Business & Entrepreneurship Resources

These are some resources I’ve found over the last 5-6 years that have motivated, inspired, and helped me in figuring out the direction I wanted to go in, and how to get there.

I will add to this list as I think of more and find more. Some of these are affiliate links, meaning I get a small bonus if you check them out, but that’s not the motivation in me putting this list together.

Networking

Networking is one of the things I cannot stress the importance of enough. Whether it’s for getting new clients, meeting likeminded people, and just connecting with others who understand what you go through as an entrepreneur/online business owner. Here are some great places to find awesome people in your area or local events:

  • Meetup.com – The king of the recurring event space. There are tons of local events going on around you that you probably didn’t know about. Whether it’s business related, or you’re looking for a book club to join, Meetup probably has it.
  • Eventbrite – sure it’s great for buying tickets to events, but did you know they have an awesome search feature for finding events in your area by category? I’ve found really cool local conferences through here.
  • Shapr – like Tinder for entrepreneurs – you literally swipe left and right for people you either want to meet or don’t. I haven’t received any creepy messages (yet!) which as a woman is a huge plus.
  • Google – stick with me here. Did you know you can now search “business events this weekend” and Google will pull events from a variety of places (including Eventbrite) for you.

People to Get Motivated By

Gary Vaynerchuk
Eric Thomas
Seth Godin
Tom & Lisa Bilyeu
Jess Lively

Books

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?
$12.99

This book helped me get through my fear of not standing up and doing the scary things in life. While it's focused on showing you how to be indispensable for your employer, that was my takeaway from it. Seth's writing is impeccable and extremely relatable.

07/22/2024 09:54 pm GMT
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
$9.26

This book has nothing to do with business, but wow, can it get you through some tough times. Louis Zamperini was a WWII prisoner of war, and his story is incredible.

This is such a great story of survival, perseverance, and mental strength. I often find myself in tough times and I'll have flashbacks of this book and remember everything is going to be okay.

07/23/2024 01:00 am GMT
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
$8.09

I spent about 4 weeks with this book, read it front to back twice and skipped around a ton. It was so eye-opening and extremely motivating for me.

I've never been so involved in a book. I borrowed it from the library, returned it late and still ended up buying it because I needed my own copy. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs a little kick in their life, not just budding entrepreneurs or business owners.

07/22/2024 09:49 pm GMT
Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds
$9.99

I just...cannot recommend this book enough. And while some of it might not be relatable, this book has changed me in quite a few ways. Talk about mental fortitude, if you're going through anything challenging, David's no BS approach will help you get out of it.

07/22/2024 11:21 pm GMT
#AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness
$19.99

The king of motivation for me, this book is eye-opening in many ways.

07/22/2024 11:59 pm GMT

Podcasts

The Gary V Audio Experience
How I Built This
Smart Passive Income
Mixergy
The Fizzle Show
The School of Greatness

Here are some more podcasts for you to check out as well.

Invoicing Software

QuickBooks – My favorite tool for accounting and invoicing clients. They have a great fee structure (bank transfers are FREE) which saves me a ton each month.

Our Pick
Quickbooks Self-Employed
$12.50

From inventory and invoices, to projects and people, QuickBooks organizes it all in one place.

  • Track Income and Expenses
  • Invoice Clients
  • Mileage Tracking

Users save an average of 42 hours per month with QuickBooks.


WaveApps – this is my favorite small business accounting software at this point. Yes, it’s FREE. You can build recurring invoices, have them automatically transfer to your business checking, and the fees are similar to that of Stripe or Paypal.

Related Post: 5 Tools You Can Use to Invoice Clients & Get Paid

Courses/Groups That Helped Me

Fizzle.co

Fizzle is a combination of courses to help you grow your business, and a fantastic community that is always willing to help. You get a ton of in-depth courses, expert interviews, and weekly coaching calls all for $35/mo. I love this community and wouldn't be where I am today without it.

We earn a commission if you click this link and make a purchase at no additional cost to you.

Selling Courses

I run marketing campaigns for a lot of online course creators, so I review and put together resources for the best online course platforms.

Podia is the best option I’ve found for getting started selling online courses and digital downloads.

Top Pick
Podia

Everything you need to sell online courses, webinars, downloads, and memberships without worrying about the tech side of things.


Marketing Tools

Leadpages

I've been using Leadpages since 2015 and love it. The simplicity of being able to A/B test offers and the design of pages is great.

A great option for online business owners to setup great looking landing pages really quickly. Leadpages integrates with all kinds of 3rd party tools as well!

Convertkit

A great option for getting started with email marketing. You can segment your audience, creating landing pages, email opt-in forms, and it makes it easy to stay GDPR compliant.

Deadline Funnel

My clients have seen double (and even triple!) digit increases in their conversion rates from adding this single tool.

I'd recommend adding to any landing page or sales funnel you want to perform better.

Getting a Domain

Namecheap

The best platform out there for buying domains. You get the best price on domains, free WHOIS protection (which you want if you don't like spam emails), and their system just works.

Website Hosting

Just as important as having a domain name, hosting will allow your site to “go live” so to speak. Without hosting, you’re website will never be visited.

  • BigScoots – I moved my sites over to BigScoots a few years ago and I could NOT be happier. They are a little bit more expensive than some options, but it’s 100% worth it. They help me with all of the (probably stupid) questions I have about technical mumbo jumbo I don’t understand.
Bigscoots Hosting

This is my favorite hosting company, and I've tried them all.

Their customer support is top-notch - I haven't found a better company that supports you growing your business.

  • BlueHost – If you can’t afford BigScoots just yet, BlueHost is a decent option for getting started. Just try and make enough money to get off their platform before the 1-2 year mark. They’re helpful but often times the wait times for customer chat are around 30-40 minutes which isn’t helpful if your site goes offline.