Just in time for Black Friday deals, I’m sharing with you my “Favorite Things”

If you’re like me, you like to get the biggest bang for your buck when it comes to Black Friday deals.  From productivity to plug-ins, I’m here to rescue you from shiny object syndrome so you can focus on products and technology that have been Kate tested & Kate approved.

Speaking of Black Friday, if you want to get an even better Black Friday sale from yours truly, go ahead and get on the waitlist at katedoster.com/blackfriday.  

We all have our ‘favorite things’ that we just can’t live without and when it comes to business, there are so many apps, products, courses, technology, books….  you get the point!

Let’s start off with my Favorite Things for my life:

1. Airpods

Airpods are one of those things that may seem frivolous at first but since I’ve had them, I seriously can’t imagine going back to ear buds on a cord.  With Airpods, I never have to worry about getting my cords hung up on my notebook or accidentally dragging my phone off of my desk and potentially shattering my screen anymore.  Airpods are easy to set up (seriously, they pretty much do it for you) and are the only ear buds that actually fit in my earholes.

My biggest fear when I got them was that I was going to lose them because – hello, I lose everything.  They have an awesome feature where you can have your phone find them for you and then they chirp until you figure out where you left them.  Like in the laundry room.  Or in the toybox.  Or right on my desk where they should be.  Don’t judge.

2. My Ukelale

Everyone needs a creative outlet that isn’t tied to money.  For me, it’s my ukelele.  I have a couple of them and practice pretty much every day.

Wheher it’s gardening or painting or playing the ukelele like me, be sure and give youself something fun to do when you’re not writing emails and figuring out funnels.  Your sanity will thank you.

3. Kindle Unlimited

Kindle Unlimited made my list of favorite things because I can read business books before I decide to purchase the hard copy, kind of like a “try before you buy”. Every single book on KDP Select (kindle’s e-book platform) is available for free with your Kindle Unlimited account.  If you don’t have a Kindle you can read on your phone, your iPad and your laptop.

Kindle Unlimited usually has some pretty awesome offers for Black Friday so check them out this weekend if you’re ready to expand your virtual bookshelf.  This December or January, I’m so exited to be releasing my very own book on the Kindle platform so go ahead and sign up so you can get my book for free!

Now for my Favorite Things for business:

4. Deposit Photos

When it comes to stock photos, it can be a challenge to find affordable images that speak to your audience and represent your brand.  Let’s face it, stock photos are usually boring.  Not with Deposit Photos. They are my go-to resource for the fun images you see in my courses and on my website (and why it is so high up on my list of favorite things).  With Deposit Photos, I’m able to find images that have that “Bohemian Coolness” vibe that I love without breaking the bank.

Before you start clicking over to Google to find them, check out AppSumo for your Deposit Photos membership.  AppSumo has ah-may-zing Black Friday deals and you’re more than likely going to find the best deal on a Deposit Photos membership there. That’s where I got my lifetime deal on Webinar Ninja – literally saving me thousands of dollars on webinar software.

5. Trello Gold

Trello Gold made my list of favorite things because I use Trello literally every single day to stay productive in my business (and keep my team on track).

Trello Gold lets me use up to three Power Ups (kind of like apps or widgets or plug-ins) at a time.  My favorite power up, without a doubt, is Butler.  Butler automates processes for my team so that when one person is finished with their part, it automatically gets assigned to the next person (and Trello card) to keep things moving smoothly without me having to do any extra work.

A Trello Gold account is only $5 a month or $45 a year and I seriously cannot imaging trying to run my business without it.  In fact, I love it so much that I even created a course around it called Trello Magic.  Seriously, it’s that important.

6. Loom

Where would my Favorite Things list be without Loom?  If you’ve ever received an email or Facebook message from me, more than likely it included a Loom video.  I use it to share my screen while giving feedback to my students in Love Your List, I use it in my Facebook group.  I use it to communicate with my team.  Let’s be honest, I use it for everything.

Loom is absolutely free for up to 100 videos and is a lightweight extension for you Chrome browser.  To use it, all you have to do is click the logo on your browser tool bar and you’re recording.  One of the things I love about Loom is that my videos are stored forever on their cloud storage so I don’t have to take up space on my hard drive for my videos.  Plus, you get notifications when someone has viewed your videos.

If you’re like me and you’re a talker more than a typer, upgrading your Loom account will only run you $9 a month which was well worth it for me since I’ve literally made tens of thousands of dollars with personalized videos.

7. G-Suite

G-Suite might seem a little boring for my favorite things list but it’s one of the backbones of my business structure.

I use G-Suite for my Smile Squad emails, for spreadsheets, for documents, forms… you name it, I use it.  Plans start at $6 a month and you can upgrade as you grow to add team members or additional email addresses.

Use my code A9EW6UJYTHDRP9T or K9DEHDJDJ6RT3VD to snag a sweet discount.

8. Divi

Divi is by far one of the easiest and most versatile WordPress site builders ever made.  From the most basic when you’re just getting started to all the bells and whistles you can imagine, Divi can make it happen (no wonder it made it on my favorite things list!).

With Divi, you have two options:  yearly or lifetime.  If you start out on the yearly plan and decide that you’re “Divi for Life” then you can always upgrade your account later.  The best deals for the year are always on Black Friday so if you’ve been looking for an easy to learn WordPress builder with an amazingly responsive support team, Divi is the answer.  They usually have a Black Friday countdown where the deals are better the earlier you buy so head on over there now to get the best deal possible.

One thing to keep in mind with Divi is that it is shortcode based (like most WordPress website builders) so if you’re just trying it out, try it out on one or two pages first.  Once you disable it, the shortcodes will be visible for all the world to see so it’s worth your time to test it out on a few hidden pages first before upgrading your whole site with it.

9. Thrive Cart

Thrive Cart is my favorite payment processing platform.  It’s what I use to create upsells, checkout pages, collect payments for my courses and manage my affilate sales.  Head over to KateDoster.com/thrivecart to sign up.

10. Podia

Right now, Team Kate is in the process of moving ALL of my courses over to Podia.  Podia is an all-in-one solution for online courses, downloads and membership programs without having to pull your hair out learning a bunch of tech.  Podia hosts your content, manages your customers and even processes payments!

Although I love ThriveCart, I’ll be moving over to Podia for everything except my affiliates before my next big launch.  If you’re selling courses or memberships, go ahead and sign up when they have their big Black Friday & Cyber Monday sales.

Favorite Things on my Bookshelf:

Before we get into my favorite books, head on over to Audible and snag your free book with my link.  Audible is the best for audio books so you can listen to your favorites while you fold laundry or you’re stuck in the car pool lane.

11. Big Magic

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert is a must-have for your business library.  This book can completely change how you approach your business (and your life).  Seriously just get it if you haven’t already.

12.  The Year of Yes

The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes (How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person) is a funny and inspiring read that will have you reevaluating what you say yes and what you say no to.

13.  Clockwork

My list of favorite things would be incomplete without the book that is responsible for a HUGE leap in productivity and profitablity.  Clockwork by Mike Michalowiczis all about designing your business to run smoothly and efficeintly (like clockwork).

I’ve read at least a dozen produtivity books and nothing made as much sense or has been as easy to implement as Clockwork.  Mike just has a way of making it easy to understand.  Even if you only make it through the first four chapters, your business and your bank account with thank you for it.

My Favorite Things: Courses

14. Copy School

Copy Hackers’ Copy School was the first course I took when I started my business and it made a HUGE impact on my success.

The great thing about copywriters is that we will literally tell anyone our secrets.  We aren’t secretive because we get so many clients and we need someone to refer our overflow clients to!

Copy Hackers goes all-out with Copy School. There’s a sales page course, a landing page course, emails, Facebook copy… You name it, they have a course for it.

15. Money Mentality Makeover by Amanda Frances

I’m fininshing up my Favorite Things list with the best purchase I’ve made for my business this year, the Money Mentality Makeover course by Amanda Frances.

Let’s go ahead and get it out of the way – Amanda isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.  That’s one of the things I love about her, she’s extremely polarizing.  The good thing is that within 3 minutes of listening to her or watching one of her videos, either you’re going to love her or you’re going find out real quick that you can’t stand her.  There is no in between.

In this course, Amanda teaches manifestation and mindset in a way that I haven’t seen before and (most importantly) in a way that works for me.

I used to think all that mindset and money manifestation stuff was a bunch of phooey but Amanda has changed my mind forever.  This year has by far been the most profitable year in my business so far and the Money Mentality Makeover Course has been a big part of that growth.

Growing up in a middle class family, I was taught to save, save, save because there was never enough money to go around (even though there was).  Amanda helped me rewire my brain to expect abundance instead of lack.  If you’ve been in any of my courses, you know that I’ve incorporated some of the things I’ve learned from her.

Right now, the Money Mentality Makeover course is not open for enrollement but if you get on the waitlist, she sometimes has a mega bundle for Black Friday.

I’m going to be honest, it’s a steep investment for Amanda’s course but I’ve made my money back 10 fold (and more!)  The course is usually open for enrollment in February and September but by being on the waitlist, you’ll be sure to be notified when its open again.   Amanda is easy to learn from and her style is a mix of getting stuff done and going with the flow at the same time.

Black Friday Deals on My Favorite Things

That wraps up my list of Favorite Things for 2019.  I put this list together for Black Friday so you can get the best deals you can on all the things I use to run my business.

Speaking of Black Friday sales, remember to head on over to katedoster.com/blackfriday for a special Black Friday bundle of copywriting & productivity tools for your online business.

Okay besties!  Tell me… What are your Favorite Things you can’t live without in your business?  Drop me a line and let me know.  Who knows, you may get featured on a future episode of Inbox Besties!