Top 10 Must Have Business Tools And Resources For Entrepreneurs
Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the business tools and resources for entrepreneurs and business owners that are on the market?
There are so many powerful tools you could use to boost your business and save time, money and energy but it can be hard to know which ones are worth investing in.
Discover my handpicked selection of the top 10 essential tools for entrepreneurs. These are not just recommendations; I’ve personally put these and many others to the test in my own business and these are my absolute favorites.
Some of these are affiliate links (#nobrainer), this means I may get a small commission if you decide to use them in your business. None of the prices have been increased to compensate me.
Want to learn how to add 1000s of raring to buy leads to your list using a quiz?
Watch the free, on-demand training which will walk you through how to really get visible using a quiz, without the tech headache or pushy marketing tactics.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 1: Interact
It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of using quizzes to build an audience full of lovely engaged clients rather than a list of ghosters.
Interact is the quiz software I use to build and run my own quiz and my clients quizzes.
It is easy to use, has in depth analytics and creates a seamless experience for the person taking the quiz.
It also has great marketing tools available so you not only build your quiz but actually get it out into the world as well.
Interact says “Interact was founded…because we realized how difficult it was for online marketers to get to know their customers as individual human beings.
We wanted to recreate that old school feeling of walking up to a storefront and having an actual conversation with the person running the business.
We help businesses accelerate conversion rates at every stage of the sales funnel – whether you’re building a quiz to generate more high-quality leads, make recommendations on which products or services will be best suited for your needs, or drive engagement with your community”
They’ve got impressive stats:
- 9 million quizzes completed via their platform
- 42,000 leads generated every single day
- 80% quiz completion rate
Want to create your own quiz?
Check out my free training – How to add 1000s of raring to buy leads to your list using a quiz (without the tech headache or pushy marketing tactics).
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 2: ThriveCart
ThriveCart & ThriveCart Learn are hands down the best software investment I made for my business.
I use it for all my checkouts and I also use their Learn platform to host all my courses.
It is designed to increase your checkout conversions (definitely true in my case). If you’re worried about the tech, don’t. It is super easy to use with a drag and drop editor, as well as lots of optimised templates to choose from.
It has all the upsells, downsells and bump options you could wish for. You can use it for pop up carts, embeddable checkouts, full page checkouts and more. You can also run your whole affiliate scheme from it.
And the thing I love most about it, it’s a one off payment so no recurring monthly charges or charges per transaction.
ThriveCart says “Grow income from your existing traffic with the highest converting cart for online businesses. Create high-converting cart pages, funnels, affiliate campaigns, courses and more”
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 3: Email Marketing Membership by Liz Wilcox
It’s official, staring at a blank screen trying to write an email to your list every week suuuckks.
You’ve built this list stuffed full of potential clients but it can be hard to know what to say to them every week, and then suddenly another week has gone by, and then another, without them hearing from you.
If that’s you, then I would join Liz Wilcox’s amazing email marketing membership. For just $9 a month you will get weekly email templates, trainings and a list who love you! Check out her amazing video here to learn more.
It’s as simple as taking the weekly template she sends you, adjusting it to your voice and industry and then clicking send. She has loads of examples of how to use the templates each week, as well as a video walk through for every single template.
Given that for every dollar you spend on email marketing, you can expect to get $42 back, it’s a no brainer to be all over your email marketing strategy with Liz’s help.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 4: Canva
Easy to use design software that enables even a beginner to produce stunning, on brand designs. It has drag and drop functionality and millions of images, photos, fonts, filters, icons, shapes and designs to choose from. It is preloaded with the optimal sizes for all social media graphics. There is a free trial and it is well worth having a go with.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 5: Drip
We’ve all heard that the money is in the list and actually that saying is bang on.
You have total control over your own list and you will need an email marketing system with automation to handle sign ups and subsequent emails.
If you’re new to list building then check out Flodesk as a great beginner option. Their beautifully designed email templates are easy to use, the automations just make sense and it’s at a great price point.
I used to use Flodesk but I moved to Drip this year as I needed more options for automations, stats and tagging.
It is an incredibly robust system that has enabled me to step up my email game.
It has really strong automation functionality but is still really easy to set up.
I can segment my list so much more easily on Drip which allows me to market to them more personally which is the whole point of quiz funnels and is definitely where marketing is headed. No more shouting the same marketing message to everyone, assuming that everyone is the same, thank goodness.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 6: Circuit Sales System
When was the last time you actually asked for the sale? It’s easy to get caught up in all the things and forget to give your audience a chance to buy from you.
I’ve set up Nicki Krawcyzk’s funnel system (the one that 40xed her income) and it has transformed my sales for The Quiz Academy.
Not only am I making sales even when I went on holiday in Belgium last week, but it has taken the pressure off the whole sales process.
In my experience, the Circuit Sales System offers much more than just a sales funnel. It provides a complete sales and messaging system that is designed to elevate your brand and drive consistent sales.
Want to know more about the system and my experience? You can read my review blog here.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 7: TOP by Megan Sumrell
I am definitely a lists person. Are you?
Nothing makes me happier than putting a glorious check mark next to something when I complete it.
In fact, I love them so much that I used to create a “to-do” list at the start of each day.
But, the sad truth is that I was never able to cross everything off.
Ever.
And those long-term projects? Well, I just never seemed to get started on them. Sound familiar?
Enter time management expert, Megan Sumrell. She taught me the difference between a task list and a plan and it has completely revolutionized my life.
Gone are the days of collapsing into bed at night feeling like a failure because my list wasn’t done. Now, I start each day with a plan, know how to pivot when things inevitably happen and know I am making moves every single day towards my bigger goals.
Megan says that her programme is perfect for you if you’re:
- Juggling all the things and feeling overwhelmed
- So far behind that you don’t even know where to start
- Tired of being tired all of the time
- Want more downtime to enjoy with your family
If that’s you then check out her free on-demand training – How to plan, manage and organise your life…even with a crazy and unpredictable schedule.
You’ll learn:
- How to stay “on top of it all” without sacrificing your relationships, your health, or your sanity.
- How to stop the endless list-making cycle and get more done than ever before!
- How to create meaningful plans that include all the moving parts of your life and still accommodate life’s constant curve balls.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 8: Deadline Funnel
This is a smart piece of software which has one specific aim – to boost sales from your emails.
I use it in my Drip campaigns to give each person their very own authentic deadline for my offers. It is the essential cog which makes my Circuit Sales System work.
Deadline Funnel says: “With authentic countdown timers synced across your emails and website / sales funnel pages, you can communicate the real deadline your leads need to know to urge them to make a purchase decision”.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 9: Female Entrepreneur Association
Carrie Green set up FEA with one mission – to help you build a wildly successful business.
This was the first online membership I joined when I started my business and it has helped me so much over the years with strategy, community and support.
You get a new training every month by experts in their field covering everything you need to start and grow your business.
There’s also networking, goal setting sessions every month, a huge community of other entrepreneurs and so much more.
Carrie says: “It’s the ultimate online learning platform for women who want to take their knowledge, expertise and ideas and build a thriving digital business. We teach you how to create courses, digital products, memberships and services, with less stress, less confusion and way more confidence!”
It’s for women who’ve already got started with building their business – they know what they want, but are feeling stuck not making progress or generating consistent income.
You can check it out here.
Business Tools for Entrepreneurs Number 10: Leadpages
I am a massive fan of Leadpages and use it for all my pop up boxes, opt in pages and sales pages.
My conversion rates have definitely gone up since I started using it and many of my opt in’s (like my success plan) convert at over 65%.
Leadpages says it: “helps small businesses connect with an audience, collect leads, and close sales. Easily build websites, landing pages, pop-ups, alert bars, and beyond”.
It integrates really well with Drip, Deadline Funnel and ThriveCart so it’s a really smooth, optimised process for your client to go from opt in, to sales page, to checkout to purchase.
Learn more here.
What’s Next?
Are you ready to focus on growing a fully engaged list of people who open your emails, love your message and actually buy from you?
Never launch to crickets again by creating your very own interactive quiz.
Which of these top 10 must have business tools and resources for entrepreneurs are you going to try today? Tell me in the comments.
