There are so many great resources out there for Nomadtopians, and it can be hard to determine what’s really worth spending your money on, or what will be most helpful. I will continue to update this page with information on the extremely useful resources I come across, broken down into categories. Many of these are affiliate links, which means I earn a bit of money or receive another benefit if you sign up or buy the item through that link (and it’s part of what makes Nomadtopia possible). But I only recommend things that I stand behind 100 percent.
Online Business
I can hardly explain how much my business—and my life—has changed since I enrolled in Marie Forleo’s B-School last year. I learned a lot in the course about marketing, getting to know my ideal customer, and so, so much more. And like an old-school business conference, the contacts I made were just as valuable (if not more so!) than the content. Because of B-School, I’ve made friends, started partnerships, gotten new clients, hired amazing coaches and vendors, and become part of an incredibly supportive and vibrant community of online women entrepreneurs. If you’re ready to take your business to the next level (or even if you’re just starting out!), and if you’re tired of going it alone, I highly recommend this program. Marie delivers insanely high-quality, super-useful information, and I guarantee even the free training will be amazing!
I just signed up for Erika Lyremark’s Hustle Your Business Boot Camp after finishing my second time in her other program, The Morning Whip. Words can hardly express how amazing Erika is and how much this program has changed my life, my business, and my perspective on both (and not just for me, but pretty much EVERY woman in the program). I just know she’s going to whip things up even more in the Hustle! If you’re a woman with a solid business offering who’s afraid of sales or shies away from asking for the sale, this is for you. (And if you still need some help getting to the point of having a solid business offering, check out The Whip first.)
To run a successful online business, you obviously need a website—and your very own domain name! I highly recommend registering your domains with NameSilo.com. Their prices are very competitive—around $7.77 in June 2011, compared to $9 and up with other companies—and the best part is, unlike most other domain registrars, NameSilo’s prices include FREE PRIVACY! This means your personal information will not be listed under the WHOIS information for your domains. I love this—I was always too cheap to pay for privacy when my domains were registered elsewhere, but I really didn’t like having my address and phone number out there.
Blogging
Catalyst premium WordPress theme: I spent a long time shopping around for a WordPress theme that I liked. I had no intention of spending money on a theme, but every free theme I looked at seemed too limiting and left me too tied in to using certain colors or layouts (or having to mess around with code if I wanted to change those things). I happened upon the Catalyst theme, though, and was quickly sold. It gives you virtually unlimited options—how many sidebars and where they appear, colors, widgets, etc. are all 100% customizable through their super easy-to-use control panel—and you can use the theme on unlimited sites, even with the Personal Edition. This theme does everything I want (and much more), allowing me to add features as my site gets more complex. Their support forums (and the guys who run Catalyst) are super-helpful if you ever need help with anything, too. Their newest update made it even easier to also create static pages and landing pages, and I’m excited to try out those features on other websites I own. Bottom line: if you’re looking for an infinitely (and easily) customizable theme that will grow with you and your websites, Catalyst is a great choice.
