It takes more than a village to build and run a successful company. It takes a lot of really smart, dedicated people and reliable web-based tools and services to streamline the processes. The majority of the listed tools are online services but I’ve also included a few offline gadgets and resources that, now that I’ve used them, I couldn’t live without.
Click on the linked headings for more information about the tool and/or service.
I now own over 350 domain names. And each one is registered with Domain-Blaster.com. Why? Low price and awesome 24/7 support. They also offer web hosting and many other services. Learn more
When I need to create a website fast, I count on WordPress to get the job done. A highly flexible content management system (CMS) that’s easy to install. This site runs on WordPress. Learn more.
Once you’ve installed WordPress using their famous 5-minute installation, you need a theme (a fancy name for what the website will look like). My personal preference is to use a premium WordPress theme. I know many people prefer “free” themes but for only $39, you get unlimited access to all their themes and, frankly, they’re just built better — which means less modifications. Just upload, activate and start using. Learn more.
Once we decided we need more resources and control over our website hosting, moving to LayeredTech was pretty much a no-brainer. Learn more
From Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service) to hosting apps in the cloud, our bases are covered and our site run smooth as buddah! In fact, all the heavy lifting for this site is handled by AWS. Learn more
If you sell digital, down-loadable products like eBooks, e-junkie provides a great shopping cart service to make the process and cart integration (which is included) pretty darn quick. Learn more
Have you signed up for our email newsletter? Well, the sha-bang is handled through AWeber. Learn more
Freshbooks truly is painless billing. A great interface, seamless merchant account integration, account tracking — the works. Can’t begin to tell you how much time I’ve saved using this invoicing service and many of our clients have told us they like it too. Two thumbs up. Learn more
See that big red button over there on the left? That’s Setser — our new appointment scheduling service. Although the user interface could be a bit more user-friendly, it’s a really smart idea and has streamline scheduling consulting appointments. Learn more
Whether you have a static or dynamic website, WuFoo is a really good service for quickly adding forms to your website. No programming is required to create a form and they have both free and paid packages. If you’re business is just getting off the ground, this is a great choice for you. Learn more
Every form on this site was built and integrated using Gravity Forms. No programming knowledge is required to create a professional form. This amazing WordPress plugin has so many great features it’s impossible to list them all here. That said, it does offer seamless integration with PayPal, Freshbooks, and MailChimp. This is a must have plugin.
If you need to sync files across computers, easily share file with others (no matter where they are) DropBox is a snap to use. Their free account gives you 2 GB storage and you can upgrade to a paid account when you need more space (An invaluable service when working with developers). Learn more
A great way to send files to anyone. Couple big benefits; files are uploaded to the YouSendIt server so you don’t have to worry about clogging up your recipients email software and the service tracks when files are accessed and downloaded. It’s like having a return receipt. You can use the service for free or get a paid account. Learn more
Going paperless has never been easier. This little scanner has a small footprint and zips through paper scanning in a flash. Everything from documents to sales receipts, ScanSnap scans it into a nice PDF I can then tag and organize. The two software apps I use with this are YEP and Paperless to organize, archive and track expenses. It’s a beautiful trio you will love. The ScanSnap can cost upwards to $300 but, I promise, it’s worth every penny. One of the best investments I’ve made! ScanSnap S300M for Mac or ScanSnap S300 for PC
The best Advanced Twitter Search, Brand Monitoring, Sentiment Analysis and Reporting tools around. A must-have for any business concerned about reputation management. Learn more
Don’t be fooled that being this far down on the list devalues the importance my Mac Pro Tower and Mac Pro laptop, a second Apple laptop and iPhone play into a successful work-flow because this site wouldn’t have been created without them. Sure, I could have used a PC, but alas, I’m a Mac fan. Learn more
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