TOOLS & RESOURCES
On this page you will find the tools and resources that make our online business work. You can't run an online business without great tools. These tools and resources will help you do things faster, easier, and help make you more money online!
OUR TOP 5 FAVORITE TOOLS
FLIP YOUR LIFE
Create & sell your 1st digital product online in 29 days or less. This is our online course where we show you exactly how to start an online business (even if you don't have a clue where to begin)!
KAJABI
Need to build a website? We have recently started using Kajabi and we love how easy it is to use! You can give it a try for FREE! Check it out here: https://app.kajabi.com/r/aA2copSG/t/yuzjykm4
AWEBER
You need to be collecting emails from day 1 of your online business. Aweber is the best email collection company out there. We like it better than Mailchimp and other companies. Collect emails, organize your lists, automate your newsletter, and more. Simply put: Aweber is the backbone of our online business and should be yours too. Highly recommended.
CAMTASIA
The program we use to capture our screen for our tutorials, courses, and training videos! Makes amazing screen captures with high quality sound and video. Saves in a number of formats and/or straight to youtube.
CANVA
Canva is an amazing tool for creating incredible images! You can quickly create images form templates, add text, banners, buttons, etc.! Has built in templates for all the social media networks to create perfect images for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and more!
APPS & EMAIL COLLECTION
This app lets you save snippets of text and quickly insert those snippets into emails or posts with shortcode. Saves you a ton of time! Type in common answers to frequently asked questions, and quickly reply by typing your shortcode!
The engine that helped us build a six figure business. We use AWeber to collect emails, deliver lead magnets, and send messages to our subscribers. It also lets you automate your messages so subscribers get updates automatically. We have tried all of the major email collections services, AWeber is the best of the bunch! Perfect for anyone starting out. Click here to try it for $1.
An all-in-one integrated platform that delivers essential business features, including a powerful CRM system, membership sites, one-click WordPress hosting, outstanding email delivery, payment processing, direct-mail printing, affiliate management, and our innovative business automation suite. It's like AWeber on steroids. It lets you track everything anyone does on your site. Great for advanced business owners who are looking to take their business to the next level!
GRAPHICS & LOGOS
We love Logonerds. They have done most of our logos. You can get a professionally designed logo for around $27. You won't find a better deal online.
Great site for royalty free images. If you are looking for free images, this is a great spot to start.
The best photo editing tool online. Great for adding text to images, creating Facebook ads, making images for Pinterest and more. Who needs photoshop! 🙂
HARDWARE
MACBOOK PRO
We were PC people until recently. We always thought "why would I pay more for a MAC?" We were wrong. We highly recommend switching to a MAC as soon as you can afford one. It makes your life so much easier when you own an online business. Faster. More powerful. Never messes up, locks up, or freezes up. It really is the best computer for working online! We use the Apple MacBook Pro 15.4-Inch Laptop with Retina Display.
For those of you who need a right-click option, the Magic Mouse is a must! The Magic Mouse is super light and connects to your Mac via Bluetooth.
We love this hi-rise adjustable laptop stand! This stand gives you the ability to easily adjust the height of your MacBook screen for better viewing. And, the stand is sturdy and has rubberized grips that help prevent unexpected slips/drops!
When working at our desks, we use this wireless keyboard. It is amazing. Super light weight, great buttons, and it is solar powered (no batteries required)! Logitech Wireless Solar Keyboard K750 for Mac
RECOMMENDED COURSES
Self-publishing Your Book by Shelley Hitz – Shelley helps authors self-publish their books and market them online! No need for an agent or publishing company. You can do it all yourself and Shelley show’s you how step-by-step!
Amazon Bootcamp by Jessica and Cliff Larrew - Jessica and Cliff are the recognized experts on selling physical products through the Amazon.com FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon) program.
BOOKS WE LOVE
I had to start this section with my personal favorite, Start With Why by Simon Sinek. I love this book because it focuses on developing a long-term vision and why your business is meaningful to customers. Simon Sinek gives lots of examples of very well-known and successful companies and explains why they're successful in very simple, yet powerful terms. This is the book we ALWAYS turn to when we start a new venture. A must-read for current and aspiring entrepreneurs.
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss is a classic book for starting out in online business (if books written in 2009 can be considered classics?) This is one of the first books we read when starting our online business. Tim tells his personal story, describes the "New Rich", and tells readers how they can break free from their 9-5 jobs.Very inspirational.
Crush It! by Gary Vaynerchuk is one of the first books Shane read and used its content to convince me we were destined to start an online business. Gary Vaynerchuk always seems to be one step ahead when it comes to online business. We enjoyed reading his success story and his tips for entrepreneurs.
We also enjoyed The Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk. This book is all about how times have changed in business because the customer truly matters in the age of social media. Gary Vaynerchuk also discusses how marketers can use social media to their advantage to interact with their customers.
Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook is easily Gary V.'s best work, in our opinion. This one is truly outstanding and a must read for anyone who uses social media in their business. He discusses the changing nature of social media and how to make the most impact on your followers using frequent "jabs" (relationship building tactics) and occasional "right hooks" (selling tactics). There are many examples used throughout - this is one you'll read at least twice.
The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz is another essential read for anyone who owns their own business. The author relates business strategies to strategies for growing a prize-winning giant pumpkin. It sounds a little crazy, but you'll be truly glad you read this book.
I finished this book in about a day. The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau is another great read, especially for people who are just getting started in online business. Chris tells lots of stories of people who have found ways to flip their lifestyle and stop trading time for money. My favorite part of this book was the part where he discusses tips for writing an FAQ page for your website. Great stuff.
MORE RECOMMENDATIONS
Some of the resources listed on this page contain affiliate links.
If you choose to purchase one of them, we will receive a small percentage of that sale for the referral.
For more information, see our Disclosures page.