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The most common questions we get all start with, “What do you recommend for . . .?” With over six years of doing business online we’ve experimented with a lot of different tools and resources.

Have you seen the television show, American Pickers? The show is about two guys who travel around the country looking for rare finds – things that might be valuable to others. They often have to dig through piles and piles of junk in order to find the hidden gem.

I feel the same way about tools that can truly help your business. Often you have to experiment and try a lot of them in order to find the one that will deliver the most value to you. What follows is our top recommended tools and resources.

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. That means if you click the link and then decide to purchase from them, I will earn a commission. Every single one of the recommend resources on this page are only recommended because we use, or have used, them and we believe they are a great resource. Please do not make a decision to purchase any of these resources unless you feel it will help you reach your goals.

 

Web Hosting

Over the past six years we’ve worked with over 200 clients from around the world. As a result, we have worked with so many different hosting companies I’ve lost count. Out of the dozens we’ve worked with, there is only one that we can recommend. That company is Media Temple.

Media Temple

This company has the most amazing support team. When dealing with the World Wide Web, there is one thing you can count on — issues. It’s the reality of the web. It’s great to have someone in your back pocket to call when those issues arise. In addition to amazing service, their servers are extremely reliable.

Click here to check out Media Temple.

 

Internet Security

Let’s be honest, there are some evil people in the world. People who get joy out of making others’ lives miserable. Hackers, spammers, and other misfits can make your life miserable by messing with your website. Every website needs two things: 1. A tool to scan your website for malicious files that may have been uploaded / installed on your site; and, 2. A tool to back up all of your website files to an external server. Even the most reliable servers in the world have issues from time to time, so having your website files backed up to an external (third-party) server provides tremendous peace of mind. Fortunately, there is one company that provides both.

 

Sucuri 

Sucuri SecurityThis is is a simple to use service that you can use to both scan and monitor your website for malicious files, as well as back up your website to their secure servers. In the event something malicious does get uploaded to your site / server, they’ll remove it for free.

Click here to check out Sucuri.

 

 

Building an Audience

It’s great to have a lot of traffic to your website. But traffic comes and goes. Building a loyal, responsive audience is what matters most. In order to accomplish this, you’re going to need a way to regularly communicate with them. The best method of doing this is to collect names and email addresses. The tool I’ve used for the past 10 years is Aweber.

 

Aweber

Email Marketing $19/Month!

This company makes it simple to start capturing names and email addresses from your website visitors. From their simple to design opt-in forms to their drag and drop newsletter templates, Aweber makes it simple for anyone to start building rock-solid relationships with their website visitors.

Click here to check out Aweber.

 

 

Getting Paid

Collecting money is important! It’s oxygen for business. Good cash flow is critical for entrepreneurs. So, when there’s a tool that not only makes it simple to collect money from customers, but also drastically reduces the length of time it takes to collect your money, I can’t help but highly recommend it.

 

FreshBooks

FreshBooksIn my opinion, if you don’t try any other tool from this page, try this one. Simple to set up. Quick and easy to use. A must have for any business that invoices customers. But don’t be deceived, FreshBooks does so much more than just invoices. You can use is for time tracking, expense management, and generating estimates. Highly Recommended!

Click here to check out FreshBooks.

 

 

Project Management

As an entrepreneur, you’re often juggling a lot of things at one time. Keeping track of projects should not be complicated or complex. Digging through your entire inbox to find that one message you need from your client is never a good use of time. There are a couple of tools we use to keep everything in order.

ONTRAPORT

With ONTRAPORT, all your business tools, data and customer information is in one system and everything works together seamlessly. You’ll create better customer experiences, increase sales and you can automate everything, saving a ton of time. Plus, you’ve always got one team to call when you have a question or need support.

Click here to check out ONTRAPORT.

 

Basecamp

Basecamp is a simple, yet extremely powerful tool specifically designed to make project management easy. It keeps all your project information centralized in one place, so no more digging through your inbox trying to find that one important message. With their “Archive” feature you can keep all the project details safely stored, out of the way, for when you may need it in the future.

Click here to check out Basecamp.

 

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