How to Be Intentional When Choosing Business Platforms
Meet Your Guide: Crystal Oakes
Before we dive into choosing the right business platforms, I'm excited to introduce you to my go to expert, Crystal Oakes. As the founder of Oakes Creative House and someone I deeply admire in the marketing space, Crystal brings over a decade of corporate leadership experience to the entrepreneurial world.
What I love about Crystal's approach is that she doesn't just follow marketing trends – she helps businesses make intentional, strategic decisions that actually work. Through Oakes Creative House, she has guided countless entrepreneurs in developing marketing strategies that feel authentic and deliver results.
So dive in below and hear all the wisdom she has to share.
Meet Crystal
Have you seen the myriad of business platforms available these days?
Oh, man! It’s so easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of options available.
Where do you start?
What’s worth the money?
What platforms best position you for scalability? It just makes your head spin!
Fortunately, you’ve happened upon just the right blog to bring a method to the business platform madness. That said, let me introduce myself!
I’m Crystal Oakes, owner and creative director at Oakes Creative House - a marketing and branding agency for small businesses and entrepreneurs who are ready to market their business with purpose.
My team and I have experience not only in the creative aspects of marketing and branding, but also in the processes and strategies that support them. Over my years in business, I’ve tinkered with a lot of business platforms, and I’m happy to help you find the ones that fit you best.
So, without further ado, let’s get started!
Create a Foundation, Find the Right Business Platforms
Before you dive into the world of business platforms, it’s important to establish what you need.
Answer the following questions:
What’s brought you to this point in the journey?
What part of your business do you need the most help with?
What is your budget for subscriptions?
How much time do you have to learn these new platforms?
Are you looking for a complete overhaul, or do you just need a single new system?
You need to embark on this journey with a clear plan in mind. When you start investing in platforms without a plan, you run the risk of wasting time and money.
Not sure where to start with a plan?
Well, it certainly isn’t something you need to do alone. We'll dive deeper into your options at the end of this blog, but as a teaser, take a look at both oakescreativehouse.com and daniellethrockmorton.com.
Preferred Platforms for Scalability
Once you have a plan in place, it’s time to do some research. Lucky for you, we’ve already done some of it for you!
All of the platforms listed below have been utilized by the Oakes Creative House team, and we stand behind their ability to support you on your journey toward scalability. Many of them work hand-in-hand with the others on this list! It’s all about building your very own tech stack.
Content Management
Loomly
Strategize, create, and automate your social media with Loomly! We use Loomly for Oakes Creative House's social media, as well as for all our clients' social media. It allows you to schedule content across platforms from Facebook to YouTube. This platform enables you to batch content in advance and schedule it for as far in the future as you’d like.
Mailchimp
Whether you’re sending email newsletters or setting up nurture funnels, Mailchimp is a powerful platform for email marketing!
With Mailchimp, you’re able to set up multiple funnels, send one-off emails, create branded email newsletters, and manage several email lists. There is a free, entry-level subscription, allowing you to explore the platform before investing in the paid version.
Money Management
Gusto
Gusto is a great platform for teams. It is a payroll and benefits management software that allows you to easily manage your team’s income, holidays, and taxes.
We use it to manage our own team!
Xero
Xero is an accounting software designed for small businesses and entrepreneurs, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for a tool to track your business finances. You can pay bills, track payments, accept payments, connect it to your bank, and even integrate it with Gusto 😉
Project Management:
Asana
Looking for a project management system? Use Asana. Point blank.
As your business grows, so does your list of projects. Whether or not you’re a service-based business, you can find peace in Asana managing your internal and/or external projects. You can pass projects between team members, assign tasks, link to content, and create project templates. Additionally, there are numerous automation options available. It’s a great platform to lessen your mental load!
Slack
Slack is primarily a messaging platform.
You can direct message team members, create group chats, and create “threads” for different projects or topics. Slack also allows you to send voice messages, links, and files. It’s great for quick communication for in-house and remote teams alike!
Website Management
Wordpress
Without a doubt, WordPress is the best platform for building websites for small business owners. In short, it has the best SEO capabilities and customization tools. While we’ve seen many small business owners start on sites like Squarespace and Wix, nearly all of them have made the inevitable switch to WordPress.
In more comprehensive terms, WordPress is our chosen website platform because…
WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS) for websites. It’s incredibly powerful, but when paired with the right drag-and-drop builders, themes, and plugins, it becomes easy to use for non-technical people too. So, you have easy access to make content updates to your website as needed.
WordPress accounts for 43% of all websites on the internet and is used by both developers and non-developers alike.
Scalability with WordPress is unmatched and, with the right tools in place, can be very user-friendly. We like to supplement it with Elementor, an incredibly powerful drag-and-drop builder!
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of videos educating you on how to use WordPress in case you ever get stuck (if you’re set on the DIY route).
WordPress is secure! Regardless of what you may have heard in the past, hosting a WordPress site with a reliable host is as secure, if not more secure, than its competitors. At Oakes Creative House, we host our websites on WP Engine and have top-notch security tools installed on each one.
WordPress is the best website platform we have found that can grow with your business. You can create a budget-friendly starter website, then add features as you go with additional plugins and configuration. We have yet to find something that it can’t do!
Okay, I could go on and on about the benefits of WordPress. Can you tell that I’m particularly passionate about website platforms? That said, if you want to make a long-term investment in your business, I recommend building your website in WordPress!
What now?
Now that I’ve shared my top business platforms for scalability, we can shift the conversation to next steps and the importance of creating a plan.
Although we have consolidated our recommendations, this list can still appear overwhelming at first glance.
Business owner to business owner - you don’t need to invest in all of these, and certainly not all at once.
My professional recommendation is that you start strategically, creating a plan. That can be done in a number of ways. If you are super new and don’t have a lot of resources, we have some DIY tools you can use, including my Marketing Roadmap Workbook and free One Page Marketing Strategy Template. You can also explore Danielle’s Throck Shop!
If you’re ready to set the course for where you need to invest next in your business, both Danielle and I have high-value services that you can book to better understand the best use of your time, money, and energy.
Oakes Creative House Marketing Roadmap Sessions: We take the guesswork out of your marketing by providing a custom, step-by-step plan tailored to your needs. A Marketing Roadmap session is a 1-hour call to get your business marketing in check. We’ll set you on the right path, taking the decision-making off your plate! (Therefore, making platform purchasing decisions THAT much easier.)
Danielle Throckmorton VIP Days: Get a month’s worth of business insight from Danielle in just ONE DAY. Walk away with clarity around your business's next steps.
To wrap things up, the best advice I can give to you is to plan accordingly. Start small so that you can grow successfully.
You’ve got this!
XOXO,
Crystal Oakes
What is it like to bring me on as your strategic partner?
Danielle Throckmorton is a multi-passionate entrepreneur, business strategist, speaker, luxury retreat host, entrepreneur coach and 9x award-winning business owner. With nearly a decade of experience, Danielle has successfully grown and scaled multiple 6-figure companies and helps female entrepreneurs through her signature TME framework in designing a business that truly serves their life.
