How To Set-Up A Business Online (Using Tools That I Love)

You’re ready to start doing business online.

You know that an online business offers low overhead with the possibility of substantial income if you do it right. You know that an online business has the potential to offer you more freedom of your time and life because you’ll be location-independent.

You know that an online business gives you access to the worldwide market which means the possibilities are endless.

You know all of those things but you’re not quite sure where to start.

I feel you and you’re not alone.

While being able to start a business online is a beautiful thing, it can also be very overwhelming because the steps to get started can be fuzzy. The plethora of tech platforms and systems available can make it almost impossible to know what to choose and why.

Let’s change that.

The truth is that setting up your business online is actually quite simple once you know where to begin, what steps to take, and what tools to use. With all of that in place, you could have your business up and running within one day.

Below you’ll find the simple steps to setting up your business online using the systems that I personally use in my business and those I suggest to clients I work with. 

If you complete all of the steps, in the end, you’ll walk away with a one-page website, a way to begin collecting email addresses, and a branded Gmail email address.

The platforms that we’ll be using to set-up your business online are:

Namecheap
G Suite
Convertkit
Carrd

Please Note: This article contains affiliate links that allow me to make a commission if you buy a product/service through one of my links. Please know that I use these products regularly on my own websites and recommend them because I have found them extremely useful and would not recommend something I haven’t used or thoroughly researched.

Step One: Register Your Domain Name 

A domain name is an address where your website will live and where your business can be found on the internet streets. 

There are plenty of companies available to choose from in which you can purchase and register your domain name, but my go-to is Namecheap. I choose Namecheap because their domains are affordable, the back-end is easy to use, their customer service is always on the ball, and I like the way their CEO moves.

Step Two: Set-Up Your Gmail Address With G Suite

You don’t have to create a branded email address for your business but doing so just adds a layer of presence and will allow you to separate your new business emails from your personal emails.

I like G Suite because you have access to the suite of products that are available with a free Gmail address. A custom email address through G suite costs $6 dollars per month per user. G Suite is just the business version of the products that Google offers.

There are two components in this step: set-up your G Suite account and then connect it to Namecheap.

Here are instructions on how to set-up your G Suite.

Here are instructions on how to connect your email address to Namecheap

Step Three: Sign Up For Convertkit and Create Form

There are a lot of email marketing providers to choose from. I have experience with a bunch of them but I find Convertkit to be the best. It’s the one that I personally use in my business and the one that I recommend to my clients because I find it to be the simplest to use.

To start your business online you don’t have to collect emails or engage in email marketing but it’s a wise decision because email marketing is an extremely powerful asset to your business and having an email list will be important to your business later...so just do it now.

Convertkit has a free option that allows you to have up to 500 subscribers. The paid subscription option begins at $29 per month.

Once you’ve signed up for your Convertkit account, the next step is to set-up a form inside of Convertkit. A form is a way that you’ll capture email addresses from those who want to hear more from you. You’ll need information from this form and your Converkit account after you design your website in the next couple of steps.

Sign-up for Convertkit here
Here is how to set-up a Converkit form

Step Four: Design Your Beautiful One Page Website Using Carrd

As your business grows and you begin to get more experienced with design and tech (or begin to make the cash to hire someone to do those things for you) you can definitely move onto a more complex website but at the beginning that isn’t necessary.

You can still have an online presence without the complexities and that’s why I love Carrd.

Carrd.co is a free site builder that’s a viable alternative to platforms such as WordPress and Squarespace. WordPress is more complex and requires some knowledge of coding and Squarespace is an easy-to-use site-builder but can be pricey.

Carrd differentiates itself by focusing on one-page sites, like a personal home page, portfolio, landing page, or an expanded resume. Carrd also allows you to connect other platforms so that you can do things such as grow an email list and accept payments.

Carrd has beautiful ready to use templates that you can use to make the design super simple. You’ll just plug in your information and be good to go. If you’re looking to customize your design further you can do that as well.

Set up your Carrd website here.

Step Five: Connect Convertkit Form To Your Website

Now that you’ve designed your website and set-up your Converkit account and form, it’s now time to connect the two so that you can begin to collect email addresses and grow your email list. 

Here is a quick and easy tutorial to guide you through the process.

Step Six: Connect Your Custom Domain To Your Website

Okay, so you’ve pretty much done it all. The last thing that needs to be done is to connect the custom domain that you purchased in step one to your Carrd website. 

Now, this is technically a completely optional step because when using Carrd you can actually use a subdomain that they offer. I suggest going this extra step of connecting your custom domain because it makes it easier to share your new website and for people to find your work in the future.

This step is kind of two steps in one. First, you’ll need to add your domain to Carrd and then you’ll need to add information to the domains host record inside of Namecheap. If you’re not hella tech-savvy, don’t worry, you can still do this. It’s sounds more complicated than it really is.

Here are instructions for how to connect your custom domain.

Congratulations boo, you did it! Well, if you completed all of the steps. 

Don’t worry if this seems overwhelming...it’s a lot but you can dedicate a few days to getting it done and have your digital footprint up and running in no time.