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Your Online Course Creator's Starter Kit
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life
Here are the best resources, tools & education for Online Course Creators & Business Owners! Within this list is everything I'd invest my time and money in again if I were starting from scratch to build my side hustle as an online course crea...
Sections
6
 
Time Management Resources
 
Legal & Financial Resources
 
Email Management
 
Website Resources
 
List Building Tools & Resources
 
Course Creation Tools & Resources

Time Management Resources

Building a side hustle without first managing your time well is a recipe for overwhelm and burnout. Here are the top resources that have allowed me to work productively on my business and stay focused.

 
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
I LOVE ClickUp and shout it from the rooftops. It's superior to all other time management programs out there.
ClickUp | Manage *everything* in one app
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
I've LOVED having an app blocker that is stronger than the one native to my iPhone. This tool has helped me stay focused on all of my devices.
Freedom: Internet, App and Website Blocker
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
PowerSheets has been a go-to goal planner for me since 2018. I love how well-organized and intentional every page is and it helps me stayed focused on what matters in my life within my business and outside.
2025 One-Year PowerSheets® Goal Planner | Blooms
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Legal & Financial Resources

Ahh yes, the fun stuff. It's so important to get your admin ducks in a row on your online business. Schedule a CEO Day to do this right. Here are the resources I've found most helpful and serve as a perfect starting point.

 
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Bobby Klinck is an outstanding legal SME for online business. To get started, you must have legal policies on your website and know how to stay in compliance. Bobby can help!
Plainly Legal™ | Legal Made Simple for Online Business
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
I love the ease and simplicity of Quickbooks Online. If you're DIY'ing and want more than a spreadsheet, this is the way to go.
QuickBooks® | The Ultimate Accounting Software for Business
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Excellent read on the subject of financials. Sets the foundation for healthy money management in your business.
Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine
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Email Management

If all you have is a landing page connected to an email list, you're good to get started, friend. Flodesk is your best bet if you're going that route and ActiveCampaign is perfect for scaling or prioritizing automation up front. You can't go wrong ei...

 
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
[Free Trial + 50% off first year!] Flodesk emails truly are the most beautiful. I love the unlimited subscriber feature and how easy it is to setup and send emails.
Flodesk | Design emails people love to open!
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
ActiveCampaign will save you time, hands down. The automation capabilities are 2nd to none and it's incredibly easy to set it all up with a network of tags and good strategy.
ActiveCampaign | Emails built for an automation powerhouse
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Huge fan of Google Workspace for inbox management. This is not the same as Flodesk & ActiveCampaign!
Google Workspace: Secure Online Productivity & Collaboration Tools
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Website Resources

Your website is your virtual storefront. Keep it simple and build your entire business from Kajabi, or expand and increase creative flexibility by hosting on Wordpress and using a template builder like Elementor. When it comes to Wordpress though, av...

 
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Kajabi is an incredible portal to build your online course! It’s simple & easy to use by both you and your students. It can be used as your ONLY website too!
Kajabi | Where Creators Build Businesses
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Elementor is a WordPress template plugin that absolutely ROCKS! A website built upon WP is the more scaled option compared to building in Kajabi where your course lives, but it's worth it to me for the customization and access to amazing, cost effect...
Create a Website Today in Elementor!
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
I've been with SiteGround for 5+ years now and their customer service is my favorite. I've tried other hosting platforms but SiteGround knocks it out of the park.
SiteGround - Web Hosting with Amazing Customer Service
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List Building Tools & Resources

Once you have your whole website built and ready to run with email marketing, you'll want to tighten up your list building muscles. These tools and courses are the best as youi start and scale into new territory to find your people!

 
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Amy Porterfield is the best in the online business world and she's got a great framework for building your list. Hit the ground running with List Builders Society!
Amy Porterfield's List Builders Society Course
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Quizzes make awesome lead magnets and this is a fantastic alternative to other quiz builders that cost an arm and a leg! However, it requires WordPress as it's a WP Plugin, so keep that in mind.
The Most Powerful and Feature-Rich AI-Powered Quiz and Survey Plugin for WordPress
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Canva is SO easy to get going with and it's the perfect place to create a thoughtfully designed lead magnet.
Canva for Digital Resources & Graphic Design
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
My favorite pop-up/landing page resource for WordPress! It's incredibly easy to use, looks and functions amazingly and leads to better conversions.
Convert Pro - The Best Lead Generation Tool for WordPress
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Course Creation Tools & Resources

Technically, you could start recording an audio course on your iPhone, but if you're ready to optimize, here are my favorite tools and resources to support you.

 
Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Digital Course Academy with Amy Porterfield was one of my absolute favorite courses of all time. Join the waitlist so you're informed of the next time enrollment opens up.
Digital Course Academy by Amy Porterfield
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
The Blue Yeti Mic is the best starting mic out there. I still use mine and love it!
Logitech Blue Yeti USB Microphone - Blackout
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
I'm a HUGE fan of Camtasia® for recording my course content. It's so easy to use and looks super professional.
Camtasia – The Best Video Editor Software
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Jessica | Home Sweet Work Life profile picture
Snagit® is literally used DAILY on my laptop. I'm obsessed.
Snagit | Grab screenshots, record your screen, and add annotations to communicate processes and concepts clearly
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