The following are tools that I personally use in my business projects (*some of the links are affiliate links, and I’ll earn a commission)
Also, my tool cheat sheet is here – feel free to bookmark it, as it gets updated first!
My Favorite Tools (can’t live without these)
Beehiiv (for email newsletters)
In 2023, I found it and switched from Convertkit (I like Convertkit, but they angered me by how they operate their annual billing).
I have used Beehiiv for a year and LOVE it.
They ship updates really fast, and I think they are going to be a huge player and disrupt a lot of legacy brands.
Wise (money payments and transfers)
I pay my entire international team with Wise.
Every time I have shown it to new international contractors, they get set up because the fees are lower than Paypal or others.
If you’d like to learn more about how it works, we have this article.
Or this video shows my feedback after sending more than $20k via Wise.
WPX (my web host)
I’m obsessed with WPX.
I moved all major sites over to this WordPress web host in 2022.
I love them because of their service.
They answer their chat in less than 60 seconds.
It’s like having a developer on your team.
Plus, the hosting speed and reliability are great.
We use it for our email service also.
In this article, I talk about us moving from Bluehost to WPX and why we did it.
Descript (our video editing software)
We’ve used Descript as our video editor for the last 12 months.
It’s been great.
What makes it different/unique is that it takes your video and transcribes it.
So, instead of editing from a video clip, you edit based on the text — you can easily cut out vocal fillers and dead space.
They keep adding features (just recently is one that makes it look like you are staring at the camera and not your notes — creepy but cool).
More Tools I Love
Generatepress (WordPress Theme)
We switched our sites to GeneratePress from Divi (which we like as well) a few years back.
Love the speed of this lightweight theme.
Buzzsprout
I love Buzzsprout and use it as our Podcast Host. After using Libsyn for a year, I made the decision to switch over to Buzzsprout once I found it. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be and was definitely worth it.
Legendary Marketer (to help you navigate starting a business)
If you’re not sure of what hustle or business to start, then you’ll want a system like Legendary Marketer that can fully help guide and coach you through that process.
They will help you begin from scratch to help you with niche selection and how to market online like a pro.
And if you still want more…
More Website Tools
- Porkbun: First, you need a domain name (the part between the www. and the .com) from them. We used to use GoDaddy for all of ours but found Porkbun a few years back and moved everything over to them.
- Bluehost: You’ll need a company to store your website online or ‘host’. All of my websites used to be hosted using Bluehost. You can easily set up professional emails with your domains (i.e. brooks@myspecialsite.com) and they have excellent customer service. You can easily install WordPress which is a free framework that more than 40% of all websites worldwide use. For that you’ll need a WordPress theme. We highly recommend DIVI – see below.
- Divi Theme (Elegant Themes): Holy smokes, we’re glad we found this theme! We used to use Thesis, Genesis, and Hero Theme. We have converted all of our websites over to Divi. It’s the easiest theme to use because of its front end designer (more similar to Wix, Weebly, and Squarespace). Since then, we’ve moved our sites over to GeneratePress.
- Weebly or Wix: If you want to go the easier route (which in my opinion you’ll pay for in the long run), you can easily create a sleek website with a company like Weebly or Wix. You’ll pay a monthly fee that will include your website hosting, the theme, and the domain name. Over time, this could become more expensive to you.
- Shopify: Looking to sell physical products? Shopify is the top choice for this. More than 1,000,000 online stores use Shopify to run their businesses (including a client that we set up a store for). Shopify is an all-inclusive product that not only helps you with a sleek website, but also has built-in integration for shipping and inventory management.
Next, Tools For Online Marketing
- Fiverr: Business where you can get a wide array of jobs done starting at $5. I’ve used this website for a number of projects ranging from logo design and video production to data output and telephone calls.
- Canva: Finally, there’s a software that makes graphic design easy. This tool allows anybody to quickly and easily make beautiful creations.
- Screencasomatic: This is the tool that I use to create all of my tutorials on YouTube where I record my desktop. There are free tools out there, but for the cost of a soft drink per month, this tool is well worth the cost to me.
- TubeBuddy: This tool helps us figure out metrics on YouTube in order to figure out what keywords we should be making videos for.
- InVideo: Create incredible videos for your social media posts.
Tools for Making Money Online
- Live Streaming: We have recently launched 2 different live streaming shows that we stream live on both Facebook and YouTube.
- Ebates: I’ve made over $1,200 with this tool by literally clicking a button before we shop. I use their chrome extension and it tells me when the website I’m shopping on will pay me a rebate. Here’s a video I created to show you how it works.
- Udemy: The way that we are educated is being turned upside down. Rather than paying thousands for college education, you’re now able to take affordable online courses for as little as $9.99 — Udemy is one of those resources.
- Printful: Want to start a t-shirt business but without all of the inventory? Use Printful and create a print-on-demand business!
- Podcasting: Looking to start a podcast? We have launched 3 different shows in the last year and are extremely happy with the pricing and how easy BuzzSprout is to use.
- Airbnb Host: Ever thought of renting your house as a short-term rental? Airbnb is a great option for that. Sign up using my link, and you’ll get additional cash when you host for the first time.
- Venmo: This is an app you can use to transfer cash to friends at no cost. PayPal owns it. I made this video to explain why it’s free.
- Capital One Bank: I like small banks and credit unions, but I also have an account at this large bank that has all of the features I need (like easily adding external accounts so that I can link it to other banks). The link above will provide you up to $100 when you open your account.
- Robinhood: Want a FREE stock? This financial firm is disrupting the industry. You can make stock trades for $0 and they give you a free stock just for signing up with as little as $100 in your account!
- Chase Sapphire: Get 60,000 points when you’re approved for this bad boy (that can be used for up to $750 in travel!)
Books I’ve Read Multiple Times
- Four Hour Work Week by Timothy Ferriss: This opened my eyes to the possibilities of having outsourced help around the world, earning dollars in a strong currency, and possibly living in places that have more affordable costs. It caused me to look at the world more globally.
- Dare to Succeed by Mark Burnett: You may have never heard of this simple book or its author, but it’s the business book that I’ve probably read the most of any that I own. If you don’t know Mark’s name, you’ll recognize his creations — Survivor and Shark Tank, just to name a few. His story is truly one of rags to riches as he flew to the U.S. with limited money in his pockets and created his business success.
- The Art of Non-Conformity by Chris Guillebeau: this is the book that showed me that I wasn’t the only one that thought the way I did. That it’s ok to have unconventional thinking and march to the beat of my drum. And that if I could find others playing instruments in their own way we could form an incredible sounding band.
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki: This is the book that led me to understand the difference in the mindset of an employee vs. a business owner. As well as the simple concept that assets put money in your pockets while liabilities remove money from your pockets.