The toolbox

Every tool we prescribe, with our honest take - including the downsides. If you'd rather be told which of these you actually need, take the checkup.

The workhorses

The platforms we recommend most - each one replaces a whole category of busywork.

GoHighLevel Sales & marketing platform · One platform that replaces your CRM, funnels, email, SMS, booking, and follow-up. ClickFunnels Sales funnels · The original drag-and-drop sales funnel builder - landing page to checkout to upsell, no code. Kartra (+ WebinarJam / EverWebinar) All-in-one marketing suite · Pages, email, checkout, memberships, video hosting, and webinars in a single subscription. Systeme.io All-in-one marketing suite · Funnels, email, courses, and affiliate management - with a genuinely free plan to start. Keap CRM & automation · CRM plus automated follow-up built specifically for small service businesses. Kit Email & newsletter · The creator-grade email platform (formerly ConvertKit) - newsletters, automations, and paid subscriptions. Gusto Payroll & HR · Payroll, taxes, and benefits that run themselves - the end of payroll Sundays. Freshdesk Customer support · Every customer email, chat, and call in one shared inbox with AI answering the easy ones. Freshservice Internal IT service desk · An IT helpdesk for your own team - requests, assets, and approvals instead of hallway asks.

The specialists

Best-in-class at one job. Prescribed when that job is your bottleneck.

Circle Community platform · Your own branded community - courses, discussions, events - off Facebook, on your turf. Unbounce Landing pages · Landing pages with AI-powered A/B testing that routes visitors to the version that converts. Leadpages Landing pages · Fast, affordable, conversion-tested landing pages for lead capture. Trainual SOPs & training · Your business’s playbook - every process documented, assignable, and testable. Checkr Background checks · Compliant background checks in hours, not weeks - the same platform Uber and Instacart use. Melio Accounts payable · Pay any vendor online - even ones who only take checks - and sync it all to your books. CloudTalk Business phone system · A cloud phone system with call routing, recording, and AI summaries - numbers in 160+ countries. ElevenLabs AI voice · Studio-quality AI voiceover in 30+ languages - including a clone of your own voice. Riverside Podcast & video recording · Studio-quality remote recording with AI editing - the podcast setup without the studio. Vista Social Social media management · Plan, schedule, and answer every social channel from one calendar - with AI writing help. WhatConverts Marketing attribution · Tracks every call, form, and chat back to the exact ad or page that produced it. Reclaim AI AI calendar · An AI assistant that defends your calendar - auto-scheduling focus time, tasks, and habits. Taskade Projects & AI agents · Tasks, docs, and meeting notes in one workspace - with AI agents that do the busywork. Beautiful.ai AI presentations · Decks that design themselves - every slide auto-formats to look professionally made. MRPeasy Manufacturing ERP · Production planning, inventory, and orders for small manufacturers - without the ERP consultants. Sellfy Digital products store · A storefront for digital products, print-on-demand, and subscriptions in about ten minutes. Capsule (+ Transpond) Simple CRM · A clean, simple CRM your team will actually use - with Transpond for email campaigns. LiveChat + ChatBot Website chat & AI answers · Live chat on your site, with an AI chatbot answering the routine questions around the clock. Superfiliate Referral & affiliate programs · Turn customers and creators into your sales force with white-labeled referral storefronts. Uniqode QR codes & digital cards · Trackable QR codes and digital business cards that bridge your print world to your digital one. Pictory AI video creation · Turns your blog posts, scripts, and recordings into finished videos - no camera, no editor. WebCEO SEO toolkit · A full SEO toolkit - rankings, technical fixes, competitors - without agency retainers. Bluehost Web hosting · The default WordPress host - cheap, official, with AI site-building tools. ChemiCloud Web hosting · Fast, support-obsessed hosting with free lifetime domain on annual plans. WPX Premium WordPress hosting · High-speed managed WordPress hosting with fixes done for you in minutes. Voluum Ad tracking · Professional-grade ad tracker for serious paid-traffic operations. Ownr Business formation (Canada) · Register or incorporate a Canadian business online, backed by RBC. Wing Assistant Virtual assistants · A dedicated, managed virtual assistant for a flat monthly rate. CallHippo Business phone system · A cloud phone system with local numbers in 50+ countries - set up in minutes, not weeks. Sucuri Website security · Website firewall, malware scanning, and hack cleanup - the fire department for your website. ZenBusiness Business formation · LLC formation, registered agent, and compliance reminders - your business, official, without the legal-fee anxiety. Instapage Landing pages · The landing-page builder obsessed with one number: how much of your ad spend converts.

The back catalog

Useful in the right situation - rarely the first move.

Bitdefender Security · Top-rated protection for your business devices. Foxit PDF & e-sign · Full PDF editing and e-signatures at a fraction of Adobe’s price. UPDF PDF tools · Modern PDF editor with AI summarizing and one-time-purchase pricing. Parallels Desktop Run Windows on Mac · Run the Windows-only software your industry requires on your Mac. Thordata Web data & proxies · Proxy and web-data infrastructure for price monitoring and market research. Ngram E-commerce advertising · Search-ad optimization for e-commerce catalogs. DiscoCrate Shopify apps · Back-in-stock and WhatsApp alerts that recover the sale you almost lost. Kaching Bundles Shopify apps · Quantity breaks and bundle deals that raise your average order - right on the product page. Surfshark VPN & privacy · One VPN subscription that covers unlimited devices - yours, your laptop bag’s, and your whole team’s.

Most links on tool pages are affiliate links - the maker pays us a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you. Our published rule: best fit wins, even when the best fit pays us nothing. Full disclosure.