5 Essential Tools for Online Business Owners

Online business owners often have a long, unruly list of platforms and tools that clutter up their flow, add unnecessary complexity and stress, or just ruin the vibe. 

Might this apply to you?

If so, it’s time to declutter that shit. 

And you can do just that by creating a custom suite of five tools to simplify operations, remove redundancy, decrease stress, and maximize productivity. 

When considering the online business tools you already use, how many are there exactly? Which five core tools would you keep? Which ones, when used together, would be robust enough to execute the vast majority of your required tasks? 

If you’re unsure, here’s a list of five vetted and Jewels-approved tools  powerful platforms like Kajabi and Google Workspace to versatile solutions like Airtable and Quickbooks, and even an exclusive Jewels of Teaching “Goal Setting Workbook,” these tools can transform the way you work.

If you want to check any of them out, feel free to use my affiliate links or just Google them on your own!

A Suite of 5 Tools that Can Grow Your Online Business

1. Kajabi: A Comprehensive Platform for Course Creation, Marketing, and Delivery

Kajabi is a popular course platform for online entrepreneurs. It also happens to be the one I use to deliver my courses :)

The platform enables you to create and market your educational content and digital products easily - without the need for extensive technical knowledge or web development skills.

Key features: 

• Course Creation: Kajabi’s user-friendly interface supports creating and designing online courses, video and audio content, quizzes, and organization of your course materials.
• Website Building: Build well-branded websites and showcase your content and products using Kajabi's templates and customization options.
• Marketing: Marketing tools like email marketing, landing pages, and marketing automation helps promote online offerings.
• Private memberships: Create and manage a membership site for exclusive content.
• Payment Processing: Kajabi includes payment processing capabilities, so you can sell courses and products directly through the platform.
• Analytics and Reporting: Track performance and metrics of your courses and marketing through Kajabi's analytics and reporting tools.
• Community and Engagement: Build that all-important online community and engage with students.

2. Google Workspace: The Great Workhorse in the Cloud

Google Workspace is an extensive suite of sophisticated cloud-based online business tools. Its large range of applications and services enhance productivity, communication, and collaboration. 

Aside from Gmail, the Google Workspace suite includes:

• Google Drive: Cloud storage for storing and sharing files and documents. Among other tools, it includes Google Docs (word processing), Google Sheets (spreadsheets), and Google Slides ( presentations) - all accessible and editable in real time online.
• Google Calendar: Google’s robust calendar enables you to manage multiple calendars, appointments, meetings, and events.
• Google Meet: This video conferencing and online meeting platform is free though Gmail, and allows you to host and join virtual meetings.
• Google Chat: Chat enables real-time messaging and collaboration. This is especially helpful to use while you're using the platform.
• Google Forms: Create forms like surveys, quizzes, and data collection. Responses are automatically collected and you can opt to have them analyzed.

3. Airtable: A Free Project Management Platform 

Airtable is a cloud-based database and project management platform that combines the simplicity of a spreadsheet with the complexity of a traditional database. I like it for managing all my systems and links.

Its rich features, customization options, and versatility makes it suitable for other uses like, content planning, customer relationship management (CRM), inventory tracking, event planning, and more. 

Airtable Highlights: 

• Customized Databases: Build and design custom databases to store and organize information. Each base consists of tables, similar to spreadsheets, where you can input data.
• Database Field Types: Choose from various field types within database tables, such as text, numbers, dates, attachments, checkboxes to structure and categorize information.
• Record and File Linking: Airtable supports linking records across tables, creating relationships between different pieces of data. This relational aspect is a powerful feature for organizing complex information.
• Workflow View Options: I love the multiple view options, including grid, calendar, gallery and more. This allows you to visualize your information and projects in different ways.
• Collaboration: Team members can collaborate in the same base in real-time, making it a great platform for data sharing.
• Automation: Create essential automation workflows using the "Automations" feature. This allows for tasks like sending notifications, updating records, and performing actions based on triggers.
• Mobile App: Airtable has a mobile app for iOS and Android.

4. QuickBooks: Financial Transactions and Accounting Made Easy

For finances and accounting, QuickBooks is one of the best, most-feature-rich online business tools. It will automate tasks like bookkeeping, invoicing, expense tracking, payroll processing, and financial reporting. Plus, the affiliate link above offers an extra 30% off your first 6 months! Great for a trial period and getting set up.

Key features:

• Bookkeeping: Record and organize financial transactions, including income, expenses, and bank transactions. Categorize and reconcile these transactions to create and maintain accurate books.
• Invoicing: Customize forms like invoices, estimates, and sales receipts.
• Expense Tracking: Track and categorize expenses, attach receipts, and monitor spending. This feature also supports budgeting and expense management.
• Payroll and Financial Reporting: This handles payroll services, including the calculation and distribution of salaries, taxes, and deductions. It also helps facilitate tax filing and payroll regulation compliance. It generates financial reports like profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and customizable reports. Finally, you can easily reconcile bank and credit card accounts with recorded transactions, ensuring accuracy in your records.
• Collaboration: Multiple users can access and collaborate on the same company file, making the platform suitable for teams.

5. Legal Templates to Make You Confident in your Compliance

These Legal Templates are the easiest way to make sure you have all of your ducks in a row. I started with the VIP Bundle and then upgraded to premium when I saw how many extra unmentioned bonuses were also included. 

Key Features

• Frustration Free: Don’t worry if you have the right language to protect your work nor worry about what you need to add to your privacy policy or next contract. It’s all included and ready to use.
• Plug and Play: Once you download, follow the instructions, and add your business information. That’s all there is to it. You can edit and adjust as needed or add/delete what you need.
• Easy Organization: You can always find exactly what you need inside the bundle and the information is clear and easy to follow despite the legal jargon.
• Affiliate Marketing Available: You even get to make your money back after using them by becoming an affiliate too. You all know I only become affiliates for things I truly believe in and this is one standby I recommend to EVERY business owner I meet. 
• Lots to choose from: I started out with the lower bundle because I thought that I didn’t need some of the items in the premium package. Then, a year later I found out I actually wanted to expand and needed that guest blogger contract. I like knowing that when I need it, everything is there. 
• Updated: She updates the content as needed and sends an email telling you when to redownload or update anything based on essential changes. Talk about a lifetime bargain. 

Bonus: A Vibey JOT Goal Setting Workbook for Online Business Owners

This Goal-Setting Workbook helps you easily create and manage your goals in a digestible, simple way.

Online Entrepreneurs Get Guidance To:

• Define intrinsic (ex. Freedom, working less, stress relief) and external goals (sales goals, vacation goals, metrics, supporting other people or organizations, etc).
• Break these two types of goals into specific “success outcomes” so you’ll know when you’ve accomplished them.
• Create realistic goal timelines to get to the outcomes
• Use your timeline to create “mini-goals” to stay on track and in action.
• Use the mini-goals to create and prioritize your top 2-3 daily habits and/or tasks.
• Create an “obstacle action plan.”
• Plan with daily, weekly, quarterly and yearly planners. 
• Check-in and reflect on your goals and experience.

Online business owners can benefit from building a streamlined, customized “suite” of 5 tools to help them find success. That’s my two cents. What do you think? Do you use any of the tools listed above? How would streamlining your tools help you grow your online business?