Here are some of the resources and tools I use to run my online business, many of which are free! These business resources for entrepreneurs are helpful for all sizes of companies, big or small! Please note many of these are affiliate links, meaning we do get a small commission for recommending the products that we use and believe in. Click here to view my disclaimer.
Blogs and Websites
Bluehost – Hosting Service and Domain Registration – Bluehost is my company of choice to use for hosting and domain purchases. Primarily because of their one click WordPress Integration, but also because they are affordable and the service has been great. For between $4 to $6 per month your site will be live for the rest of the world to see. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Check out this post for a complete tutorial on how to setup wordpress with a host.
Elegant Themes – The Divi Theme is my favorite wordpress theme because it is simple to use and will give you professional results. The theme is either $89 per year or $250 for a lifetime membership. Both pricing plans can be used for as many of your sites as you'd like.
Email Marketing for Online Creators – If you are serious about building an online business, I'd highly recommend building your email list from day 1. Over the years I've progressed from Mail Chimp ( a great free option ) if you are just getting started, to Aweber, Ontraport, and now to Convertkit. I've grown my list to over 100,000 subscribers and the list is extremely valuable to my business. Convertkit is very simple to use, yet extremely powerful. This is the best email marketing software for bloggers in my experience.
Phone Tools
Grasshopper – 800 Numbers for Entrepreneurs – Starting at $12 / month! Use my link and get a $75 off coupon today! Grasshopper allows any small business to get an 800 number quickly and easily. An 800 number will make your company look more professional and legitimate. Your Grasshopper 800 number can be forwarded to as many phones or cell phones as needed, which makes it a great option for businesses with multiple employees working from the office or from the road. We are an exclusive partner with Grasshopper and if you use any of our links you will get a $75 off coupon! Click here to read a review by Think Entrepreneurship about Grasshopper.com 800 numbers.
Sales Funnels Resources
About two years ago I stumbed upon Russell Brunson's book named DotCom secrets. This book, along with Expert Secrets, are the two books that have taken my business to the next level. I've built my email list to over 100,000 people in the last two years and have found great success in monetizing the business and setting up funnels. I've been a Clickfunnels customer the last 2 years and have been to Russell's conference named Funnel Hacking Live. I'd highly recommend learning from Russell and getting started with his FREE book. He'll teach you all about selling online, creating funnels, and taking your business to the next level. Learning about sales funnel management can be time consuming but it's really important that you are aware of it.
Podcasting
Do you want to learn how to start a podcast from the best resource available? If so, I’d highly recommend joining Podcaster’s Paradise. It is an amazing resource that that will teach you everything you need to know about starting, growing, and eventually monetizing a podcast. There are over 2800 members. John Dumas is the founder of Podcaster’s Paradise and generates over $300,000 each month from his podcasting business. He has been a guest on the Think Entrepreneurship podcast and has helped me build my podcast for Think Entrepreneurship.
Smart links that auto-open Podcast Apps
My good friend Scott developed Plink which is a super valuable tool for podcasters. Plink makes smart links for podcasts. Auto-open installed Podcast Apps native to listener's iOS, Android, and other mobile and smart watch devices. Each smart link also has a Show Page that desktop users will see with links to that show in Apps like Apple & Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, and other podcasters. Confidently share links on any social platform, in posts, emails, show notes, websites — anywhere. One smart link – send every listener to the right place, no matter device and app preferences.
Shopping Carts
Shopify is in my experience and opinion the best shopping cart out there. It makes the process of creating a great looking website super easy. They have top notch customer service and a powerful cart.
Inspiration and Learning
FREE GIFT FOR THINK ENTREPRENEURSHIP READERS: 
Audible.com has partnered with Think Entrepreneurship to offer our listeners a FREE 30 day trial and 1 FREE audio book. I love listening to audio books on road trips and while out on a run. To get your free book go to www.audibletrial.com/think. Audible titles play on iPhone, Kindle, Android and more than 500 devices for listening anytime, anywhere! A couple ideas to get you started are Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence people or Robert Allen’s One Minute Millionaire.
Logos, Graphics, and Outsourcing
If you want a great deal on a logo and lots of ideas and concepts check out 99designs. You submit what you are looking for and dozens of designers compete and send you designs. You then pick your favorite and continue to work with it until it looks just right.
The Adobe Creative Suite used to be thousands of dollars up front, which is a huge cost for bootstrapping entrepreneurs. They now offer every program for an affordable rate of $49.99 / month. It is a great way to have access to all programs that are constantly updated. Definitely worth it!
Screen Capturing and Recording Tools
ScreenFlow – For Recording Tutorials and Presentations This tool is a must have if you need to create tutorials or record your computer screen. I use Screenflow when I record tutorials to help readers learn wordpress and other software programs. Here is an example of a video I created using screenflow. You can add nice text overlays, transitions, voice recording, and so on.
Call recorder is a great tool for Mac which allows you to record Skype interviews either as video or audio format. I’ve done a lot of research and this is the best Skype recording software on the market in my opinion. It has different options for working with video and sound quality and is easy to use.
Email and Newsletters
I’ve used a variety of email programs including Constant Contact, iContact, MailChimp, and Aweber. Out of all of them, Mailchimp and Aweber are my favorites. I started with MailChimp and eventually switched to AWeber. I switched because I heard about the autoresponder features (awesome for bloggers), how easy it is to use, and their good looking prebuilt templates and signup forms. It is $20 or so a month but well worth it.
Tax Tools
Quickbooks is certainly the accounting software of choice for entrepreneurs. Although “the books” are not my favorite part of running a business, Quickbooks makes it easy, whether you use a PC or Mac. Quickbooks has an online version in case you need 100% mobility in using their software. I use Quickbooks online for both of my businesses and love it!
Turbo Tax is my software of choice for accounting. You can file Federal and State taxes for both your business and personal use. If you have a fairly simple business TurboTax will definitely do the job. I use TurboTax and am able to import all the data from Quickbooks.
Analytics and PR
Google analytics is a powerful and free tool used to track your website or blog’s traffic. Google tracks just about everything you’d ever need to know about your sites visitors. It’s almost scary! Anyhow, you can see where traffic is coming from, what keywords are driving traffic, demographics of your visitors, and all sorts of other information that is helpful in building your business and catering to your clients or customers.
What can’t Craigslist be used for? That’s the question! Craigslist is a gem for entrepreneurs. It is a great place to buy and sell, purchase used equipment for a business, advertise for a job opening, look for freelance work, or sell products and advertise services. You can even advertise real estate, apartment rentals, and the sale of businesses. Craigslist is without a question one of the most popular classifieds sites on the net
Haro stands for: Help a Reporter out. It is essentially a community that brings reporters and sources together. Each day three emails are sent from HARO showing what stories reporters are looking for. If you believe you are an expert or good source for the topic you can email them with your credentials and tell them why you’d be the best person to talk with. Reporters of all sizes use HARO; including the WSJ, NY Times, Forbes Magazine, and Yahoo.com. Learn more about how HARO has helped a fellow blogging acquaintance to get written up on the front page of Yahoo.com and on FoxNews TV by checking out Jamie Tardy’s blog named “Eventual Millionaire.”
I hope this list of Tools For Entrepreneurs is helpful for you and your business. They’ve all contributed to building my businesses. Please note that the links above are affiliate links for products and services I use and highly recommend. If you do end up using one of the recommendations at some point I’d really appreciate you clicking on the link above prior to purchasing, as Think Entrepreneurship will get a small commission for recommending products we believe in.