Online tools to help manage your
wellness business
Hi there,
When starting out with your wellness business, your head can swim with all the different online tools available. How much are they? Which ones are the most intuitive? Which ones will actually help my business grow?
You'll want to automate as much as you can and set yourself up to work and collaborate anywhere and with anyone in the world.
My aim is to get my clients set-up with the most powerful, intuitive and cost-effective tools available. Preferably free tools. And although I can get these set-up for them quite quickly, there are new entrepreneurs who have the time but just don't have the budget yet to outsource the set-up and administration.
If you are in the business of wellness, I want you to succeed. So below you'll find my recommendations of the most essential tools you'll need to get started.
G-Suite
If you want to work from anywhere in the world with anyone in the world, this is essential. Get your business email, calendar, documents, registration forms, feedback forms, video conferencing and so much more in one shareable place.
Cost: £3.30/month for one email address
Canva
I think everyone is familiar with Canva by now. If not you should be! You don't have to be a graphic designer to create professional beautiful images and designs. Warning, its so fun to create with you may find yourself spending too much time on it. Have fun!
Cost: free, though I upgraded because I love it so much
10 to 8
This online booking system will help you automate your bookings, payments and communications with your clients saving you so much time. Whether you meet with individuals or hold events, it integrates nicely with G-Suite and offers responsive support when you get stuck. Love that you can add a button to your website or events page so people can sign up and pay directly.
Cost: Free if under 100 appointments a month
Mailchimp
Free email marketing for newsletters, announcements, events, etc. It's so easy to use. You can create groups to communicate with different audiences, it integrates with lots of apps, and offers links and buttons to capture contacts and add clients and workshop attendees directly to your lists.
Cost: It's free unless you become wildly successful
One Password
It's important that my clients know their passwords are secure, so I store them in this secure vault. For you though, if time is money and you are one to forget your passwords you'll find value in investing in this.
Cost: Free version or $2.99/month
Stripe
You are going to need a payment processor to accept online payments. There are several to chose from. Their rates are fairly similar, and yes fairly pricey, but I have gone with Stripe as it integrates with several of my go-to online packages and apps.
Cost: 1.9% + 20p per transaction for UK issued cards; 2.9% + 20p per transaction for international cards.
Siteground
This is my go to for web hosting, security and technical support. You can always use your domain provider for hosting, and that can take out a layer of work to get set-up but I have been happy with their support and security.
Cost: £33/year plus VAT; £9.95 domain transfer fee
Pootlepress
I love the ethos behind WordPress and am so delighted to have found a plug-in that is actually fun and helps me design a clean contemporary website in a fraction of the time without HTML. It's drag and drop but doesn't tie you in to monthly fees like Squarespace. I'd recommend their theme 18 Tags and Pootle Pagebuider Pro.
Cost: Free versions are available but I love the support and extras with Pro
I hope you found this really helpful. If you have some favourite online tools, I hope you'll share them with us. It would be great to know what everyone is really enjoying working with.
- Angie