The Best Coaching Tools

At first I was hesitant to create this page, since many coaches search for tools as a way of hiding from the real work of getting clients. But I also know how hard it can be to identify the right resources. This list will help you save time searching for tools so that you can focus on what really matters: getting clients and changing their lives.

🎥 Video Recording

Sony Alpha ZV-E10 - This is the camera I use to shoot videos for YouTube. You can also hook it up to your computer via USB to use in live streams or on Zoom calls. In other words, it can replace a webcam. I did a lot of research before getting this and I’m really happy with it for the price point. Note that you’ll need to either buy it with the kit lens or invest in a separate lens to use.

Sigma 18-50mm F2.8 Lens - This is the only lens I’m using at the moment. It’s wide enough at 18mm to shoot talking head videos at my desk, an arms length away. Here’s an example of a video shot with this lens.

Rode VideoMic GO II - This mic sits on top of my Sony camera and records audio. I use it either for back-up audio alongside the Blue Yeti USB mic or as the primary audio if I’m recording things away from my desk.

MOUNTDOG Softbox Lighting Kit - Good lighting is key for video. I use this softbox placed at about 3:00 from where I’m standing to light the right side of my face. Then I use this ring light to fill in my left side.

IVISII G2 Pocket RGB Camera Light - I place this colored light behind me, facing the wall, to create separation from the background. You can change the color, or just use it as a normal light.

🗄 Business Operations

Capital One Credit Card* - I use Capital One for my bank accounts and my credit cards because I love how everything integrates together with their online banking. The credit card I use is their Spark 2% Cash Back card. It makes it easy to separate my business spending from my personal spending. I highly recommend this card if don’t have one for your business yet.

Bench.co - Bench is an online bookkeeping service that does your bookkeeping for you. Since I'm not very detail oriented, and hate doing my own bookkeeping, this was the first major outsourcing move I made in my business. I haven't looked back since. If you’re ready to outsource your bookkeeping (and it’s the first thing I recommend every coach outsource) then Bench offers a free trial, so you can “try before you buy.”

YNAB* - While I use Bench for my official bookkeeping, I also run my finances through YNAB. This allows me to execute a financial system called Profit First without having more than two bank accounts.

Stripe - Stripe allows you to take credit cards over the phone and set up one-time or recurring payments (something that is harder to do with PayPal). It's technically built for third-party developers but you can use it directly for free. This is what I use to process the majority of my payments. It also integrates with my course hosting software, Kajabi.

LastPass* - A convenient and secure way to manage your logins and other confidential information.

Dropbox* - For organizing, sharing, and backing up your files.

Rev - Provides captions and transcriptions for your videos for $1/minute. I use this to transcribe my client case studies.

💻 Home Office

Jarvis standing desk - This desk goes up and down automatically using a control pad of presets. Alternating between sitting and standing is generally considered healthier than sitting all day. I've personally found that it gives me more energy. Having one of these setups allows you to separate the monitor and the keyboard, which is important for good posture.

Stool/chair for standing desk* - Perfect for your standing desk. This allows you to sit or lean so that you don't have to be standing all day. It doesn’t take up much space, which is definitely a bonus.

Laptop* - 8GB MacBook Air (M1, 2020). I’m very pleased with this laptop. It’s fast and does everything I need it to, including editing video.

Logitech wireless mouse* - This is my primary mouse and I keep it on the right side of my keyboard. Feels great in your hand.

USB port hub and adaptor* - This allows me to plug in my mic, ethernet, monitor, and webcam all at once.

External monitor* - For my standing desk setup. Makes it so I don't have to look down at the laptop screen (which is healthier for your neck) and gives me plenty of room to work with.

Elgato webcam* - Since I use an external monitor, I need an external camera up at eye level for using video chat. This webcam is much better than the one built into my MacBook. It can even record in 1080p. I now use my Sony camera as my webcam and this Elgato one as a backup.

Ring light* - This clips onto my desk and the light goes just above my monitor. It provides lighting during video calls, especially when I don’t have good natural light.

USB Blue Yeti mic* - For podcast interviews and coaching calls. If you can't afford it then go with this one that I used to have*. The two mics are very similar in audio quality.

📩 Email Marketing

ConvertKit* - I upgraded to this from Mailchimp once I reached about 1,000 subscribers. If I were to do it all over again, I would just start with ConvertKit so that I didn’t have to migrate everything over. ConvertKit makes it easier to segment your lists and deliver personalized emails to your subscribers, which you'll want to start doing as your business grows. This is what I used for my fitness coaching business.

Drip - This is what I use for GregFaxon.com. At the time that I switched over, Drip was more advanced than ConvertKit. Now they’re pretty comparable. I've tried more complex solutions like Ontraport, but they were difficult to use and unnecessarily advanced. If I could do it all over again, I’d probably have stayed with ConvertKit (they make it easier to deliver lead magnets).

📆 Productivity

Apple Notes - My second brain. Used to use Evernote for this but it got clunky over the years. I like Apple notes because I can search my iPhone or Macbook and it will pull up relevant notes.

Kill News Feed - A plugin for Chrome that disables your Facebook News Feed when you log in. You can still post things, go into groups, and even create a custom news feed for the people you care about most. But you won't be tempted to go to the home screen and scroll anymore. I used this before I quit social media.

Asana - I use Asana as my primary task manager. It allows me to easily collaborate with my virtual assistant.

Freedom - This app blocks distracting websites and email so that I can focus on writing.

💪 Health & Wellness

Sunrise alarm clock* - This wakes you up naturally each day by increasing the amount of the light in the room gradually before the alarm goes off. I’ve found that I wake up more refreshed when I use it.

Five Minute Journal + Productivity Planner* - The Five Minute Journal is the simplest way to improve your level of well-being. It has prompts for the morning and evening so that you can record the things you're grateful for, what went well, etc. The Productivity Planner is a simple way to prioritize your daily tasks. Both journals are made by the same company.

Insight Timer - This is my favorite meditation app for one reason: the guided meditations by Tara Brach. If you're looking for some more structure to your practice then search for Tara Brach in the app.

📚 Books

🔗 The 30 Best Books For Life Coaches, Summarized

Goodreads - Here's where I track all of the books that I read. If you click the link, you can see which books I've rated most highly. Consider signing up for Goodreads if you want an easy way to track book recommendations.

Don’t Let The Fear Win* - A practical guide to mastering the inner game of entrepreneurship (by yours truly). This book will help you get out of your own way and build your coaching business. Available in kindle, paperback, and audiobook format. Equally valuable whether you’re just starting out or looking to scale.

📸 Photography & Design

Pexels - Best place to find free stock photos for blog posts, webinars, etc.

Unsplash - Another good option for free stock photography.

unDraw - This site offers a free library of searchable illustrations. You can use them freely in your blog posts without attribution. You can even customize them to fit your brand colors.

giphy - I use this site to find funny gifs, then insert them into my blog articles.

Canva - Hands down the easiest way I've found to design graphics and lead magnets. Eventually you'll want to outsource this to a designer, but of all you need is something visual that looks good, use Canva. It's free and stores everything in the cloud.

Stephanie Ewens - The best headshot and portrait photography I’ve found. Stephanie did all the photos for my current site. She is based in Rhode Island.

📞 Coaching Program Delivery

Zoom* - Makes it easy to host and record a group video conference. Just create a meeting, share the link via email, and hit record. I find that people are more engaged and connected when they can see each other live.

TrueCoach* - This is the software I used for my fitness coaching business, Enough Fitness. It handles payments, communication, and fitness/nutrition programming for clients. Great customer support and user experience.

Calendly - For scheduling calls with clients and potential clients.

Voxer - I’ve used this messaging app for between-call communication with my private clients. Voxer gives you the ability to record voice memos, which makes it easier to respond. It’s good for keeping client communication in it’s own place, outside of email or texting. Now I’m back to just using email because I think the act of writing forces people to be more clear and concise.

Slack - I’ve used this for communication between calls in my group programs, like Weeks That Work. It’s a good alternative to Facebook groups.

⌨️ Website And Landing Pages

Kajabi* - The best software out there for creating online courses, landing pages, and membership sites. It’s what I use for all my courses.

Interact* - This is the software I use to create lead quizzes (personality tests that help me collect emails). You simply plug in a title for your quiz, create the questions, and then easily map each answer to one of the possible results. They even have a gallery of stock images you can insert throughout the quiz. Then you can connect it to your email marketing software to collect emails when people want to see their results. Read this article for more.

Squarespace - My number one resource if you want a website. Wordpress is fine, but has way too many options to get lost in. Squarespace makes it easy to create and customize a beautiful website so that you can focus on the actual work of your business. I've been with them since day one and haven't outgrown them yet. Each site comes with a free domain name. I use the Amplify template* from GoLiveHQ for my current site. I highly recommend checking them out when you're ready for a new site. Get 10% off with the code: GREGFAXON10.

Ubersuggest - This is what I use to do keyword research for my SEO articles. It’s cheaper than many of the alternatives.

CoSchedule Headline Analyzer - I use this to test potential blog post headlines. It gives each headline a score and suggestions to improve. There’s a free and a paid version (most people can get away with the free one).

Typeform* - For collecting information from my audience, clients, and potential clients. Makes cooler-looking forms than other software.

*A star indicates an affiliate link. This means that if you purchase paid versions of the product/service listed, I receive a small amount of compensation. It won't cost you anything extra (in some cases you'll actually get a discount), but it will help support the free work I do here on my website. I only recommend resources I've personally used and believe in.