I started my business back in 2010 when the online world was very different. There was no Instagram or Pinterest. And most people didn’t even really take you seriously when you said you worked online. Cut to today, we have so many places to connect online and zoom for online meetings. If I were starting my online business today, here is the path I would take.

If I were just starting and wanted to make some money online quick, I would set up either an Etsy shop, a Udemy course, or a Calendly link to start working 1:1 with clients.

MINDSET

I got burnt out in my business pretty quickly in the beginning especially when I started getting clients. If I were starting my business today, I would absolutely start by setting up a system that allowed me to take care of myself first!

• How You Spend Your Days

• Healing Your Mindset To Build Your Business

• Turning Your Business Dreams Into Goals

• Creating Specific Action Plans For Your Goals

PLANNING

Getting clarity about the kind of life you want working online will help you to understand what kind of work you want to do. So the next thing I would look at is exactly the type of business I want to set up.

• How will you make money?

• Who will you work with?

• Branding

• Outline your products and programs

CONTENT

Next, I would start writing. While you may think the first thing you need to do is set up your website, I actually recommend getting all your content done first. It will be a huge help when you do go to get your website up and running.

• Home page

• About Page

• Services

• Blogs

WEBSITE

Yay, it’s website time! Obviously, as a web designer, I’m a bit biased but this is the fun part for me. Putting all your planning and content together and getting to see it on a screen makes your business really feel alive.

• Hosting and set up

• Theme and plugins

• Add your content

• Launch your website

PRODUCT CREATION

Even if you have decided to go with a service-based or physical product-based business, I always recommend adding digital products to your business as it will give you multiple income streams and allow you to have more freedom in your business.

• Filming

• Workbooks

• Tech Stuff

• Onboarding customers

EMAIL LIST

Your email list is key in your business. It allows to you have at anytime a group of raving fans who are part of your community and want to know all about you. Any entrepreneur will tell you today that your email list is a key part of your business. That’s why list building is so important.

• Creating your Opt-in

• Opt-in Page and Thank you page

• Welcome Series

• Nurturing your audience

SOCIAL MEDIA

So many times I see people starting their business online and it goes one of two ways. They either want to be on allll the platforms or they don’t want to be on social media at all. Neither one of these is a good option. I recommend picking a platform and going all in.

• Picking your platform

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Pinterest

LAUNCHING

Think of launching as telling the world all about your amazing products and services. But keep in mind, it’s a lot more than one might think. Launching a new product or even an existing product is something that should be done when you have everything ready and you can focus 100% on your launch.

• 30 day run up

• Webinar & promo

• Facebook Ads

• Sales Emails

SYSTEMS

At this point in your business, you have quite a few things going on. That is why creating your systems is going to be key. And it is also a time when you are most likely expanding and needing a team. If you have your systems in place before you start expanding your team it can make a world of difference for you.

• Asana

• Marketing

• Customers

• Accounting

BUILDING YOUR TEAM

At some point, you will not be able to do all things. It is fine when you are just starting out but once your business is up and running and you are working with clients or have customers, you will need help to get all the things done. Having a team building system in place will help with your retention and outsourcing.

• Company Culture

• Organizational Chart

• Hiring Process

• Onboarding Team Members

VISIBILITY

The first time you see your picture in a magazine is a bit surreal. But these kinds of PR can really help to grow and expand your business. It can take time for this to happen but it will happen!

• Magazine Articles

• Podcast

• Guest blogging

• Summits

SCALING

Congratulations! You have an amazingly success online business. You are officially moving up and on to bigger and better things in your business. But before you do, let’s make sure you are all set up.

• Evergreen Launching

• Batching Content

• Be the CEO

• Your New Roadmap

SOFTWARE WE RECOMMEND

• Hosting and Domain – Bluehost

• Website Theme – Pix & Hue

• Page Builder – Elementor

• Online Shop – WooCommerce

• Memberships and Courses – Paid Memberships Pro 

• Email Marketing – Convertkit

• Project Management – Asana

• Webinars – Zoom

ALL RESOURCES

• WEBSITE HOSTING: Dreamhost

• WEBSITE HOSTING: Bluehost

• WORDPRESS DESIGN: Elementor

• WORDPRESS THEMES: Astra

• WORDPRESS THEMES: Divi

• EMAIL MARKETING: Convertkit

• CLIENT MANAGEMENT: Dubsado

• DESIGN AND PRINTABLES: Secret Owl Society Courses

• INSTAGRAM SCHEDULING: Later

• INSTAGRAM STORY SCHEDULING: Storrito

• PINTEREST SCHEDULING: Tailwind

• OUTSOURCING: Fiverr

• NETWORKING: The Members Club

• ALL IN ONE PLATFORM: FEA Create