Former Community – We Moved
🆕 Coached community here, for posts & feedback public community here.
Tools I use for ThePowerMoves.com
This first post is for the resources I can recommend you.
Some of the links include affiliate links.
An affiliate link means no additional cost for you or a discount that you wouldn't otherwise get (either because there is a promotion for referrals or becasue I'm a power user).
#1. SiteGround
ThePowerMoves.com runs on SiteGround's servers.
If you want to launch your website or if you are planning to move hosting provider, SiteGround is not perfect but I can highly recommend it.
Cons
- It's easy to exceed the amount of CPU / allocated on shared servers
- My upgrade to virtual servers wasn't super smooth
I had issues with CPU and RAM spikes, but that was my very own issue.
My TTFB (time to first byte) on virtual servers wasn't as fast as on shared plans, which I thought was very strange.
But I didn't work on it long enough because I later downgraded back to GoGeek, the highest shared servers' plan (my move was too rushed).
Pros
- Fast
Speed is super important because it has a direct impact on SEO and users' experience -the two are correlated anyway-.
- Secure
Siteground has HTTPS on all plans, offers two-steps login, pushes patches and updates automatically and they take good care of their servers' environment security, which is even more important on shared plans.
- Reliable
100% uptime which is awesome.
- Lots of own plug-ins and services
SiteGround develops own caching solutions and plugins that will help you get rid of a lot of plugin bloats. All with the advantage of seamlessly integrating into the SiteGround ecosystem.
PRO Tip:
if you are planning to grow or if you are already growing, it might be a great idea to start with a higher plan at a discount.
Because when you start with the smaller plan at a discount, you won't carry that discount when you'll have to upgrade to higher plans.
So pick the GoGeek and carry that discount for a few years until you'll move to dedicated server.
Start your website with SiteGround.
#2. LearnPress
For the online course Social Power, I use LearnPress (the website and company are called ThimPress as they also make WordPress themes).
The two major competitors of LearnPress are Learndash and LifterLMS.
Bot of them is relatively expensive while LearnPress is free to start with (you only pay add-ons, which still makes it cheaper and you don't need add-ons to start with).
I haven't tested the other two, but LearnPress was so simple and effective that I never had the need to.
I use LearnPress with the following add-ons:
In the future I am planning to also get:
Basically, I am thinking to move from a one-off payment to a weekly payment system for Social Power and I will need those two add-ons to make it work the way I want.
LearnPress Support
Online reviews complain of a lack of support.
On the Wordpress page of the plugin indeed there is little to no support, but you will get support on their forums on their website.
I can't compare with the support of other LMS, but I can tell you that Huyen not only got back to me, but actually logged in on this website more than once to fix some coding for me (thank you Huyen!).
LearnPress Themes
When I got LearnPress I was already running Genesis with a different theme and didn't want to undo all of that work.
If you are starting with the idea of selling a course, it might make sense to go for both LearnPress and Thimpress theme all at once.
#3. Content Views Pro
To organize the blog page and, most of all, the Reading List that makes me so proud, I use Content Views PRO.
I absolutely love those guys.
There is nothing in the market that gets even close to them.
They also have a free version which I kept for a while.
But once I bought the pro version I had to wonder why I waited so long.
At $29 a year, it's so cheap anyway that I recommend you get the PRO right away.
#4. Genesis by StudioPress
I run Genesis by StudioPress on top of my WordPress installation and I also use a StudioPress theme.
Some people prefer Divi.
Divi is more customizable and makes it easier to change pages and homepage.
That's cool, but I chose Genesis because it's sturdier, safer and, some say, better for SEO.
That sealed the deal for me.
StudioPress Themes
First I had Magazine something, which was better for blogging purposes and showing off the latest posts on the homepage.
Then I changed to Academy Pro, the current one, which is better to use the homepage as a sales page for the course.
My goal is to have something in between though. I love writing and sharing wisdom and I think some of my latest work should find its way on the homepage.
It's in my to-do list.
#4. Fiverr
My go-to service when I need to hire external help.
You can hire developers, CSS experts, data entry workers, translators, and even photoshop help.
My recommendation is that you find someone you like and then stick with him.
It will save you time and money.
Ask me for a specific recommendation on the right people.
Use this link and you get 20% off:
#5. Freelancer.com
While Fiverr is better for smaller work, Freelances is better suited for bigger projects or for custom projects.
Write a description of what you need to get done and watch tens of people apply.
Then you can comfortably sort and choose depending on price, feedback, and expertise.
It's great.
Use this link and we both get a $20 bonus:
#6. Airbnb
Airbnb can be your own personal VC.
And your best friend while you bootstrap your company.
It provided a survival income stream to my business partners' while they bootstrapped.
If you have the opportunity, I can highly recommend you do the same.
Apply here and you get a $30 bonus right off the bat!
Or:
Begin hosting & bootstrap with a $30 bonus!
#7. Asgaros Forum
Guys, spare yourself some time and avoid bbPress.
Everyone recommends it but it sucks.
I wasted days on that old piece of junk and it still looked like cr@p.
There is no affiliate link here because it's free and I highly recommend it.
It looks beautiful and works wonders right off the bat while bbPress looks terrible and you'll waste weeks (and hours of developers' money on Fiverr and Freelancer)
Great sites. I love using Freelancer and Fiverr for side hustles as well.
I also want to recommend the hPage website builder if you wanna build websites. It's another alternative to Wordpress.
Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on March 21, 2019, 6:23 pm#4. Fiverr
My go-to service when I need to hire external help.
You can hire developers, CSS experts, data entry workers, translators, and even photoshop help.
My recommendation is that you find someone you like and then stick with him.
It will save you time and money.Ask me for a specific recommendation on the right people.
Use this link and you get 20% off:
I recalled that you recommended a Wordpress developer you no longer work with on another thread.
He stopped working because of personal reasons but the working relationship was fantastic.
I spent some time searching through the forum but couldn't find it, unfortunately.
Any chance you recall the name of the thread or the freelancer's name?
I recall he works on Fiverr.
I am looking to get some help with website work.
Hi Matthew,
Here's the post you're looking for. His name is Alirazarex.
When I used the "@" it came up as @alirazarex_fiverr in the forum so maybe you can also connect with him here.
Hi Ali,
Thank you so much for finding the post!
Really appreciate this man.
Hey Lucio, What do you use to think/write/take notes?
You are amazingly productive as a writer and a clear thinker. Your advice is coherent too, and there's almost no fluff. Unlike most of the writing and courses out there lol
You must work really long hours, right? (because it's your passion project too) I hope you become really as successful as you could be. Oh, and BTW, you have utterly destroyed in value everything academia has produced in the last 50 years on the topic of social dynamics and power :)
Thank you LOF (are you cool with that abbreviation?)
Yeah, I'm not into fluff, my mindset is that time-wasting is a crime.
I'm not super tech when it comes to notes, and most of my creative thinking is in:
- Morning right after waking up
- Before sleep
- During meditation or in the evening after the laptop is off
For all those cases, I keep a notepad by the bed, so the very first note is pretty much old-school analog stuff:
Sometimes when the idea strikes at night I might get too hot into it and I open the laptop and start working on it right away.
Some of those times I work until an "MVP" based on that idea is out -until dawn sometimes-.
But other times I just jot down the idea and the day after I either work on it, or transfer it on Evernote.
When I'm out and about I also use Evernote, where I usually record notes with speech to text functionality.
Probably not the best or perfect tool, and it's also getting a bit pushy with the upgrade reminders, but it does the job.
My ideas are not just notes, but also based on what I see in real-life or while browsing.
In those cases I seek to save the picture / video in specific folders.
I have many notes depending on the topic.
"Power University" is the biggest, followed by "Seduction University". And then a few more for the forum, dictionary, marketing, general website improvement, etc. etc.
As a final note -pun not intended- on ideas, I must add that many ideas and development around products, power dynamics and strategies these days come from the forum.
Either idea from people writing here, or in the form of questions that later develop into strategies / techniques.
Power dynamics is still a novel discipline, so idea-generation and turning those ideas into easy-to-understand concepts and lessons is still a huge part of moving things forward.
LOF is cool wit me :)
I'm with you that paper/low tech is important. The fact that there are no distractions is a big boost. I can see that you work at times where chances of getting interrupted are minimal, and when inspiration strikes. That's cool. I use zim (a desktop wiki) and link thoughts to each other. Each note is one thought. Some people call this Zettelkasten, or second brain.
I use big pieces of paper and find my best ideas there. Doing graphics and text, arrows, ... I think they call it sketchnotes nowadays.
I also use a voice recorder while walking. I have different ideas on each medium. I rarely transcribe the ideas from the recorder but it helps me make progress.
The 'first thing in the morning' note reminds me of the book 'pyschocybernetics.' It recommends to set a goal to yourself, go to bed, and let your subconcious work on that problem. You usually have an idea in the morning that solves the problem. I've read the book (I read 140 books in a good year, but now I read a lot less) and tried it and it didn't really work for me. But I didn't try it very hard TBH.
Thank you for sharing man!
Yeah the linking strategy is something Matthew was also championing.
The evening thoughts for ideas in the morning is also something that some people use with meditation. They think of business or business problems before meditation, and then they meditate with a notepad nearby.
A potentially valid approach, but I also benefit in simply disconnecting and taking time off for the self.
If something good comes, great, if not... It's OK, keep on working on what had to be done anyway.
I hate parroting the saying "happy wife, happy life" (it's just so pedestalizing and disempowering), but otherwise "happy life, happy business" applies well in my opinion.
Quote from leaderoffun on January 13, 2022, 3:44 pmLI also use a voice recorder while walking. I have different ideas on each medium. I rarely transcribe the ideas from the recorder but it helps me make progress.
The 'first thing in the morning' note reminds me of the book 'pyschocybernetics.' It recommends to set a goal to yourself, go to bed, and let your subconcious work on that problem. You usually have an idea in the morning that solves the problem. I've read the book (I read 140 books in a good year, but now I read a lot less) and tried it and it didn't really work for me. But I didn't try it very hard TBH.
That's damn interesting about setting a goal in your consciousness before going to bed and then letting your subconscious have at it... I'm going to try it... years ago I discovered that I could program myself to wake up at any specific time, right down to the minute (I used to travel a lot for work, and would have flights at strange hours)... but I found that if I focussed my mind right before going to sleep, and told it 'wake up at 4.15am'.. it would happen right on the button - no need for any alarm clock... the functioning of the mind when we sleep (and when we're awake) is pretty, well, mind-blowing...
