I’ve created this resources page for products and services that I think you’ll love and benefit from as much as I do. I’ll add to it as I learn more, but you’ll notice that in the future I will reference this page quite often. I recommend bookmarking it for your reference and convenience. Enjoy!

 

 

Even more…

Base CRM – A great CRM program for tracking sales, clicks, follow-ups and SO much more!  Extremely reasonable pricing, AND you can get a free trial to test it out!

Mailchimp – The easiest way to send out email newsletters and campaigns!

GoDaddy – When you’ve got a business idea, register your cheap domain names here.

BlueHost – I’ve used both GoDaddy and BlueHost to host websites.  BlueHost will not host explicit sites, so that’s just one of the many reasons I recommend them.

Grammarly – If you want to make sure your blog posts are grammatically correct, this is a must use tool.

DespositPhotos – A great resource for graphics.  Once you buy the photo, you own the rights to use as you please!

ShutterStock – Another graphic resource – any graphic you need at your fingertips.

StudioPress – Gorgeous WordPress Themes for building a user-friendly website.

ElegantThemes – I love ElegantThemes because you pay one time and have access to all of their themes for WordPress whenever you want.  No more extra fees. Home of the popular Divi Theme and Builder!

Fiverr – I use the power of Fiverr for graphics and video design, newsletter merges, setting up email campaigns and more.  A great spot for getting a quick $5 logo made!

Hiscox Business Insurance – EVERY business needs insurance.  I use Hiscox.  Here’s an article you can read to find out why.

GeniusScan App – Invaluable for allowing me to “scan” anything with my phone and email or fax the document.  I use this daily with my virtual assistant clients.

E-File.com – This service lets you file your tax return for FREE. Perfect for those who have not yet started an “official” business.  It’s simple and easy to use.

Turbo Tax – My FAVORITE tax return system. This is what I use for my personal and business tax returns.

Udemy – Need to learn a new skill for very little money?  This is where you need to look.  Want to sell your knowledge? Create your own Udemy course and get paid to help others learn!

Lastpass – Do you have a billion passwords to keep track of?  Do you work virtually?  This is a secure service that stores your passwords and will autofill them for you. Plus, you can share specific passwords and login info with others without them getting the actual information.  A MUST HAVE for, well, everyone.  Now, you need JUST ONE password to keep track of all the rest. This has saved me so much time.  This may sound morbid, but when you die, your family will need to be able to access your accounts.  It’s unrealistic and unsafe to have a bunch of passwords written somewhere.  Now, you can tell them your ONE password that will unlock everything else.  Put it in a safety deposit box or make one up that only you and one or two other people know.

TopCashBack – I used to use Ebates, but I switched to TopCashBack for maximizing my returns when shopping online.  I used my cash back credit cards and sometimes get up to 15% back on regular normal purchases.  You can get even more on holidays and during special promotions.

 

Products:

Macbook Air – I finally took the leap and got one after only using PCs.  Wow, what a difference!  Highly recommend for productivity and user friendliness.

iPhone – I’m not usually one to buy into the hype of the latest smartphone, but my iPhone has given me the flexibility to work from practically anywhere with ease.

Noise Cancelling headphones – A must have when working from home.  Especially useful when meeting with clients via Skype or other video conferencing apps.  Also, perfect for tuning out noisy kids in the background!

 

Books:

The E-Myth Revisited Why Most Small Business Don’t Work and What to Do About It  An instant classic, this revised and updated edition of the phenomenal bestseller dispels the myths about starting your own business. The E-Myth is a great book for all business owners to read.

 

 

 

 

 

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t

Built to Last, the defining management study of the nineties, showed how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.  But what about the company that is not born with great DNA? How can good companies, mediocre companies, even bad companies achieve enduring greatness? “Some of the key concepts discerned in the study,” comments Jim Collins, “fly in the face of our modern business culture and will, quite frankly, upset some people.”

 

 

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead Daring Greatly is not about winning or losing. It’s about courage. In a world where “never enough” dominates and feeling afraid has become second nature, vulnerability is subversive. Uncomfortable. It’s even a little dangerous at times. And, without question, putting ourselves out there means there’s a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt. But when we step back and examine our lives, we will find that nothing is as uncomfortable, dangerous, and hurtful as standing on the outside of our lives looking in and wondering what it would be like if we had the courage to step into the arena.

 

 

Executive Toughness: The Mental-Training Program to Increase Your Leadership Performance: The Mental-Training Program to Increase Your Leadership Performance
Take your professional game to the next level—in 100 seconds or less!  People with inborn talent may be good at what they do—but only the mentally tough reach the highest plateaus in their field. And here’s the best news of all: mental toughness is something anyone can learn. A complete regimen from a leading expert on developing the mindset for attaining goals, Executive Toughness is your workout for ultimate success in your career and in your life.

 

 

 

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (25th Anniversary Edition)When it was first published in 1989, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was an almost instant bestseller–and quickly became a permanent part of the cultural lexicon. With over 25 million copies sold worldwide in over 40 languages since its first publication, this book continues to help millions of readers become more effective in both their personal and professional lives.

 

 

 

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Used by thousands of companies and hundreds of business schools! Required reading for anyone interested in the Theory of Constraints. This book, which introduces the Theory of Constraints, is changing how America does business. The Goal is a gripping, fast-paced business novel about overcoming the barriers to making money. You will learn the fundamentals of identifying and solving the problems created by constraints. From the moment you finish the book, you will be able to start successfully addressing chronic productivity and quality problems.

 

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking

At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society.

 

 

 

 

How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling

A business classic endorsed by Dale Carnegie, How I Raised Myself from Failure to Success in Selling is for anyone whose job it is to sell. Whether you are selling houses or mutual funds, advertisements or ideas—or anything else—this book is for you.

 

 

The Brain Audit – Why Customers Buy (And Why They Don’t)

How the Brain Goes Through Decision-Making: Do you often wonder what your customer is thinking? Don’t leave the thought process to chance and let that customer walk away. Your customers don’t want to walk away. They want to buy from you. So how does the brain make decisions? And what causes it to get confused? The Brain Audit shows you how the customer takes decisions. And what you need to put in place, so that the customer feels happy to buy.

 

Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating Behavior

Practical, proven steps show how to transform 40 common self-defeating behaviors, including procrastination, envy, obsession, anger, self-pity, compulsion, neediness, guilt, rebellion, inaction, and more.

 

Who Moved My Cheese?

With Who Moved My Cheese? Dr. Spencer Johnson realizes the need for finding the language and tools to deal with change–an issue that makes all of us nervous and uncomfortable.  Most people are fearful of change because they don’t believe they have any control over how or when it happens to them. Since change happens either to the individual or by the individual, Spencer Johnson shows us that what matters most is the attitude we have about change.

 

Quitter: Closing the Gap Between your Day Job & Your Dream Job

An insightful, witty look at how to turn a job into a dream without turning that dream into a nightmare. Quitter is a book about how it’s possible not only to survive but actually thrive in the tension between a day job and a daydream. With the wit and insight gained in a dozen years of cubicle living, Acuff shows us all why we don’t have to become the “I’m, but” generation. I’m a teacher, but I want to be an artist. I’m a project manager, but I want to start my own business. If you’ve ever sat in a cubicle and thought, I don’t want to do this job for the rest of my life, this book is for you.

 

 

 

How to Win Friends & Influence People

For more than sixty years the rock-solid, time-tested advice in this book has carried thousands of now-famous people up the ladder of success in their business and personal lives.  Now this previously revised and updated bestseller is available in trade paperback for the first time to help you achieve your maximum potential throughout the next century!

 

The Little Book of Talent 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills

The Little Book of Talent is a manual for building a faster brain and a better you. It is an easy-to-use handbook of scientifically proven, field-tested methods to improve skills—your skills, your kids’ skills, your organization’s skills—in sports, music, art, math, and business. The product of five years of reporting from the world’s greatest talent hotbeds and interviews with successful master coaches, it distills the daunting complexity of skill development into 52 clear, concise directives. Whether you’re age 10 or 100, whether you’re on the sports field or the stage, in the classroom or the corner office, this is an essential guide for anyone who ever asked, “How do I get better?”