WEB HOSTING
GYBO Hosting
if you’re starting your business from the very beginning, I recommend creating a website with wordpress.org and hosting it with GYBO Hosting. It’s an effective and affordable way to make sure your site is always up and running. It’s not the cheapest solution. BUT: it’s still very affordable and it’s orders of magnitude better than the typical budget hosting solutions. Start with GYBO hosting and you’ll have a blazing fast website, extremely good customer service, free SSL and solid security features. The value you get here is second to none.
WEBSITE/CMS
WordPress
I built my very first website with WordPress, built dozens of WordPress sites since and have never looked back. What makes WordPress so powerful isn’t just that it’s free and open source, but that it’s also the most widely used and supported content management system you can use. With themes and plugins, you can customize your WordPress site to your needs. And most importantly: your own WordPress installation on your hosting account means you have full control and ownership of your content.
ANALYTICS
Google Analytics
Google Analytics can be a pain in the ass. By default, it gives you some useful information, a lot of completely useless information and a simply overwhelming amount of options. It takes a lot of learning, before you really get good use out of this tool. That said, it is by far the most sophisticated analytics tool you can use for free and it’s very widely supported and integrated. You won’t fall in love with Google Analytics right away, but use it from the start. It will pay off, eventually.
TOASTMASTERS
Public speaking skills
Communication Matters in Business. Good communication is an essential tool in achieving productivity and maintaining strong working relationships at all levels of an organisation.
PROCESS DOCUMENTATION
Google Drive
Accessible from anywhere with internet, Google Drive is a great collaborative tool for teams to use when you’re working with content, files, or images in tandem. Unlike DropBox, multiple parties can be in a file at a time manipulating data or text without having to download and re-upload the file.
SOCIAL MEDIA SCHEDULING
Buffer
Schedule social media posts for your preferred times Schedule posts for all of your social accounts at once, and Buffer will publish them automatically, according to the posting schedule you put in place. Buffer makes it easy for businesses and marketing teams to schedule posts, analyze performance, and manage all their accounts in one place.
FILE ORGANIZATION
DropBox
The key to minimising stress in business is staying organized. Dropbox is where I store and systematize my files so that everything has a “home.” You can start using this tool for free and upgrade as your library of digital assets grows.
PASSWORD SECURITY
Last Pass
If you’re still committing passwords to memory (or worse — using the same password for most of your major accounts), it’s time to get a password manager. My personal favorite is LastPass. I love that it allows me to securely share sensitive information (such a social media logins, etc.)
PAYMENT PROCESSING
Stripe
A complete payments platform engineered for growth. Whether you’re looking to bill customers on a recurring basis, set up a marketplace, or simply accept payments, do it all with a fully integrated, global platform that can support online and in-person payments. Use Stripe’s payment platform to accept and process payments online.