I am often asked what internet tools and camera equipment I use in my creative process, and since the right tools surely have something to do with becoming a successful entrepreneur, I figured that I should share them with you:)
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Web hosting for my blogs
Almost all of my WordPress blogs are hosted on the excellent WP Engine, which specializes in WordPress, and adds many features that a typical web host does not have: automatic updates and backup, enhanced security, cache optimization, etc.
In short, WP Engine knows you are using WordPress and has many good practices in place to provide the best environment for it.
However, it is one of the more expensive internet tools for hosting, which is why I only recommend it when you start to earn money with your blog. Before that time, basic hosting with OVH will be just fine.
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Autoresponder (the internet tool I use to manage my email campaigns)
I use and recommend Active Campaign, which is excellent, simple and powerful.
If you want an excellent French autoresponder, I recommend Systeme.IO, created by my friend and colleague Aurélien Amacker.
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Cloud storage and file sharing
Forget Dropbox, some employees of which have access to all your documents. In the event of a serious hack, everything you upload to Dropbox may be accessible to hackers (the same goes for OneDrive or Google Drive).
Instead, I use Sync, which offers the exact same service like Dropbox, but has rock-solid security in place: not even Sync can see your documents, everything is end-to-end encrypted.
So, if Sync gets hacked, hackers will just have an encrypted version of your documents, which they cannot see without your password.
By going through my link above, you have 1 GB more and can therefore start with a free account at 6 GB instead of 5 😉.
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Travels
I love renting beautiful and unusual apartments on Airbnb: you can find rare places that will make for unforgettable adventures.
For example, I stayed in a boat in the port of Las Palmas in the Canaries, which enabled me to meet many people preparing to sail across the Atlantic, including several Intelligent Rebels who as a result accomplished the adventure of a lifetime 😊.
And I love renting a barge on the Seine when I come to Paris. It provides me an experience of the city completely different from what most people are used to: an experience that is more intimate and peaceful at the same time.
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Camera gear
For taking photos, I usually use my iPhone, but when I want to shoot higher quality videos, I use my Panasonic GH4 (which has since been replaced by the GH5) with the Olympus 9-18 wide-angle lens.
(I do not recommend that you invest in such expensive camera gear as long as your online business is not generating money; in the meantime, your smartphone is perfectly fine).
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Organizational tools
J’utilise Asana pour la collaboration avec mon équipe, et Habitica pour la gestion de mes tâches personnelles.
Ces deux logiciels sont gratuits… et indispensables.
Guitar lessons
“An acoustic guitar is your lifelong friend”
– Mark Knopfler
After putting it on standby for several years, I decided to get back to playing the guitar seriously… so, naturally, I looked for the best online course on the subject, in French.
I finally decided on HGuitare, and I am not disappointed. There are theoretical and practical lessons, a tiny step by tiny step progression method, a lot of modern songs to learn, the teachers are professional musicians who play in concert AND are instructors (it is not a given in “real life”! 😉), the gamification is top-notch, and the community is very active … What more could you ask for? 😊
As a bonus: this video by Mark Knopfler, guitarist and vocalist of Dire Straits, is a joy to watch for any guitar or music lover 😉.
This list of internet tools and camera equipment covers the material aspect of my workflow, but there’s more to it than that. As for methodology, I invite you to read my article “Master 9 Concepts to Increase Productivity and Creativity“.
Bonjour,
J’ai fait mon site sur Jimdo. Il y a une fonction “Blog” et je réfléchis depuis quelques temps à l’utiliser. Connaissez-vous et si oui, qu’en pensez-vous ? J’ai lu votre livre numérique. C’est vraiment intéressant. Il y a des choses dont je n’avais jamais entendu parler. Mais c’est si éloigné de mon caractère, je ne sais pas si je serais capable de faire tout ce qu’il y a à faire alors que je suis d’un naturel sauvage et je voudrais juste créer ce que je crée, vendre et rester cachée. J’ai été sous les feux de la rampe à mes dépends, pendant plusieurs années, l’idée d’aller sur des forums dire ce que je pense, polémiquer, pour attirer des gens sur mon blog me fait froid dans le dos. Je suis très douée pour argumenter, mais je suis sortie de tout ça très abîmée. J’aurais besoin de conseils plus personnels j’avoue. Vous donnez des tas d’infos, vous avez l’air tellement gentil et honnête, mais toutes ces infos me dépassent. En ce qui concerne l’argent, je suis zéro. J’ai toujours réussi à faire ce que je voulais, j’ai même écrit un bouquin (les 10 plus gros mensonges sur l’école à la maison), mais jamais je n’ai gagné d’argent. J’ai besoin d’aide et de conseils. J’ai 50 ans. Pas un sou de côté. Mon cerveau est extrêmement réfractaire à tout ce qui se rapporte aux maths, aux calculs.. l’école m’a complètement bloquée. Quand vous parlez d’investir avec des trackers par exemple, je suis allée voir un peu, je ne comprends rien. Donnez-vous des conseils personnalisés ? Je vous remercie d’avance pour votre attention.
Sylvie