I don’t shop for myself. I shop for my house and my business. I’ve always thought it was funny how I can (and do) spend days agonizing over the purchase of an $80 pair of pants that I really love, but will pay $5,000 (in full) for something business related without batting an eye. In so many ways I’m grateful for my frugality in my non-biz life. But in 2023, it’s my goal to instill some of that frugality into my business.

I spend so much time trying to convince people to make strategic investments into their businesses, and I have to basically hold myself at metaphorical gunpoint to get me to STOP making strategic investments into mine.

In the interest of total transparency you should know that I have invested over $20,000 back into my business this year.

All that is to say, I’ve tried a lot of things. Some of them worked, some of them didn’t. Let’s talk about the business resources that I want to keep in my back pocket forever and ever.

*BTW, if you see a star next to something that means it’s an affiliate link. But I will never recommend a tool that I don’t use and love in my own business and life.

Programs

Dubsado*

This year was absolutely insane for me AND my business, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that I probably would have entered a fugue state and never returned to reality were it not for Dubsado. At the end of 2021, I hired Fran (from The Passions Collective, more on her later on) to set up my workflows and build out the entire backend of my Dubsado. Little did I know, that was the best gift that I could have ever given myself. If you’re not rocking with a CRM, you need one.

Click here to get 20% off your first month or year.

Flodesk*

Honestly, Flodesk is the only email marketing platform that I’ve ever tried, and I don’t see any reason to start experimenting now. I love Flodesk and find it to be a super valuable business resource. I think that we should all start focusing more energy on owned platforms in the New Year, and email marketing is one of the most fun AND lucrative ways to market your services and stay in touch with your audience. I love it so damn much. If you’re feeling inspired and want to kick off your newfound email marketing initiatives with some high-conversion funnels, book a VIP Day with me to write sequences that your audience will fall in love with.

Click here to get 50% off your first year.

Canva*

This one’s pretty straightforward… as a business that markets on social media, I need a design platform. I wouldn’t say that Canva is the best design tool in the world, but it is the most convenient. There’s practically zero learning curve, and you can create post-worthy graphics in minutes. As a literal design idiot, Canva is exactly what I need to DIY my graphics. When you’re done designing your beautiful new graphics, don’t skimp on the words you pair with it. Click here to write a quarter’s worth of content in one day!

Start designing!

Milanote*

As an ADHD business owner, my productivity level AND client experience bottom out when I can’t see everything that I’m supposed to be doing in one place, right in front of my face. I love lists, grids, outlines, etc. that are easy to follow and smack dab in front of my dumb little face. If that’s your organization style, too, look no further that Milanote. This is my secret weapon for staying on top of my insane workload, keeping my team organized, and generally just feeling like human being instead of a plastic bag drifting through the wind wanting to start again…

Try it out!

Showit

The website design platform that myself and so many of my clients and collaborators prefer. If you’re still using Wix or Squarespace… why?

Start designing your hot new site.

Powerthesaurus

I actually never thought that I would share this tool with anyone, because it’s so valuable in my business and I’m scared that everyone will be onto me and then they’ll get so good at thinking of words that my job will become irrelevant. Kidding… sort of. Power Thesaurus is my trick to finding and using the non-boring version of every single word. Which, if you know, is kinda my thing.

Steal my best business tool.

UberSuggest

I don’t do SEO proper, but SEO and keywords are still a huge part of the work that I do. There are tons of keyword finding tools on the market and a lot of them are really great. I simply prefer UberSuggest because I find it to be the easiest to use. It’s good. It’s straightforward. It’s not crazy expensive. It gets the job done.

Try it out!

Notion*

For internal organization, I use Milanote. For any client-facing organization, Notion is my go-to guy. I build out all of my client portals in Notion and I love it so much. It’s customizable, and can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Plus, their new AI feature is actually pretty neat.

Get organized with Notion.

Thrivecart

When I ventured into the world of online education, I was looking for a platform to host Copy Camp that was easy to navigate, easy to manage, and wasn’t f*cking ugly (most of them are incredibly f*cking ugly). My OBM Cassie (you’ll meet her later) suggested Thrivecart to me, and it was love at first click. If you’re clever (which you obviously are, since you’re here), there are SO MANY things that you can use Thrivecart for–building out affiliate programs, creating checkout pages, hosting courses. I love it v v v much.

Start selling on Thrivecart.

People

Melo Creative

Melo came to me as a client at the end of 2021, and we officially launched her site in February of 2022. Aside from being an absolute dream client and collaborator, Melo is one of my favorite business friends. Her and I are always chatting, giving each other ideas and advice, and referring work to one another. She is a design and idea powerhouse whose brand (and personality) just oozes cool girl vibes. I love her so much, and am so grateful to have her in my corner.

Get to know Melo.

Martha Rose

If you like what I’ve got going on design-wise, you have Martha to thank. I love the f*ck out of my branding and website, and I’m not afraid to say that Martha has gotten 100x more skilled at design and brand strategy since we worked together over a year ago. She’s just THAT good. Martha is my favorite German person ever, and I would trust her to design any/everything for me and my brand.

Meet Martha Rose.

Cassie Macfarlane

Cassie is my OBM, and she saves my life on a daily basis. Without her, I would be completely floundering in business and life. I once told her that if I could pay her $1million to live in my house and tell me what to do every day, I would. If you’re in need of a high-level partnership with someone who just gets it, Cassie’s your gal. Get in touch with her, but don’t steal her from me because I’ll kill you.

Get in touch with Cassie.

The Passions Collective

Fran (The Passions Collective) built out my Dubsado workflows for me at the top of 2022, and has been an invaluable resource for me and my business ever since. She is one of the most thoughtful, generous people that I know. Long after we wrapped our project together, she let me come to her for support and endless stupid questions, and she never even batted an eye. She’s just that incredible.

Connect with The Passions Collective.

The AW Creative

Anna is one of two coaches/mentors that I recommend to business owners who want to learn real-world business skills and then adapt them to their online business. Anna has years of marketing and sales experience with companies like Teen Vogue and Martha Stewart Living that she brings to the table. She teaches sustainability, marketing skills, and building a business that can (and will) become your legacy.

Learn from The AW Creative.

Willow Kaii

If you know anything about me, it should be that I’m not afraid to speak out against the BS that goes on in the coaching space. So many people spew so much sh*t on a daily basis, and end up doing more harm than good. Willow is the complete antithesis to all of the stupidity that occurs in the online space. He’s smart, he gives immediately actionable advice, and I can confidently say that my business wouldn’t be here as it is today without him. Trust me when I say: you need him in your corner.

Level up with Willow Kaii.

Things

A standing desk & walking pad

This year I seriously leveled up my workspace with a standing desk and a walking pad. At first, I was positive that I wouldn’t be coordinated enough to use the walking pad while I worked. But in reality, it’s been a pretty life-changing investment into myself.

I hate working out. I always have, mostly because I find it tear-jerkingly boring. But with my walking pad, I can multi-task my workout! When I’m walking, I focus on my work better. When I’m focused on my work, I don’t even register that I’m working out. It’s a win-win.

My walking pad.

My standing desk.

My iMac

For my birthday this year, I bought myself an iMac desktop computer. It’s positively impacted my business in so many ways. Physically, I have enough space on my desktop to have two windows open, side to side, at all time. It makes editing and referencing my research while I’m writing so much easier.

Mentally, this one of the first big investments that I made into my business. It made me feel really legit and good about the decisions that I was making. It’s still one of my favorite things I own to this day, and I’m not usually precious about technology.

Get yourself an iMac.

This Stanley cup knockoff

To be fair, I’ve never owned a Stanley cup, but I think that this one is just as good. There’s nothing better than plopping an insulated tumbler the size of your head filled with water down onto your desk and sipping on it throughout the day. It’s like my third arm… she comes everywhere with me.

Stay hydrated.

Compression socks

This one might be a little delusional, but I am terrified of getting blood clots. Personal problem, I know. But being seated for most of the day, I think it’s something worth giving at least a little thought to. I recently purchased white compression socks and wear them all the time. They give me peace of mind. Plus, they feel nice to wear, especially in the winter.

Don’t forget your leg health!

Crocs

I’m starting to realize that I don’t have the best lower leg style. It’s not unlikely that at any given moment you would walk into my office and find me wearing sweatshorts, a wife beater tank top, compression socks, and Crocs. Truly a sight to behold. I always thought I was in the anti-Croc camp. But I’m a recent convert, and I can’t ever go back to the way I was before.

Get yourself some hideous, comfortable shoes.

My Brand Manifesto

I might be cheating a little bit with these last two, but I do want you to check them out. My Brand Manifesto is a document that I pulled together to really dive into who I am, what I do, and why I do it. I’d love it if you could give it a read and sign the guestbook when you’re done.

Click here to read it.

My VIP Day

I actually do VIP Days for my own business every once in a while, when I want to update my website copy or batch create a bunch of content (I recently did this for all of my emails for Q1). But my VIP Days are more of a business resource for you than they are for me. I mean, where else are you going to get website copy, sales page, or content writing done in a day?

Click here to book your VIP Day.