Welcome to the 72nd issue of Soloist Sundays, a bimonthly newsletter focusing on longevity, balance and success on your terms for independent consultants, creatives and freelancers.

I'm your writer and host, Matthew Fenton. Thank you for being here. Today's post is about a 5-minute read.

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As independents, we need tools. The right tools make our days more effective and our lives easier. The wrong tools – or too many tools – work against us, draining our energy and giving us more to manage.

The challenge: There are an endless number of tech tools available to us, and the list seems to grow daily. As anyone who’s been to Vegas can tell you, an endless buffet sounds better in theory than it is in practice.

I do my best to follow a rule when it comes to my tech stack: “Choose only what I need, and not an ounce more.” I want my business to be lightweight, not overwhelming.

So today I’m sharing my tech stack, such as it is. I’ll also include some “warts and all” commentary. There are zero affiliate links in what follows, so if I recommend something to you, it’s because I believe in it.

Productivity

Google Workspace

I run my business email accounts through Gmail. Google Keep houses my "big rocks" and my daily mantras. I use Google Calendar as a living diary of my time, creating a new entry every time I start a new task. (This also has the effect of minimizing task-switching.)

Apart from some GCal functionality frustrations – Why, when I try to add an entry, does it sometimes default to the prior day? Who the hell is scheduling events in the past? – I’m pleased with the reliability of Workspace. At $12/mo., it’s a solid value.

Calendly

Also $12/mo. when billed annually, Calendly minimizes back-and-forth emails to set a meeting, and more than pays for itself on that basis alone. It’s easy to create different kinds of meetings, which makes it a godsend when you’re trying to schedule discovery calls with two dozen stakeholders.

Also, you can link your Stripe account for paid calls, and I relish sending that link to the terminal brain-pickers in my life.

Zoom

I’m on the business plan at $18.33/mo. Yes, Google Meet is technically free within Workspace, but it also has its limitations. Also, for whatever reason, I look like this on Zoom:

But I look like this on Google Meet:

Todoist

I’ve used the free version of Todoist for several years now. It’s terrific for recurring tasks, you can create multiple projects to house tasks, and the interface is super-simple.

Gripes: At times, there are sync issues across the iPhone app, the desktop app, and the browser version. Still, it’s generally reliable, and I prefer its ease of use to the other task-manager apps I’ve tried over the years.

Marketing & Promotion

Wordpress

Both my consulting website and the Winning Solo website are built on Wordpress. Sure, it’s pricier than some other options, but I like the idea of building my online homes on more stable ground.

Gravity Forms & WP Forms

I need to make it easy for prospects to contact me, and a form is easier than asking them to send an email (or, dear heavens, call me). I honestly can’t tell you why I use two different form builders for my two websites. I’m inscrutable!

ConvertKit

This newsletter was sent to you from ConvertKit. The form that you filled out when you signed up? Also ConvertKit. I’m a big fan of what they’ve built, from the intuitive interface to the steady stream of new features to their responsive customer service.

Twitter/X

I don’t really use Twitter to promote my consulting biz – it’s not where my clients are – but as recently as 18 months ago, it was a great place to connect with other soloists. Then new ownership arrived.

Since then, my impressions per follower are down 86%, and are currently at an all-time low, even as my follower count has grown. Hypothesis: People are keeping their handles but abandoning the platform. So I’m tweeting and interacting less (though nowhere near 86% less), and we’re in a doom loop. I’m considering whether to exit the platform entirely.

LinkedIn

My consulting prospects are more likely to be on LinkedIn, but I’ve not yet decided how I want to show up there. Some recent posts, like this one about the move to Oregon and this one about why I no longer care about the Super Bowl ads, performed pretty well. But let’s not confuse two posts with consistency.

I do believe that a complete LinkedIn profile – one that makes clear what you do, for whom, and how they can contact you – is a necessity for most soloists. And, hey, if we’re not already connected, feel free to send me a connection request, and please mention that you’re a Soloist Sunday subscriber.

Hypefury

A few years ago, when I decided to get serious about Twitter for Winning Solo, I selected Hypefury to draft and schedule my tweets because it was designed specifically for that platform. So if I abandon Twitter, I’ll abandon Hypefury too.

I’m exploring content schedulers for LinkedIn. Do you have one you’d recommend? Hit reply and let me know.

Odds & Ends

FreshBooks

I used to use QuickBooks. Then they raised their prices 43% from 2019 to 2021. I couldn’t tolerate the price-gouging of semi-captive small business owners, especially as we were emerging from the pandemic, so I switched.

At $33/mo, FreshBooks isn’t exactly cheap for my very basic invoicing, reporting and bookkeeping needs, but that’s still 40% less than QuickBooks. And the FreshBooks interface is much friendlier.

Microsoft Excel

Old school! This is where I track my hours and manage my pipeline and outreach.

Summing Up

If there’s one thing I hope you take away from the above, it’s how simple my “tech stack” is.

That’s on purpose. I do not want to create a business that’s a pain in the ass to manage. So I don’t. What you see above is all I need to run two businesses.

Before you adopt a new tool, make sure it solves a problem, saves you time, or increases your productivity – and at a multiple of its cost, including the time-cost of switching to it and learning it.

Keep it simple, my friends. Running a solo biz is complex enough as it is.

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Any other tech tools you’re using and loving? Hit reply to let me know.

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If you enjoyed this newsletter, the best compliment you could pay me would be to share it with one person who you think would benefit from it.

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Today Is the Day!

Matthew Fenton

Founder & Chief Soloist, Winning Solo​

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With 26 years as an independent consultant, I can work with you to improve just about any aspect of your freelance business. You can learn more about my coaching services here.

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