Tech, finance and marketing tools I use to run my ethical small business in 2026

Recently, an Australian small business coach admitted her tech and marketing tools had ballooned to $25,000 a year. She was paring back, but I still found the number shocking.

Keeping our tech stack and its associated costs lean is a values decision as much as a financial one, for me. 

When my business spends less on software subscriptions, it means more budget to invest directly with people, such as my accountant, business coach and contractors I collaborate with.

It also means less overhead to pass on to my small business clients, so more of their hard-earned money goes into doing the actual work, rather than the coffers of a tech giant.

In this age of artificial intelligence and automate-everything, I’d like to offer a counterpoint to the dominant narrative that adding ever-more tech tools to your business is a good thing.

Yes, technology can be hugely helpful. In many cases, it’s unavoidable for modern-day businesses.

But choosing tools mindfully, with a lean and minimalist mentality, a ‘people over tech’ attitude, and strong consideration for impact on people and planet is crucial for ethical business, I believe.

Especially given the worrying lack of ethics increasingly displayed by tech oligarchs.

In these turbulent times, ethical businesses can help challenge systems of oppression and despotism through the everyday choices we as founders and owners make.

So, as a practical example, let’s take a look under the hood of my Permaculture Marketing business, which is based in Australia and serves clients worldwide, exploring the tech, finance and marketing tools that keep it running and the thinking behind each choice.

These are not so much ‘you must use this’ recommendations, but rather a window into what an intentional small business looks like in practice — both the ethical choices and the compromises.

How I choose my tools: permaculture and practical idealism

Very few “perfect” choices exist in this world. So, right off the bat, let’s drop the fruitless pursuit and stifling pressure of perfection.

Instead, we can use permaculture as a framework and thinking tool to analyse all available options, guiding us toward the most ethical choice available for our unique context.

It’s about working with what we’ve got, being honest about where we’re choosing compromises and committing to making even better choices as new options become available and doable.

When assessing a new tool for my business, I start with the three permaculture ethics of Earth Care, People and Fair Share. If these are new to you, read my full explainer on how to use the permaculture ethics in small business and marketing. 

Then I take a practical idealist approach – attempting to balance the best choices for people and planet against what I can reasonably afford and what I need to run a high-quality small business.

I also use the 12 permaculture principles as thinking tools to test my ideas, particularly:

• Use and value diversity – is there an alternate software or platform to those monopolised by tech oligarchs?
• Use small and slow solutions – can I stay within the constraints of the free plan, saving money and keeping my marketing lean?
• Catch and store energy – does this tool let me own the data I input, or am I the product, a “user” who pays through my attention and the on-selling of my data?
• Creatively use and respond to change – when new information comes to light (for example, an owner’s unethical stance becomes public), can I easily shift to a better alternative without penalty? 

Some context about my business model

I am a sole trader by choice, serving about 40 clients with one-on-one marketing consulting each year. I also offer a small selection of DIY marketing resources (products, essentially) and will be launching an online Permaculture Marketing Course soon.

I work with unconventional founders who, like me, desire stable, values-driven, financially sound small businesses that make a positive impact on the world – without demanding 60-hour weeks (or even 40-hour weeks), oodles of staff and every waking minute dominated by work.

My clients and I seek minimalist, “just enough” systems that leave space for fun, creativity, human connection and, y’know, actually living a good life, beyond just work.

With all that in mind, below is the (pretty bloody exhaustive) list of all the tools I’ve chosen for my small business, using permaculture thinking and practical idealism.

They’re systems and tools I’ve successively built up over the past 14 years of running an online business.

And a heads up: some of the links below are affiliates, meaning I receive a small compensation (enough to feed my chai addiction) if you purchase through them. They’re tools I genuinely use, and I remove them from my list if I find a better option. I consider affiliate linking a small way that you can support the work it takes to offer free resources; this article alone took me about 15 hours to write, plus countless more researching various tools over the years.

Money and finance tools

Let’s start with money, because it’s a leverage point — a place where small actions collectively add up to make a huge difference.

Right now, it’s highly likely that at least some of your money is fuelling the climate crisis. In Australia (and beyond), many major banks and most default super funds continue to invest in fossil fuel companies and their coal, oil and gas projects, driving global warming.

But collectively, we have the power to change this by joining the global divestment movement — shifting your money out of harmful industries and into more ethical, climate-positive alternatives.

Banking

All of Australia’s ‘Big Four’ banks – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, NAB and Westpac – pour billions into fossil fuel projects each year.

In 2021, I divested my personal and business banking to Bendigo Bank, which reinvests profits into local communities, isn’t owned by overseas shareholders and has a clear policy against financing coal, gas, oil and native forest logging. Fellow Aussies can use the Market Forces bank comparison tool to learn your bank’s position.

For international payments, I use Wise, which has transparent fees, fair exchange rates and genuine policies on climate, immigration and diversity and inclusion.

Superannuation

If you only have the headspace to tackle one area of divestment, make it super. It’s often your largest pool of money beyond property, and too often it’s channelled into fossil fuels.

A few years back, I divested from AustralianSuper, which has known fossil fuel investments, to Australian Ethical, which outright excludes major polluters such as Woodside, Whitehaven Coal, Santos, Origin and AGL. It’s not a perfect solution — they use tiered threshold screening, which may allow investment in companies earning up to 10% of revenue from coal mining — but it’s better than most.

The Market Forces super fund comparison tool is helpful for Aussies wanting to switch.

Investments

Investing is a minefield of greenwashing — even products labelled “sustainable” or “balanced” often include major polluters. I’m just starting to explore this space, and I’ve landed on the Sustainable Investment Exchange (SIX), currently Australia’s only ethical share trading platform. 

SIX’s options are deliberately limited and selectively screened for positive impact on people and planet, and you can further filter by your own values — I exclude companies and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) that test on animals, for example.

There’s also a shareholder activism feature, where you can band together with other investors to demand change from inside polluting companies.

Accounting and bookkeeping

For years, I’ve been supported by Michael Eaton from HPartners Group in Brisbane for my business accounting. I love that he’s a real human in my corner, someone I can email or chat to directly whenever I have a question.

For reporting and financials, I use Xero with the Projects Tracker add-on for tracking time and costs against client projects. Handy tip: I signed up for both via Michael, which knocked a bit off my ongoing monthly subscription fees; your accountant might offer a similar deal.

Invoicing and payments

I use Xero for all invoicing, but I haven’t activated its online payments feature. Instead, I request direct bank transfer wherever possible. Card payments and platforms such as Stripe, PayPal and Apple Pay charge hefty transaction fees that I’d rather not pass on to my clients; I believe that money is better spent on their actual business, not some intermediary tech giant.

For my online shop, I use WooCommerce, which defaults to PayPal as its free payment option. That’s not ideal given PayPal’s treatment of Palestinians, and it’s on my list to phase out.

When it comes to working with others, I pay invoices quickly, ideally same-day. If someone’s done the work, I believe they deserve to be paid promptly — not held out until the end of a payment window to serve someone else’s cashflow.

Donations and ‘Fair Share’ redistribution

I follow the 1% for the planet* philosophy, committing at least 1% of my income and 1% of my working hours to causes protecting our planet’s future. That includes donations to Groundswell and Ethos Foundation, and pro bono marketing support for Permaculture South Australia.

I also make monthly Pay the Rent donations to Firesticks Alliance, in acknowledgement that I live and work on unceded Aboriginal land.

These donations are a small, practical way that my business can embody permaculture’s Fair Share ethic.

*1% for the Planetis a non-profit that verifies members donate 1% of annual revenue to grassroots environmental groups, a brilliant idea. Buuut their membership fee is a hefty $500 a year for a small business like mine, so for now, I’m running a DIY version and sending that money straight to hands-on non-profits.

Marketing tools

I take a lean approach to marketing and have designed my strategy using permaculture ethics and thinking.

The result is what I call a Just Enough Marketing Toolkit, the smallest, simplest set of platforms and tactics that reliably help people discover, trust and buy from me. It allows me to do “just enough” marketing to reach my goals, no more.

I’ve also prioritised tools that allow my business to thrive year-round, without monopolising all of my headspace or stealing precious time, energy and creativity away from my core work and Deep Why. (Btw, I teach all of this inside my Permaculture Marketing Course, if you’re interested.)

Website tools

Website platform

I believe almost every small business would do well to have a website — it’s the modern-day equivalent of a bricks-and-mortar storefront. My website has been on WordPress since I first built it back in early 2012, and I have no plans to leave. One crucial distinction: I’m on the self-hosted WordPress.org version, not the shitty free WordPress.com version. You do not want the latter.

What I love most is the community-sourced plugin library, which gives me the freedom to add almost any functionality I can imagine. And unlike platforms such as Squarespace and Wix — which lock you into their own infrastructure, meaning no say over where your data lives or how green your servers are — WordPress lets you choose your own hosting provider.

That said, if you have a simple business or you’re brand new to websites, I recommend Squarespace as it’s a lot easier and more intuitive to use.

Website theme

I use the Avada theme, which is flexible and reliable. But the way it’s coded results in large page weights that slow my site down (which isn’t great for search engine optimisation) and contribute to its carbon footprint. If I were starting fresh, I’d go with something lighter, such as Elementor.

Website and email hosting, and domain names

My website is hosted with 123Host, an Australian provider run by a lovely guy named David in New South Wales, who lives on acreage and works from home in a solar-powered office. I love that he’s a real person I can email whenever something goes wrong — and he replies fast.

But like most small Australian hosting companies, 123Host rents space in data centres owned and operated by much larger companies, which limits how much visibility or control any of us really have over the environmental credentials of those servers. It’s an imperfect situation, and one I’m actively keeping an eye on.

If you’re looking for a greener hosting option, the Green Web Directory lists over 500 hosting providers worldwide with a tangible commitment to renewable energy.

Search engine optimisation (SEO and AIO)

A well-optimised website and regular blogging are central to my marketing strategy, and they’re tactics I regularly recommend to ethical small business clients. Good SEO and AIO work like a long-lived perennial resource that gradually builds discoverability over time, meaning people can find your work months or even years after you published it. (Here’s a guide I created on DIY SEO for Small Business, if you’re keen to upskill.)

I also love that longer-form content (like this blog) offers people a free taste-test of how I think and work; a low-pressure way to consider if we might be a good fit for working together, without needing to commit to anything.

To determine and monitor my SEO strategy, I use SEOSpace, run by a UK-based team. It’s primarily built for Squarespace websites but works for analysing other platforms too, and it’s significantly more affordable than most other big-name SEO tools.

Side note: don’t blog on Substack! It’s ethically questionable and does nothing to build crucial SEO on your own website… y’know, the one you actually own.

Email marketing

Cultivating deep relationships via email is another core part of my marketing strategy. I use EmailOctopus for storing my email list and sending my urban permaculture newsletter every couple of months. The free plan is incredibly generous — up to 2,500 subscribers, three forms and three automations — which is enough to get almost any small business going without spending a cent.

For now, I’m treating those limits as a useful creative constraint. I’m not ready to move to a paid subscription, so I keep my automations within the free limit and brutally prune whenever I want to add something new. But I know that, when I’m ready to upgrade, it’s one of the more affordable options out there.

Inside EmailOctopus, I’ve deliberately designed my emails light to reduce their size and carbon footprint. That means minimal images and design flourishes, and no fancy fonts, GIFs or auto-play videos.

Social media

I take a lean approach to social media, so I don’t get sucked into a “feed the beast” mentality of flinging mountains of superficial claptrap into the void, at the expense of deeper thinking and deeper work.

I’ve limited my platforms to just three, and I post consistently but not frequently:

• Instagram — for testing ideas, posting roughly once a week.
• LinkedIn — for connecting with others in my industry, posting quarterly.
• YouTube — a new addition this year, to explore more long-form ideas, support my blog posts and improve SEO.

Those decisions came directly out of capacity and time budgeting work I completed when designing my marketing strategy using permaculture principles (which is something I teach in my Permaculture Marketing Course).

Social media scheduling and automation

I don’t use any tools to auto-schedule social media posts. But I do have a free Planoly account for curating my Instagram aesthetic, where I upload photos before posting to make sure they gel with other nearby posts and display properly.

I don’t use any social media automations, either. I tested ManyChat for a bit in 2025 (the automation where someone comments a specific word to instantly receive a link via DM), but found it obscured real conversation and prioritised throwaway comments for reach over meaningful connection. Instead, I’m focusing on real replies to comments and a slower, more human-focused way of relating to others on social media.

Accessibility and captions

I use Rev to create closed captions for YouTube, ensuring all of my videos are accessible for people who are deaf, hearing impaired or watching without sound on — an act of People Care, one of the three permaculture ethics.

I use Rev’s AI caption option as it’s cheapest, then check and edit the captions before publishing to ensure there’s no weird typos (eg, it always thinks my name is Corin, which isn’t annoying at all.)

Graphic design

I’m not a graphic designer by any means, but I regularly need to design simple elements such as social media posts, client proposals, infographics and logo tweaks.

I pay for a Canva account, which allowed me to remove the pricier Adobe suite from my marketing toolkit. The Pro account means I can upload my brand kit and access key tools such as background remover.

Photo storage and editing

The one Adobe tool I miss most is Lightroom, both for photo editing and for managing my giant 20-000+ photo library (it has an excellent categorisation system). 

But the app became so heavy that my computer would crash every time I opened it. I’ll upgrade to a newer, higher-powered computer one day, but holding off with hardware purchases for as long as possible is a way to reduce my environmental impact. (The most sustainable thing is often the item you already own because of the embodied energy that goes into making something new.)

So, I swapped to ACDSee, which has most of the functionality of Lightroom and can be installed for a one-time fee. I’m still finding my feet with it, but it does the job.

For photo storage, I use a paid Google Photos plan. But I keep only about a year’s worth of photos there to reduce energy-intensive cloud storage and minimise my carbon footprint. Every three months, I delete older photos and move them to password-protected offline external hard drives. I keep two copies: one at home, one stored at a friend’s place in case of fire or theft.

Forms

I use the free Jotform plan to host two key forms: a new client enquiry form that gathers a little information from anyone interested in working with me, and a client feedback survey that I send once our work wraps up.

Reviews and testimonials

I have a Google Business profile where clients can leave public reviews about our work together. I actively ask for these as part of my standard client offboarding process, as Google reviews are great for SEO and AIO, while helping future clients get a feel for what it’s like to work with me.

By the way, gathering good reviews is a marketing skill in itself, so I wrote up all my tips, processes and email scripts into this How to Get Great Client Testimonials guide.

Automations

I keep my tech automations lean, as they can be dehumanising. I don’t use automated sales funnels at all, as I find them pushy and intrusive. Handing over an email address is not an invitation to be relentlessly sold to, and I don’t treat the people on my list as though it is.

The automations I do use are deliberate and simple: 

• Several automations in EmailOctopus send a maximum of two non-sales emails in a sequence when someone joins my newsletter or signs up for a key resource.
• A Zapier workflow sends Jotform responses straight into a Google Sheet, so enquiries and feedback are neatly stored and easy for me to reference.
• A second Zapier workflow pulls new Google Reviews into that same Google Sheet, so everything lives in one place, again purely for my own back-end reference.

I’ve kept my Zapier use minimal, so I only need the free plan.

Analytics

I use two free tools, Google Search Console and Google Analytics, to track key website metrics into spreadsheets I’ve created myself. (You can access fillable copies of those, plus video walkthroughs of these two tools, via my Understanding Your Website Analytics guide.)

I also track several key social media metrics, taken from inside each platform’s native analytics tool.

And I have another spreadsheet where I log how many people express interest in working with me versus how many actually sign on. (That’s “leads” and “conversions” in conventional marketing speak, but I find that language to be rather dehumanising.)

I review all of this quarterly, as a key feedback loop within my business that helps me understand what’s working and where my marketing might need a tweak.

Day-to-day operations

Phone

I switched my phone plan to GoodTel (this link will give you $20 off your first bill). It’s a certified B Corp founded by two Aussie dads who donate 50% of profits back to causes you can choose yourself (reforestation, animal welfare, Indigenous literacy, asylum seekers, etc). The monthly plan is reasonably priced, too.

Internet

I share my internet connection with my next-door neighbour, which means we both pay less. A small and simple co-operative arrangement that’s mutually beneficial.

Emails

For now, I rely on Google’s Gmail — far from the most ethical choice, but I haven’t found a better alternative I’m ready to switch to yet. I use Gmail for personal email and have my self-hosted business emails connected to it too, so everything lives in one place.

I have also connected Inbox When Ready, a free Chrome extension that hides your inbox by default when you open Gmail. This helps to protect my focus — instead of being pinged each time an email lands, I can choose when to see what’s new, while still having access to previously received emails.

To reduce my inbox’s carbon footprint, I periodically delete old emails. I might search “1MB or larger” and delete any emails with sizeable attachments that I no longer need. Searching via sender name allows me to bulk-delete hundreds of marketing emails in one satisfying click.

Calendar and scheduling

I use Google Calendar to manage my time and client scheduling. When booking calls or strategy sessions, I still organise this manually via email, which I find keeps things human and works fine at my current scale.

I do see the value of scheduling tools, but don’t wish to pay a fortune for the privilege. One option I’m keen to explore is TidyCal, which is available via a one-time payment rather than an ongoing monthly subscription.

I’ve also built regular rest directly into my business structure. I work a four-day work week and take quarterly rest weeks, which are blocked out in my calendar up to a year in advance.

File storage

Again, I’m currently stuck with Google here, on a paid Google Drive plan. But I keep it lean to reduce energy-intensive cloud storage and minimise my carbon footprint — the Drive stores only active files that I’m currently working on.

Every three months, I delete completed client project files from the cloud and move them to password-protected offline external hard drives. I keep two copies: one at home, one stored at a friend’s place in case of fire or theft.

Writing

I mostly write in Google Docs or Microsoft Word. I tried LibreOffice as a more ethical, free and open-source alternative but unfortunately found it too buggy and unreliable for day-to-day use. I’m hoping it continues improving and will soon be a viable solution.

I also use the free Grammarly plugin, mainly because I appreciate that it spell-checks anything I have open on my computer, even in platforms that don’t have their own built-in spell-checker. But I’d never buy the paid plan, as I absolutely do not want a shitty AI “helper” peering over my shoulder all day and encouraging me to rewrite everything into its awful monovoice.

Internet browser

I’m still using Chrome and it’s on my list to phase out soon because: Google. Firefox is my frontrunner as the most values-aligned alternative. It’s made by Mozilla Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, which is committed to privacy, accountability and a fairer internet. You might like to read their (pretty bloody awesome) Mozilla Manifesto.

Search engine

I’m still on Google and unfortunately, for now, I don’t see a better option. I’ve tried Ecosia, a certified B Corp that donates profits to reforestation projects, but the search results it returned were… not good. I’m hopeful it will continue improving and soon be a viable alternative.

Passwords and security

I never send login information or passwords around via email or text message, and I ask my clients to do the same. Instead, I use LastPass (the free plan) for password management. That means I have very strong, unique passwords for everything, stored in an encrypted vault that auto-fills whenever I need to log in to anything, so I’m not stuck remembering a million passwords.

Likewise, I have two-factor authentication set up on every platform that allows it, as an added security measure.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

As a permaculture-informed business, I have serious concerns about the ethics and environmental impact of AI. However, I also recognise it can be a useful tool, and I believe it’s wise to stay at least somewhat across emerging developments in marketing and communication.

So I do use AI, but sparingly and intentionally. I’m currently developing a full AI policy for my business — I’ll link to it here once it’s published.

Claude is the main tool I use, and I remain on the free plan. At this stage, I don’t want my money funding the AI gold rush.

I moved away from my free ChatGPT account as part of the grassroots QuitGPT movement, launched in early 2026 following confirmation that OpenAI is a major Donald Trump political donor, that ChatGPT has powered a screening tool used by ICE employees, and that it would give the Pentagon unrestricted access to produce AI weapons that kill without human oversight. There is absolutely no way I want to support that kind of deeply unethical behaviour.

Music

Most days, I work in silence, which supports deep focus. But if I do stream music, it’s via Qobuz, an independent streaming platform that pays artists the biggest cut and focuses on human-driven curation over algorithms.

I cancelled my paid Spotify account recently as part of the Death to Spotify movement, launched in 2025 after revelations that billionaire co-founder Daniel Ek had heavily invested in a German firm developing AI for military tech. Plus, they pay artists a pittance. I no longer wanted my money supporting such an unethical company.

Books

I read a lot. Like, I’m the sort of person who usually has four or more books on the go, one for every room in the house. My first port of call for new reads is always my local library.

When purchasing, I first try to source from a local independent store, such as Matilda Bookshop.

Or, I’ll look for a secondhand copy via local op shops or online via World of Books (this link will give you £5 extra on your first trade), a B Corp-certified online store that offers preloved titles and allows you to sell your old books, too.

Energy and home office

I work from home in my little house in Tarntanya / Adelaide, South Australia, so I have no commute and a relatively low-footprint working day.

My home office runs on electricity from my rooftop solar system during the day. For anything drawn from the grid, I’m on Origin Energy’s 100% GreenPower add-on, which matches my electricity consumption with government-accredited renewable energy. Installing a solar battery is on the ‘one day’ list; it’s a bigger-ticket item I need to save for.

I’m also slowly degassing my home, gradually replacing gas appliances with electric alternatives as they reach their end of life. And I have 25,000 litres of rainwater storage at my place, which helps catch and store water locally and reduce my reliance on mains water.

Cleaning

I hate cleaning and find it utterly exhausting, so I choose to pay for help. But I don’t want to expose myself or the people I employ to harsh chemical cleaners.

So, I’ve chosen Nina the Green Cleaner, a woman-owned local Adelaide eco cleaning company that uses zero chemicals. Instead, it’s just bicarb soda, eucalyptus oil, hot water and elbow grease from their excellent team of cleaners. I’ve been a customer for almost a decade and they are fabulous.

Client work and project management tools

Proposals

I use a paid Canva account for all proposals. I’ve created my own branded template design and key messaging for each core offering, with sections that can be lightly customised to suit each client’s specific needs.

This reduces time spent drafting proposals while allowing me to deliver high-quality and on-brand documents.

Contracts

Every client who works with me signs a contract before we begin, covering inclusions, timing, confidentiality and other terms and conditions. I worked with Australian lawyers at Legal123 to draft my contract, because they were affordable yet legally rigorous. I’d strongly encourage you to do something similar rather than relying on a generic template or, worse, AI. A contract is one of the most important documents in your business, so get a real lawyer involved.

For sending and signing, I use eSignatures, which I chose partly because it runs on a token system that allows you to pay per send, rather than a monthly subscription. Clients sign digitally and everyone automatically gets a copy once it’s complete.

Client files

For each client, I make a separate folder in Google Drive, organised by project and date. This means things rarely go missing and everything is safely and logically stored in one spot.

Project management

I run Asana on the free plan and it is basically my brain, outsourced. My business is multifaceted and diverse, covering journalism, marketing consultancy and permaculture workshops. It has a lot of moving parts, and trying to keep track of deadlines, client projects and little details in just my head would be a fast track to overwhelm and burnout. 

So, everything goes into Asana. I create one task per client and load it up with their project details and a link to their Google Drive folder, plus use sub-tasks for any deadline-driven actions so I’m automatically reminded when something is due. I also have separate projects for marketing my own business, and even life stuff like when to change my rainwater filters or book a car service (seriously, who remembers this stuff off the top of their head?).

I also use Xero with the Projects Tracker add-on for tracking time and costs against client projects.

Meetings and transcriptions

I use Google Meet, but try to keep video calls to a minimum as streaming is energy-intensive. Where possible, I prefer phone calls, which have a lighter carbon footprint and also feel less energy-intensive for me personally.

For video calls, I use the Fathom AI notetaker, which records meetings and produces a transcript automatically. I find it incredibly useful for keeping accurate records of client conversations — I still type notes while listening, as it helps my neurodivergent mind process information on the fly, but I don’t have to worry about missing key details.

That said, AI notetakers aren’t without ethical concerns, particularly around privacy and consent. I let people know beforehand that Fathom will be in the meeting, and that they can opt out by telling me ahead of time or at the start of the call. Fathom also doesn’t use customer data to train its AI models, and I have all my account settings set to private. But it’s an emerging area; I’m keeping a close eye on how things develop and may phase this tool out in future.

Screen recording

I use Loom (free plan) to record screen walkthroughs when handing over visual work (eg, websites) for clients to review or when helping troubleshoot tech problems. The free plan allows up to 50 videos, and I regularly delete old ones to stay within that limit, which helps minimise my carbon footprint of large video files stored in the cloud.

How much I spend on tech tools each month

That business coach I mentioned up top, who’s spending $25,000 a year on tech and marketing tools?

Obviously, I’m not privy to the inner workings of her business, her marketing approach and which specific tools she included in her calculation. (I do know she teaches small business owners how to use AI and tech automations to write all their marketing and client communications, so it’s probably no surprise that we’re not values aligned.)

Likewise, I don’t know how much money you’re spending on tech tools in your business.

Your number might be higher, or it might be lower. The number isn’t really the point — it’s the intention behind it.

It’s about asking ourselves key questions, such as: Why am I seeking to add this tool? How much will it cost, both financially and through a reduction in real human interaction? What is the environmental impact?

And then we can decide whether the convenience is worth it, making an informed decision rather than blindly accepting the narrative that more tech, more automation, more speed, less friction = a good business decision.

In my biz, I prioritise a real human touch. Next, I look for free tools, one-time payments or token-based systems where possible, rather than accumulating monthly subscriptions. Where I do need a subscription, I pay annually if possible, as it’s often a little cheaper.

The nine tools I currently pay for on subscriptions or token basis collectively cost just shy of $2,000 per year, equating to about $160 per month.

That covers my website hosting and domain names, cloud storage, word processing, graphic design, SEO research, YouTube captioning, music streaming, contract signing and accounting software.

Your turn: start where you are

If you made it to the end of this article, thanks for sticking with me. It ended up being much longer than I’d originally anticipated, and it was surprising to see the breadth of tools I rely on, even in a business that intends to be tech-lean.

As you can see, I’m not perfect. No one is!

The key, I think, is being aware of your business ethics and values, being honest about your compromises, keeping your eyes and ears open to possibilities, and taking action when you learn that a better option is available.

Perhaps you feel resistance at the thought of changing your bank account or key marketing tools, knowing it would create tedious life admin? I experience that inertia too. But you don’t have to do it all at once.

With small yet consistent changes, it all adds up little by little, and collectively we can vote with our attention and our dollars for a better world.