Resources that will help you build your organization and accomplish your mission.
As a business coach, I only recommend products and services that I have either used or have thoroughly researched. I am an affiliate for some of these which means I will get a small commission if you decide to purchase one at no extra cost to you—but my main motivation is to see you succeed. That is the only reason you will find a product or service on this page.
Online Courses and Tools I recommend
Business Made Simple University
Business Made Simple University (BMSU) is the main resource I use to help you build a successful business or organization. And you can access all the courses and live events for yourself.
On demand courses that will take the mystery out of growing your business. Annual subscription of $275 gives you access to an ever-growing list of on demand courses, live monthly coaching by Donald Miller, and a professional development plan.
Small Business Flight School
6 month video training series to completely overhaul your business or nonprofit.
When you purchase Small Business Flight School using my link HERE or the link below, you also get two 60 minute calls per month with me for Q&A.
The SPI Community
I have been a part of the SPI Community for several years. I like the combo of "just in time" learning with the many on demand courses along with community interaction including masterminds.
From The SPI Leadership...
The SPI Community is here to support you from that initial business idea all the way to achieving full-time income. So, how do we accomplish this? By equipping you with an extensive range of resources: easy-to-follow guides, step-by-step tutorials, and ready-to-use tools for content creation, marketing, and automation. Plus, you'll be part of a thriving community of over 1,000 like-minded members who understand your challenges and are ready to offer feedback and encouragement every step of the way.
Joining the SPI Community means stepping into a new phase of your entrepreneurial journey, where you can reduce overwhelm, sharpen your focus, and accelerate your growth. With the support of peers and expert guidance, you’ll make confident, informed decisions at every turn. At Smart Passive Income, we believe entrepreneurship is the best path to personal fulfillment, financial freedom, and building a future you control — and we’re here to guide you with community-powered education, feedback, and accountability.
Full Focus Planner
The Full Focus Goal Setting system is the best I have used. Take control of your to-do list and focus on tasks that really matter. Order your planner today and finally achieve your big goals.
Want help implementing the Full Focus Goal Setting system? I am a certified Full Focus Coach. Schedule a Free Coaching Call today.
ConvertKit - Now called Kit
I have used Kit for my email tool for over10 years. If you are an entrepreneur, creative, small business owner, or a nonprofit executive, then ConvertKit is the perfect tool for you to grow your audience, foster your community and earn a living online.
Click "Visit Website" to see some use cases and comparisons to other similar tools.
My Business Report
Discover what’s wrong with your business. Get a customized plan to fix it.
Knowing what’s really going on with your business shouldn’t be a mystery. In 12 minutes you'll get a FREE, detailed report on the health of your business and a customized plan for how to make it more profitable.
Thrive Theme for WordPress
I wanted the robustness of WordPress, but I didn't want to learn how to code.
I also didn't want a cookie cutter theme.
The answer? Thrive Themes!
You can get Thrive Theme plug ins a la carte or you can get them all with Thrive Theme Suite. (which is what I did).
Shane and his team are constantly improving Thrive Themes, the support is top notch, and the tutorials and Thrive University are best in class.
Recommended Books
Building A StoryBrand 2.0
In Building a StoryBrand 2.0, Donald Miller not only deepens his teaching on how to use his seven universal story elements—he'll provide you with one of the most powerful and cutting-edge tools to help with your brand messaging efficacy and output.
The StoryBrand framework is a proven process that has helped thousands of companies engage with their existing customers, giving them the ultimate competitive advantage. Now you can have access to the perfected version, making it more essential.
Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion-dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand 2.0 will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.
Marketing Made Simple
Lots of marketing agencies will sell you new logos, color schemes, and brand guidelines followed by Facebook ads and slick landing pages. But without a sales funnel in place, most of that stuff won’t work. If you’ve been wasting money on marketing, author Donald Miller will help you stop that waste in its tracks. Follow the easy-to-understand blueprint in Marketing Made Simple to increase sales, grow your mission, and connect with customers.
Measure What Matters
“Measure What Matters deserves to be fully embraced by every person responsible for performance, in any walk of life. John Doerr makes Andy Grove a mentor to us all. If every team, leader, and individual applied OKRs with rigor and imagination, all sectors of society could see an exponential increase in productivity and innovation.”
—Jim Collins, author of Good to Great
How to Build a Small Business
For so many entrepreneurs, running a small business ended up looking different than they imagined. They’re stressed, discouraged, and not confident in their plan for growth. In How to Grow Your Small Business, Donald Miller gives entrepreneurs a 6-step plan to grow their businesses so they produce dependable, predictable results.
Using the exact steps you’ll learn in this book, Donald Miller grew his small business from four employees working out of a basement to a 15 million dollar operation, increasing revenue sixfold in just six years. As Miller grew his own business from the ground up, he realized nobody had put together a simple, step-by-step playbook for growing a business. That book didn’t exist. Until now.
In this book, you’ll learn the 6 steps to grow a successful small business and create a playbook to implement them- your Flight Plan. When you have a completed Flight Plan in hand, you can stop drowning in the details and spend more time doing the things you truly love- in your business and your life.
The Lean Startup
“Ries shows us how to cut through the fog of uncertainty that surrounds startups. His approach is rigorous; his prescriptions are practical and proven in the field. The Lean Startup will change the way we think about entrepreneurship. As startup success rates improve, it could do more to boost global economic growth than any management book written in years.” —Tom Eisenmann, Professor of Entrepreneurship, Harvard Business School
Your Best Year Ever
This is the year you finally close the gap between reality and your dreams.
We all want to live a life that matters. We all want to reach our full potential. But too often we find ourselves overwhelmed by the day-to-day. Our biggest goals get pushed to the back burner--and then, more often than not, they get abandoned and forgotten.
It doesn't have to be that way!
In this new, fully revised and updated edition of Your Best Year Ever, Michael Hyatt shares a powerful, proven, research-driven system for setting and achieving your goals. You'll learn how to design your best year ever by discovering:
● what's holding you back right now
● how to overcome your past setbacks
● the seven attributes of effective goals
● how to quit-proof your goals
● the role of habits in personal achievement
● what to do when you feel stuck
● and much more