Resources

Here’s How it Works:

When I was getting started, my focus when on dealing with a tight budget. I researched companies and services for what to do, and then figured a way to get it for free. I would always study the biggest and the best, so that I knew how to scale my business quickly. In other words, I didnt become fixated on any one method. I found a cheap or free solution, that once I was making money, I could easily expand and upgrade out of. Feel free to let me know your favorites or any that i forgot…

Email Services & auto-responders:

When starting to obtain traffic and customers, you need to have ways to capture sales through automatic email responses and follow ups. It creates a sales funnel for your business.

When I got started, I simply used my web-host and their email services. You can set up auto-responders and email forwarding… and its free. I next studied 2 of the top emailing service providers, and noted what their features and differences were. I got started with mailchimp. They are a fun company, have great customer service and how-to modules, and have free plans to get started with. I would also recommend aweber, once your budget allows it. Lots of features and basically the industry standard.

Hosting:

This is one of the main costs you do need if you want to be online. Your host, if compared to a car, is the engine, wheels and computer of your of your site. There are lots of options and you could spend a lifetime learning about them all. Bottom line, i got up and running with great info and the best help on the web, 24/7, by choosing hostgator. The company was created and is run by a good guy, who started on his own, and has built one of the premier hosting companies on the web. Hostgator currently hosts all of my sites.

Domains:

This is another one of those costs you cant hide from on the web. You need a domain. Again, going with the car analogy, your domain is your title and registration of your website. There are hundreds of options for domains. I started using godaddy, and have since switched to namecheap. I did a lot of research and read a lot of case-studies, and for several reasons, would use namecheap.

I also recommend iLinkWebHosting.com for domains and for hosting. They are one of those up and coming companies that do it all, and do it well. They are still small enough to give you that extra care and concern.

Video:

Its hard to go wrong with youtube for starting out. Its trusted, huge, and free. If you want custom videos, there are several viewers out there, like wimpyplayer.com . I use camstudio for free screen recording and video editing. Lots of people swear by camtasia as well, although I never spent the money on it.

Websites:

The only thing i can say, is wordpress, wordpress, wordpress. A free program for CMS, easy website design and gives huge capabilities to people without needing to be a coding expert. There are videos all over the place on how to install and customize. Somebody good with wordpress can get a site up and running, with all features set up, withing just an hour or so.

Coding/Customizing/Graphic Design:

When in doubt, under a deadline, or just needing help, check out elance.com and rentacoder.com. I have payed people $5 just to explain something to me. Having custom sites built, scripts for special features and functions, all the way to virtual assistants, marketing and consulting.

For logos, I like 99designs.com . You can get several people competing for the design of your logo, and lots of different attempts at what your looking for. No more take it or leave it logo design.

For coding, I use a program called Notepad++. It was a free program, that is great for breaking down html, css, and all the other languages to make modifications on. I browse with mozilla and use the plugin called firebug. It allows you to quickly inspect any aspect of a site and see the source code. This was totally instrumental in learning basic code. I used w3schools.com , the creme-d-la-creme of coding tutorials in all languages… and they are free. Learn html, css, jave script, and much more.

I dont recommend spending years becoming a coding expert, but I also feel that its very important to know the basics. This way you can accurately estimate bids on any jobs you hire out, and you can take care of the basic stuff on your own, especially if money is tight.

Themes:

This is for use with wordpress. It is the design of your site, the look and the layout. There are hundreds of sites to find free themes on… just google, “free wp themes.” If your interested in custom themes, and custom theme builders, check out these sites:

themelab
studiopress
thesis
woothemes
elegantthemes

popupdomination

paypal
1shoppingcart

Research and SEO:

adwordskeywordresearchtool
google analytics

Legal:

When in doubt, always consult with an attorney on what your working on and for an advice. I have read lots of books and done lots of research on legal issues. But a lawyer in your corner is the way to go. For incorporating, I use legalzoom.com .

Taxes:

The last year I payed somebody to do my taxes, I ended up calling them back before mailing them in, to add 5 things to give me more discounts on my taxes. It was then, I decided to use turbotax, and do my taxes myself. I have done lots of research and read a lot of books and case studies, and at this point, with factoring in cost, I do my own. When its in my budget, I will outsource my books and taxes.

Plugins:

There are hundreds of these, depending on what your trying to do. A plugin will expand on your websites functions. If you have a need for something special on your wordpress site, just google “wordpress plugin yourproblem.” There are free and premium plugins. A couple of my favorites are

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