Tools I use to run my home-based business

Sometimes half the battle is finding the right tool for the job.

This is, hands down, your most frequently asked question. So, I wanted to create a ridiculously useful resource to help you out.

Admittedly, I’m ~~a little~~ okay, a lot addicted to trying new toys. But that’s good new for you, because it means I’ve tested and refined my toolbox for many, many years.

More than anything, I want to be a resource to you. If anything on this list saves you from hair-pulling and head-bashing frustration, I would love to know about it.

All of these links are for products, services and sites I actually use and love. For many of these, I’ve provided an affiliate link. That means, if you do end up making a purchase based on my recommendation, I will earn a small referral payment.

Which makes this yet another trifecta of win.

One more temporary note: This list is a hot mess right now! I’ll get it formatted all pretty with images and descriptions soon. I also plan on writing a blog post about one of these tools a couple times each month. In the meantime, I didn’t want my perfectionism to keep you from the links. So, here they are all messy and linky.

Staying on top of things

Time Trade + Google Calendar, TeamBox + the TeamBox for Gmail add-on, Google Docs

Basecamp , Highrise , HelloFax, Windows Fax & Scan

For the Benjamins

Freshbooks, PayPal, WePay, Square, Outright, TurboTax

Communications & Meeting Tools

G-mail + Boomerang , Rapportive , Canned Responses, Skype, Google Voice, Vsnap, Mailchimp, Facebook Groups, Facebook Events

Meetingburner , EventBrite , UberConference , Vyew , Calliflower, SlideRocket , SlideShare

The Website Backend

WordPress (on your own server) + WooThemes Canvas, W3Schools Online Web Tutorials for when I can’t seem to remember how to link to an image or any other html specifics

Nathan Briggs’s site security magics + Carol Newbill’s WordPress Tweaking Fu at 2FishWeb Design

My Fave Plugins: Premise, PhotoDropper, “Tweet, Like, Google+1 and Share”, LiveFyre Comments, The Events Calendar, Pinterest RSS

Making Graphics

Making & sharing presentations: SlideRocket, SlideShare, Pixlr, Picmonkey

Finding inspiration, photos & graphic elements: The Vandelay Design Blog, Flickr’s Creative Commons Search, The Stock Exchange, SubtlePatterns

Biz Cards & Other Printing

MooCards, uPrinting, VistaPrint

Relationship Nurturing

Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, MeetUp, Ning Communties

Managing Social Media: Buffer, Hootsuite, “If this, then that”, INK361, TweetGrid

Cloud Storage

Dropbox, Box.net, Skydrive, G Drive, Amazon S3, Springpad, Evernote

Sanity Savers

StayFocused, SimplyNoise, WorldTimeBuddy, LastPass, Ommwriter, Thesaurus.com

All Around Good Stuff

National Association for Self Employed, FreelanceSwitch’s Rate Calculator

Spotify, Netflix, PlayOn, The kid should see this, YouTube Playlists, Words With Friends

For my PC

Software: Chrome, FileZilla, Camtasia, VLC Open Source Media Player, Windows Movie Maker

Safety: SpyBot Search & Destroy AVG Anti Virus, SuperAntiSpyware

Your Turn

I just realized I don’t quite have the 100 recommendations I promised you! I’d love to hear your suggestions. Especially if you have suggestions for Macs, iPads, mobile apps and audio/video tools….which I’m sorely lacking. Just email them to me and we’ll get this list over 100 in no time.

If you have a question about something on this list, I’d love to hear it. Maybe I’ll even answer it in a future blog post.