Sharing some of the tools and resources that will help you create your own scrappy start. I recommend these websites and materials to help you get your business working. Some of the links may earn me an affiliate commission. I only share tools here that I use and recommend!
Top Books
I love books! The past year has been a great one for books. Here are the three books I recommend if you have an idea for a business you want to start. Each has a different angle and purpose. I believe that together, these three books can be the foundation for a great start.
Get moving fast.
Noah Kagan is a business leader, a student of success, and a guy who coaches followers to take action fast. His direct, no nonsense style is appealing to me and right inline with the Scrappy Start philosophy.
I love how he pushes complexity aside and goes straight toward action that validates and then moves toward growth activity.
I’m on the launch team for his new book that comes out in January 2024. It is going to be one of those great books that entrepreneurs keep on their quick reference shelf.
Prepare for launch!
Jeff Walker is the guru that the other guru’s learned from. He is the one who discovered how to do launches on the web.
Launch is the updated edition that guides you through the process for a strong business launch.
His Product Launch Formula has created many success stories and helped his followers sell billions of dollars worth of their own products.
Working out your message
Jonathan Milligan’s book, Your Message Matters, is perfect if you’re figuring out who you are going to serve or what your message is going to be.
Personal brand
Mike Kim’s new book is great if you’re working out your unique brand based on your personality and gifts, You Are the Brand.
PlaceIt
Quick branding, productized images, stock photos, even branded videos!
PlaceIt is a handy site for producing content, products, even entire brands for clients. Magically and realistically drop your book or t-shirt design into real photos of a wide variety of people and places. You can simulate physical or digital signage, or put your site on the screen of an iPad. They offer an impressive unlimited annual subscription. A person can make a lot of nice marketing images in a year.
In the past year, even though I’m a designer, I’ve been able to save tons of time using PlaceIt graphics as a starting point. I’ve created product images of my books. I’ve made branded header videos. I’ve even used logo designs as a starting point for several of my new brands!
