Hello there. I am actually quite surprised that today's topic is what it is talking all about how to simplify your tech stack, what I'm using right now, and how you can simplify your tech and tools and software. But this has been a question that I have.
Keep getting in my dms when I've opened up q and a and you know, office hours on my Instagram stories, it is one of the most requested questions and I recently published a blog article on my website just detailing out what my tech stack is for 2025, and it has hands down become in the top three most viewed pages on my website. I'll make sure to include that in the show notes for you as well, but I'm like, okay, let's just give it a dedicated episode because. You keep asking for it.
Okay. Um, I was giving you some context. I think this is pretty interesting too because I have been on both sides. You know, I. Have been in the early stages of starting a business, trying to figure out what tech to use. I have coached clients at all different stages of business, and usually we do have to recommend or at least offer some tech suggestions.
I've been at the peak of my business where, you know, multi seven figures a year, full-time team members, independent contractors, where I was probably at the height of my software tech stack. To me now having descaled everything and then having to reevaluate and analyze all of my tech. Let's just say I've been through it, okay? And I've been doing this for a long time. I'm in my ninth year of business. I have been in software, left software, tried out multiple software.
So I feel like I have some experience here, but I want to get into like the hidden cost of convenience and typically why this issue typically happens. Um, this is really from the words of the mouths of the people who have requested this question from me. Um, what I did to clean it all up. What my current tech, my current tech stack is and why I have it the way that it is. How to audit your own tech stack and you know, really leaving it from there. I think this is a really hot topic.
I don't, I think it's always just interesting, unless some of us are just nosy though, like what are other people using? And I think that's the first thing is like, not only the hidden cost of convenience, but the hidden cost of comparison. I think that it is so common for us to get on threads or get on Instagram or. Be on YouTube and see what other people are using in their tech stack and shiny object syndrome is at an all time high.
We may not like an a fraction of what our current software is doing for us, and then we see somebody else hyping up, bragging about posting how their software is working for them and we are ready to jump ship. I have done that or at least thought about doing that multiple times over the years, but I do think that is. A huge reason that many of us get into an issue where our tech stack gets out of hand.
Um, the other thing is that the hidden cost of convenience, I think a lot of the time, myself included. Is that we will run into an issue with one thing. We will not look to see if our current tech stack or the current software that we use can satisfy that problem. And then we will go buy a new software that now comes with a monthly subscription to do that one thing. And now we have a bunch of software that's doing one function and the tech stack really adds up.
Or what ends up happening, and the, I see this happen a lot of time, this happen for myself too, is that we have a ton of software that we're either not using or severely under utilizing, and we are paying for multiple softwares that, you know, you're paying for duplication and it's just, it's adding up in your business expenses. So I don't know where you're at, but things can get really bloated, really unnecessary, really complex, really quickly.
And I guess if you're listening to this, you probably are in that situation or you're trying to avoid it so. I wanna talk about what I did to clean things up.
Um, just speaking from my own experience when I took my year off for my sabbatical, which you've been hearing me talk about all this year in 2025 and how I've been coming back and what that's looked like, one of the first things I had to do was audit my current tech stack because I was like, we, I had so much software that was unnecessary, no longer needed. My business model had changed. My team size had changed, which means that my systems looked different 'cause I was the one now doing it.
It wasn't, you know, an assistant or a full-time team member doing it on my behalf. And that's a huge, that has a huge impact on what systems and software you need. 'cause when you're running your own system, you probably need different software and tech then if somebody else is doing it on your behalf because the process looks different. So I do wanna say that, like you probably know, it's probably a good time to audit your software when you change your offers.
When you change your business model, like I went from selling higher ticket group coaching where we were enrolling about 150 clients a year. To working primarily with private one-on-one coaching clients doing virtual VIP weeks, doing one-off intensives, where I'm working with maybe 20 to 30 clients a year. So when my business model changed, I, it was a good time to look at my software when my offers changed. A good time to look at your software.
Also, when the amount of clients that you work with changes, like if you are working with about 30 to clients a year, your software stack might look different than when you're working with maybe 60 to 70 clients a year. And similarly, when you are working with a hundred plus clients a year, that's another good time to audit your tech stack.
The other time to audit your tech stack is based off of what your enrollment cadence is if you're doing live launches versus if you are like always selling, that will impact the type of type of tech stack that you probably need, um, or what you get, you know, long term, which is versus what you might buy on a month to month subscription and cancel. So those are all like.
Opportunities or moments in time in your business where it's probably good for you to audit your software, and I would just really recommend building in a cadence like when you are working on the business versus when you are working in the business. This should be one of those tasks that is like working on the business. I'd recommend that you do this at least annually or every six months.
Just auditing your software, making sure that you are still using what you have, making sure that you are not, um, underutilizing what you have, or making sure that you're not paying for duplication in the tech and the software that you are using. So what I did, and I had my notes pulled up here, was that when I did come back, the nice thing that I had to work from is that I was working from a clean slate. So I, you know, I had taken a year off.
I had no clients that were currently on the roster. I was starting from. Scratch ish. And I do think that was to my benefit 'cause I did everything manual for the first handful of clients so that I had a very clear line of visibility and line of sight in regards to what I actually needed. Um, I understand that you might not be in that situation. You might be in the thick of clients and all of that, but go, and actually first step is go actually look at what you're currently using.
What I've noticed when I'm coaching my clients on this, when we're getting through, we're looking at cash flow, trying to evaluate their profit margins, like looking at their overhead. This is something that always comes up and we realize like, girl, you paying for software, you haven't logged into in how long? I. You're paying for software that has not triggered an automation or triggered, uh, an action inside of it for how long.
And I think a lot of the time it's just that many of us do not have healthy rhythms for when we are looking at our cash flow, which in turn creates really unhealthy rhythms for how often we're looking at our expenses, which in turn mm-hmm. Creates an unhealthy cadence for when we're actually looking at the line items of our expenses. So I would highly recommend that you.
Open up your bank statements from the last quarter or the last six months, and actually list out every piece of tech software that you currently have, how much you are paying for it, and what type of subscription it's on. Is it on a monthly subscription? Is it on an annual subscription? And actually know how much are you paying every single year in tech and software, and that needs to make sense for the size of business that you have.
What I've noticed oftentimes is that clients of mine that are maybe making. And you know, somewhere between a hundred and $400,000 a year could be paying more in software than some of my clients who are making 600,000 to a million. Reason being, I think it goes back to what I mentioned earlier, like the hidden cost of convenience and comparison and just like not having that line of sight to pay attention to when things. End when they don't end when you need to cancel.
Things like just not paying attention because you're so busy trying to market, sell, and deliver your service that you really don't have a lot of time or you're not dedicating a lot of effort to actually looking at your expenses when you're analyzing your cash flow. So go and look at what you're currently paying for. And then after that, look at what you're actually using and the frequency of how often you use these things. And I think that can be really, really helpful.
'cause what I have noticed, and this is something I used to struggle with too, early stages of my business, is that I'd be paying for software to solve problems that were not real in the business today. Because I would be worried about the future. I would be worried that, oh well, when we start scaling, I'm gonna need this. So I'm gonna get it now so I can be prepared. Mm-hmm. You don't need to do that. Okay. The software company ain't going nowhere.
Stop paying for stuff you are not using because you are worried about not being prepared a year from now. Okay? Trust yourself to know that you will resource yourself in the way that you need when you need it. Um, I don't, there's very few times where I can see the benefit to proactively paying excessive amounts of software prematurely. Um, I just, there's very few instances where I felt that's actually worth.
Like worth the effort, worth the money, but also worth the time you're gonna spend probably building it out or setting it up. And I also notice this happen a lot with my clients whose comfort zone is playing with systems and tech and software. So they will procrastinate from doing sales and marketing related activities.
By tinkering around watching YouTube videos, learning different softwares, joining coaching programs that teach 'em about different softwares that they're not actively using as a means of procrastination and avoidance. So if that is you, maybe. You know, maybe, maybe listen in, tune in here. Okay. Take that to heart, but pay attention to that and then start to evaluate based off of what you are actually using and the frequency of what you use it.
Also look at are there any softwares that you currently have that are serving as duplications and where you could, you're using this but you really don't need to because another software that you have also does it evaluate for that as well? Um, and then especially if your team size changed, look at what software you might be using that you only need because a team member was there. And that really was the case for me in a lot of situations.
There was some software that I had that like, when we didn't have a team member, we no longer needed the system or no longer needed the tech. And then the last thing, kind of what I mentioned earlier is what do you need right now based off of what you're actually doing and what is actually working? And start to drill that down. And once you start to nail that in, you'll probably have a list of tech that you no longer need and can cancel.
What I like to do, especially if you're paying for an annual subscription, is reach out to that company and say, Hey, that you need to cancel. Can I get a refund for the remainder of the time on my subscription? I have not had any issues with any software denying it, but you normally have to ask versus if you go through the website. And click cancel subscription. Oftentimes it'll say, cool, you just won't renew, but you're still gonna pay the balance for the remainder of the year.
At least reach out to the tech company and see if they will give you a refund for the portion that you are not using. Um, so that's like what I would do to audit my tech. Okay. The next thing is what my current tech stack is. So I did share a comprehensive list on my blog, so make sure if you wanna like see exactly what tech I'm using, why I'm using it, I will link that in the show notes. Or you can just go to isha hawk.com/blog. And yes, I started a blog. I had don't.
Really have a posting cadence, but I wanted to have some permanent place for like some of this more longer form type of discussions for you. Um, especially around like frequently asked questions that I get. So it'd be really easy for me to reference people to it. So definitely go check that out. Um, but my quick rundown for where I'm at now is I'm very fortunate 'cause I have a few.
Things that are a lifetime license, so I only had to pay one time for the tech versus monthly subscriptions, and that is something that I would highly recommend, like I use thrivecart. I have Member Vault for my like content management system, my learning management system. And I also use Tidy Cal, which is a call scheduling software. So similar to like Acuity Scheduler or Can ly. Tidy Cal is a onetime payment for the software.
Thrivecart was a one-time payment in thrivecart is a payment processing checkout pages, that type of thing. You pay for it one time, you never have to pay for it again. And then Member Vault, I got lucky. I knew, um, the owners when they first launched the software and I purchased a lifetime license, it was like part of how they were raising capital to actually build the software. And I've just never left. So those are some softwares that I have that I have a lifetime license on.
I do not have to pay monthly subscriptions. That saves me a ton of money. Um, I used to use SamCart and I used one other payment processor besides thrivecart, but child. I'm not trying to pay no a hundred dollars a month to collect money. Um, so I've really appreciated those lifetime license. The other thing that I did switch up this year is I used to be on active campaign for my email marketing system. I had been using Active Campaign for like the last five years.
Active campaign to me is confusing af on the backend. From a user experience perspective, yes, it can do any and everything under the sun. It has all the data, all the automations, all the fancy tick, you know, all the things it can do. My business ain't that complicated. I don't need that level of segmentation. I don't, you know, and the user face did not work for me. So that was one thing when I did, you know, rebuild my tech stack this year, I told myself if the tech. Does not bring me joy.
I am getting rid of it. If I cannot use it without asking somebody else for help, I am, I'm getting rid of it. If I have any tech that I'm currently using, that gives me a headache, that prevents me from actually using it. 'cause it don't make no sense to me. I'm getting rid of it. And I'm like, if it's not bringing me joy, it's, it is. It's not bringing me peace. It's got to go. So I got rid of Active Campaign. Active campaign. Worked really well before because my team members used to run it.
I never sent an email through Active Campaign. Somebody else on my team did. My other team members loved it. I'm like, be, be great. Okay. Go out there and be blessed. 'cause I, I, I'm lost. So I switched from Active Campaign to ConvertKit, now known as Kit. It's interesting because I started my business off in ConvertKit and loved ConvertKit. I loved the user experience in the backend.
Left for active campaign 'cause I was, you know, worried about scaling and wanted to make sure we had a system that could grow with us and I hated it. I, I basically ran my business for five years and barely sent out any emails because I did not, like, I hated using active campaign. So I switched to Kit when I redid my tech stack and I'm so grateful I did. 'cause I feel like Kit has. Totally evolved their platform. It does everything that I need it to do. It is easy for me to use.
It is a 10 out of 10 and it's significantly cheaper than active campaign. The other thing I also, um, switched was my website host. So I used to be on WordPress similar to Active campaign. Yes, it can do everything, but I hated WordPress. I hated making edits in there. I would usually like. Just not send people to my website. 'cause I didn't really like it. Um, and I didn't really know how to use it.
So I decided when I did my rebrand this year in 2025, I'm like, okay, I wanna switch to a website that is really easy for me to use. Like I'm really big on user experience. So I switched to Squarespace and I, fug Squarespace has been a breeze from a user experience perspective and just like how my brain needs to visually see stuff. So those are some changes I made. And like I said, if you want the full tech stack, just check out the blog article on my site.
So those are just some rules that I have, like if I am avoiding logging into the software because it don't make no sense to me or I'm avoiding using the software because it, I, it just, you know, it doesn't work or it's clunky for me, like get rid of it. Yes, it might be able to do more, but if it's not doing the basics of what you need it to do, it's inefficient. It's not needed.
Like, and I think that's something that when it comes to tech and software, we can get kind of in our heads about, we're like, oh my gosh, you can do all this. But it's like, do you even need to do all that? And I'm really big on like have this software that matches the level of scale.
That your business is at, like, yes, this thing might be able to do more, but if you don't, if it can do more, but it's not doing what you need right now, it's, it's, it's a waste of money, a waste of time, a waste of effort, and it's a waste of like the time it's going to take for you to figure out the learning curve, to like learn the software. So that is what I'm on now. Um, and again, if you need to audit your own tech stack, make sure you do that.
Like I just think that it is a good business practice to one, be reviewing your expenses and seeing where your money is going, especially around tech and software. 'cause when we're running digital businesses, it is just like, it's so easy for that stuff to add up. So, like I said, pull your bank statements, look at every recurring business charge that you have, and evaluate whether or not you need it or not. Make a list of every tool and ask yourself, am I actively using this?
Is this solving a problem that I have right now? Or is it creating new problems that I don't need to be having in my business right now? And is this the best tool for the job or just one that I happened to grab two years ago and haven't reopened, or really haven't utilized or thought I would need, but we never really got around to it. Um, the third thing is cancel anything you haven't used in the last 60 or 90 days. And I think that that is huge.
Okay. Reach, again, reach out to those platforms, see if you can get a refund if you're on an annual subscription. But if not, get rid of the software and then consolidate. See what software you might be having duplications in. Can one platform do the job of what two or three others are currently doing? Um, and then document what stays. And I really do like to have this inside of my project management system.
I use Asana for that so that I know like this is the software that we've canceled and why we've canceled it. This is the software that we're keeping, um, that type of thing. I like to have some record of that and in case like a new team member does come on, or in case I get shiny object syndrome again, I need to remind myself of why I made these decisions. Um, or you can put it in a Google Doc or that type of thing.
And then I think it's also really helpful once you now have this list, actually put this into cashflow projection or budgeting for the year so that you know when those annual payments are going to hit and what your monthly recurring expenses will be for tech and software ongoing. I have had some clients where they got really strategic with this, where they changed their billing date for their annual subscription. For their tech and software.
So it would all hit maybe in January, or it would all hit in June, or they would spread it out throughout the year versus it being like all random where there's one going in February, one in June, one in. September type of thing. Um, and you can do that. You can reach out to these companies, ask if you can change your billing date. They will have no problem doing that for you so that you can have better forecasting and cash flow management.
So these may be bigger annual subscriptions are happening, you know, when you have large influx of cash coming in because of your launch cycle or something like that. So. Those are all the things that I recommend when it comes to auditing your tech stack. Again, if you wanna see my tech stack, you can just go check that out on my [email protected]. And again, I will link it in the show notes. Um. But you need tools that will support you, not stress you out, and I cannot emphasize that enough.
It is safe for you to simplify. It is safe for you to descale your software and your systems. It is safe for you to unsubscribe. 'cause sometimes growth looks like subtraction. Okay. So that is a wrap for this episode. Again, if you have submitted this question into me, I hope that this episode answers all of your questions.
And just, um, if you ever want me to answer your question here on the podcast, just send me a DM over on Instagram or, you know, whenever I'm doing my Instagram story, office hours and q and a. Feel free to submit a question. I, I love being able to answer your questions directly. Um, but thank you guys for tuning in. Until next time, keep it simple. Okay. Be intentional and. Keep building a business that fits your actual life. I will talk to you soon.