Here are the websites & software tools that I've found helpful for my business.
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May you benefit from this page of resources.   ~ George Kao


Video Tools

• Kapwing (affiliate link) is how I make my shorter videos with banner at bottom (example: authentically posting on social media)
• Screencast-o-matic -- how I make my screencasts, e.g. my Zoom tutorial.​

My Productivity Tools

• Focusmate -- virtual co-working for accountability
• Todoist -- task-management software. Simple, fast.
• Google Voice -- separate accounts for business / personal
• AcuityScheduling (affiliate link) -- client scheduling tool.
• Tomato Timer for pomodoros. E.ggtimer.com is flexible.

Learning / Content Curation

• Video Speed Controller -- easily speed up videos on Facebook, Youtube, and elsewhere so you can learn faster
• Google search filtered by specific time range, e.g. if I want to see articles published within the past year, I search Google then click Tools > Any Time > Past Year. This gives me updated information.
  
  
  

Money Tools

• For USA -- Tiller is what I use.  Some of my clients like YouNeedABudget.
• For Canada -- Mint.ca
• For AU and NZ -- Getpocketbook  
• Europe & other countries -- Xero  
• Send money internationally using TransferWise for better exchange rates
• Healthy Money (my thoughts and methodology on money management)
  
  
  

Website Tools

• Google Domains for registering domain names
• These days my go-to recommendation is Squarespace or Strikingly, but my website is built with Simplero given the all-in-one platform. Here's why I chose Simplero.
• ​Genius Links as a URL shortener and automatic redirects to the correct Amazon international store.
  
• WorkMark.it -- compare fonts. To buy fonts: Google Fonts.

Getting Help For Your Website, Copy Editing, Graphic Design & Technical Needs

• Fiverr (For $5 to $50 you can get logos and graphics created, as well as many other little jobs done.  Could be a good place to find contractors for bigger projects too, by testing their skill with smaller ones.  Here's my video on how I use fiverr.)
• Upwork (click here for my video on how to use it)
• TaskRabbit (hire local help)
• 99designs (get professional designs, use my link to get $60 off your first design -- the best discount available online, since I opted to give 100% of my affiliate commissions to the discount)

Mailing List Management
(otherwise known as Email Marketing, Email List, or Email Newsletter)

• As mentioned above, I'm now happily using Simplero. 
  • Here's why I chose Simplero
    
• If you're looking for something cheaper at this time, I suggest ConvertKit (better) or MailerLite (free for now).

Online Shopping Cart
(for customers to pay you via credit card online)

• ​Paypal (for single course sales & most of my subscriptions)
• Stripe (for clients who don't want to use Paypal)
• Other shopping carts worth looking into: Amazon Pay and gumroad

Conference, Teleclass, Webinar Technology
(For Teleclasses & Teleseminars Small and Large)

• Zoom -- what I use for all my private video conferencing, as well as group calls of up to 100 participants.  They have video breakout rooms. Here's my video tutorial on how to use zoom. 
• ​Google Slides -- if you need to create a slideshow

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Image Tools

• Pablo -- easily create image quotes. Here's how I use it.
• Canva -- much more full-featured than Pablo. How's how I use it.
• Where to get awesome free images
• Compressor.io -- reduce file size of images so they're faster to load online
• Gradient Generator -- to create a simple gradient image which I sometimes use for background cover images
• Techsmith Jing -- Free Screen Capture and Call-Outs

Online Ideas Collaboration

• Google Drive -- documents, presentations, spreadsheets
• MindMeister -- my favorite mindmap tool
• Workflowy -- fast, simple outlining

Online Survey Tools

• Google Forms (for tutorials, click here.)
• Clients also like TypeForm.

Online File Sharing

• Google Drive -- what I use for file sharing with clients and public audiences.
• Dropbox -- when I'm uploading a very large file (e.g. over 1 gig) this tends to be faster than Google Drive

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Audio Tools

• Vocaroo.com -- Easily Record Short Audio
• Audacity -- Free Audio Editing and Recording (tutorials here)
• The Levelator -- Level The Volume Of All Teleclass Speakers (Levelator)
• Speakpipe -- allow website visitors to leave you voicemail without the phone
• Convert2MP3 -- convert a Youtube video to an MP3 file, without having to download a converter file  

Podcasting Tools

• Captivate is the podcast host I use.
• I recommend either not starting a podcast​ (because of how challenging it is to grow listeners) or making it so low-maintenance that it's easy for you to keep going. It takes me 5 minutes to upload each episode onto my podcast (George Kao Podcast) because I basically download my best Youtube videos and upload them to my podcast.
• I actually have a short course about this -- how to easily launch a podcast and keep it low maintenance.

Automation Tools

• Zapier -- for linking together many tools, e.g. Simplero, Google Sheets, Gmail, etc. Lots of possibilities in how to automate your virtual tasks.
• As mentioned above, for most of my business software, I'm now happily using Simplero. 

Feel free to share this webpage with others.  The link to send, or post on social media, is: www.georgekao.com/tools