What is a real pain point for women entrepreneurs and how is it affecting their online businesses?
I’ve hosted several online business surveys in 2016 quizzing women entrepreneurs about their pain points and obstacles of running an online business. According to the survey results the most common issues among women entrepreneurs are online marketing, various systems and softwares, skills and having the support they need all while bootstrapping their online businesses.
232 women entrepreneurs and aspiring women entrepreneurs advised their biggest challenge with technology was the lack of knowing and training around tech products. Women further explained the never ending changes and updates to technology is challenging to keep up with. Many women felt they had to be all knowing experts of their business and all things technology which was overwhleming.
Not all entrepreneurs are tech savvy nor do they need to be to run a successful online business. However, it is very important to have some basic knowledge and training on what are the best softwares and systems to use and how they can help your business succeed.
(Click Me, I'm Tweetable) In a time where tech can make or break an online business it is imperative that women entrepreneurs begin to embrace and implement smart yet simple technology to help them show up in their online businesses. On my Podcast 'Launch & Conquer' I share smart and actionable business strategies and advice to help tech challenged women entrepreneurs move past overwhelm, learn and implement smart and simple systems to start, grow or scale their online businesses.
Here are 5 tech tools that tech challenged women entrepreneurs can easily learn and incorporate into their online business.
1) GOOGLE APPS {Branded Email, Google Suite & Google Drive} - Google G-Suite better known as Google Apps is great for small business owners. For $5 you get a Google Drive for online document storage, branded email, calendar, documents, spreadsheets, presentations and forms all in one place. What I love most is that you can access G-Suite from any device.
2) CANVA {DIY Graphic Design} - Yes most people would say this system is hard to learn, but I think it’s the best thing since sliced bread. If you are a new entrepreneur starting out and do not have ta budget to hire and graphic design just yet Canva is a great tool to have. It super easy to learn with lots of free templates and layouts.
The free version works perfect for beginners. Canva alo offers an At Work version that unlocks several shortcuts and features for $12.00 per month. Canva can be used for creating social media memes and images, social media cover images and for creating freebie documents.
3) HOOTSUITE {Social Media Management} - When it comes to managing your social media, Hootsuite is the easiest user friendly option around. It allows you to manage and schedule Twitter Posts, Facebook Posts, LinkedIn Posts, Youtube Videos and Instagram Images all in one place. Hootsuite also provides some pretty cool social analytics and an awesome bulk scheduler that will allow you to schedule a week's worth of social media posts. The free version only allows a certain number of accounts to be managed. You can unlock the pro version for $15 per month.
4) INSTAPAGES {DIY Landing Page Design} - Creating landing pages has never been so easy. Instapages offers a very smart and simple solutions for tech challenged babes to create professional looking landing pages with a wide variety of templates to choose from.
5) CONVERTKIT {Email Marketing & Sales Funnel Creation} - ConvertKit is the simplest email marketing software on the planet. The ability to create your sales funnels with ease is more than enough reason. ConvertKit also integrations with the likes of Leadpages and others applications and softwares. The user friendly software was created for bloggers, but many coaches, strategists, speakers and virtual assistants have fell in love with the smart platform.
I would love to hear about your tech challenges. What technology, systems and/or softwares have you implemented to help grow your online business?
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Lakisha Sarbah is an online visibility business strategist, skilled small business trainer and Producer / Host of Launch & Conquer Podcast for Women Entrepreneurs. She supports passionate tech challenged women entrepreneurs by helping them reduce their learning curve, boost confidence and stand in their power as business owners. Lakisha’s hands on approach helps women envision, define, plan and execute smart and simple strategies to help them show up and stand out online.
Connect with Lakisha on Twitter: @LakishaSarbah