One of my very favourite things in the world is to create roundup posts like this. Especially when I’m able to gather together online business tools and gadgets.
I get to look at really cool new offerings & pull everything together in one place. But, sometime in 2014 I realized it wasn’t adding value to my business. It made me happy, but was taking me away from revenue generating activities for at least 8 hours every single time I created one of these posts.
So, I took a break….
Check out past “Friday” roundups here, and if you like these finds, click through to join my small, but growing community at Oh, look what I’ve just found
Well, then I took a break from business in general… (not all of them from this hammock setup, I assure you 
A photo posted by Loralee (@loralee_h) on
Jun 28, 2015 at 2:57am PDT
(I’ve been working less than 10 hours a week for the past 6 months..long story, best saved for another day)
…. and now I’m back, trying out the roundup post again.
This time I’m building out a template in Divi Theme Builder & hopefully it will make it much easier to create the next one.
And, maybe instead of trying to release one weekly (and failing) I’ll start building my next one on Saturday & if it’s ready by next Friday great… if not, then the Friday after that, or the Friday after that…. You get the picture.
Should we just jump right into the content? This is a pretty long one…
Freebies and Portable Biz Gadgets & Tools (all free)
(most of them I’ve used in my business this week)
Get App
If you already know me, you know I love to try out new tools and gadgets. This website helps me get my fix (so to speak).
I can go to their website, browse by a category, select a few preferences (like, the size of my company, if the product should have a free trial or have a freemium option) and I’m presented with a quick list of tools.
Live Customer Service
When I’m “in the office” I turn on an “accepting new chats” button on their dashboard… and it allows me to chat in real time with website visitors (here on the blog) and members of the Biz Training Club.
They have integration with freshdesk and other systems and reports, but I get that data from other services – I’m primarily using it to touch base in an immediate way.
I’m currently using the free version, but they also have very affordable plans when I scale things up.
Fedora
Fedora is the new platform that hosts the Biz Training Club.
It’s helped me organize all of my little mini courses and training material into 26 distinct courses (and there’s still more to come).
I don’t have to worry about video speed, moving files to amazon S3, or fidgeting with the layout.
True, I’ve always felt I should have all of my own material inside my WordPress installation, but it’s become really unwieldy for me in the past year or so. Deciding to switch wasn’t easy, but now that I have, it’s relieved a lot of stress.
Get Better Client Testimonials
Download this pdf from Jennifer Lozier and implement this into your client testimonial process today.
Freshdesk for self serve support
As I’ve been moving over to the new system for the membership club I’ve felt the strong need to have a knowledge base where I could continue to answer questions that were easy to search for, but also didn’t cost a fortune to manage.
I already had a free forever freshdesk account, so after trying a couple of other options, I came back to freshdesk & found a way to integrate it into the members area….and I really like it. It’s not fancy, but it’s super easy to manage…
Bloom - to create opt ins and pop ups
Near the bottom of this post you’ll see a bit more information on the A/B testing I’ve started with Bloom.
Using Bloom I’ve been able to remove at least 2 other plugins I had on my website before & I’m really getting much more usable information, instead of flying blind.
It’s part of the elegant themes membership (I think it’s $89/year now). If you’ve already got a membership, be sure to check out the bloom plugin on your website.
7 new cover videos every Monday (for your website)
Gorgeous video you can use as background images on your website.
The licensing is clear for commercial use & they release new ones every week.
House Sitting Magazine
Each issue keeps you absolutely connected to your house sitting passions through inspiring stories, entertaining tales & informative tips from real people out there using house sitters, and those living the house sitting lifestyle around the world right now!
Available for iOS and Android
Grow Your Business (education and other programs)
(some may include my affiliate links) ==== Submit events to the events calendar here
Small Product Lab from Gumroad
In ten bite-sized lessons, this course will walk you through how to decide on your product, form your plan, make it happen, and launch it. You’ll not only emerge with a product; you’ll have the tools to and resources to launch your next ten products (or more).
Here’s how it works.
Beginning July 27th, you’ll receive an email every day for ten days, each with a specific assignment. They’ll walk you through every step. You don’t need to have any experience or even a pre-existing idea.
On the 10th day, you’ll launch your own small product.
Sign up for this event:
Free
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Co-Work Days this month
I’m so grateful for the people who have shown up for the Co-Work days earlier this year. We have one more scheduled in July, and I’ll set up the schedule for the autumn soon.
There’s no charge for Biz Training Club members – it’s a perk of being part of this community.
Tue, July 28, 6:00 PM PDT
Join the Biz Training Club here (it’s free)
Sign up for this event:
Members (free)
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Upgrading: The Secret to Fast Biz Growth
Brand New Online Training with Denise Duffield-Thomas
She’ll take you through the power of upgrading specific SYMBOLIC things in your business & why it’s CRUCIAL for unlocking cash. You’ll come away with actionable ideas to upgrade your biz now, stop procrastinating and grow your business FAST.
Sign up for this live event:
Free
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7 day challenge for Moving Beyond Fear
Join Lisa Murray in the 7 day challenge for Moving Beyond Fear
The challenge includes:
Q&A July 28, 2015 – a content-filled webinar with Lisa Murray to offer more tools that work and to answer your questions!
a private Creativity Lab Facebook Group where you can connect with other creators and entrepreneurs!
Sign up for this event:
Members (free)
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Create Your First eBook with Michaela Ann-Marie
In this free webinar you’ll learn:
How to make a start on your first eBook
Where to find topic ideas
Whether to collaborate or work solo
How to put your eBook together
Where to promote your new eBook
Sign up for this live event:
Free
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Your Second Act Success Summit
ARE YOU STANDING ON THE EDGE OF YOUR OWN SECOND ACT?
Watch the magic unfold when 16 wholehearted women who’ve stepped into their ‘Second Acts’ in business and life share insights and stories in this annual, online event.
You’ll see just what’s possible when you take a deep breath and choose to move forward into your truth with courage and self-belief.
Register and join from July 27 – August 3, 2015!
Sign up for this event:
Free Event
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The lucky b program as it currently stands is going away! If you jump in this month you’ll have lifetime access (like I do!) and learn from Denise right now & also benefit from the new release (we’ll know more details about in October). My understanding is the new version will cost more too…
Check out the webinar she’s hosting this week & consider signing up before it all changes.
I’m an affiliate of her program, so I’ll get thank you money from Denise if you sign up
Sign up for this program
Last Chance Pricing
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PLR (Private Label Rights) on sale this weekend
leveraging Facebook Groups for networking
The package includes:
4028 word report
Ecover set, with editable
5 social media graphics
And it covers:
What are Facebook Groups
Why you need to participate in groups
How to find Facebook Groups that are relevant
How to make Facebook Groups your secret weapon
How to participate to make valuable connections
Offering value through groups
Building connections outside the group
Networking tips
Only $5 usd until Monday
Get it for $5 USD
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Customer Service PLR Special
Get a big discount on a totally done-for-you digital product: “Customer Service Rules”… with full private label rights.
With the following offer, you’ll get:
a huge bundle of unbranded, customizable content
marketing material that you can use to teach your customers
Topic: Rules of Outstanding Customer Service.
Sale starts on Saturday
Dime sale starting Saturday
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Things I’m testing this week:
Autopilot
I’m testing Autopilot this month to see if it’s the solution I’ve been hoping to find. An affordable, and more intuitive version of Infusionsoft or Ontraport.
I’ve integrated it with my membership site & building out follow up email sequences for members who have enrolled in classes.
There was a great article about the customer journey on ecwid earlier this month that helps to wrap my brain around this topic.
Bloom - to create opt ins and pop ups
As I mentioned earlier, I’m switching over to bloom for my bottom of post pop ups and email opt ins. (It’s part of the membership I already have with Elegant Themes.)
Having a really easy to read dashboard to see which opt ins are working, and which ones I will likely need to change in over the coming months is quite empowering.
I’m not sure I’d purchase the membership just for the one plugin, but it’s a very nice I have to admit Divi is becoming a bit of an all-in-one solution for me at the moment.
Spundge
Their description says:
Spundge is the end-to-end content platform for professionals to create and monetize their expertise.
But I have to admit, I haven’t quite figured it out. If you want to see what I’ve created over there, here’s my profile
Swayy
Their description says:
Swayy, a content discovery tool, is launching its public beta to help brand managers and small businesses streamline the process down to a couple of minutes each day.
Swayy crawls about 50,000 pieces of content every day from around the web, extracting key words and topics. Based on its processing engine, Swayy matches content to your trending topics and circles.
It’s been interesting so far. It looks like I can share pieces of content immediately, or schedule out (like I would with hootsuite or coschedule) but I haven’t shared anything just yet.. Probably because I’m still in my hermit phase
Favorite Video(s) this week!
I love watching this video of the Orca Whales…
Click through to watch Laurence Prophets video. He’s in the final round of an Original Sound contest. There’s 2 days left to vote.
Throughout the weekend I'll hear of new deals.
Instead of updating this blog post, I’ll share them with you on the “Deals” page. Click through on the button below.
More Weekend Deals
If you’ve read all the way to the bottom, kuddos! Thanks for checking out the things that have come across my path recently. I’m hoping I can do this at least once per month (on Fridays).
If you have something I should include in the next one, please let me know.
If it’s an event, tell me about it by clicking here.
If it’s something else, either reply to an email I’ve sent to you before, or use the contact page.
Have a great weekend!
See you next week.
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Love this roundup series? Check out past roundups here and share this on social media. Thanks!
(social media links are on top & on the side)
Loralee Hutton
founder Biz Training Club
I’m Loralee Hutton and I crave the freedom and flexibility to work from anywhere. And truthfully, that’s often from the comfort of my own home, in my favorite robe. Sometimes I’m working at a picnic table in a campground. Other times, I’m just not “working” at all, because I’ve built passive and leveraged income streams that support me while I take time off… And this one was built using a very, very lean business model using mostly free and low cost tools to streamline and automate as much as possible.
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