Unpacking My Tech Stack (Tools for a Values-Driven Business) | Episode 75

Hello hello and welcome back to the Purpose & Progress Podcast.

I polled people on social and they were unanimously interested in hearing about the tools I use in my business. Which sort of surprised me, but also didn’t because like me, you all are questioners and self-improvers and productivity seekers and care deeply about the work you do and the way you do it.

So, here’s a peek into my tech stack from (and potentially for) a non-techie business owner. Most of these are completely free or took me a long time to upgrade to. Otherwise, they’re pretty low-cost.

In my own money mindset journey, I have a hard time letting go of money in exchange for things that would make my life easier and save me time and ultimately probably make me more money. But alas, one day at a time.

And I wan’t sure how to organize this because lots overlap (like you might get an email from me via Dubsado, MailerLite, Apple Mail, or Luma, so “email” as a category isn’t neat enough in my brain).

So I’m jumping in with my most used and top-of-mind tools. And note: there are probably some missing, even though I’m a fan of “lean” business. I’ll link everything in the shownotes—as usual, anything with an asterisk is an affiliate link.

Ok, so I’ve mentioned it before and I’ll shout it from the rooftops some more: my top-used-all-day-every-day-tool is Notion. I use it for EVERYTHING. Especially content creation/planning and daily to dos. But also for password/username tracking, conversation tracking, pitch scripts, notes from consulting calls, etc.

I have a shareable page template for the content bank and maybe a couple others if that’s useful! Just send me a DM or email and I’ll send you a copy!

I also use it to create and share all my free and paid workbooks. (I’ll link to all my conscious marketing workbooks in the shownotes—everything from an elevator pitch guide to an audience persona template to a full values assessment.) I used to create them in Canva and anytime I made a tiny tweak, I’d have to redo the entire process—convert it a PDF, make it fillable, upload to my website backend, then update the link on the confirmation page and the email sequence. So about 100 steps to fix a missing punctuation mark. Creating them in Notion is so much easier for me and hopefully just as intuitive to use for you!

In fact, by the time you listen to this, I’ve hopefully done a recent round of resources updates to all my templates with links to related social posts, blog posts, and podcast episodes. It’s on the to do list, but we all know how that goes.

I even use Notion for all things personal…tracking what I read, medical visits, cleaning tasks, literally anything I need to get out of my head. There’s a whole “second brain” culture around Notion.

Notion is mostly promoted as a productivity and workflow tool. Asana and Monday.com and other more traditional productivity and workflow tool NEVER clicked for me and my brain. I sort of view Notion as the bullet journal of tech. I did try bullet journaling for a while and enjoyed it, but just needed something more robust, more agile, and more accessible at all times, especially as a mom.

It’s amazing because it’s super open-ended and flexible, but it’s also a block and connected database system, so you don’t need design chops and it doesn’t feel like that “creating nothing out of something” level of dauntingness. There are also tons of free and paid templates around the internet that you can tweak pretty easily.

I went down a massive YouTube rabbit hole and saw how other people used it, then did my barebones, non-techie, non-aesthetic version for myself.

Ok, I could probably talk about Notion for an hour, but lets move on. I check my daily emails via Apple Mail and use iCal. I know lots of people are Google Suite superfans, but I just set it up like this years ago and next shifted. I use Google Drive as my storage for personal, business, and podcast…I finally had to upgrade 1 of my accounts. Should I have just gone through the archives, yes. But I didn’t. Actually, The Eco Helper (from episode 22) host Digital Clean-Up days specifically to hold each other accountable for clearing out all your digital spaces, so definitely check that out in the show notes. And could I have created a new email address and therefore started with a fresh drive, also yes. But that’s the situation I have today.

Then in terms of my email blasts and newsletter, I use MailerLite. First of all, my Toward Purpose & Progress newsletter is my FAVORITE thing to create and is basically my journal and love letter combined to fellow multi-passionate overthinking entrepreneurs. You should definitely subscribe for all the resources and rants. It’s always linked in the shownotes or at ashleesang.com/newsletter.

Anyway, I’ve been using MailerLite since switching over a couple years ago after struggling with MailChimp’s clunkiness and ConvertKit’s inflexibility. It’s intuitive. It’s not quite as beautiful as Flodesk and you do have to pay by the subscriber count (although it’s free for under 1000 subscribers and I only JUST upgraded to unlock a couple unnecessary customization things). You can make it much more design-forward than I do though.

And I used it for lots of things. My weekly newsletter, like I mentioned. But then also special sales emails (which are less often, but have really high efficacy in my business, maybe BECAUSE I don’t do it all the time). More on email marketing in my November interview episode!

And then I also use MailerLite to deliver my main lead magnet welcome sequence. (You can experience it first hand if you’re curious by downloading my elevator pitch guide at ashleesang.com/podcastfreebie.) And maybe my favorite sneaky (maybe everyone is doing this?) way to use MailerLite is to duplicate opt-in landing pages for each guest podcast appearance, speaking opportunity, etc so that I can actually track where people are coming from. So it’s the same download (the elevator pitch guide in most cases), but I assign each sign-up to a new group and then give it an easy, custom URL via Pretty Links. Hopefully that wasn’t gibberish for my REALLY non-techie people.

Speaking of Pretty Links, that’s my most used website plug-in. I build on WordPress using the free version. At least for now. I feel neutral about it. I did tons of research when I launched in 2019 and at the time, it was best for SEO, blogging, etc. I’ve built for clients and a side project on Squarespace (probably my actual preference), Wix (meh), and Shopify (near disaster). Not sure I’d choose WordPress again, but it’s been fine, especially with the Elementor plug-in (also the free version) to aid my non-designer self. And then yes, I use Pretty Links ALL the time. It’s like bitly but more custom for free.

And then I host my website and buy my domain names from Bluehost. They are pretty affordable, have really really responsive customer service (which is a must…again non-techie here), and specifically are best paired with WordPress, although I have used Bluehost with a Squarespace site with no issues. I do need to look into green web hosting—it’s on my extremely long business backend to do list.

Next is Dubsado. I use Dubsado for my client management and workflows (sort of…I could be way better about this), sending custom proposals and selling my standard offers, scheduling both free Connection Calls and Alignment Calls as well as paid Quick Win Consulting Calls, invoicing and payment processing (automatically integrated with Stripe and Quickbooks).

I also use Dubsado to sell my guided templates. I mentioned I create them in Notion, but I collect payment and deliver them via Dubsado. It’s not meant for this, but it’s a workaround that works for me. Then I manually shift them over to MailerLite for a follow-up sequence and to tag and group people. I think Zapier could do this for me manually, but again, non-techie and unwilling to invest in the tech. It’s such a sporadic and low volume of purchasers that I don’t mind.

Angela from episode 54 and I actually created empathetic email templates to integrate with Dubsado (her wheelhouse and my CRM of choice) or any other platform or system you have where you need to send canned emails that don’t sound and feel canned. I’ll have the Standard To Standout Email Template Collection linked in the show notes. That sales page is actually a proposal and package in Dubsado!

I started with Honeybook, but at the time, they didn’t have a paywalled calendar, which was really important to me to be able to automate the consulting call process. I think the interface also works better for my brain. And now Dubsado has finally caught up with a mobile app. They have really really good and prompt customer service—real, live chats with real, live humans. They also have a Facebook group I don’t tap into.

Ok, moving on to the financial stuff. Ugh, right? I mentioned Stripe. It is what it is, integrates well, no issues, not amazing. I had a horrible experience with Square, so wouldn’t recommend that platform.

I use Quickbooks per the setup and process put in place by Laura, who I interviewed in Episode 8. Honestly, I’m not 100% sure it’s worth it since there is automation, but I still need to go in and do a lot of manual work. And I cross-track manually in Google Sheets. But I think my accountant appreciates an official system and report at the end of the year.

In terms of hosting events, I used to use Eventbrite, which is very robust but also a bit complicated because of that. I switched to Luma and really prefer the interface. I normally host free events (like my quarterly-ish About You Audit), but I think I’ve also collected payment via the platform and it was seamless.

Even the free version of Luma (which I use) integrates with Stripe and Zoom. I use Zoom Pro for meetings, consulting calls, and workshops, as well as to record guest interviews for the podcast. I like that it has the transcripts automatically generated (even without Fathom or some other notetaker, which I have yet to try firsthand). And I like that it’s an app because I always have issues with browser-based meetings like Google Meet. Zoom also integrates directly with Dubsado, my iCal, etc.

Then for the other podcast elements, I use Audacity to record and lightly edit anything solo, so full episodes like this or intros, outros, special announcements, etc. It’s free, which I love. And I use Podbean to actually host the podcast. I do have to pay for that and I chose the platform when I launched 2 years ago based on price, reviews, capabilities, etc. I’m neutral about it—pretty easy to use from the little tweaking I’ve done and the monthly stats I gather. And then I use, Speak Pipe to have voice memo exchanges with listeners. It’s rare, but so so fun! Definitely send me a voice memo—it’s always linked. Give your thoughts, feedback, questions, whatever you want to share with me!

Speaking of voice memos, I use the free version of Voxer, a “walkie-talkie app”, to keep in touch with my VA, The Eco Helper (who are my podcast team and collaborators on one-off projects), a business bestie, and a couple other peers. I also had (or I guess technically have?) a Day of Voxer offer. I did that on the Volley app when it existed though, just to be different and because video was an option.

Ok home stretch. Are you a non-designer online business owner if you don’t use Canva? I finally upgraded to Pro a year or 2 ago and honestly, I probably don’t even use the subscription to its full potential, but it still gets lots of use.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t give good ole’ YouTube a shoutout. You can find SO much good information on virtually anything you’re interested in from virtually any POV that suits you. It’s a great starting point for both broad topics (like brand messaging) and techie stuff (like how to download an IG Live, which I literally had to search for episode 67 and 74).

Lastly, newsletters. Hopefully you’re already on my list and can feel and see how much I love creating mine. And like most writers would agree, rading is an important part of the process. I get lots of inspo about topics and specific resources to share via super well-written or well-curated newsletters. I’ll link some of my favorite in the show notes (which is outrageously long).

And then to actually tie this all together and things up…I do values-aligned brand messaging…how do the tools we use even relate to that?

I actually wrote a guest post related to values-aligned systems and messaging on Devin Lee’s blog (from episode 32). Both the blog post and the interview with Devin are linked in the show notes.

But the gist is these tools are part of an ecosystem. They allow me to deliver brand messaging strategy.

And the goal of a brand messaging strategy is to actually be implemented. (Not to just let it die on your hard drive or buried in an email.) The longest part of any brand messaging guide I co-create is the “Core Messages” section. (More on my full brand messaging process in episode 68, linked below.) These are the little snippets that can be smushed together, torn apart, and copy/pasted as email subject lines, website headlines, social captions or content ideas, etc. I ideate and capture and expand upon and disseminate these ideas using the above tools.

If you’re super intentional about the tools you use, they can even be a direct reflection of your values. (Like choosing green web hosting options instead of mainstream options, or meeting via a small woman-owned community platform that may not have all the nuts and bolts, but feels more aligned than supporting the big guys.)

Systems and the tools that keep them running make all the magical, nebulous elements of your process shine. From working with clients to building a brand you’re proud of to leading a sustainable business, think of all the ways you can capture your essence and systematize the day-to-day.

Then, start sharing messages that matter to you and your dream clients.

Anyway, that was a much longer episode than I anticipated since I self-identify as having a lean tech stack. But also, that’s online business life for ya.

I’d love to know which tools you’ve tried, which I should try, or anything else I didn’t touch on today.

Be sure to check out all the resources in the show notes below (which are about a mile long) or at ashleesang.com/episode75.

And come back next time (in 2 weeks!) because we’ll be in conversation with another ambitious and inspirational woman entrepreneur