4 Essential Tools to Help You Build Your Creative Online Business

A lot goes into starting your own business, and the same goes for taking that business online. Check out some of these tools to help you get started selling online.

By now, you’ve taken the leap and started your own business. We know it can be downright scary and confusing to get your business going online. You may be asking yourself:

• How do I build a website?
• How do I set up an my online store?
• How do I drive traffic?
• How do I take advantage of my social channels?
• How do I track my finances?

So many questions...where do you even begin? Luckily, there are tons of tools out there to help steer you in the right direction. Here are some simple resources every new entrepreneur should have in their toolkit.

Start Selling: Selz

Do you already have an existing site and want to begin selling? Do you want to generate sales from your social media channels? Or are you looking to begin selling from scratch? Whatever the case, Selz is a great one stop shop solution for you. Selz handles all of your payment processing, customer management and business insights, all in one place.

Selz also has a bunch of features which will help you sell more and save time. Abandoned cart emails, automated custom receipts, and automated tax invoices are just a few of the ready-made tools Selz provides. Whether you’re selling eBooks, video content, or handmade goods, Selz makes it super-easy to sell from your existing website, create an eye-catching store, and market through all of your social media channels. You don't have to be a developer or know how to code to get started.

Sign up for any Selz Starter, Plus or Pro plan and use the discount code “SKILLSHARE” to receive a free $30 credit on your account. Click here to get started and get selling!

Social Media Management: Hootsuite

Creating a brand presence through social is a critical part of growing your business. It can also be hugely daunting. Enter Hootsuite, a social media management tool which allows you to run all of your social media marketing from a single web based dashboard. With Hootsuite, you’re able to post across multiple channels with one-click, schedule posts to go out automatically and generate custom analytics reports to dig into the effectiveness of your content. They also offer free, pro and enterprise solutions to fit the needs of your business.

Track Your Finances: Wave

If you’re like most freelancers or small business owners, you hear the word ‘accounting’ or ‘payroll’ and you cringe. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Wave is a cloud-based, integrated financial software service that provides tools for invoicing, accounting, payroll, payments and more. And because Wave specifically designed their product for small businesses, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, even the pricing structure is user friendly.  Wave’s software is free upfront, you just pay as you go and only get charged for the features you use.

Create Beautiful Graphics & Designs: Canva

Website platforms like Selz provide some awesome templates that you can use straight out of the box. If you’d like to add a little extra personalization to your website, Canva could be another crucial tool for you to check out. With an easy to use drag and drop interface and access to hundreds of images, photo filters, icons, shapes, and fonts, Canva allows you to create eye-catching designs and layouts- no design experience necessary! Jump in and flex those design muscles for free, here. To get the most out of Canva, you can also take their Skillshare class on effective Graphic Design.

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