I’m what I call an “entrepreneur to the core”, having built businesses from home while raising my three kids since 2002.
My entrepreneurial experience includes:
- Freelance copywriting (my first business)
- Inventing two baby blankets called Swaddleaze and Blankeaze, which I sold to Summer Infant in 2008
- Developing a now-defunct WordPress plugin called May We Suggest
- Creating and selling a mobile apps portfolio (apps were an epic fail for me)
- Founding, building, and selling TheMogulMom.com, the leading website for mom entrepreneurs
- Being interviewed and featured in The New York Times, Working Mother, Fox Business News, ProBlogger, Entrepreneur, Visa Business Network, Daily Worth, Etsy Blog, Simple Mom, American Express OPEN Forum, SheKnows and YellowPages.com, as well as several best-selling books including The $100 Startup, The Digital Mom Handbook, and The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds
Over the years, I’ve used many tools and services to run my various businesses. Here is a list of my timeless favorites. :)
Business Favorites
Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means that I will earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when you make a purchase. Please know that I only recommend things that I personally use and love, and that I feel may be useful to you as well. These commissions help keep me in wine and non-fiction, and I’m very grateful when you support my site in this way. ;)
Blogging/Website
WordPress: In my book, WordPress is the absolute best publishing platform. It’s free, easy to manage, and has a great community. You can set up your own WordPress site for about $150.
Siteground: Super fast, secure, affordable hosting. My site runs on the Grow Big plan with the annual billing option which costs just $71 per year!
Genesis: Genesis is a WordPress framework that provides a secure and search engine optimized foundation that’s easy to customize and very user-friendly. I use the Genesis framework with a StudioPress theme.
StudioPress: Make your website yours without spending a ton of time or money (been there, done that) with awesome themes from StudioPress. I’m currently using the Essence Pro theme.
Bookkeeping
GoDaddy Bookkeeping: When I started my first business, I didn’t track income or expenses. What a nightmare that turned out to be when I was audited by the IRS. Since 2010, I’ve used GoDaddy Bookkeeping (formerly Outright), and it makes my life, business, and tax time infinitely easier. You can be up and running on GDB in about 10 minutes, and with just one-click, you can have your Schedule-C done and ready for Uncle Sam at tax time.
Email Marketing
MailerLite: After many years with MailChimp, I made the switch to MailerLite. Why? Because MailerLite has a “forever free” account for up to 1,000 subscribers and it includes all of their amazing features like autoresponders, pop-ups, landing pages, campaign reports, click maps, A/B split testing, auto resend, and tons more! And, once your list grows past the forever free plan, MailerLite’s pricing is soooo affordable! In fact, it’s less than half that of major competitors like MailChimp, AWeber, and ConvertKit! Check out MailerLite now to get a free 14-day trial plus $20 off if you sign up for a premium plan.
SmarterQueue: After using a different, more expensive service, I switched to SmarterQueue for my social media scheduling. Create categories for your social updates, design a custom posting schedule for each of your social networks, and build a library of social updates. Then, SmarterQueue takes care of the rest. You can get a free 30-day SmarterQueue trial, and then it’s just $19.99 per month. (As of July 2018, I no longer use this service because my needs have changed. However, I still highly recommend it and will return to it if I decide to use social media as part of my business model.)