Review: Our Tech Stack in 2024

I just wrapped up 2024 taxes and as of 2 hours ago, my return was accepted. Pfffft....I had plenty of time to file...it's only April 15.

But I wanted to review what we used in SaaS/Software and other services in 2024. I always wanted to learn from others and see what others use. Sometimes it's these exchanges of ideas that spur success and maybe this post will help someone too.

Much to my wife's delight, I did continue to scale back our budget in 2024. However, that meant more in taxes owed w/ less deductions. Double-edged sword. But below are what I purchased in 2024, and to the best of my ability to recall, there are some below that we tried but never bought. 

Any pricing mentioned below are based on the plan I'm using.
  

Quickbooks - $65/mo

I've been a user of QB every year since 1997. I remember buying my first box and a sizable stack of floppy disks to get started. The manual was sold separately and that had to be paired with Quickbooks for Dummies. But I figured it out. While it's been a love-hate relationship, there's more of the former than the latter.

My use cases: Accounting, A/P, invoicing, Quickbooks Payments, Quickbooks Payroll, reconciling accounts, and more.

Skool - $99/mo as the Owner

Skool is cool. It's a robust platform for community building including the ability to post replies with files, pictures, videos and more, offers the ability to create courses, to host events, and to gamify your community and tribe. This price is for the owner of the community and not the members.For that, check out the Start from Scratch to $100K Community. Membership costs vary on the community you are a member of (from $0 to whatever).

My use case: to build a killer platform off FB.

Kajabi - $199/mo

Kajabi is an online platform for those in the creative space with podcasting, blogging, landing pages, websites, courses and more.

My use case: they host this blog, my websites, by landing pages, courses I created, and more.

Buzzsprout - $18/mo

I recall attending PodFest in 2020 and Buzzsprout hosted a private event for their subscribers. The challenge was I hadn't created Beyond the Mop yet and I had another podcast (on running) hosted with a different service. I begged and they were gracious to let me join them and some of my friends to hang out at the bowling alley in Disney Springs w/ free drinks and food. I promised to switch to them when I could, and I did. They have a great team. Buzzsprout is a podcast host whereby they can host your podcast. If looking to start a podcast, they're great!

My use cases: Host for my podcast and they're a connector between other platforms like iHeartRadio, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more.

Shutterstock - $49/mo

This is my go-to for licensed stock photos. There are free stuff out there like Unsplash. But the quality is better when paid. Services like Shutterstock are so much better at keeping my licensing organized just in case someone were to claim one day that I stole their picture. 

My use case: mostly for websites, blog photos, brochures, flyers, and course design.

Zoom - $16.79/mo

I've been a Zoom user since 2016. I sure wish I invested in them back when. They're great. Never had any issues. It's peer to peer video conferencing.

My use case: for some job interviews, coaching others, group calls/coaching, and joining others' calls through mastermind meetups, and more.

Square - $20/mo

Square is one of my payment platforms primarily used for coaching and some one-off invoicing unrelated to actual cleaning. I also use QB and Stripe, and I like to keep functions separate (makes it easier to track).

My use case: For coaching or consulting client invoicing and payment system. 

Mailchimp - $20/mo

You should never send email just through Gmail. You need a way to authenticate your email and a way to offer one-click unsubscribes (less your email never arrive in the future). MailChimp is an email sending platform that allows you to do these things on the cheap.

My use case: Sending emails for the cleaning biz and sending emails for My Clean Pivot.

Apple Music - $10.99/mo

"Music is the shorthand of emotion." - Tolstoy. Need a good vibe or tune to get you through the day? My go-to is Apple Music.

My use case: To avoid the void of silence.

Apple Podcasts - $19.99/year [Click to check out the show on Apple]

I'm a podcaster and host of Beyond the Mop. Apple wants their money. They charge us to keep a podcast on their platform. 

My use case: To keep on Apple Podcasts. 

Coachvox.ai - $99/mo.

This is the start of something cool. You'll see. It's something very special.

My use case: Stay Tuned.

Loom - $24/mo.

Loom is really cool. I've been a user for years. It's a great way to record a course or share your screen and record it.

My use case: To create explainer videos within our SOPs and to create courses.

Wistia - $24/mo

Like with Loom I can do similar. However, Wistia allows for more space at a lower price point. Also one of the platforms I am on doesn't accept Loom, but will accept YouTube and Wistia. 

My use case: I store my course videos in there and share links as needed.

Google Workspace - $varies (We spend $79.20/month for our accounts)

In lieu of Outlook or Apple Mail, I use Google Workspace. I tie in my emails into one account and avoid using a @gmail address and send and receive with ease. 

My use cases: Send, receive, and store email, get access to Gemini, and get free access to other Google tools like Docs, Sheets, Slides, etc.

GoDaddy - $varies

GoDaddy is our go-to for hosting, email servers, web domains, and more. 

My use cases: Domain name ownership, email servers, and limited website hosting.

Runway AI - $15/mo

This is a cool AI tool to create very short clips of video using AI. Need a video of a person mopping the floor? Need a video of someone wiping off a table top? No need to hire a videographer when you have AI.

My use case: To create short B-roll for courses, marketing, website, and more.

ChatGPT - $19.99/mo (there is a free version)

Not the OG of AI, but close to it. Need help in writing that next email? Need help dishing up insider research on your competitors? Need stunning images on the fly? Need SOPs right away? Try ChatGPT.

My use cases: Too numerous to count but we'll use it for deep research, images, video (via Sora), keep an ongoing log of my data and info, create sales copy, and more.

Meta Verified - $14.99/mo

It's more than just a blue checkmark. It's a trust badge.

My use case: Facebook is top-of-funnel for me. I use it for trust and to stand out in the posts. Unless you have a brand, I don't think it's useful.

Descript - $30/mo

This is an awesome tool for video and audio editing. Do you want a sentence removed in the video you just recorded? No problem. Go to the transcript and delete the sentence. Your video self-edits. It's wizardry. Did you record a long form YouTube video and want 5 short form videos created out of it for YouTube Shorts, TikTok, IG, etc? No problem. It'll automatically do it for you w/ captions even and graphics. Cool tool.

My use case: Video edits on the fly.

Kinsta - $350/yr

They're a website host, among other things, based in some obscure European country. Why there? Less traffic. Better SEO value. Faster website speeds. And they're picky on who they do business with so that I'm not sharing the same server as an undesirable. 

My use case: Hosting 

LinkedIn SalesNavigator - $99.99/mo

We're commercial only. Where do commercial leads hang out? LinkedIn! While LinkedIn itself is free, you are limited on the ability to reach out to everyone. You are also limited on tools related to SalesNavigator. 

My use cases: To reach out to potential clients and to pair with tools (outlined below) to reach out to these clients and pull data (like emails).

LeadIQ - $36/mo

I was introduced to this tool by a member of our Start from Scratch to $100K Community. It's a tool that pairs with sites, including LinkedIn to grab contact info and lead info. Seamless.ai is another similar tool. They're great too. We'll download up to 1500 contacts and emails at a time from LinkedIn. LeadIQ is much cheaper.

My use cases: Pulls in prospects' data.

Captions - $9.99/mo

I tried this tool out for only a month to take a test drive and I didn't fully explore it like I could have. It's AI driven video program that allows you to edit, translate, add captions, create ads, create AI videos, and a whole lot more. It's owned by the same people from CapCut and TikTok.

My use cases: I didn't fully explore its features. I need to give it another go at it.