The following are tools that I personally use in my own side hustles. I hope that some of them can help you in your business & life adventures as well.
[sidenote: I often get asked “Where can I get one of those shirts?” — here’s your link to those — enjoy!
Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links to products that will earn me a commission if you purchase them via the links. These are all things that I am recommending because they are helpful and are companies that I trust, not because of the commissions that I will earn from you using these products (but the commission helps!)
A Business System
If you 100% know that you want to start a side hustle business or a business that you can run from anywhere, but you’re just not sure where to begin, then you’re going to need training. I recommend this program. Instead of floating from resource to resource or spending hours reading blogs, watching videos, or listening to podcasts, you can get straight to the core and have a system that will help coach and guide you.
First, Website Tools
- Go Daddy: First you need a domain name (the part between the www. and the .com) from them. We use GoDaddy for all of ours. It’s simple, inexpensive, and you can always find a good discount coupon code for them.
- Bluehost: You’ll need a company to store your website online or ‘host’. All of my websites are 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).
- 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
- Need an Online Marketing Gameplan? Start here. This is currently a top online digital marketing system. If you’re looking to grow a business online in the digital age and are looking for a strategy and education then this is for you.
- Get Response: One of the internet’s most powerful email opt-in service and email marketing/broadcasting tool. It also includes landing pages and a CRM.
- MailChimp: This is the service that we use to send out local event info to more than 13,000 community members. It also includes landing pages.
- Click Funnels: This is an incredibly popular service that is an all-in-one solution — landing pages & email marketing – an entire funnel (just like the name hints).
- LeadPages: This is the leader in landing pages. If you’re looking for a stand-alone product that creates some of the highest converting landing pages, look no further.
- 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. Streamyard is probably our favorite tool of 2020. Try it.
- 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. Check out a few of my courses like 50 ideas to make money online or 30 Alternatives to College.
- Printful: Want to start a t-shirt business but without all of the inventory? Use Printful and create a print on demand business!
- Patreon: Get paid by your community for the creations you make. Creators (think music, art, etc.) can connect with their community and make offers to their supporters.
- 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. It’s owned by PayPal. 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!
- Turo: The Airbnb of cars. Rent out your car when you don’t need it for some extra cash. Or find that car you’ve been wanting to try out (I rented my jeep out in the past).
- 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 that 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.