Something many new business owners don’t realise when they get started online is just how much there is to learn – and building your online business tech stack is just one of those things. So, in this guide I want to tell you about the most foundational pieces and how you can figure out what it is that YOU need (this is also helpful if you’re already online but your stuff isn’t really working together smoothly). Whether you’re a creator, coach or service provider, here are my top tips for getting the tech under control, and my recommended solutions.

Why Your Online Business Needs a Tech Stack

Before we dive into the specifics of building your tech stack, let’s take a moment to understand why it’s so important. In today’s digital age, technology plays a central role in every aspect of our lives, including business. Having a well-designed tech stack can streamline your processes, improve productivity, and enhance customer experience. It allows you to leverage various tools and platforms to automate tasks, manage data, and optimise marketing efforts. In short, a tech stack is the foundation upon which your online business can thrive.

However, many new (and established) business owners fall prey to shiny object syndrome when it comes to these tools. You see others talking about their fab new tool that they absolutely love, or you see an offer from AppSumo – and you immediately think “Oh, I need to have that.” So instead of working on things that matter (growing your business!), you end up faffing around with these tools and fancy things that stop you from actually progressing.

So, I want you to build your tech tech stack by taking a high level view at your business and processes and then act accordingly. These little costs and subscriptions add up, and if you don’t use them to actually generate more revenue you do not need them.

The Core Components of an Online Business Tech Stack

When it comes to building your online business tech stack, there are several core components that you need to consider. These components will form the backbone of your online operations and ensure that you have all the necessary tools to run your business efficiently. However, depending on the type of business you are running, you will not need all of them. And depending on the stage you’re in, you may need different tools in future.

Let’s explore the components in detail, before we dive into what you need and when:

1. Your Website

Your website is the outward face, the shop window, of your business and depending on what you’re planning to do, choosing the right platform to host your website on matters.

Now, the first thing I want to say is that I don’t believe you need a website from the first day that you’re starting a business. Most business owners spend way too much time and/or money on getting their branding done, a logo designed, a beautiful website built – but they’re not even sure yet on what they’re wanting to do, what their offer is, and they aren’t earning any money. And then they get stressed because they’ve already spent 5-10k or their business without having been paid anything yet.

I will always tell you to focus on making the money happen before you re-invest into the business, and you can do that just fine WITHOUT a website.

You can start by simply creating a public Notion page that outlines who you are and what you do as a service and link to that from your social profiles, or from cold emails if you’re sending those.

Then, once you have paying customers you can upgrade the Notion page with Super, and have a proper domain and business email (for example via google workspace).

Then, once you’re ready to reinvest more (and you actually NEED more from your website) you can upgrade to your own hosting + WordPress or a platform like Ghost. And that’s when you think of how your branding can be elevated to further solidify your position in the market.

If you’re a creator and you’re aiming for your main income source to be a Newsletter then you definitely want to look at Ghost.

2. Landing Pages, Sales Pages & Funnels

To convert visitors into leads and customers, you need dedicated landing pages, sales pages, and funnels. These specialised web pages are designed to focus on a single call-to-action, eliminating distractions and increasing conversion rates.

Again, when you’re new to the whole online business thing, you do not need a separate platform like ClickFunnels or High Level to run your business.

You can build these pages on your own website and save yourself the often sizeable cost of all in one platforms. These are often a bit like going to a restaurant that serves food from Italy, Greece and China as well as burgers. It always makes me wonder “yes but which one of those are you actually good at?!”

3. Email Marketing Automation

You are definitely going to need an email service provider at some point as you’re investing into your website and getting your first proper business email address @yourdomain. Building an email list is a non-negotiable, you need an audience that you own and you shouldn’t bank on being too reliant on just social media.

Email service providers allow you to email your audience at mass, and in an automated fashion so you can always send the right emails to the right people.

There are many different email service providers out there and again, at the start you’re going to want to focus on getting the most features for the money you’re spending. There are some free options out there and while they’re not the best, I’d encourage you to save the $$$ at the start but KNOW that you’re going to upgrade as you grow.

Even if you have built a website on Notion with Super and your own domain, you can use tools like Tally so get people’s email addresses via your Notion site, so you do not need a “proper website” to gather email subscribers.

4. Video Conferencing and Webinars

If you’re a coach or even a service provider, then you MAY want to run live sessions with groups of people like webinars. Webinar Platforms are VERY pricey and again – you do not need them. Try and bootstrap as much of what you do as possible. The paid zoom account allows you to host meetings with up to 100 participants on the paid plan, and you do not need to upgrade to the webinar option which is probably 10x the price. Just make it happen with the basics.

Zoom also allows you to livestream into FB groups and other places, so there is no need for a separate streaming platform, if you’re intending to make use of live video.

5. Scheduling Tool

Managing appointments and consultations can be time-consuming. A scheduling tool like Calendly can simplify the process by allowing clients to book directly into your calendar. It eliminates the back-and-forth of scheduling and ensures that your availability is clear to everyone. With Calendly, you can customise your availability, send automated reminders, and streamline your appointment management. PLUS you can also collect payments for these appointments, saving you headache elsewhere again. I would definitely recommend a scheduling tool, because these make it easy for existing and prospective clients to get booked into your calendar, WITHOUT needing to first email you. This removes friction from the sales and delivery process and is IMO essential and something I wouldn’t skip.

6. Productivity and Collaboration Tools

Staying organised is one of the main challenges of business owners – and I would HIGHLY encourage you to build systems as you start and grow your business. Initially you can get by with pen and paper but once you have multiple team members you will regret that information is only accessible from “inside your head” or “your notebook”.

Your team needs to know what’s going on. And you need to be able to see what’s going on even if you don’t have your notebook with you, because client problems will come and find you even in the supermarket and on the beach.

There are two aspects to getting organised that I think you really need to cover.

1. Your own thoughts, and content
2. Actual tasks and projects

If you’re creating content, you will consume a lot of information, you will process this and then create your own content. You need a way to keep a tab on your thoughts and I love Notion for building databases of your content and even a second brain. Trust me, in a couple of years you wish you did that.

The second thing you need is to make sure tasks and client things don’t start slipping through the cracks. For that I recommend tools that are set up to handle this. My favourite is Asana because of a variety of reasons, but lots of people love Trello or Clickup. This again is both non-negotiable for me, particularly if you have ADHD.

7. Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Now this is an interesting entry on the list and there are many ways in which you can go with your CRM. I don’t see it as just “customer relationship management” but ALL relationship management.

When you enter into the online business space you will make a lot of new connections, networks, affiliates etc. and you need to start keeping a tab on who is who and who does what. Only if you actually nurture your connections will these grow over time. So for me this is a general relationship management NOT just about customers.

I personally still do not feel a need for a “proper CRM” for either of my businesses.

A few years ago I spent a lot of money on 17hats and honestly it wasn’t worth it, but I thought I needed to have it. My sign up process is VERY simple and so is my onboarding for projects, so I really don’t feel the need to invest in this again, however your business could be quite different.

There are a few different platforms out there for CRMs. Some people choose to use ActiveCampaign on the higher level plan and have email and CRM integrated. Some people prefer to use something like 17hats or Dubsado. I simply use Notion for Relationship management and Docusign for contracts and their accounting software for invoices. I also know a lot of coaches love Honeybook because it integrates a lot of the standalone tools into one – but for me, same point as above, I don’t love “all in one”.

8. Funnel Optimisation and Conversion Tracking

As your online business grows, data is your friend, and I cannot say this enough. Without data you end up making business decisions based on feelings instead of facts. And that doesn’t lead anywhere prosperous.

So, you want to be gathering DATA from day one. You want to install google analytics and set it up properly.

You will want to use a software to observe your website visitors (if you have a proper website).

You’ll want to track your conversion rates on your funnels and constantly make improvements. There are a few tools that can help you with Conversion Rate Optimisation like for example Lucky Orange – and you can get started on a free plan as well.

9. E-commerce and Payment Processing

If you’re wanting to sell digital products (not necessarily courses) like downloadable ebooks etc. you’re going to need a way to process payments. Again, I would keep it simple and run with platforms that can do that that you already have. Eg. if you’re choosing your email service provider then you can for example go with ConvertKit and sell digital products via ConvertKit. Or you can use a reseller like Gumroad or LemonSqueezy. The fees here are higher, but it’s super simple to set up and you don’t have to faff around at the start.

You can always optimise this if you end up getting a lot of sales and you’re really getting into it. But I wouldn’t overthink it until I have customers and the product is “proven”.

These platforms usually integrate with your email service provider so that you can continue to market to these people. PLUS they should auto-deliver the thing that you’ve just sold.

10. Online Course Platforms

If you’re planning on selling an online course, then you will need some way to deliver the thing that you’ve sold.

Again I’m in the boat of WAITING until you’re actually generating a steady amount of revenue before you get fancy with signing up for platforms like Kajabi, because again these add up – and you don’t even know yet that this will sell.

10. Additional Resources and Tools

In addition to the core components mentioned above, there are countless other resources and tools available to enhance your online business tech stack, depending on how you’re operating, so you may want to get SEO tools if that is an area of focus. You may want a social media scheduler if that’s what your main marketing method is. If you’re into podcasting then there are additional tools you’re going to need to run your show.

Building Your Unique Tech Stack

Now that you have a clear understanding of the core components of an online business tech stack, it’s time to build your own.

Remember, the key is to choose tools and platforms that align with your specific business goals and requirements – and take into account the stage of business you’re in AND the budget that you have to invest in your business.

Here I want to make a little detour into Profit First Thinking. Usually we like to think of our business finances using this Math equation:

Revenue – Expenses = Profit.

Profit First turns this around, and this is going to become your new way of operating.

Revenue – Profit = Expenses

Basically the Revenue your business is generating MINUS the PROFIT you want to be making is what you have to spend on business expenses.

So if your business generates 0 revenue, you have 0 to invest into it.

Of course, when you’re starting out this isn’t entirely realistic, however you want to be operating with this model, because you will be waaay less likely to blow money you don’t have on tools you don’t need to serve clients that don’t exist (yet!).

So that is the first thing I need you to do. I need you to be clear on what you actually can afford to spend on the expenses front, and this is NOT just your tech.

So, now you know what you can even spend, you need to write down all of the things that you’re doing in your business and the rough process.

I want you to think of:

• Marketing (how do you currently market or how WILL you market your business)
• Sales (what is your sales process from start to finish, eg. book call, send proposal, proposal accepted, send contract, send invoice etc.)
• Operations (what does it take to run your business beyond Marketing, Sale and Delivering your offer)
• Finances (what do you need to make sure you’re in line with tax requirements in your country?)
• Delivery (what do you need to deliver the service you just sold? Is it a product? A course? Coaching)

Once you write all of that down you may end up with a list that looks something like this:

Marketing:

• Social Media (TikTok, IG, YT Shorts) – would be good to have some way to organise all this content and then schedule it out
• Website with Blog (SEO) – need website plus hosting, need to make sure my content is optimised for search. Maybe an AI boost to help me write more faster?
• Email Marketing – because everyone should do email. Should do a few basic automations to deliver freebies and allow me to send at least a weekly Newsletter.

Sales:

• Calls (free and paid)
• Link to sign up with a payment option and acceptance of terms and conditions

Operations:

• Project Management
• Content Management

Finances:

• handled by accountant and bookkeeper

Delivery:

• Coaching Sessions need to be booked in blocks of 6 or 12

Now you have a pretty lean stack of things you’re actually going to need and you can now look at specific options and check for overlap.

I’d probably run this sort of stack with:

• WordPress and Divi for Website
• Metricool for social media
• Mailerlite on the free plan for Email (with plan to switch once I have to pay because it’s not as good as other platforms)
• Calendly for sales calls, coaching calls and payments.
• Asana for managing project tasks
• Notion for managing second brain and content generation

All of this is probably going to cost you around $200 or so per year and is still cheaper than the features you need on most all in one platforms. PLUS you’re using tools that have a specific focus instead of a generalist platform like Dubsado, which does a lot of things and not many of them so well, so you keep having to add tools.

Conclusion

As you can see there are many ways to build a tech stack, but the most important factors are your stage in business, the money you actually have to invest into it, and what you really need. The system behind everything is MORE important than the tools you’re using and it’s important that you build a tech stack that works for YOU and not get distracted by spending tonnes of money on tools you don’t need.

If you want help with these sort of things, I actually have a mini-membership where you can come with all of your tech and marketing questions and ask me for advice specific to YOU. It’s currently as I’m writing this only $13 and you can sign up here.