This has been a ridiculously challenging time and the pandemic has disrupted everyone's life in some way, shape or form. While unexpected, it definitely presented an opportunity to hone our visions, what we wanted to do, and who we wanted to serve. For many, including myself, this has been a time to reflect, refocus, refresh and invest in our future selves, brands, and businesses. While I've been consulting for over a decade, the last two years have been some of the most rewarding as I was honored to help guide many individuals who were reinvesting in themselves as well as those who were truly going for it for the first time. I poured time and energy into helping them on their paths to their goals, and also building a positive community online to support one another through all of this.
I asked a lot of questions and got a TON of feedback re: what people need, or are looking for, to help make life and business easier. While I always love sharing what I currently am using, I also love a good challenge or request to vet other resources to help my clients.
If you know me, or if we've worked together in the past, you know I am a lifelong learner and absolutely LOVE testing out new tools and services that make completing tasks more productive and efficient. I use many of the tools below on a daily basis and I cannot rave enough about how helpful they've been as I've been growing the AWC and She Believed She Could communities and helping my clients during this time!
Check out my suggestions below! If you want to learn more about any of these or need help using them, please reach out for details on my coaching packages! I'd love to help you!
One of the greatest tools of all time is Canva! I can't even begin to express how amazing it is. You can create literally anything in a user-friendly way without any prior design experience. From social graphics, to resumes, e-books, etc., the possibilities are literally endless! Not only do I create all of my social graphics, press kits, brand guides and sponsorship decks on Canva, I've created two, 100+ page workbooks and my 90 Day Success planner on the platform as well. You can create a free account, but I highly recommend signing up for the premium plan because it gives you unlimited access to images, fonts and incredible tools that make designing a breeze!
If you're ready to UPLEVEL your social strategy, consider using this tool to make your life 1000x easier! You can schedule, do hashtag research, save captions for the future, pre-schedule your first comments, tag, and preview your feed all within this app. If you use this link, you'll get additional FREE posts with your complimentary plan when you sign up! This will also give you access to Linkin.bio which is an AWESOME way to continue to drive traffic to sites from Instagram long after the post occurs. This is a #gamechanger for sure! This tool has made a MASSIVE difference as I scaled the AWC community by 17,000 incredible followers in the 18 months!
Stop struggling with content creation and tap into RIDICULOUS possibilities when you use Jarvis. I have to admit, I was skeptical. Shame on me because this is awesome and allows me to easily come up with content each and every time. No more writer's block or lack of creativity for me. Everything from headlines and captions to long-form content can be created on Jarvis. Take the stress out of writing and tap into the power of AI-driven technology and put your content creation on steroids.
If you'd like to create your own website, check out Wix! It's super user-friendly and allows you to fully customize your template too! I manage multiple sites on Wix and have built out pretty sophisticated functionality on several of
those sites. Wix also allows you to have a customer portal, classy storefront, subscription services, blogs and email automation. I've used countless different platforms over the years and Wix has kept up the best with both mine, and my client's needs, without having to hire a web designer!
Think of Grammarly as your personal writing assistant online! If your goal is to share a grammatically correct message each and every time, this tool will help you do so. The chrome extension makes it easy to use, and it's always working in the background to highlight or call out areas that need to be adjusted or tweaked. You never want to send anything out riddled with typos and Grammarly will help prevent you from EVER doing that!
If you are looking for software to use to record and edit videos quickly and easily on your computer, look no further! I've been using Camtasia for years to create online courses and tutorials, and love the ease and functionality it provides. I also edit all of my podcast episodes there as well!
If you're considering launching a course or training, I highly recommend Thinkific! It's been an absolute GAME CHANGER for me. I have multiple courses and membership sites through this platform and it's super user-friendly. This is perfect for coaches, consultants, trainers, or anyone who wants to pull all of their instructional materials together in one place.
If you are working on building your audience and influence on YouTube, Tube Buddy should be your new best friend! A solid YouTube strategy will make all of the difference. It helps you evaluate, track, and plan strategic content to help optimize your videos. You will literally never have to guess again as to whether or not you are doing the right thing on YouTube! Plus, the analytics behind every decision you make are right there in front of you so you can get better and better each time! If you're going to spend the time creating the content, you should invest the energy to share it the right way.
If you are committed to growing your network on LinkedIn, Dux Soup will make a HUGE difference. You can literally set this on auto-pilot and watch the results happen! I was able to grow my connections from 4,000 to over 12,000 in a few short months!
If you have a specific goal in mind and need to generate new leads and opportunities for yourself or your business through LinkedIn, Cleverly is the way to go. They will literally do the outreach for you! You will have to set up LinkedIn Sales Navigator as well, but it's well worth the investment.
You do not have to do everything yourself, and you also don't need to drive yourself crazy trying to find someone who can. I have used Upwork for countless projects and love being able to find AMAZING talent to help bring my vision to reality! You set the budget, and freelancers apply to the posting. Once you find someone that's a good fit, you're off and running!
Say GOODBYE to a million back-and-forth emails trying to coordinate schedules! All you have to do is share your link with whomever you're trying to schedule with and they can book time with you. Calendly syncs with your calendar and compares your availability to theirs so they can book meetings/time with you on the spot. You can integrate it with Zoom as well so that you can instantly send access details when they book time with you. This has made a MASSIVE difference in how I get appointments scheduled and confirmed. You can even send text reminders about your upcoming appointments!
OTHER ITEMS TO CONSIDER....
RECORDING TOOLS - If you are interested in launching a web series or podcast, make sure you have the right tools! Check out this link for my favorite ring lights and mics!
SIGN UP FOR COACHING - I would love to help you take your brand, business and life to the next level. If you'd like for me to teach you how to use any of these tools, consider signing up for The She Believed She Could Society or a private coaching experience.
(Disclaimer: I love some of the tools below so much, that I signed up to be an affiliate with their companies, so if you click the link, I will earn a nominal commission or credit to my own account. Your support is greatly appreciated 💕.)