Here is a must have collection of tools and services to help you build your coaching business. Some of these resources are free, some of them you pay for.

You Need A Budget: even if you have revenue from your business coming in, it is always a good idea to have a budget. It is so easy to justify spending money of tools and gadgets when building a business. But in most cases, especially at the beginning, all you need to buy to start building a team is a domain name. Beyond that, it’s just hard work.

Domain Research: finding the perfect domain name for your website and social media accounts can be hard. And even if you come up with the perfect domain name, you may find that it is already taken. LeanDomainSearch.com is a neat website you can use to research not only domain names, but also to get some ideas on the names for your social media accounts using the Domain Name Generator. It’s free and super simple to use.

Bluehost: to create your business website, you’ll need a web hosting service. Bluehost is a well-known web hosting service you can use, especially if you are just getting started. You can have your own website up and running in a matter of minutes. Plus you get a free domain when you register with them. Very affordable, dependable, and secure.

WordPress: to build your website, use WordPress. It is free and simple to use. Plus, they have a ton of great looking themes built in to make you look like a pro in no time. There are hundreds of free themes to chose from. If you are starting out, a free theme is all you need. Once you begin generating some revenue, then you may consider getting a Premium theme or even hiring a web designer to get a custom website made.

Backupbuddy: it is a good idea to backup your website. Web hosting companies usually keep backup copies of your website. But if your website crashes, it may take hours to go thru the restore process. Backupbuddy is a great WordPress plugin to have. It is not free, but if you can afford it, consider using it on your website. With this pluggin you get to save copies of your website on your computer. If something happens to your website, you can be back up and running much faster.

Email Service: Mailchimp is a great service you can use to build your email list and send newsletters. The basic service it’s free if you have less than 2,000 email subscribers. If you are planning on selling more than one product, AWeber may be the better way to go.  You can connect multiple PayPal shopping cart items to your AWeber account so you can set up your auto-responder to be product specific.

Google Drive: If you collaborate or share documents with others online, Google Drive or Dropbox are a great free resource to store, share, and create documents. They both integrates with your devices and if you have a Gmail account, you already have Google Drive.

Canva: if you want to create eye catching graphics for your business, Canva is a great website where you can create really good looking graphics for free. Some of their resources are paid, but their free stuff is awesome. Plus, they also have templates you can use if you want to create graphics specific for Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, your website, and much more.

Images: when it comes to high-quality images, you’ll probably have to look at professional photography. And unless you are a professional photographer, you’ll have to pay to get high-quality photos. Unsplash is a great website where you can download free high-quality images to use for commercial purposes. Even though most of the art you’ll find on Unsplash is public domain, always check the terms and conditions. You’ll also find photos may be limited in your niche.  If you would like a better selection, you may be interested in depositphotos.  Plans start at $10 a month.

Don’t waste time recreating the wheel. Use this high quality tool kit for coaches and stand out from the crowd. 

If you are unsure how to make it all work together and all of this still seems clear as mud or if you would rather focus all your energies on doing what you love, contact me at lori@thefitfilledlife.com so we can talk about how I can help you do what you do best – COACH!