Wow! That’s all I can say about the amount of apps and tools out there today to help us in our businesses. I’m sure there are 1000’s of tools that do similar things, so how do you choose what’s good or not?
The way I choose my tools is usually by popularity or recommendation. If the creator offers a free trial, I try it out and see if I like it. Sometimes one of the tools replaces something else, sometimes it offers something completely new.
These are the tools, tips, tricks, books and courses that I currently have on my list (or wishlist). This is a pretty long list… you’ve been warned 😉
Tools
Edgar – I’ve only just discovered Edgar but I’m already hooked. Edgar is a social media scheduling tool that won’t let any of your content go to waste. It works differently from any other tools I’ve used and I think you might have to find out for yourself how Edgar works.
Canva – You’ve heard me talk about canva before, I even did a tutorial on how to make beautiful images for your social media platforms using canva.
Momentum – I’ve only recently started using momentum but I can see why it’s such a great tool. It’s a Chrome plugin that gives you a dashboard on chrome to prevent you from too many distractions.
Evernote – This has to be the one and only place where I store all my ideas, work in progress projects, inspiration, links etc. It’s so handy that it sync’s with iPhone, iPad and my Mac as I often come up with something on the go, so I can go back to it later and work it all out further.
CoSchedule – This is another social media scheduling tool I met with last year and we’ve had some good times. I created a tutorial on how to use CoSchedule to save time on social media. The thing I really like about CoSchedule is that it sits within my WordPress dashboard so I don’t have to go anywhere else.
Trello – I’m very new to Trello but as I’m a visual person this tool is perfect for me to plan out my e-courses and other projects. Trello works with boards, which for me is perfect rather than a long list.
LeadPages – Another tool that’s a must for me. With leadpages I create so called opt-in pages, video pages etc. that help me grow my mailing list. For a small fee I get to use proven pages and access to statistics.
WordPress – I don’t know what I would do without WordPress. If I didn’t have it, you probably wouldn’t be reading this blog right now. My website, membership site and sales pages are all created with WordPress. I taught myself how to modify templates and create website, and here we are.
Xero – A few years ago I learned how to use MYOB and after lots of headaches I gave up, thinking I’d never wanted to use bookkeeping software again. Then recently so many people recommended Xero and I can truly say it’s intuitive, user friendly and a breeze to use.
MailChimp – I use MailChimp as my mailing list provider and am very happy with it. After figuring out how to set it up, create and schedule emails I now know it pretty much inside out and use it on a weekly basis to keep my tribe up to date.
MemberPress – This is my membership plugin on the Have it All Academy website. It allows me to password protect certain areas, set rules, collect automated payments etc.
Dropbox – Here’s another tool I can’t live without. Dropbox allows me to save all my files to it and access it wherever I want, so I have it synched to my iPhone, iPad and Mac. I actually don’t have anything saved on my computer anymore, it all synches automatically with Dropbox and every now and then I back it all up to a hard-drive. So handy!
Books
The Art of Social Media – I’m halfway through this book and picking up lots of little tips and hints. Some things are new, somethings I knew already but it’s always good to learn more.
The Big Leap – This one is still sitting on my Kindle list, patiently waiting until I’ve read the other books on my list.
Thrive – Another one that’s patiently waiting.
Money Master the Game – This one is also patiently waiting. What’s so good about this book is that all proceeds go to charity. Anthony Robbins aims to feed 100 million people.
The desire map – A book that’s very close to my heart. The amazing Danielle La Porte takes goal setting to a whole new level. These are all about goals from the soul.
Courses
e-course launch formula – I started this course last year and can highly recommend doing it if you’re interested in generating passive income through e-courses. The course has helped me refine my e-courses, taught me valuable strategy lessons, connected me to many lovely people and opened doors to offer training to the next round of e-course launch formula participants.
Power Editor – at the end of 2014 I signed up for the Power Editor course as I really wanted to know more about Facebook advertising, especially now that the rules have changed. Jon really knows Facebook advertising inside out so if you’re looking to learn more about power editor and Facebook advertising, this one’s a must.
Amazing Life & Biz Academy – I’ve been a member of the Amazing Life & Biz Academy for a while now and I’m sure I’ve spoken about it before. It’s a wonderful community full of like-minded entrepreneurial women and the academy is full of resources. My personal favourite is the Double Your Biz program and the Shining Year Workbooks, and there are many more that I haven’t even looked at yet.
Conquer Club – I’m so thrilled to be part of the Conquer Club this year! The Conquer Club is a little bit different from conventional programs and that’s why it’s referred to as a business incubator. The Conquer Club is ran by She Takes on the World founder Natalie MacNeil and consists of a 12 month intensive ‘program’ taught and inspired by many beautiful mentors. I’m so excited to get started.
Beautiful Business Mastermind – This 10 month virtual and in-person mastermind is another program that I just can’t wait to start with. The Beautiful Business Mastermind is led by Julie Parker and Jade McKenzie and focuses on taking a group of 12 entrepreneurs to the next level in their business. I’m super excited to have been invited to be one of those 12 entrepreneurs. Watch out world!
Lucky Bitch Money Bootcamp – As you can see, I have quite a few things on my plate this year so this one is on the wishlist. I really love Denise Duffield-Thomas’ work and the Lucky Bitch Money Bootcamp is on my list to do (maybe next year).
Loves Data – Google Analytics Training is another one that’s on my list this year. It’s a two day program which is very doable for me. I’m looking forward to dive deeper into the world of Google Analytics and pass this knowledge onto you.
B-school – Marie Forleo is one of my idols and her program is certainly on my list. Perhaps not so much for the content as much of it is apparently for starting businesses but more so for her amazing community of entrepreneurial women. I never say no to networking and building communities, sometimes I reckon the people you meet are worth just as much as the program.
