This page contains a series of links to useful sites for entrepreneurs.
I have stuck with ones I have researched well and know to be genuine.
A couple I have paid up and joined. However…
There is no way I can cover them all.
I am sure there are others out there that are better than these.
Probably a lot more that are worse too.
But we need to start somewhere.
Some of the links here are affiliate links and I will receive a commission if you buy something. This is at no additional cost to you ( Put it this way, a $5 or $15 commission is not going to change my lifestyle). Also, I am not an employee of any of these businesses.
So my opinions are… just my opinions.
- Why become an Entrepreneur?
- Choosing a Niche
- Some Business Resources to help you whether you want to Earn Online and Off.
- E-commerce
- The Best Free and Premium Themes for WordPress and WooCommerce.
- WordPress Themes.
- Affiliate Marketing Courses
- 1. Wealthy Affiliate
- 2. Solo Build It.
- 3. Affilorama.
- Search Engine Optimization.
- Rank Math SEO Plugin
- Self Improvement
Why become an Entrepreneur?
Entrepreneurship has its ebbs and flows. The reasons are varied, economic conditions are one.
Another (probably more important), is workplaces.
I was happy to get away from working for the corporates.
Choosing a Niche
The consensus seems to be to write about what you are passionate about, or something you know a lot about.
I don’t completely agree with the consensus. Each to their own I say.
Some Business Resources to help you whether you want to Earn Online and Off.
E-commerce
hassle-free
Easy-to-use eCommerce for creators. Sell merchandise or digital products — all from one place.
See more on the Sellfy Blog.
A complete catalog for those who want to sell USA products.
Eprolo is big on branded drop shipping. With around 300,000 clients throughout the world, Eprolo also offers quick shipping. Review Here.
The Best Free and Premium Themes for WordPress and WooCommerce.
WordPress Themes.
There are thousands of WordPress themes. Some good some not so good.
The main thing to be aware of is how recently they have been updated.
And, if it is easy to get help if there are glitches.
The ones below are my choices.
This website uses the Schema theme.
WooCommerce
All WordPress themes have some capability with WooCommerce.
Not all of them are designed to handle many images, and other data required for it though.
All the themes I recommend are able to fully utilize the full scope of WooCommerce capabilities “out of the box” with plenty of features to create your own unique style.
Setting up a WordPress Theme
Some videos for you. Try not to doze off.
More boring stuff.
If you got this far and don’t want to go to the advanced videos bookmark the link at the end of the sentence to see 20 common WordPress errors and how to fix them. Link Here
Affiliate Marketing Courses
Learn how to make money online as an Affiliate
These three popular programs can lead you to places where you probably never considered success online could be achievable.
This may be of use to some of you thinking about affiliate Marketing.
Join with an open mind.
1. Wealthy Affiliate
The $497 per year cost of this is less than what many people pay for quality hosting.
As a member of Wealthy Affiliate, there are no upsells on your hosting. It also includes a free domain for the first year.
A quick Comparision with other popular hosting companies.
2. Solo Build It.
3. Affilorama.
100 Free Lessons are just part of the deal at Affilorama.
It is a different setup to Solo Build It and Wealthy Affiliate and is also a little more expensive.
However, there is a lot of free stuff there.
For More on Affilorama click here.
Search Engine Optimization.
You will see a lot about SEO should you become involved with affiliate marketing. Really any website that has some commercial intent will have some focus on SEO.
Importantly… don’t stress about it.
Rank Math SEO Plugin
I used the free version for ages, then bought the Pro version. I have another website that uses AISEO. But this is better IMHO.
A comparison of Rank Math and AISEO can be seen here.
Hosting and Domain Names.
This has become a bit of a mess over the past 10 years or so.
People not happy with one service, cancel it to try another, then find the “new” company is also part of the company they just canceled.
Here are two I Recommend you Look closely at before parting with your hard-earned
I mentioned Wealthy Affiliate above. These two are in a similar cost ballpark to Wealthy Affiliate.
At its most basic level, Siteground offers these benefits and features. It is also recommended by WordPress for WooCommerce.
This is their basic plan.
- 1 website
- 10 GB of web space
- Indicated for ~ 10,000 visits/month
- Traffic unmeasured
- Free Domain
- WordPress Migrator. Free
- Automatic WordPress updates
- Free SSL certificates
- Daily backups
- Free CDN
- Free Email
- Managed WordPress Hosting
- Ready-to-use cache
- Unlimited MySQL databases
- Balance with Renewable energy
- 30 Day money back guarantee
- Add collaborators
For a more in-depth look at Siteground Click Here.
Bluehost
I think we all know that once a big company buys a smaller company the smaller company’s service and uniqueness disappear.
Bluehost had been in the EIG group since 2012.
Now Endurance (EIG), has since been taken over by Newfold Digital.
There are now around 70 hosting companies in that business, including, BlueHost, HostGator, iPage, Small Orange, and so on…
Getty Images buying and Unsplash is another sad example of a bigger company turning an acquisition into a clone of itself.
Unsplash is virtually dead.
So…
Where once Bluehost was top of the tree for WordPress hosting, it is bleeding customers, because of, among other things security glitches, and user support.
Still, it has its supporters, its high-end business of consulting and web design is where they have the most focus.
Self Improvement
A quick look at this awesome program.
Mindvalley is much more than just an education company. They provide the education that regular schools forgot.
They teach the world the art of truly living extraordinary, fulfilling, happy lives.
They bring you world-class courses from the world’s top personal growth authors and brands, to allow you to create remarkable transformations in all areas of your life.
Mindvalley creates the world’s best programs, in every category of human transformation (and now entrepreneurship).
Learn from the best teachers on this powerful science-based learning platform.
Start with a free masterclass. Click on the link below.
Have Fun
Michael. Aka The Bare Foot Affiliate.
This is an interesting post and it covers a lot of ground. I love that you’ve given different options because working from home is not a one size fits all! I, personally, do affiliate marketing through one company that you’ve platforms you mentioned, Wealthy Affiliate, and I recommend it 100%. I find the self-improvement sites interesting.
Thanks for this blog post on links to useful sites for entrepreneurs. I have been doing affiliate marketing for quite some time now, but I’m afraid to start dropshipping as well. As I heard that affiliate marketing is more successful than drop shipping, is this true?
About your last observation, I don’t think that woodwork or gardening is “boring” at all 😉
Thanks for this information,
Best regards,
Lizzy
I feel that as affiliate marketers we sometimes get so caught up in content creation and website maintenance that we completely forget to take care of ourselves. And obviously, if we do not incorporate self-care into our routines, the results end up being completely disastrous. I really appreciate that you include MindValley in your article, as I think it should be the number one priority, before deciding on dropshipping vs. affiliate marketing or domain X vs. Domain Y, or even which program to choose to help you succeed.
Thanks for a great reminder. Also, I will be checking out each of these dropshipping recommendations.
The major disruptions are for passenger flights. The way it is now, freight moves a lot quicker, as airlines are adding passenger planes to their freight fleets. Also deliver times are less now than previously, due to the number of warehouses that have been set up and located in various countries around the world “because” of the pandemic.
It’s funny to stumble across this article Michael. I’ve been toying with starting a little drop shipping website for years. But never took action. These resources look solid so thank you.
My one BIG concern these days is the shipping delays that are happening all around the world. The supply lines are set to be even more disrupted over the coming year so how would a drop shipping business survive this?