10 Free & Paid Tools to Help you Start!

Hey there hackers,

Seeing that most of the stories that I read recently in various subs have to do with people losing their job and trying to start something on their own on a lean budget, here are some really cool resources that can help you succeed early on. From website creation to multimedia assets either for free of minimal paid subscription.

My go to free resources
Mixkit.co - An entirely free HD video library with thousands of videos that you can download for personal and commercial use. No attribution is required. Cool bonus - they offer hundreds of music tracks to add in your videos. (again free)

Icon8.com - I create websites on the side. Icon8 has really made my life easier. Free icons, free illustration, a number of tools on the side. They have a free and paid plan. You need to attribute if you are not a paid user.

Canva.com - I mean... Canva. You got to use it. Their main thing is graphic templates. I mostly use it for Social Media customized images, quick videos, banners etc. I use the free version because I really didn't utilize their paid version enough but it has it's perks.

Unsplash.com - If you need free photos, where do you go? Unsplash. Best free photos library hands down.

Slack.com - Slack is one of the best tools I used as a business owner, developer, marketing specialist etc etc. It's seriously a one tool fit all when it comes to communication.

Trello.com - Project Management with Trello has been a great fit for me. Many people prefer Jira but I am fine with either one or the other. Your pick.

Ultimate tools

The following tools are mostly paid but the ROI is just enormous.

elements.envato.com - Anything from stock video, audio, sound effects, photos, fonts, templates, themes etc. The best subscription value in the industry hands down. They offer free items on rotation as well so you might find what you want without paying a single dime anyway.

Shutterstock.com - The grandfather of stock. Probably the one with the largest library as well. I don't really enjoy their photos when it comes to site creation because I think the quality is crap but they have great footage and editorial. Super pricey.

Zoho Workspace - Gsuite can be pricey. For many of my small business owners or people that want to start without spending a whole lot of money on things they don't fully utilize Zoho workspaces offer the best alternative.

Mailchimp.com - I use Mailchimp for my newsletter platform and for the majority of my clients. Most of my clients use the free tier and that is perfect but I personally pay for it for some extra functionality.

Hope that list is useful for you! I certainly use the hell out of the tools above. Will try to update with more once I have some more time!

Talk soon,