Awhile back I did a post about my favorite productivity tools and tricks and it was a big hit so I decided that I should do another post about the things I use to keep my business running while I travel the world.

Without technology, I obviously wouldn’t be able to run my company or stay in touch with friends and family like I do and some tools are way better than others. I’m no expert on features or benefits of any of these, I just know they work for me so they may work for you too. I’ve included links to all of the goodies I mention below and, just so you know, some are affiliate links – meaning I will get paid if you buy after clicking that link – and some are not. I want to be clear though, everything I mention here is stuff I actually use and I’m just giving you affiliate links because it would be silly for me not to. I didn’t put anything on here just so I could use an affiliate link. That’s why a lot of the links are just regular links – I tell you what I really use, whether or not I can get paid for it.

So, let’s start with the basics. If you’re going to run a business, you need a website. Mine is built in WordPress (not an affiliate link) because I think it’s a very user friendly interface, easy to get started with, and I can find a plugin for just about anything I want to do to my site. I’ve used hosting from both inmotionhosting (affiliate link) and godaddy (affiliate link) and have been happy with the service from both. I’d just shop around for the best deal at the time you’re ready to launch your own site. I’ve also used Domain.com (affiliate link) to purchase the domain names I need for my sites.

I used to meet with clients through Skype (not an affiliate link) for our one-on-one sessions, but I somewhat recently discovered a great platform call popexpert (not an affiliate link) through which I now do all of my scheduling and client calls. It’s made it far less complicated than scheduling, meeting, and collecting payment myself.

For the basics: business cards and other marketing materials, I use either 123print (affiliate link) or VistaPrint (not an affiliate link). I’ve been happy with both, though I have a slight preference for 123print. I recommend you check sales and go with whichever company is most cost-effective at the time you order.

I also utilize both DropBox (not an affiliate link) and Google Docs (not an affiliate link) to stay organized as I manage from afar, especially when working with team members in other parts of the world. I also make sure to back up everything on my computer using BackBlaze (affiliate link) because I would die if I lost all of the photos, videos, and other goodies that I have stored directly on my computer as opposed to in the cloud. If you don’t have a backup system yet, put one in place immediately, especially if you travel often.

For managing my email and to do lists I also utilize Boomerang and, when I go over my limit for the free use of Boomerang I switch to followup.cc. both help me keep track of what I need to do when and who I should get in touch with. Also, I forgot to mention it in the video, but I am Hootsuite addict for organizing and scheduling my social media posts.

Now, obviously, this YouTube channel is part of my marketing and so I have a few tools to make the videos, like this one, that I share with you all. I use a Canon Vixia HFR11 (affiliate link) for filming and an Audio-Technica ATR3350 Lavalier Microphone (affiliate link). Both are inexpensive, easy to use, and get the job done. they’re also both very small and light so that they don’t do serious damage to my luggage weight allowance when I travel. Now, clearly, you’re not getting professional video quality from me, but this is a high-def camera and if you properly light the area where you film, you should do fine. The microphone works great so long as the battery is charged, when the battery power starts to dwindle, however, you’ll get annoying fuzzy feedback, which you can hear in some of my other videos.

After filming, I edit the videos in Windows Movie Maker (not an affiliate link). Nothing fancy at all.

So, those are the main tools that I use to run my business. You all know that I travel a ton, though, so, next week, I will give you the dish on the tools and tricks I use to save money on travel, stay in touch with family and friends, and make my nomadic lifestyle as painless as possible. I’ve worked out quite the system for travel given my adventures to well over 30 countries, so just about anyone looking for some money-saving tips will benefit from next week’s video. If you’re not already subscribed to my YouTube channel and signed up for my newsletter, make sure to do that now so you don’t miss out.

Now I’d like to hear from you. Share the tools that keep your business running and that you couldn’t live without in the comments below. If you’re on YouTube, remember to get over to the website to join in the discussion.