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#23: Tech Simplified: What You Need When Starting Your Online Service Business

Samantha Bell
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Keep Your tech-stack simple

There's something super obvious about starting an online service business.

You need tech, you need irresistible service offerings. You need clients, and you need to get paid.

So, what does that look like in terms of your tech stack?

When you're first starting your business, no matter what type of online service you provide, whether it's social media management, online courses, coaching, real estate, or anything in between, the amount of tech tools available to small online business owners is absolutely overwhelming. It's so easy to waste time and money on tools that don't work well, don't suit your business or are just way too expensive.

Today, I'm hoping to cut through the noise and save you some time and money on tech by sharing some of the tools I use all the time, which I think are the essentials when starting your own online service business.

😍 MY FAVE TOOLS:

Dubsado: https://www.dubsado.com/?c=samanthabell
ConvertKit: https://convertkit.com/?lmref=tHXVFQ
MailerLite: https://www.mailerlite.com/a/7urv0w74kncl
Trello: https://trello.com/
Asana: https://asana.com/
ClickUp: https://clickup.com/
Quickbooks: https://quickbooks.intuit.com/au/
Stripe: https://stripe.com/au
Google Workspace: https://workspace.google.com/intl/en_au/
Squarespace: https://www.16thavecreative.com/ 

(full transcription below)

Main Points

00:00:19 - Introduction: Navigating the World of Tech in Your Online Service Business

00:00:46 - Overwhelm in the World of Tech Tools

00:01:02 - Essential Tech Tools for Starting Your Online Service Business

00:02:10 - Simplifying Your Tech Priorities

00:03:08 - Five Key Focus Areas for Your Tech Stack

00:05:22 - The Tech Myth: You Don't Need to Be a Tech Whiz

00:06:23 - Avoiding Overly Complex Tech Systems

00:07:24 - Simplicity for Growth: Staying in Your Zone of Genius

00:09:43 - Avoiding Shiny Object Syndrome: Focus on the Basics

00:10:51 - Revealing the Tech Stack: Website and Online Presence

00:11:45 - Your Website as Your Business Hub

00:13:16 - Email Marketing Essentials: ConvertKit and MailerLite

00:15:16 - Streamlining Operations with Google Workspace

00:16:51 - CRM for Client Management: Dubsado

00:18:15 - Getting Paid Efficiently: Stripe and QuickBooks

00:19:17 - The Importance of Early Bookkeeping Setup

00:20:46 - Simple Payment Methods for Clients

00:22:29 - Optimizing Operations with Project Management Tools

00:24:11 - Focusing on Your Customers and Strengths

00:25:03 - Future Tech Insights

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Hi, I’m Samantha Bell

I’m all about helping you build the business – and life – you’ve always wanted.

Listen in for the simple, actionable strategies, mindset shifts, and practices you need to make your business thrive. Plus, a healthy dose of self-care, health, and wellness so you can live the life you absolutely adore while building your beautiful business.

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Transcription

Hello and welcome back to the Brilliant Business Beautiful Life podcast. There's something super obvious about starting an online service business. You need tech, you need irresistible service offerings. You need clients and you need to get paid. So what does that look like in terms of your tech stack?

[00:00:19] When you're first starting your business, no matter what type of online service you provide, whether it's social media management, online courses, coaching, real estate, anything in between, the amount of tech tools available to small online business owners is absolutely overwhelming. It's so easy to waste time and money on tools that don't work well, don't suit your business or are just way too expensive.

[00:00:46] Today, I'm hoping to cut through the noise and save you some time and money on tech by sharing some of the tools I use all the time, which I think are the essentials when starting your own online service business.

[00:01:02] , For most of my tech, I have annual subscriptions, and that's for two reasons, because I love them, and because paying annually is always the best option to save a few dollars.

[00:01:16] Now the thought of tech causes most women who are starting their online service businesses to go into a bit of an agitated frenzy, they're consumed with thoughts of, "Oh my God, what do I need?" "Where do I get it? What does it do?"

[00:01:31] So I'm just going to cut straight to the point.

[00:01:34] You do not need to be a tech wizard to succeed in your business.

[00:01:39] Keeping things simple and streamlined is the key to winning in your business.

[00:01:46] Now, before we go down the tech path, I want you to focus only on five things.

[00:01:53] Keep your tech simple, have somewhere to send potential clients, have a way to collect their email addresses, have a way for people to book a call with you and have an easy way to get paid. That's it. Simple, right?

[00:02:10] When you're first starting out, you will hear so many ideas about all the different platforms, funnels, automations, tripwires, order bumps, upsells, downsells, carts, AI, plugins, all the tech you can imagine, which if you're quite new to the online world, it can be very daunting. I know the majority of women who are in the startup stage that come to me, for their website design, copywriting, brand design, email marketing, all the things, they are usually tearing their hair out, trying to navigate what it is they actually need to run their business.

[00:02:52] And I always simplify it down to those five things. Being simple, having your online home base, collecting emails, making bookings, and getting paid, because complexity leads to confusion and frustration.

[00:03:08] So begin with straightforward tools that meet your immediate needs. Establish your online presence with a professional, easy to navigate website where prospects can learn about you and your services.

[00:03:22] Start building your email list from day one, which is one of the most important activities you can do in your business to help ensure its long term success. Starting an email list is something I didn't do early enough in my business journey, and I kick myself for it every day. I had so much to do. I knew I needed to do it and that it was important, but I didn't understand just how important it was. So I focused on all the other things. I put it on my to do one day list and didn't start focusing on building my email list until I felt more settled and confident in my business. And I lost so much opportunity by doing that. And I don't want you to do the same.

[00:04:13] So early implementation of an email collection system to connect with potential clients and build your business over time is essential from day one. And it's going to be, or it should be, a major focus throughout your business journey, not just at startup, but continuously throughout the entire entrepreneurial journey.

[00:04:38] So build your email list from day one. Also simplify your booking process. By giving people a very easy way to book calls with you or to book your services. Streamline your payment methods to ensure you receive your money quickly and easily. And when you think of tech in those terms, hopefully all the anxiety and confusion washes away to allow you to focus on one thing at a time to build the right tech stack for you.

[00:05:12] You don't need to do it all in a day. You've got some time and it's better to focus on what you actually need than what you think you need.

[00:05:22] There's also a tech myth and that is that you need to be a pro at tech to be successful in business. And that is a generalized misconception that I hate because it hinders aspiring business women.

[00:05:38] It stops them in their tracks. You do not need to be tech savvy to succeed in your business. This is a myth that leaves so many women who are dreaming of starting their online service business feeling really overwhelmed and it's also the cause one of the most common reasons why women choose to not follow their dreams.

[00:06:00] They put them on the shelf and they don't look at them again and they stay stuck in their nine to five jobs living a life that they just put up with and that just breaks my heart. So, don't be overwhelmed thinking that you need to know all the tech. It's not only a myth. It's also a dream crusher. It's not true.

[00:06:23] Another thing to think about at the beginning of your entrepreneurial journey is you don't need super robust systems that offer all the bells and whistles, particularly the bells and whistles you're most likely never going to use. Not only will they overwhelm you, you won't know what to do with them or when, but they will cost you far more money than strategically choosing tech that's fit for purpose, suits your business model and has the ability to grow with you as your business grows.

[00:06:56] Again, just think about where you are in your journey, what you need for your business to be able to perform, how to keep things simple for your clients and your budget and how to get paid. By focusing on these things, you can approach tech with ease, like an entrepreneur, and build a tech stack of time saving, helpful, user friendly tools that will streamline your business operations.

[00:07:24] That's what your tech should do. Keep it simple and streamline things, make your life easier. Keep thinking about tech in those terms because simplicity is the key to your growth. And it leaves you free to focus on what matters.

[00:07:40] Your zone of genius. That's the magical place where your skills and your passion and expertise all come together.

[00:07:50] Now, whether you excel at guiding people on their fitness journey, offering nutritional advice, or Real estate, anything. Whatever your zone of genius is, that's where you shine. And that's where you need to stay. When you're knee deep in the technical nitty gritty of your business, you're taking time and energy away from what you excel at.

[00:08:13] So the path to entrepreneurial success isn't about becoming a tech expert. It's about understanding your strengths and using them to create impact. And when you keep your tech simple, you allow yourself to focus on your zone of genius, you can amplify your influence, you can just be exceptional. It's where you can create lasting impact that changes the lives of your clients through the unique way you deliver your services.

[00:08:48] So by embracing simplicity of tech, you can do that. You can amplify your influence. You can connect with more people, have more sales conversations, book more clients, increase your profit margins and get paid. The right tech stack keeps you in your zone of genius.

[00:09:05] Now there's always going to be new tools and tech products emerging and trying to keep up with them will put you on the hamster wheel of shiny object syndrome and you will just go into the world of overwhelm.

[00:09:22] So instead of looking at all that, focus on mastering the basics of the tools that work for you and have the functionality to grow as your business does. And don't worry about all the rest. Time and money are two of your most valuable resources as an entrepreneur and overcomplicating the tech will drain both.

[00:09:43] So streamlining your processes and tools will save hours of time and so much money. Talking about money, even though you're most likely at the startup stage and you don't have much money coming into your business yet, investing in the right resources early from day one, where possible can really simplify and speed up your success.

[00:10:12] While you don't need to know all the tech to succeed in your business, you do need to leverage the right tools. The key is to find the tools that are easy to use, meet your needs and fit your budget.

[00:10:25] And here's what you've been waiting for. Here is the tech stack that I use in my own business. Every single piece is chosen with care because it takes care of one or more of those five focus areas I mentioned earlier, keeping it simple, collecting emails, having somewhere to send people, a way to get booked and a way to get paid.

[00:10:51] Now these aren't the only tools in my tech stack. My tech stack has grown over time as my business has grown and it has the capability to continue growing today. I'm just sharing what tech you need to get started.

[00:11:08] As an online service business, it is essential to have a website. There are some people who say you don't need one and you can get away with your LinkedIn or your Instagram account.

[00:11:21] But in my opinion, you cannot be considered as a serious business in the online space if you don't have your own online space. If you're serious about building an online service business, the most important piece of marketing collateral you own is your website, not your social media presence, which you don't own by the way.

[00:11:45] There are a ton of website builders in the market. A lot of them are really great, but a lot of them are really complicated, and maybe more than what you need or just not what you need at all. So if you're like most business owners, you don't have unlimited time, you don't have unlimited money and tech is not your forte.

[00:12:05] What you do need is a website that's beautiful, functional and easy to use. Now, I am a Squarespace website designer. So naturally my website is built on Squarespace and I love it. So do my clients. It's easy for them to navigate is easy to use. It's got a beautiful backend system. It's also super simple to optimize for SEO and to connect to all my other business tools. And Squarespace functionality just keeps getting better. They've even now introduced courses. So you can build and host courses on your own website. It has basic email marketing functionality built in. You can buy your domains through Squarespace. Squarespace are actually in the process of buying Google domains. So that shows how much Google respects Squarespace. It's something to think about. So you can buy new domains through Squarespace, set up your Google workspace account all through Squarespace. It's amazing. It's really a one stop shop for your website.

[00:13:16] I just love it. I really do. Now, Squarespace, as I said, has its own email marketing platform built in, which is great for basic email marketing. You can, collect people's addresses, send them their free lead magnet when they sign up with you, all that sort of thing.

[00:13:39] But because I need a little more email functionality than what Squarespace currently provides, I use a different email marketing platform and it is called ConvertKit. It's very robust. It's got great options for segmenting lists, creating multiple automations and workflows. So all my email marketing happens on autopilot within ConvertKit. It's a paid platform, they do have a free option, but I have chosen to go with their paid option because it gives me the functionality that I need.

[00:14:18] In startup mode though, there's another platform which gives you the functionality you need, it's free and I've used it myself and I love it. And it is called MailerLite and it is the best free option you'll find. Don't bother going with MailChimp because it is clunky, it is hard to use, it's not user friendly, in my opinion, anyway. And their free version doesn't give you very much. It doesn't give you what you need. Whereas the free MailerLite version, you can do complete workflows, it has everything you need, and it's what I recommend to all of my clients who are in their startup phase or just want something simple to use. It does exactly what they need and it can grow with their business. And best of all, like I said, it's free. So MailerLite, I recommend for your email marketing system.

[00:15:16] One of the most important pieces of my tech stack is my Google Workspace, which I set up through my Squarespace website. It's where I set up professional email addresses, I create, store and share client files, access my calendar, Google Meet, all sorts of things. I just can't live without this piece of tech in my business. It's great. Just great. So Google Workspace, if you're wondering how you share documents with clients, share your freebies with people, it's all done through Google workspace. So it's a highly used tool in my tech stack.

[00:15:57] Now for my clients to make bookings with me, to land on my calendar, to pay me, to get into my ecosystem I use a CRM, a customer relationship management tool, and it's called Dubsado. Dubsado is one of the very first investments I made in my business.

[00:16:18] And I bought Dubsado even before I had my first paying client. And if I had to do my time over again, I would do exactly the same thing. Dubsado is amazing. It connects with my Google calendar, my payment processor. It houses my forms, my brochures, proposals, contracts, subcontracts, invoices, all the workflows around bringing my clients into my business, it gives them all the information they need to know about me.

[00:16:51] It collects all the information I need to know about them. It's amazing. It's a beast. Now, admittedly, there is a very high learning curve for Dubsado, probably the highest learning curve out of all the tech I've mentioned, but it is completely worth the time and effort. Clients can book discovery calls with me and then they're automatically welcomed into my ecosystem while I sleep.

[00:17:22] A lot of my clients are based in the United States, so I'm asleep while they're awake. But using Dubsado seamlessly allows them to book calls with me, get all the information they need, and like I said, everything I need to know about them all while I'm sleeping on autopilot. It's just amazing.

[00:17:44] You can probably tell I love Dubsado and I do. It's just a game changer and it is perfect for online service business owners who really want to run their business like a pro. And I do recommend Dubsado. Doing it early before you're ready, because your clients will have the best client experience with you from day one, from their first interaction with you, you will have a more seamless experience running your business.

[00:18:15] It's priceless. And it's not a lot of money. I pay the annual fee, which is about $500 Australian dollars a year. That's not a lot of money, but all the functionality that it gives, like I said, contracts, invoices, proposals, workflows, everything, all run out of Dubsado. Jump on Dubsado. I guarantee you will love it.

[00:18:44] Now, for me, getting paid is a combination of three things. My payment processor, which is Stripe. Dubsado, where I create my invoices, which are automatically connected to all of my proposals and contracts and QuickBooks, which is my bookkeeping or accounting system. Now like Dubsado, you don't necessarily need a bookkeeping system when you first start your online business, but it's something I highly recommend setting up before you need it.

[00:19:17] Your business might grow quite quickly and having a system in place as early as possible makes keeping track of your expenses, knowing when you've hit profit, keeping track of all your taxes, all that. It makes everything so easy. You can even give your accountant access to it so that they can do your tax return for you.

[00:19:39] Simple. And if you don't like QuickBooks, another really popular and powerful tool is Xero. So have a look at both. See which is best for you and your business. I think Xero is a little more expensive than QuickBooks. But I use QuickBooks. I like it. Plenty other people use Xero. So have a look at them both, they're both great tools. And just like with Dubsado doing it early before you're ready is key to growing your business quickly and keeping things. As easy as possible. You want things to be easy. So jump on board.

[00:20:16] So while there are three things involved for me to get paid is actually only one action for my clients because remember we want super simple payment methods. All my clients have to do is open their email, which has the invoice inside, click on the button and pay, and that's it. It connects up to Stripe, which is the payment processor. So it takes their credit card details or their bank account details, whatever it is.

[00:20:46] I never know what someone's bank account or credit card is because I don't need to know that. Stripe processes that all securely, all seamlessly securely. They process the payment. And then put it in my bank account. And Stripe, talks to Dubsado and talks to my accounting system, which is QuickBooks.

[00:21:10] So it all just happens. All automatically without me needing to do a thing. It's fabulous. But the most important thing is it's easy for my clients. All they need to do is press one button, enter their credit card details or debit card details or bank account details, and they've paid. Simple.

[00:21:32] I am also obsessed with project management tools and some of my favorites are Trello, which is the easiest and free version of a project management system that you'll find, Asana, which is slightly more robust, also has a free version and then ClickUp which I love. It is the beast of project management. Again, there's a free version, but the paid version of ClickUp is where all the magic happens.

[00:22:03] Now if you're wanting to manage your client projects, your own projects, your marketing, your launches, everything, you really need to use project management tools. They will change your life. And I highly recommend you jumping onto one of these, Trello, Asana or ClickUp. They're all amazing. Trello is by far the simplest and easiest to use.

[00:22:29] I actually used Trello for a number of years in my business before I switched over to Asana and then moved on to ClickUp. So that was the trajectory I used of project management, Trello, Asana, ClickUp. But, you know, you might start with Trello and stay on it forever. I also manage my clients within these tools. Depending on how good they are with their tech, depends on which one I select for them. Most of them I pop into Trello cause it's so easy, but to make it even more easier for me and my clients, I pop them into Asana cause it just works really well. I tend not to put them into ClickUp because it is a more advanced system and I use it for managing my business, not theirs.

[00:23:23] Use a project management system, try one of those, see which one you like.

[00:23:27] Now, I've spoken about a few tech tools. These are not the only tools within my tech stack, but they are the ones that are pretty much what you'll need when you're starting your business. And I highly recommend you get onto one or all of them if you can. Again, you don't need to do them all in a day. You can add them progressively as time allows.

[00:23:54] Can you see now that thinking you need to know all the tech is a dream killer? It's not true. Instead of trying to master everything, focus on your customers, focus on your strengths and focus on keeping things simple and streamlined.

[00:24:11] Because the goal, unless you're offering tech services, your goal is not to become a tech wizard. It's to build a successful business and these tools will help you do that.

[00:24:24] It all boils down to the KISS principle, keep it simple, stupid. So when you're thinking about your tech, simplicity is key. That's the superpower.

[00:24:37] I wonder if you would like to know what else is in my tech stack. You might be further along in your journey. You might be past the startup stage and needing to build out your tech stack, but aren't sure what to use. So if you want to know what other tech I use, because I use a heap more than what I've told you about, send a message on Instagram, a DM, send me an email, just connect however you like, and let me know.

[00:25:03] I'd be happy to do another episode on what other tech I use that might be helpful to you too. And if you are interested in any of the tech that I mentioned today, all the links are below in the show notes, so you can check them out for yourselves and see what works for you.

So that's it for today. Thank you for being here. I will see you next week. And don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts so you never miss an episode.