My Recommended Tools, Services and Gear [2020]

Here are my favourite tools and products that add lots of amazing value to my business and my life.

I currently use them all.

Ever since I started my first business 2011, I have tried out a huge amount of tools, services and gear.

I’m really into experimenting in all areas of life and business. So you can fully trust me with this list. There is a lot of garbage out there, but I have found a few tools and gear that are amazing, high-quality and super helpful.

Even though this seems like a long list, I do try to keep things simple and minimalist. So these tools are literally everything I use, nothing more hiding. But I am constantly in the process of simplifying my setup, so this list might get shorter over time.

Full disclosure: Many of the links below are most likely affiliate links. This means that I receive a small compensation if you click them and order. It helps me to keep creating my videos, podcasts and blogposts.

However, the only reason I am promoting these items is that these are the exact tools and resources I use to grow my business! You pay the same price, whether you sign up from my link or direct with the company.

Lets get into it…

Website Hosting and WordPress Themes

• Bluehost: My hosting provider of choice. I have been with them since 2011 and been very happy. It comes with a one-click WordPress installation process (super easy and quick). 24/7 support. Free SSL. Currently starts at $2.95/month.
• HostEurope (Germany): The hosting provider I use for my German websites. Very reliable.
• WordPress: THE content management system to build your website on. It’s open source and offers amazing customization.
• GeneratePress Theme: The theme I use on this website. Very lightweight and minimalist. Highly recommended.
• Divi Theme by Elegant Themes: A great visual drag and drop WordPress theme. I use it on my website Live Your Heart Out
• Thrive Themes: Great landing page builder. I use it a lot for opt-in and sales pages.

Marketing & Selling

• KWFinder: The best SEO keyword research tool on the market right now. Great usability.
• Tubebuddy: If you are serious about growing and monetizing your YouTube channel, you need this tool. It will help you to optimize your videos, do keyword research and many other awesome hacks.
• ConvertKit: My email marketing and autoresponder management provider.
• Teachable: I am hosting all my courses and video workshops here. Great platform and their usability and design are really awesome. Easy to set up and comes with an inbuilt affiliate program.
• Sendowl: You can sell videos, ebooks, photos, patterns, audio, software, podcasts or any other type of file with this service. Very good price and also comes with inbuild affiliate program.
• Mighty Networks: Create a membership community online for your followers with this platform.
• Shopify: If you are looking to sell physical products, this is your best e-commerce shop option. I use this to sell my merchandise and t-shirt collection.
• Printful: Create & sell your own custom design products online with print-on-demand dropshipping.
• Zoom: For all my live calls, webinars and online workshops. It uses very little bandwidth, which is essential for me as a traveller, as I don’t always have a great Internet connection.

If you are just starting out, here is my recommended setup for you:

• Bluehost (web hosting and domain – for more domain ending options use Namecheap)
• GeneratePress (premium WordPress theme)
• Convertkit (email management system)
• Podia (start selling digital products, online courses and memberships – all-in-one platform)

Writing Tools

• Scrivener: THE best writing tool out there. I use it to write blogposts, books, courses, my emails.. It lets you organize and create your content in so many different ways, it’s just awesome.
• Bear: I switched from Apple Notes to this note taking app (paid version). It seamlessly syncs between devices.
• Good Notes for iPad: After dealing with too many handwritten notes and physcial notebooks, I decided to do all my manual notetaking on my iPad Pro with this app. Game-changer.
• Write Room: I use this mostly as a copy and paste tool and also to park thoughts or text I still need to integrate into Bear or Scrivener.

Podcasting

• Apple Logic Pro: The program I use to edit my audio files and turn them into podcast files to upload. Alternatives: Adobe Audition, GarageBand and Audacity.
• Transistor.fm: Slick and simple podcast hosting provider. I switched from Libysn to Transistor and never looked back.
• Zoom H4n Pro: This is a high-quality audio recorder, which I use to record my solo podcasts and also interviews.
• GLS ES-58 Microphone: Very affordable and yet, also great quality. Tim Ferriss used this mic for hundreds of episodes. You will also need an XLR cable like this and a foam ball like this.
• Shure SM7B: The most professional and industry standard microphone on the market for podcasting currently.

YouTube & Filmmaking

• Adobe Premiere Pro: I started out with iMovie, then moved on to FinalCutPro and finally ended up with Adobe’s video editing program. It was intimidating at first, but there are enough YouTube videos out there teaching you the everything you need to know. If you are serious about editing, get on it! (Alternatives: iMovie, Windows Movie Maker, Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve)
• Sony a7 III Full-Frame Mirrorless Camera: I am completely in love with this camera and it is probably the best one on the market for what you get. It comes with 4k at 60fps and 120fps at 1080p. I had the a7 II, then switched to the Canon 6DII and within two months, I got Sony’s new baby. Best decision ever.
• Sigma 24mm F1.4
• Sony 35mm F2.8
• Sony 50mm F1.8
• RodeMic Pro+
• Slik Travel Tripod
• Joby GorillaPod 5K
• DJI Mavic Pro Drone
• Sony RX100 IV (Point and Shoot Camera)
• GoPro Hero 5
• Art List, Musicbed and Epidemic to find music for my videos

Other Tech

• MacBook Pro 13″ 3.1GhZ Intel Core i5 with 16GB RAM
• LaCie USB 3.0 4TB Harddisks
• iPhone 11 with 256GB
• iPad Pro 10.5″ with 256GB
• Apple Pencil
• Audio Technica ATR2100 USB-Microphone
• Bose Solo3 Wireless On-Hear Headphones
• Bose SoundSport Wireless In-Ear Headphones

Learning Platforms to Learn New Skills

I am constantly learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge through online courses. I use learnings platforms like the ones below and also have purchased many courses and other digital products from individual content creators online.

95% of what I know and do today in my business is self-taught online.

These three online learning platforms are currently my favourite:

• Skillshare: An online learning community with thousands of classes in design, business, technology and more. You pay once and get access to all the courses.
• Udemy: The leading global marketplace for teaching and learning, connecting students everywhere to the world’s best instruction anywhere. Here you pay for each individual course.
• Masterclass: An online education platform for creative professionals. It is a great way of learning online from top creators you would not normally have access to, eg. Martin Scorcese, Steve Martin, Werner Herzog and many other famous creatives and artists, who are true masters of their profession.

Other little helpers

• Trello to collect plans, goals and todos.
• Grammarly as my writing, spelling and grammar asssitant
• GoogleCalendar to organize my life and to-dos
• Keynote to create slides
• Screenflow to record my screen.
• 1Password to organize all my passwords
• News Feed Eradicator to delete my Facebook feed (I don’t use Facebook anymore, except for a couple groups)
• YouTubeNow to download YouTube videos
• GoogleDoc Spreadsheets
• Wave for accounting
• Toby to organize bookmark tabs in your browser
• Strict Workflow as a pomodoro timer for Chrome
• Save as PDF to turn any website into a PDF
• Croissant to find and use co-working spaces worldwide with one membership
• Unfold and Typorama to create awesome Instagram stories
• Magic Hour to always know the best time of day for shooting photos and videos outside