toolbox
All of the tools you need to run your business. I’ve used many tools, read many books, and listened to many podcast along my entrepreneurial journey. Here you will find the best of the best.
This is my second brain. I use this to organize and prioritize my entire life. All of my personal and client work is organized and tacked in here. It has what trello has and more (for a third of the price)
Organize your brain. It’s an extension of you instead of forcing you to fit your brain inside of a clunky software.
Be sold on Notion here.
Focusmate changes the way you work by connecting you to other professionals who have committed to being accountable for finishing their most important work.
You choose a time to work, and Focusmate pairs you with an accountability partner for a live, virtual coworking session that will keep you on task.
Research in psychology and behavioral science shows that regular human connection reduces the likelihood that a worker will procrastinate or become distracted.
The Focusmate virtual coworking model is rooted in evidence-based approaches to productivity, and systems of accountability developed by leading executive and leadership coaches.
In our most recent internal survey, 95.5% of users reported a significant increase in productivity, and reduced procrastination.
F.lux fixes this: it makes the color of your computer’s display adapt to the time of day, warm at night and like sunlight during the day.
It’s even possible that you’re staying up too late because of your computer. You could use f.lux because it makes you sleep better, or you could just use it just because it makes your computer look better.
The simplest way to schedule appointments and sell your products & services. Slick look! End frustrating email tag and make scheduling meetings and selling your services effortless with an all-in-one simple booking page.
Rated one of the best, fastest, most secure hosting platform out there. Their support is amazing and their user site is simple and easy to use. Use them to host your websites.
The first entrepreneurial thing I did back in the day was build my own site. Since then, I’ve used everything under the sun. It was either way too complicated or way too limited. I finally found Elementor and never looked back. I can build anything I want with this tool in a matter of minutes. I used it to build the site you’re on now.
I use this almost daily for all things design. Design presentations, social media graphics, and more with thousands of beautiful layouts.Â
Flaticon offers high quality graphic designs: totally editable vectors and icons. I use these easy to edit icons for websites, PDF’s, social, Facebook Covers and more. Huge library!
Save Time, Get Paid & Grow Your Business. I used this to send proposals, invoices and collect payment. Join over 300,000 businesses who already chose AND.CO.
Invest your money into a Wealthfront account (there’s a required minimum of $500). Wealthfront uses Modern Portfolio Theory (MPT) to create an automated asset allocation, taking into account your risk tolerance and financial needs. I auto-transfer $500 per month into this account and my projected retirement # at this rate is 1.5 million. If I make it to 92 I’ll have close to 5 million without adding to this monthly transfer. Get $5,000 managed for free with my link.
For investing! I auto-transfer $25 / week into my account to buy stocks that I know, use, and trust. Robinhood makes it ridiculously easy. There’s A Free Stock Waiting For You! Sign up now to find out what free stock you’ll get. It could be a stock like Apple, Ford, or Sprint.
DareMe helps you conquer your fear by expanding your comfort zone through experiential training. Training & development through action-based challenges, empowering your employees to be their best self.
DareMe is designed with love by Jia Jiang, who is a vlogger, bestselling author, TED speaker and the owner of Rejection Therapy.
Business Books
Marketing, sales, copywriting, advertising, business strategy, mindset and more. I believe that a successful business, career, and life comes from changing your brain (the way you think and they way you solve problems). The thing I’ve learned in these books all work together to allow me build the life I want.
Build Your Own Business & Experience True Freedom. I read this book in like 2 days (audible) and it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read when it comes to starting a business. No BS tactics or strategies. After this book I understood business for the first time in my life. Must read! I am currently a member inside of his community called Starters and have had huge shifts. Highly recommend! Let me know if you’re interested in joining.
Embark on 7 Learning Adventures to Create a Business From Scratch. This book includes research on “who” is most likely to be successful in entrepreneurship across 26 different personality factors.
No hype. No BS. No fluff. This is a comprehensive book full of examples to draw from. Start From Zero gives you the repeatable path to create a meaningful and profitable business without being dependent on any person, any platform, or anything.
The Definitive Guide to Working Less and Making More. Stop “Just Getting By”… Master the 80/20 Rule. Apply the Pareto Principle to Business And Make More Money Without More Work.
When you know how to walk into any situation and see the 80/20’s, the 80/20 Principle can solve almost ANY conversion problem.
Taking Control of the Customer Conversation. What’s the secret to sales success? If you’re like most business leaders, you’d say it’s fundamentally about relationships-and you’d be wrong. The best salespeople don’t just build relationships with customers. They challenge them.
The need to understand what top-performing reps are doing that their average performing colleagues are not drove Matthew Dixon, Brent Adamson, and their colleagues at Corporate Executive Board to investigate the skills, behaviors, knowledge, and attitudes that matter most for high performance. And what they discovered may be the biggest shock to conventional sales wisdom in decades.
This book is super easy to digest in a day. It’s short, clear and simple. Each chapter is a different word, phrase or concept that can be used in business, sales or simply communicating.
Any marketer, copywriter or salesman should read this right now. Thanks Myles Biggs for the rec.
The essential field guide every entrepreneur needs to catapult their business to the next level!
Entrepreneurs often suffer from the misconception that to be successful, they must do everything themselves. Not only are they the boss, but also the salesperson, HR manager, copywriter, operations manager, online marketing guru, and so much more.
Virtual Freedom is the ultimate resource of the knowledge and tools necessary for building your dream business with the help of virtual staff.
This book artfully goes through advertising and copywriting principles that have generated billions of dollars in sales.
The premise is that you must test and make decisions based on data. The few that can do that succeed while everyone else guesses wrong. Every copywriter, marketer and salesman should give it a quick read.
Chris Guillebeau shows you how to lead of life of adventure, meaning and purpose – and earn a good living. He opened up my eyes to those who are creating really basic businesses that allow them to create their ideal lifestyle around it.
Joseph Campbell, arguably the greatest mythologist of the twentieth century, was certainly one of our greatest storytellers.
This masterfully crafted book interweaves conversations between Campbell and some of the people he inspired, including poet Robert Bly, anthropologist Angeles Arrien, filmmaker David Kennard, Doors drummer John Densmore, psychiatric pioneer Stanislov Grof, Nobel laureate Roger Guillemen, and others.Here is a great video about the hero’s Journey
Internationally bestselling author of Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire, and Tides of War, Steven Pressfield delivers a guide to inspire and support those who struggle to express their creativity. Pressfield believes that “resistance” is the greatest enemy, and he offers many unique and helpful ways to overcome it.
If you know Seth, you know how good he is at presenting a fresh take on fundamental principles within the marketing world. This was an entertaining, quick read that left me with actionable steps towards building a real, authentic business, the right way.
This should probably go in life, but I’m going to keep it in business because it has applied there way more for me!
Alex’s story is unreal. He keeps you on edge as you witness his amazing transformation from a young college kid to a conscious, mature, insightful, well-rounded man. So much of this book can be applied in your day to day.
Life Books
Many business problems are actually personal problems. These books are just as important as the ones above.
A book that changes lives (literally). This book changed my life. It’s one of my favorite book ever and I believe everyone should read it. I could put it down and was a different person when it was over.
Way of the Peaceful Warrior has become one of the most beloved spiritual sagas of our time. Shared among friends and families, this million-copy word-of-mouth bestseller has inspired men and women of all ages in twenty languages worldwide.
Heart Advice for Difficult Times — amazing book!
How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart—when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer, Pema Chödrön suggests, might be just the opposite of what you expect. Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work, Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.
The 5AM Club is Robin Sharma’s masterwork, blending his original insights into legendary leadership, uncommon creativity and exponential productivity with battle-tested tools to help you produce work that allows you to dominate in your field—while you live a life that inspires the world.
This was required reading in High School, but I only read the Sparknotes version. 10 years later, I read it in a few days. It had a huge impact on my life and I highly recommend you read it. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho continues to change the lives of its readers forever. With more than two million copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has established itself as a modern classic, universally admired.
This book will hurt a little at first. Then, the next day, you may feel free and empowered. It all clicked for me! Amazing author.
Though much has changed in society since the first publication of The Way of the Superior Man, men of all ages still “tussle with the challenges of women, work, and sexual desire.” Including an all-new preface by author David Deida, this 20th-anniversary edition of the classic guide to male spirituality offers the next generation the opportunity to cultivate trust in the moment and put forth the best versions of themselves in an ever-changing world.
Other Great Books
Wow. I listened to this book on Audible and it blew my mind. Trevor Noah’s story and delivery is powerful and insightful. You won’t want to put it down!
