In this post, you’ll discover the best business tools for startups and small business owners

These are the Business Tools I wish someone had told me about when I started my business

BookOm: Online Appointment Booking System

BookOm Dashboard

If you have an appointment-based service business, you will definitely want to add an online appointment booking and scheduling system to your website. BookOm is the most affordable solution for Yoga teachers, Pilates teachers, and anyone who has a service-based business. 

You can signup to BookOm for free.

BOOKOM FEATURES

Automate Your Bookings

Let BookOm fully automate your bookings, which is the most crucial part of growing your business.  Free up your time by letting BookOm get you bookings.

Receive Payments Immediately

Let your customers pay for your services online. Remain in total control over all orders and payments.  Immediately receive the money in your Stripe or Paypal account. 

Comprehensive Reporting

BookOm has comprehensive reports so you can track your revenue, revenue by staff, customer attendance,  and more. This information is invaluable for your business analytics.

Zoom LiveStream Integration

Open up a new income stream by adding LiveStream to your schedule. BookOm has Zoom integration.

Confirmation & Reminder Emails

Your customers will receive a confirmation email after purchase, and a reminder before the service/appointment.

Easy Website Integration

It couldn’t be easier to integrate the booking form/schedule into your website or Facebook page.

SocialPilot: Social Media Marketing Tool

SocialPilot is a comprehensive and robust social media toolkit. You’ll never again need to post on social media manually, which means if you’re a frequent social media user, you’ll save yourself 60+ hours per year. 

 
SOCIALPILOT FEATURES

Connect 50+ Accounts & Schedule Posts

Connect and manage 50+ social profiles. Start posting on each of the social networks from one unified social media scheduling tool. Schedule a single post multiple times across your social networks.

Analyze, Monitor & Report Your Social

SocialPilot provides a powerful, yet easy to understand social media analytics tool to improve your social media performance and efficiency. Export all data into a presentable PDF report with a single click.

Manage Social Media Team and their Work

Manage your social media accounts along with your team. Let them complete your social media tasks. Review their posts and updates within this social media management tool before approving.

Content Curation and Custom Feeds

Get relevant and evergreen content, from across the web, delivered within your account. Schedule it on your list and let it reach your targeted audience. Add RSS feeds to put your favourite blogs in auto-sharing mode.

Visualize Strategy on Social Calendar

Social media calendar helps you to visualize your social media strategy. SocialPilot’s calendar tool comes in handy when you want to keep track of posts on various accounts.

Upload 500 Posts with Bulk Scheduling

Want to post for more than 24 hours in advance? Bulk scheduling lets you schedule up to 500 posts for upcoming weeks or months. You can edit, delete or move posts if you change your mind.

Boost Facebook Posts & Expand Your Brand

Make your content stand out by boosting your best Facebook posts directly from the SocialPilot dashboard and expand your brand’s reach. Give your brand the platform it deserves and reach millions of people.

Highly Visual Marketing Campaigns

SocialPilot supports image, video and GIF scheduling to take care of your visual marketing campaigns.

Schedule On Android & IOS Mobile App

Schedule and manage content from your mobile with SocialPilot’s Android and iOS app.

Aweber: Email Marketing Tool

Business Tools For Startups AWeber

One of the quickest and easiest ways to grow your yoga teacher business, especially during these uncertain Covid-19 times, is with an email list.

Most people coming to your site leave without a trace. The tragedy is that you’ve spent a small fortune on a website, and aren’t getting the most out it.

It surprises me that startups are perfectly willing to spend £1000+ on a website, but think $19 (approximately £15) per month to use the best email marketing tool on the market is not worthwhile.

It is worthwhile. It is very worthwhile. In fact, there is no other marketing activity that is more effective. Nothing even comes close, not even word of mouth.

Talk to any business adviser, and they will all recommend you use an email marketing tool to grow your business (I used to be a business adviser). Think about that for a moment. Why would every single business advisor you meet not only recommend that you use an email marketing tool, but practically get on their hands and knees and beg you to use one?

The email marketing tool I recommend is Aweber.

Start your 30-day Aweber free trial today.

AWEBER FEATURES

Email Automation

Get more time back in your day by automating your email marketing. Deliver the right message to the right person at the right time - with less work.

Auto-newsletters

Save even more time by automatically pulling content from your blog into an email newsletter to share with subscribers.

Attractive Signup Forms

It's easy to get started quickly with sign up forms that get people excited to sign up to your email list. Connect your forms to your social networks to maximise your reach.

Landing Page Builder

Create your custom landing page in minutes. Get access to unlimited landing page templates, our drag and drop builder, pre-stocked image library, and much more.

Email Templates Galore

700+ mobile-friendly email templates, so there’s no need to spend any time on design. Choose a template to match your brand, add your info and hit send. It’s that easy.

Very Helpful Blog

Excellent support team with a library of helpful resources such as how-to guides and videos and a blog full of expert tips to answer your biggest questions.

Elementor: No. 1 Rated WordPress Page Builder

I use the Divi Theme by Eleganthemes.com on lots of my sites, but recently I’ve also started to use Elementor as my page builder.  Elementor is a WordPress page builder that has taken WordPress web design by storm.

It has the deepest feature set but is extremely easy to use. It’s also a joy to use. I feel like an artist when creating pages and posts because they make it so easy to craft lovely looking pages and posts.  Elementor is the most full-featured free page builder.

There is also a Pro add-on to add additional developer features.

You can sign up to Elementor for free here.  

ELEMENTOR FEATURES

Front-End Page Builder

Elementor is a front-end page builder which may not mean much to you. All you need to know is that it is WAY BETTER than a back-end builder. You become both an artist and a writer when using a front-end page builder.

Templates and Blocks

Page templates are a huge time saver. They let you create a specific type of page in just a few clicks. Blocks are preset sections that, like page templates, you can quickly add to pages (e.g. FAQs, call-to-actions).

Mobile & Tablet Friendly

As more website visitors use their mobile devices to access the Internet, it’s now more important than ever to have a mobile and tablet friendly website. Elementor does this for you automatically.

Facebook Page

Complete Guide To Using-Facebook Pages For Your Small Business

A Facebook Page is now a must-have for startups and small businesses. You don’t have to do anything fancy. 

Here’s what I do…

Whenever I publish a new blog post like the SocialPilot post I’ve just written, I create a post on my Facebook Page, paste the post URL into the post and write a short blurb about the post. That’s it. That’s all I use my Facebook Page for, and it definitely brings in extra business, so a couple of minutes spent creating the Facebook post is worth it for me, especially when using SocialPilot (social media marketing tool).

Facebook Page FAQs

Social media marketing begins with Facebook.

It’s the big daddy. It’s where everyone is.

Over 75% of all internet users have a Facebook profile. That means no matter how niche your audience is, you’ll be able to reach them simply by setting up a free Facebook Page. 

Facebook is such a powerful social media platform because it offers a mixture of all other social media platforms in one: the strong visual aspect of Instagram, the brevity of messages of Twitter (but with the ability to create longer content). It’s also like YouTube because you can share videos. And it’s also like having an e-commerce store because you sell and promote products.

There’s a reason the Facebook founder is a gazillionaire!  He’s created a platform that almost everyone on the internet uses. 

The profile and cover photo/video create a powerful first impression of your business to a visitor. 

Sizes

  • Select a profile photo that is 170 pixels wide by 170 pixels tall. 
  • Select a cover photo that is 820 pixels wide by 312 pixels tall.

Fiverr

  • If you haven’t got a profile and cover image yet, go to Fiverr.com, search for “Facebook cover”, and get them made for under £20. 
  • If you haven’t got a logo yet, go to Fiverr.com, search for “logo creation”, and get one for under £20. 

The “cover” image is very versatile. You can use anything related to your business such as a video explainer describing your services, a picture of a brand new product, a special offer, and a discount code. The main thing is to make sure that your cover image/video looks good and has a “call to action”.  

My advice is to visit a bunch of Facebook Pages to get inspiration for your profile and cover photo/video. You’ll notice that the best ones will make you interesting enough for you to scroll down and hit follow. 

Yes. There’s no need to overthink this.

Include: 

  • your thing (what you do)
  • your story
  • your team 
  • your call to action
  • your personality (don’t make it too corporate)

Keep it brief. 

Take a look at a bunch of Facebook Pages, read their page descriptions, and get inspiration for your writing your page description.

The “call to action” buttons are the most underused but most important part of a Facebook page.

Click the “add a button” directly under your cover photo. This will bring up the following button options:

  • Book Services: works well when you want the visitor to book an appointment or a meeting.
  • Get in Touch: works well if your business requires customer support and inquiries. 
  • Learn More: works well when you’ve given  the visitor some good information, which means they’re ready to be directed to your website for even more information or to purchase your service/product/ 
  • Make a Purchase: This is the holy grail and the ultimate response that you’re seeking from the visitor. If you don’t have a product, you can ask the visitor to make a donation if you’re a non-profit organization. 
  • Download App or Game: If you’ve created an App (or are an affiliate for one), this button will encourage the visitor to download the app (or game) you’re offering.

Once you are done selecting a button, add a URL (e.g. to a sales page on your website), to direct the visitors. 

Yes! Facebook make it super easy.

All you need to do is copy and paste your blog post’s URL into the Facebook post, and the image you have selected as your blog post’s ‘feature image’ will appear. That means you don’t need to go the effort and time of having to find the featured image and upload it. 

Yes! 

The data they collect for you includes:

  • Age
  • Gender
  • Location
  • Operating system
  • Employment
  • Income
  • Preferences (hobbies, likes, behaviour)

When you click “insights”, you can view data for specific posts and demographics. This helps you understand what works for your audience and what doesn’t.

People absolutely love freebies. So, it often pays handsomely to give stuff away. This will raise your brand awareness and increase the traffic to your Facebook Page and website.

I personally have never paid for Facebook advertising, but that’s only because I’m a prolific blogger, which is where I get 100% of my web traffic. If I wasn’t a blogger or blogged infrequently, I almost certainly would pay for Facebook ads. 

The 5 Steps To Get A Facebook Ad

  1. Click on the little arrow in the top right corner of your page and click on create ads. 

  2. Pick an objective. Pick “Engagement” if you’d prefer to pay based on comments, likes and shares. Pick “Traffic” if you want to lead your visitors to a landing page or “Conversions” to track how many people purchased something from you.

  3. Pick an audience you want to see your advert. You can select locations, age ranges, specific user preferences, etc. 

  4. Decide the daily budget and the duration you want to run the advert. 

  5. Finish by choosing the “ad placement” – use automatic settings or custom settings.

Zoom

how to set up a zoom yoga class

Due to Covid-19 Zoom is now a must-have tool for most startups and small businesses.

I recently wrote a blog post about getting started with Zoom called How To Set Up A Zoom Yoga Class. Even if you’re not a yoga teacher, it gives you all the information you need to get started with setting up online Zoom sessions. 

Stunning Garden Dome: Ideal Office

HypeDome Garden Office

I’ve just ordered a HypeDome.

If you make it to the end of this post and want one, use my £100 discount code: GEORGEWATTS

If you’ve got room in your garden, and a few quid saved up, I have a hunch that you will want one too. So, if you haven’t got £3,000 under your mattress, I suggest you don’t read this.

The story starts as all stories currently do, with Covid.

Due to Covid, I found myself needing more space in our little cottage. More space for working, and more space for working out.

I then asked myself this question…

“Will it add value to my house?” 

After doing some research, I discovered the answer was a big “Yes!”

According to popular property personality Phil Spencer, a conservatory can add around 7% in value to your home.

My little cottage is valued at £150,000. That means by getting the HypeDome, which is essentially a cool-looking conservatory, I increased the value of my property by £10,500.

It only cost £3,000.

That means I made £7,500!

So, it wasn’t an expense. It was an investment.

I was going to get a traditional conservatory at the back of the cottage (we already have one in the front of the cottage that we spend 90% of our time in), but thankfully I stumbled across it on the web and was instantly smitten by the stunning dome.

I had already done lots of homework.

I’d spent countless hours looking at all the possible options. Domes, eco pods, conservatories, extensions, and Shephard huts were all options on the table. Speaking of tables, see the table below. I thought it might be helpful for you to see the options I was considering…

Garden Office Spaces

TypeCostSize CountryAssembly TimeSelf Assembly
HypeDome£3,0007.6 ft highWorldwide4 hoursYes
Eco Pod (large)£4,00010×20 ftUK0 hoursNo
Eco Pod (small)£2,19210×10 ftUK0 hoursNo
Full Glass Conservatory (Wickes)£12,00013 X 17 FtUKWeeksNo
Lean-to Full Glass Conservatory (Wickes)£3,2008 X 6 FeetUKWeeksNo
Off-the-shelf Conservatory Kit£3000+All sizesUKWeeksYes
Shephard’s Hut£20,00020ftUK0 hoursNo

 

After doing my homework, I concluded the HypeDome:

  1. Looks way cooler than a boring conservatory
  2. It Will be enjoyed by the whole family 365 days a year
  3. Adds £10,500 to the value of my cottage
  4. Saves me £9,000 from getting an expensive conservatory
  5. Performs better than a conservatory in all weathers
  6. Is a space that has more functions than a Swiss army knife
  7. Only takes 4 hours to assemble

Working from home is now the norm. And that’s a good thing if your office is a magical garden dome!

10 Benefits Of Working From A Garden Office

1. Save money6. Wear cosy clothes
2. Save time7. No office distractions
3. Save the environment8. No traffic
4. More productive9. No crowds
5. Custom environment10. More time with loved ones

With a garden dome office, you get amazing views and all the health benefits of being out in nature. I don’t know about you, but I used to get quite down after spending 8 hours a day trapped in my work cubicle. Kinda felt like a prison to me.

If you are looking for a garden office, the space in the HypeDome garden pod is large enough to fit a desk and other office furniture comfortably. Because the exterior is made from polycarbonate panels with a clever fish scale design, you can rest assured that all of your home office supplies inside will stay completely dry.

Whether it’s conference calls or some much needed quiet time to work on your critical projects, this area is the perfect atmosphere to be productive. Just run a power cord line from under the pod, hook up all your equipment, and get to work!

HypeDome Coupon 100 poundsFind out more about the HypeDome here. Discount coupon: to receive £100.00 / €110.00 discount and free delivery (UK & EU), use this coupon code at checkout: GEORGEWATTS

Stripe

I was also going to include Paypal, but if I was starting a business today, I would just stick with Stripe as your online payment processor (it allows merchants to accept payment from their customers).

Here’s how the two services work out card payment processing fees: 

ChargeStripePayPal Pro
Monthly FeesFree£20
Transaction Fees1.4% + 20p1.9% + 20p
Example £10 Transaction£0.34£0.39
Example £100 Transaction£1.60£2.10

As you can tell from the above table, stripe fees are lower than Paypal. That’s why I recommend Stripe. 

Pexels.com: Royalty-free Images

If you need royalty-free images, pexels.com is one of the best places to get them. I use Pexels.com on an almost daily basis to get images for my blog posts. 

Photoshop Elements: Easy To Use Photo Editing Software

Business Tools For Startups Photoshop Elements

I’m not very techy, so haven’t got on well with the expensive photoshop products in the past, but I do like their basic “photoshop elements” product. It’s idiot-proof. Very easy to use. Perfect for someone like me who just wants to do the same basic changes to most of my images (resize and save for web). 

I like it because it’s a one-time purchase. It’s not part of the adobe creative cloud, so there are no yearly payments. With its wealth of tools and ease of use, Photoshop Elements is PCMag Editors’ Choice winner for enthusiast-level photo editing software. 

You can get it from Amazon, eBay, or directly from Adobe’s site. 

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