I thought it may be helpful to have a resource page that you can always come to for helpful tools as you escape the daily grind.  I recommend bookmarking it for your reference and convenience.

Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links to products that will earn me a commission. These are all things that I have experience with that I am recommending because they are helpful and are companies that I trust, not because of the commissions that I may earn.

Books

Your Money Map by Howard Dayton

Getting your finances in order before leaving your 9 to 5 is critical.  Owning a business has enough challenges without the pressure of debt hanging over you.  Your Money Map is an excellent guide for getting out of debt.

Before becoming an entrepreneur you need to have the right mindset.  The following 3 books are great tools for helping you develop the entrepreneur’s mindset:

The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money-That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not!

The 4-Hour Workweek, Expanded and Updated: Expanded and Updated, With Over 100 New Pages of Cutting-Edge Content.

Blog/Website Creation and Maintenance

Bluehost

I have used Bluehost since 2007 to host dozens of sites.  Bluehost is an excellent host provider with excellent customer service.  I highly recommend Bluehost.

Market Samurai

If you plan on building niche sites or doing some article marketing, keyword research will be critical to your success.  Market Samurai is one of the premiere keyword research tools and can help you find the most profitable keywords.

WP Robot

If you plan on autoblogging, WP Robot is a nice autoblogging software which will create blog posts of information from sites such as Amazon, Clickbank, and Shopzilla.

Self-employment Resources

Health insurance:  eHealth. I used eHealth to get the best rate on health insurance for my needs.  This service is very efficient and very reliable.  Every aspect of the process went smoothly.  I very highly recommend this service.

Product Distribution and Shopping Cart

If you plan on creating your own digital products, you will need a way to distribute them and collect the payment.  I use and recommend the following companies to provide those services:

Paypal

e-Junkie