Tech Stack for Coaches

In this episode, we dive into the often-overwhelming world of building a tech stack for your coaching business! We know the thought of sorting through all the technology options can make your eyes glaze over, but fear not! We break it down into manageable pieces, discussing everything from accounting software to payment processors, calendaring systems, and even email marketing tools. Adding tech to your process should save you time and money, not cause you headaches and cost you cash. Our goal is to help you streamline your processes so you can focus on what you do best – coaching!

Are you ready to take your coaching business to the next level? Listen in as we share our personal experiences with different tools and provide recommendations that can help you build a solid tech foundation for a thriving coaching practice.

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Work With Us!

BREA Roper Communication | Woo | Activator | Futuristic | Connectedness

If you need a Strengths Hype Girl for yourself or your team, connect with Brea at brearoper.com. She's ready to deliver an inspirational keynote, empowering training, or transformational workshop. If you're looking for an expert guide to support your internal Strengths efforts, reach out today!

LISA Cummings Strategic | Maximizer | Positivity | Individualization | Woo

To work with Lisa, check out her resources for independent coaches, trainers, and speakers. Get business tools and strategy support with her Tools for Coaches membership.

Takeaways

● Define the Role of Your Tech Stack: Before diving into the myriad of tools available, it's crucial to understand the specific roles each piece of technology will play in your business. By treating your tech stack like a team of employees, you can make informed decisions that align with your business goals. This approach helps to reduce overwhelm and ensures that each tool serves a clear purpose.

● Streamline Your Processes: Adding tech to your process should save you time and money, not cause you headaches and cost you cash. That's why integrating tech can have a great impact! For example, choosing a calendaring system that connects to your payment processor allows clients to pay at the time of booking. This not only eliminates the hassle of chasing payments later, but also enhances the customer experience by making it easy for them to do business with you.

● Choose the Right Tools for Your Needs: Select tools that fit your current business stage. If you're just starting out, a simple spreadsheet might suffice for managing client relationships instead of investing in a complex CRM system. Remember, the goal is to make the tools work for you, and only pay for what you need. Choose tools that will genuinely save you time and effort.

Take Action

● Evaluate Your Tech Needs: Reflect on the specific jobs your tech stack needs to accomplish in your coaching business, such as marketing, sales, or delivery of services. This will help you make informed decisions about which tools to invest in.

● Choose a Payment Processor: Set up a payment processor (we recommend Stripe) to streamline your payment collection process. Ensure it integrates with your scheduling system to allow clients to pay when they book appointments.

● Implement an Online Scheduling System: Tools like Calendly, TidyCal can manage your appointment setting, communications, and follow-ups efficiently. Book Like A Boss is a powerful all-in-one that also allows you to build landing pages, sell digital products, and more!

● Explore Email Marketing Options: If your current tools (like your website or scheduling app) can handle your email needs, keep it simple. But if you need a dedicated email marketing platform, consider options like Flodesk, Emma, or Kit (formerly known as ConvertKit, affiliate link).

● Our other shoutouts:

○ Accounting: Quickbooks Online

○ Website: WordPress, Squarespace, Showit, Book Like A Boss

○ Web/Email Domain: Domain.com, Google Workspace

○ CRM: Hubspot

○ Marketing: BombBomb

○ Graphic Design: Canva

🎧 Listen now and let me know your thoughts! What tools are you using in your tech stack?

Let's Connect!

● LISA: Website | LinkedIn | Facebook

● BREA: Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

AI-Generated Transcript

Lisa: I'm Lisa.

Brea: I'm Brea.

Lisa: And today we are talking about the tech stack in your coaching business.

Brea: Yes. Okay, so before people's eyes glaze over when we talk about all the tech and all the details, this is such a good topic because we need it. You need to get these systems and these processes in place in order to be more free to do what you do best, you know? So I'm so excited to talk about this. I've learned so many things the hard way.

Lisa: Now you are making me think of a song because Tech Stack makes me think of nerdy. So I'm thinking of like the band Devo wearing those nerdy hats and the song Whip It. Like you got to whip yourself into shape. Shape it up. Like, yeah. Whip it good. Yeah, that's totally it. And you said freedom and that I think that album was called Freedom of Choice. So it is all coming up with the nerdery right there.

Brea: That is so funny. I don't think I've ever heard that song in its entirety, but I recognize it from a movie with Kate Hudson. I don't remember which one, some rom-com, probably with her and Matthew McConaughey, but there's a scene where they're dancing to it. So I understand the reference. I get it. Okay. Okay.

Lisa: Well, it'll make it a little more fun. Let's do it. Let's do it. Now we move into the exciting topic of things like accounting software.

Brea: Yes. So we don't need to define this, okay? But I do want to just like set a little foundation. I think when we talk tech, when we talk systems, processes, things like this, it's important, at least for me, it's important to remember what is the job of the tech stack, the thing in the stack, right? What is the job that I'm trying to accomplish? Is it marketing? Is it sales? Is it delivery of your product or your service? Is it scaling? Is it, you know, what is the job that you're trying to give it. So I like to think of them almost as, you know, an employee or a contractor. Like, what's the role? And then that helps me to make the decisions instead of just being totally overwhelmed with all the details of the specificity of things. You know, hopefully that might help.

Lisa: I agree. I think it's good decision criteria too because a lot of people talk about getting subscription fatigue because most of these are recurring subscriptions. Then if you look at it as a contractor and you say, if I paid a person to do this manually, what would that look like in the business? How would the cost compare? How would the service compare? How would the results compare? And sometimes you could have a human doing these things. examples, like if we start with accounting, you can, if you have five customers for the year when you're starting off and it's a side hustle and you don't really have much business, unless you just want to learn the software, you could use a spreadsheet and just give it to your accountant. So you could use something you're already paying for, like your Google Workspace or whatever you're using where you would have a spreadsheet available to you. So there are times when you could do the on the cheap version or use a human version until you get into the recurring software.

Brea: Yeah, I love it.

Lisa: What do you use for accounting?

Brea: Oh gosh, do we have to start with accounting? We'll just get it over with, you know. Well, in the tenure of my business, is that the right word? I've used spreadsheets, okay, so been there, done that, and if that's you, no judgment. I use QuickBooks, QuickBooks Online, yeah, because that's what my accountant uses, so. Okay, me too. I don't do accounting. I pay someone to do that for me.

Lisa: Okay. Me too. I use QuickBooks online. Some people use Xero. Some people use FreshBooks. There are other things out there, but QuickBooks, at least in the US, that seems to be what accountants prefer. You could just give them access. They get access to the back end of it. It makes life pretty clean and clear and