For the sake of clarity consider this list a virtual toolbox and just like the toolbox you have in your home, you probably didn’t buy all the tools at once. This probably didn’t stop you from accomplishing plenty of projects without all the tools you have now. Same thing goes for this list, you can start out buy getting 1 or 2 of the items listed and as time goes on you can work your way to getting all the items that are important to your way of doing business. I only recommend items that I use myself. This gives me peace of mind knowing I’m recommending something I am happy with and you will be to.
#1 - Mac Mini
Essentially the Mac Mini is the same as a Macbook it just comes without the screen and battery and it costs around $500 dollars less. The reason I recommend Macs is simple: they just work. A mac allows you to focus on your work as opposed to constantly fussing with your PC in the hope that you can eventually do some work. Don’t get me wrong, all computers can present problems. After all they are machines but macs are really good at letting the creative juices flow with easy, intuitive software that will have you editing your videos, recording podcasts or preparing screencast presentations in no time.
#2 – iPhone or Android Smartphone
The advances in smartphone technology led by Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android have put the ability to run our businesses at our fingertips. No matter where in the world you may travel to as long as you have your smartphone and an internet connection you can use the thousands of apps designed to put your office in your hand. The phone I’m currently using has more power than the PC I was using in 2001. Having access to the internet, social media apps, a digital camera, voice recorder, calendar, email and notepad all in one device makes it one of the most essential tools I have. Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android are both great options, feature wise their nearly identical so it’s a matter of personal preference. If you aren’t using a smartphone, stop what you’re doing and go get one right now!
On this journey we call building a business you will do a lot of writing, video recording, audio recording, and some blog building. All these things take time, your valuable time (See “How to Price Your Time“) you don’t want to repeat working on an already completed project or not be able to make changes to your content because of a computer crash, theft or some other disaster. So I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a backup of all your important files. The price of your work and peace of mind is many thousands of times higher than the cost of a backup drive. Don’t hesitate buy one now if you don’t already own one.
#4 - Cloud Based Backup
Riding on the coat tails of the above statement making backups of your most important work is even easier and portable when you use a service like Dropbox. If you haven’t heard of them they are a web based file storage company that rocks! They even give you 2GB of free storage just for opening an account. I have been using them for years and have never had an issue. For a comparison of the top three cloud services click here.
#5 - Kodak Zi8 – Pocket HD Camera
The Kodak Zi8 has been a game changer for a lot of marketers. It is the perfect low cost HD video solution. The Zi8 records HD Video at 720p and 1080p, although to be honest it’s 1080p isn’t great but the 720p is awesome. The built in mic works pretty well but the Zi8`s strong suit is it has an audio-in jack for connecting external microphones, brilliant! The Zi8 takes still photos at 5MP and if its a bright sunny day the photos will be full of rich color and great clarity. The Zi8 is loaded with cool features like the use of SD memory up to 32GB, zoom while recording and a remote control (sold separately) so you can record yourself without ever having to touch the camera. Overall, I find the Zi8 easy to recommend, it’s a great pocket cam.
#6 - Blue Yeti – USB Microphone
There are tools and then there are tools. The Yeti USB microphone by Blue is an amazing mic. The sound quality is superior to any other USB mic I’ve ever tried and you can tell right away in my recordings. Did you know that people will tolerate watching a horrible looking video with good sound, but will stop watching if a video is in HD yet has poor sound quality? The Yeti saves you the headache of having to worry about such things it has four different record settings for general sound, music recordings, podcasts and interviews. It comes with a headphone amp built in along with gain and mute controls. Since it’s a USB Mic you can use it with Skype and do interviews or record your screencasts with Camtasia. All together this makes for a great mic.
So you thought by going into business for yourself you’d get away from having to make presentations.. Wrong! A big part of what internet marketers do is present new ideas or knowledge in a way others can follow and learn from. Microsoft PowerPoint has got this covered. Everybody knows PowerPoint and 2010 is a pretty good version. I find Office 2010 easier to use and I have used 2008 on my Mac. If you own a Mac, Apple’s Keynote is also great for making presentations.
#8 - Screencast Software
To state the obvious, a large part of internet marketing is connecting with clients and one of the major ways of doing this is by providing them with valuable information. PowerPoint and keynote have the presentation part of that process covered but getting your client to actually see it online takes another tool and that’s Screencasting Software. Basically, what it does is record your computers screen and allows you to narrate what they are seeing. This allows you to teach a lesson, demonstrate a technique or deliver your PowerPoint presentation on screen as if they were in a conference room with you. This software has been an essential part of my success online. Camtasia is available for both Windows and Mac or you can try Screenflow which is Mac only.
#9 - Flash Drive
I love to travel and over the years I’ve been learning to travel lighter. However, there are some things I can’t fly without and my flash drive is one of them. Yes Dropbox is my go to solution when away from my computer but it can’t substitute my flash drive when I want to share a file with someone in person or when I’m in a dreaded “WiFi Free” zone. Most of you already have these so you’re a step up.
#10 - Whiteboard
Last but not least is the tool that helps your ideas flow and it doesn’t even use electricity. While running your business you are going to constantly have ideas and as the saying goes “the worst pen is better than the best memory” so you need to write it down.It’s a typical boardroom whiteboard where you can sketch out your ideas or teach a concept to your customers. It’s said that the bigger the board the bigger the ideas. On mine I have my traffic grabbing strategies mapped out and it’s a constant reminder of what I need to do.
This list is a work in progress obviously because our tools are always changing. As mine change I’ll update this page. I’d love to hear what you use and any alternatives that are available to learn what else is out there.
Disclaimer: The links on this page are affiliate links, it’s how we pay the bills.
Top Image by: curtiskennington
No related posts.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot about this, like you wrote the book in it or something. I think that you can do with a few pics to drive the message home a bit, but instead of that, this is excellent blog. A great read. I’ll certainly be back.
You are a very intelligent person!
Bookmarked! Thanks for an amazing post, will read your others posts.