Free Shit That Actually Runs Your Business
Before you've made a dollar, it's easy to rack up subscriptions for email, scheduling, design, payments, and a website. That's a monthly bill that can sink you before you start.
Here's what I actually recommend: tools that are truly free, or only charge when you earn. With the honest catch for each one.
🌿 Want one small, practical shift like this every Sunday?
✨ No hustle. No spam. Just one thing that might actually help.
The tools
📧 Email: Kit
Free: Up to 10,000 subscribers, with forms and landing pages
Catch: Plain-text emails only (which often perform better anyway)
Upgrade when: You want designed emails or more complex automations
📅 Scheduling: Cal.com
Free: Open source, with no aggressive feature wall
Catch: Less polished, so setup takes longer
Upgrade when: You're seeing clients weekly. Then Acuity (~$20/mo) earns its keep, because booking and payment happen in one step. No chasing invoices.
🧾 Accounting + Invoicing: Wave
Free: Invoicing, expenses, and reporting
Catch: Payments and payroll cost extra, and support is thin
Upgrade when: You hire or your accountant asks for more
💳 Quick Payments: Venmo for Business
Free: No monthly fee, about 1.9% + $0.10 per transaction
Catch: Must be a business profile, not personal, or funds can be frozen
💸 Digital Products: Gumroad
Free: No monthly fee; they take a cut when you sell
Catch: That 10% adds up, and the storefront looks like Gumroad, not you
Upgrade when: The fees are eating your margins
🗂 Everything Else: Notion
Free: Notes, client trackers, SOPs, and project management
Catch: Steep learning curve, and it's easy to over-build (ask me how I know)
Upgrade when: You need team permissions or client portals
🖼 Design: Canva
Free: Easy templates that look professional
Catch: Brand kit is Pro-only, and everything starts looking like Canva
Upgrade when: Retyping your brand colors makes you want to throw your laptop
🌐 Website: Carrd
Free: One clean page, which often converts better than a big site
Catch: Carrd badge and no custom domain on the free plan
Upgrade when: You want your own domain ($19/year, so barely an expense)
📝 Contracts: Notion + PDF
Free: Write it in Notion, export, and send
Catch: No built-in e-signature (try a free tool like Sign.Plus)
The honest truth
Businesses grow through relationships, consistency, and an offer that solves a real problem, not premium plans. Start free. Stay free longer than feels comfortable. Upgrade only when you must.
Not sure what your practice actually needs? Take the free assessment →
Want more like this? 🌿
Every Sunday I send one small thing: a reframe, a tool, or a piece of anti-capitalist business thinking for practitioners done doing it the hard way.
