As a writer, designer, and small-business owner, I use a variety of software programs and resources nearly every day to keep my business running smoothly. I want to help you be more productive and succeed in your efforts so I’m happy to share my favorites with you. If you have questions or are looking for a particular resource, please contact me. I will help you find what you need and we can both benefit from it! 🙂
For Readers:
Amazon Kindle Unlimited (with 30-Day Free Trial)
Try Audible and Get Two Free Audiobooks
Send to Kindle App – Send blog articles, documents, books, PDFs and other info to your Kindle or Kindle app to read later.
Amazon Prime (with 30-Day Free Trial)
Writing:
Scrivener 3 for Mac OS X (Regular License) or Scrivener for Windows (Regular License) – The best writing software I have ever used! Helps you brainstorm and organize, motivates you with a progress meter, exports books to various file types (Epub, MOBI, etc) and is just generally fabulous.
MSOffice – Word and Excel get opened almost daily, and Power Point comes in handy at times too.
Organization:
Heart My Life Printables! – I have so much going on in my office that I HAVE to stay organized! To keep things straight and progressing, I created my own set of printable organizational worksheets that I fill out. If you would like to try them out, I have them available here.
QuickBooks – If you have a small business, you have to keep track of finances. I use QuickBooks to track my income and expenses.
Marketing:
Hootsuite – This service contains all kinds of great features to help you coordinate your social media efforts. It saves me time and keeps me organized.
MailChimp – I use MailChimp to organize and facilitate my email groups and newsletters. They offer a free program to get you started which is the perfect price for a small business owner!
Training/Mentoring:
Author Audience Academy – Shelley Hitz provides amazing training to help author entrepreneurs succeed with writing, marketing, and motivational training.
Design:
Photoshop Creative Cloud – I use Photoshop almost every day, whether I’m designing a new cover, creating graphics for a blog or newsletter, or doing work for a client. I couldn’t do my job without this software!
AdobeStock – Adobe has some of the finest photography and illustrations to choose from in my opinion. I pay a monthly subscription fee and get to download 10 images of my choice each month. I am saving hundreds over what I was paying buying images individually from stock photo sights.
99Designs.com – Don’t want to do design work yourself? You can hire 99Designs to design almost anything, from business cards, to maps, illustrations, and book covers. They designed No Place Like Motorhome‘s cover.
Communication:
DropBox – DropBox is great for backing up files I can’t afford to lose, and I can easily share files with business associates via a Shared folder. Awesome!
Skype – Sometimes it’s not possible to meet in person, but you still want to meet face-to-face with a colleague or client. Skype makes that possible. And Skype’s recording features allow you to do interviews and post them online or use them in audio or video later!
Website:
Host For Web – This hosting platform offers an introductory “mini” hosting package for $35.00 a year when you buy two years up front. That is impossible to beat! I have used this host for years and love them for their speed, convenience, and great customer service.
Bluehost – They offer website hosting packages as low as $3.49 a month for web hosting when you purchase a 3-year package! I’ve used them and the experience was great and highly affordable!
StudioPress.com – I use a StudioPress theme on this site and on several others I manage. This site is Beautiful Pro and my www.funcrochetdesigns.com site uses Modern Blogger Pro theme. They are very well constructed and versatile!
Restored316Designs.com – Restored specializes in ultra feminine themes! I purchased Darling for a site I was building and it is a great theme. If your customer base is mostly women, check out these themes!
ThriveThemes.com – Thrive offers some amazing WordPress themes! I have not personally used them, but they have come highly recommended by friends and mentors who have so I decided to include them as another option.
For An Extra Income Stream:
Young Living – I LOVE essential oils. I have used them for years and enjoyed the health benefits of being an oiler. When you become a distributor, you get a big percentage off every order. You can also share your love of oils with others and earn a commission.
It works offers an amazing line of products to help you get and stay healthy. I love their Greens and use them every day to help my body detox and remain alkaline. They are one of the best tasting greens products I’ve tried. I like the berry flavor! When you sign up for autoship for three months, you get a big discount on your products. And if you enjoy the products, you can become a distributor and share the gift of healthy living with others while earning income.
***Because I liked some of these products so much, I became an affiliate and promote their products and services. I may receive some compensation if you purchase one of these products after clicking a link on this page. However, I only recommend products or services I or my friends/mentors have found useful. Please see my Disclosure Notice for full details on my policies.