all on Canva Pro– the image background remover!!

Try Canva Pro for free for 30 days here.

Social Media Schedulers

• Tailwind* 

Tailwind is a scheduling tool that allows you to schedule and reloop posts to Pinterest and Instagram.  It provides insight into your analytics and allows you and other content creators to discover new content and share each others posts for increased traffic, reach, and impact.

*UPDATE: The Pinterest algorithm has changed A LOT in the past two years!  I no longer use Tailwind to schedule my pins as Pinterest like “fresh” pins aka new pins so relooping pins doesn’t work now.  BUT I just renewed Tailwind for another year because they have something called Communities.

Tailwind Communities is a tool that enables you to meet and grow with other content creators and marketers.  

Communities will also help you with two key problems that bloggers face everyday: Having a steady supply of high-quality content to share. Getting your posts seen and shared by the right people.

Click to Try Tailwind for Free

• PostPlanner* 

This is such a low-cost, but powerful social media scheduler.  I started with this and still use it today!

Landing Pages

• Leadpages

A landing page is a page that is designed to convert visitors into leads.  It is a place to collect email subscribers.  As I discussed above your email list is your most valuable marketing asset, and a landing page helps you get people onto your list.  You connect these pages to your email provider so that when someone signs up, their name and address goes directly to your list.  

I use Leadpages for this.  If you are not a designer Leadpages will be such a powerful tool for you,  It offers a great collection of tested, high-converting templates that you can plug and play your information into and have an awesome opt-in or sales page in no time!

You can link your Leadpages opt-ins to your WordPress website via pop-ups, buttons, etc. (or I can help you with this.) Plus you get access to all your pages’ analytics so you can see how it is converting.

Legal Templates

Comprehensive Legal Bundle Package*

Legally protecting your online business is easily overlooked among your daily business to-dos.  It is so easy to overlook this part of your business until it’s too late.  You need to make sure that you have the right legal documents in place on your website.  One of the best business tools that you can invest in is legal templates. 

I purchased this legal bundle and got the following 3 templates and bonuses for less than $200!   All I had to do was plug my company name and info into a few different highlighted spots (Amira walks you through each step.  It is simply plug and play and extremely easy to do!)

Templates:

✓ GDPR & CCPA COMPLIANT PRIVACY POLICY TEMPLATE (VALUE $500)

✓ DISCLAIMER TEMPLATE (VALUE $500)

✓ TERMS & CONDITIONS TEMPLATE (VALUE $500)

Bonuses:

✓ GDPR VISITORS RIGHTS POLICY (VALUE $150)

✓ A GDPR EMAIL MARKETING POLICY (VALUE $150)

✓ WEBSITE COOKIE POLICY (VALUE $100)

✓ EARNINGS DISCLAIMER TEMPLATE (VALUE $75)

✓ TESTIMONIALS & PRODUCT REVIEW DISCLAIMER (VALUE $75)

✓ SPONSORED POST DISCLAIMER (VALUE $75)

✓ LAWFUL USE OF WEBSITE CLAUSE (VALUE $150)

✓ THIRD PARTY LINKS DISCLAIMER (VALUE $150)

✓ MANDATORY ARBITRATION CLAUSE (VALUE $250)

Digital Product e-commerce platforms for selling digital products, courses, etc.

ConvertKit Commerce*

If you have a ConvertKit email marketing account, you can now sell your digital products directly through your existing ConvertKit account. An e-commerce integration is no longer a requirement to start (or continue) making sales of your digital products!

SendOwl*

SendOwl is an all-in-one solution designed to help creators successfully sell and deliver audiobooks, e-books, photography, software, memberships, event tickets, online courses, and much more.

Teachable*

When I first started selling online courses Teachable was what I used. It is a great and affordable platform for creating and selling online courses, coaching services, digital products like ebooks and printables and so much more!

ThriveCart

As my business grew, I wanted a one-stop shop for hosting my courses & products that also had an advanced cart and checkout page builder with built in funnels. I now host all my courses and products here, as well as several sales pages. My customers also check out here and I have the ability to incorporate and automate upsells, downsells, etc.

Quizzes

Quizzes are a great way to grow your email list and learn more about your audience at the same time.

I have made several quizzes with Interact and their templates are AMAZING!

Create an account and begin to harness the power of quizzes to grow your email list. Qualify your leads. And learn more about what your audience truly wants and needs.

Check out one of my quizzes made with Interact below.

Client Management

Honeybook – this is my new favorite tool that I started using in my business mid 2023. It is a client management tool that allows you to book clients, manage projects, and get paid all in one place. If you apply to work with me and we end up working together, you will see this amazing tool in action to keep your project organized.

Use my link and get 25% off your first year!

Video Creation & Consulting

If you plan to do any calls with clients, Youtube videos, videos for courses etc.  

TubeBuddy* – TubeBuddy is a research and planning tool for YouTube creators. The software connects directly to your YouTube account to give you real-time suggestions on videos, keywords, ranking and just about everything you need to grow.

Streamyard*

Streamyard is the easiest way to live stream directly to social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, etc.

I use this platform a lot when I want to go live in multiple places and while doing live launches. You can also record videos for later broadcasts, bring on guests, etc.

Zoom*

Zoom is a great video communications platform that allows you to have 1:1 meetings and group meetings

Webcam*: Logitech C922x Pro Stream Webcam – Full 1080p HD Camera

So many people have commented on how clear my video is during consultations and course videos.  I have this webcam to thank.  The Logitech C922x is the first and only webcam I have ever needed.   It does an amazing job!!

Microphone*: Audio-Technica ATR2100x-USB Cardioid Dynamic Microphone (ATR Series)

This is a powerful microphone at an incredible price.  I love this mic!

Ring Light*: Neewer 18″ Dimmable Fluorescent Ring Light Kit.

Your videos need good lighting and this light is amazing at providing great lighting and making your face look flawless.

I tried unsuccessfully to create my own lighting before I invested in this light a few years ago.  Neewer ring light is well worth the money and hassle, especially if you plan to do any videos, consultations, or courses down the line.

Some of my favorite business tools on my desk.

Do you have one or more favorite business tools or resources that you love and use in your business that I didn’t mention?  Drop it in the comments below, so it can benefit all of us! No affiliate links please.