My Smallbiz sidekick TOOLKIT

Design and Tech RESOURCES & FREEBIES

Carolyn Leasure, a white woman with brown hair, gazes out a window, holding a cappuccino mug, reflecting the thoughtful and strategic planning behind each custom Squarespace website design for small businesses.

Let the tech work overtime – so you don’t have to.

The vibrant hummingbird from the SmallBiz Sidekick logo, a beacon of innovative and tailored website design solutions for the bustling entrepreneur
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Running a small business? It's like spinning a dozen plates – while also trying to source recipes and whip up a gourmet meal. Um yeah, it's a lot.

That's why I've curated a collection of top-notch tools and resources that keep my world spinning – and cooking – smoothly.

On this page, you’ll find everything from helpful apps to essential tools and engaging podcasts, all given my stamp of approval.
Plus freebies I've crafted just for you!

Just a heads up: These are affiliate links, which means I might earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

Rest assured, as your small biz navigator, I only vouch for the stuff I love and use, time and time again.

Resources
My business go-tos that I can’t live without!

  • 🎥 Loom

    Use this daily to create visual walkthroughs for my clients, collaborators, and anyone I meet. It might be the biggest timesaver in my work life. No one has ever said to me, “This meeting could have been an email.”

  • ✔️ ToDoist

    Organizes my home life, personal life, & work life. If it ever went down I would have no idea what task to do next. It reduces communication in my family, and allows both the long-view and the nitty-gritty details of my time.

  • 🧠 Notion

    The actual brain of my business. And personal life. Holds my biz dashboard and is my client dashboard hub. It might seem overwhelming at first, but that’s because it is a blank slate. Want some advice or template links to get started? Email me 👋

  • 🗓️ Acuity Scheduling

    Y’all know I love Acuity for automating the booking process, making it simpler for clients to book (& rebook) appointments.

    It’s versatile, robust, and can be customized to the nines. It even increases your bookings revenue.

    (Contact me to sign up and I’ll score you 20% off your first year.)

  • 🏘️ Memberspace

    A platform that allows you to create members-only areas on your site, allowing you to easily charge (or not) for access to exclusive content. I’ve used this to create so many diverse types of gated areas for clients, and it’s so easy.

    I prefer it to Squarespace member areas because you can create unlimited memberships on every plan; it has a free level; and you can easily share the same content across multiple membership.

  • 💬 Typeform

    A one-question-at-a-time form builder that is oh-so-much-more. Beautifully designed and powerful multi-functional tool that simultaneously creates engaging content to build relationships with your audience? And can segment the results? Holy hell – sign me up.

  • 🕹️ VideoAsk

    The companion to Typeform, an “asynchronous communication tool” blah blah. What it means is the chance to create choose-your-own adventure video journeys that allow visitors to give info and connect on their own terms. What will humans think of next?

  • 🖼️ HauteStock

    When you’ve run through all of the free stock photo options, and are ready to sign up for a paid source (everyone gets to that place eventually): I love HauteStock for their elevated images. Plus they create social media guides, have workshops, and more.

  • 👩‍🎤 Canva Pro

    If you don’t know Canva, are you even a small business owner 😆
    I flip back and forth between using Adobe Express and Canva, but Canva Pro has some great benefits. (And a much better price tag!) But seriously, spring for Canva Pro. Soooo much value.

  • 💌 ConvertKit

    If you want an all-in-one solution for email marketing and a CRM, ConvertKit is my rec. It has a visual automation builder and even funnel solutions. ConvertKit is the email marketing platform I use for my biz.

  • 💌 Mailchimp

    Mailchimp is a great email marketing solution for automations, ecommerce, and integrates with so many other applications. If you plan to do any sort of automation, I recommend the Standard plan.

  • 🎨 Coolors

    The online home where I save all of my color palettes. Allows you to explore web accessibility/contrast, create gradients, and more. I don’t love the palette creator but hey, to each their own!

  • 🕸️ SEOSpace

    “The Yoast of Squarespace”
    You don’t need an SEO plugin for Squarespace, but it’s handy to tell you what can be fixed if you’re DIYing. This plugin is super easy to power up your SEO if you’re comfortable diving into terminology.

  • ✍️ Termageddon

    The easiest (& least expensive) site for installing and keeping your legal pages up to date automatically. If you don’t have ecommerce or complicated terms of service, this will cover you just fine. (And YES! You need legal pages: Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, & Terms of Service).

  • 📊 SuperJack

    Tired of manually exporting order data from Squarespace?

    Automatically sync your Squarespace orders to Google Sheets. And from there, connect to Zapier to do anything you want! This plugin makes it all possible.

  • 🔗 Namecheap

    If you need a domian provider, go with Namecheap: reliable, price-consistent, and have an easy-to-navigate user dashboard.

    The best part? You can create delegate access, so no need to share login credentials with your tech pros.

    Namecheap is also where all of my domains are housed!

  • An overhead image of a Black woman working at home on the floor while her daughter works nearby, exemplifying the challenges of solopreneur life

    5-Day Squarespace SEO Magic

    Want SEO Tips you can use right now?

    Grab a behind-the-scenes, step-by-step walkthrough of how to implement an instant search results boost to your Squarespace site.

    Get 5 emailed videos over 5 days to find out how to show up as the answer to the question your clients are asking.

    No jargon, nothing complicated – just quick, easy magical walkthroughs.

  • A black & white photo of Carolyn Leasure, Creative Director of SmallBiz Sidekick, holding a Ruth Bader Ginsburg mug and her laptop while she smiles and showcases her expertise in creative custom Squarespace web solutions with a client

    Website Redesign Checklist

    Not sure how your site is measuring up? Get a website report card and take your biz back to school.

    Before redesigning your site, check every nook and cranny to see how you stack up on:

    • Brand Design

    • Navigation

    • User Experience

    • SEO

    • Mobile Responsiveness

    • and more

    Then find out what happens when websites stop being polite, and start getting real.

  • A polaroid overlaid on top of the same image (blurred) of a woman in a yellow dress taking an interactive quiz symbolizing the engaging and personalized client journey SmallBiz Sidekick crafts.

    Launch-Your-Site Game Plan

    You know you need to launch – or relaunch –your site.

    But there are so many options! DIY, take a course, buy a template, hire a freelancer, hire an agency… who knows where to start?

    Take the 2-minute quiz and get a tailor-made answer that’s just the right fit for your stage of business, budget, skillset, and interests.

    Plus, did someone say quiz? Fun!