Make money, save money, and get help for your business faster with the help of these proven resources. This recommendations page is full of reliable and trusted services and products, most of which I use in my business and in my personal life. I know you’ll get a lot of value and success from each product. And, a bonus is that some of my recommendations come with a discount or a free trial.
Disclosure: This recommendations page contains some affiliate links meaning I get a small commission if you make a purchase. But don’t worry, I highly recommend every single product and I test and/or research everything thoroughly before putting it in this list.
Acorns
Acorns is a modern-day way to micro-invest money for $1 a month, (or $3 a month if you want the upgrade). Acorns makes investing accessible to everyone and you only need to invest your spare change. There is even an option to earn cash back and bonus money when you shop at popular retailers. If you want to start saving for your future, your retirement, or if you want to earn extra money, Acorns is a great company to invest in.
Rakuten
Rakuten is a website that lets you earn money for shopping online. Here’s how it works. Big companies such as Ulta, Sephora, Under Armour, Keurig, Amazon, Nike, Best Buy, Forever 21, Macy’s, and thousands of other stores pay Rakuten a fee to be promoted on their platform, and in return, Rakuten gives shoppers cash back rewards for making purchases. It pays to shop online with Rakuten!
Affiliate Marketing
One of the best and highly proven ways to make money online is through affiliate marketing. If you aren’t sure what exactly affiliate marketing is let me briefly explain. Affiliate marketing is a way for you to work with a brand or company by having special links that earn you money when someone clicks on that link. You can promote these links on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, email, texts, blog posts, and the list goes on and on. The best part about this is that the income is relatively passive meaning that you can make money while you sleep. I personally use affiliate marketing as a way to earn money for my blog. When I started out I knew nothing, which is why I invested in the course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. This course taught me how to easily add another stream of income to my business. If you’re serious about affiliate marketing, I highly recommend this course as it covers everything you need to know and is constantly updated with new information: Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing.
Decluttr
Decluttr is one of those sites that’s the best of BOTH worlds. Through Decluttr, you can make money by selling any tech gadgets you no longer use, and you can save money by purchasing refurbished and highly discounted tech. If you have CDs, DVDs, phones, computers, tablets, or any other tech lying around your junk draw, it’s time to sell them and make some money. And while your there, you might as well shop around Decluttr and see how much money you can save of refurbished tech.
Etsy
Etsy is the perfect side hustle for anyone who is crafty. If you love to make DIY projects, selling them on Esty is a great way to make a little extra money (or a lot of extra money!). Etsy is a low-risk way to have your own personalized online store and the opportunity for growth is limitless.
Survey Junkie
Get paid to take surveys that aren’t scammy like Survey Junkie. Survey Junkie makes it easy to find and complete surveys that actually pay you money. The best part is that you can complete surveys while watching Netflix. You won’t get rich, but you’ll definitely earn some extra spending cash. You can get started with Survey Junkie here.
Swagbucks
Similar to Survey Junkie, Swagbucks is another reliable website to earn cash back and gift cards to name brand stores just by taking surveys, watching videos, online shopping, and more. Everyday, Swagbucks gives out 7,000 gift cards, so you know their rewards system is reliable. You can sign up for Swagbucks here.
InboxDollars
The best way to earn the max amount of money taking surveys is to sign up for multiple sites. That’s why I have provided three options including Survey Junkie, Swagbucks, and now InboxDollars. Inboxdollars is another reliable site that pays you to take easy surveys. They also have a lot of extra features outside of surveys that help you to earn money. I personally have money sitting in my account waiting to be cashed in! Sign up for Inboxdollar here for a free $5.00 bonus.
AppJobs
Need a flexible part time job? AppJobs helps to match you with the perfect job to fit your schedule. If you need to work part-time, on the weekends, or around your schedule as a student, AppJobs will help to provide you with plenty of options near your city so that you can start making some money on your own time.
Affiliate Marketing Sites
Since I already talked about affiliate marketing earlier, I won’t repeat myself. The only thing I’ll add is that if you have a blog or any sort of online business, affiliate marketing is a MUST for an additional and passive income, which is why I took the course Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing to learn how to do things effectively and make that moneyyy. For my specific recommendations regarding the affiliate marking sites that I personally use, they are Share-a-Sale and Awin. Both are great and super easy for beginners to use.
Bluehost
If you want to start a blog for cheap, like super cheap, Bluehost can’t be beaten. I started my blog on Bluehost in 2017 and because of them, I’ve been able to build my blog into a business. Regardless of if you want to blog as a business or as a hobby, you’ll need hosting, so you might as well use the affordable and reliable services that Bluehost offers. If you sign up through my link, you’ll get a few discounts, so check it out here.
Convertkit
Every blog or website NEEDS an email list. If you’re at all familiar with how a lot of online businesses make money, then you know that an email list brings in the big bucks. I personally use Convertkit for my email marketing, and I know plenty of other bloggers who also use Converkit. Their interface is user friendly and it’s extremely easy to capture and send emails. Check out Convertkit here to get started with your free account.
Tailwind
If you’re even remotely involved in the world of online business, then you know the value of Pinterest and Instagram for promoting your content and gaining new followers. However, it can be extremely time-consuming focusing on social media every single day. That is where Tailwind comes in. Tailwind is a powerful scheduling tool that lets you schedule out your Pinterest and Instagram content for days, weeks, and even months in advance. I use Tailwind for my business, specifically with Pinterest, and I’m able to schedule all of my content for an entire month in less than 2 hours. Not bad! Try out Tailwind for Pinterest and Instagram for free, and I guarantee that you will want to keep using it once you see your results.
Canva
Canva is hands down my favorite tool that I use for my website. Every picture, image, and even font on my blog was built through Canva. I used to think that good photos and images required Photoshop, but that’s not true at all. Through Canva you can create images by using templates, create a brand board for your business, make pins, Instagram photos, Facebook and YouTube headers, posters, anything! Canva has it all. Also, the free version is absolutely fine to use if you aren’t quite ready to upgrade to the pro version. I’m serious when I say I would not be where I am today without Canva.
Fiverr
Sometimes we need to hire out tasks for our businesses. Fiverr is the perfect freelance marketplace to find the best and most qualified candidates to help you. And, it’s super affordable. I paid $5.00 and got three logos for my e-commerce business within 48 hours. Talk about a great deal! Fiverr has what feels like endless services ranging from graphic design, to transcription, to freelance writing so definitely check them out.
Grammarly
I started using Grammarly when I was getting my Master’s degree, but I quickly learned how powerful it is for my business. Grammarly is a website that proofreads any document you write. You can get an extension set up through your internet browser that is constantly proofreading emails, Facebook posts, and anything else you write online, or you can upload longer documents to your profile. Since discovering the power of Grammarly, I never publish a blog post, send an email, or write a caption without first running it through Grammarly.
Zen Business
If you have a website or blog and you’re making money from it, then at some point you’ll need to register it as a business to avoid any trouble with the IRS. Most online entrepreneurs create an LLC (limited liability company) because it’s affordable, easy to manage, and the taxes are fairly straight forward. I have an LLC for my business so I know how scary setting things up can be. That’s why the company Zen Business is perfect because they do all the hard and scary work for you. They make starting an LLC easy and their services are not only reliable, but their prices are extremely affordable. Start setting up your LLC today with Zen Business and then go kick some serious butt as a new business owner!
FreshBooks
If you own a business then you have to be able to keep track of your money. Freshbooks is great for entrepreneurs because they help with invoices, tax prep, payments, bookkeeping, and more. Oh, and the best part is that Freshbooks is super modern and utilizes the cloud so that all your documents can be taken care of electronically, which is perfect for any online business. Sometimes finances can be a daunting task within a business, so let the professionals take care of it. Give Freshbooks a try with their free 30-day trial.
Masterclass
Masterclass is one of the coolest things our modern era has brought us (in my opinion!). Extremely famous professionals from every type of career imaginable can be found teaching classes through Masterclass. I bought my first Masterclass years ago when the program first launched. I loved it so much that I bought another class not long after. Now, they have the option to get access to ALL the classes, which is beyond amazing. If you want business-specific classes, I recommend checking out classes from Anna Wintour, Chris Voss, Howard Schultz, and Robin Roberts. I hope you enjoy Masterclass as much as I do. Sometimes I even get awestruck that a successful celebrity is teaching me their secrets!
Audiobooks
Listening to audiobooks is one of the best ways to learn valuable content that will help with the progression of your business. I started listening to audiobooks on business topics when I was working my full-time desk job a few years ago. Since then, I have listened to hours and hours of great content and I’ve learned a ton. I also listen to great fiction books that I never have the time to sit down and read. My go-to sites for listening to audiobooks is through Audible and AudiobooksNow. Audible is great because there is a huge variety, and if you’re a Prime member, they start you off with two free audiobooks (if you use my link!). And I’ve found that AudiobooksNow has audiobooks that aren’t on audible, and generally, they are cheaper. To start listening to audiobooks, use my links for free trials and discounts: Audible, AudiobooksNow.
Constant Contact
Email marketing is the #1 way that online businesses make money. There are plenty of statistics and research that supports this fact. That’s why it’s important to have a good email marketing software like Constant Contact. Constant Contact makes it possible to send beautiful emails that stand out while helping you to keep track of valuable stats to help grow your business. They also partner with big businesses like Shopify and Wordpress to make integration as easy as possible. Start your free trial with Constant Contact here.