Are You Hiding Behind Tools? Why Your Tech Stack Isn't Making You Money
Solopreneur Letters #14
I'm a tool guy.
Not so much the hammers and wrenches kind.
But the digital kind.
Need a CRM?
I've got three recommendations based on your budget and use case.
Want to automate your follow-up? I can set that up in any platform.
Looking for a funnel builder? I’ve got you.
I love tools.
It’s fun to try them out and see what they can do.
And imagine all the ways I could make money with them.
But here’s rub: tools don't make you money.
Offers do.
And I've been terrible at making offers.
The Three-Month Tool Debate
Here's how ridiculous this gets:
I wanted to organize my newsletter and create some offers around it.
Simple goal, right?
I already use High Level for my clients.
I've built dozens of funnels on it.
I know it inside and out.
It has everything I need in one place.
So what did I do? Set it up and start making offers?
Of course not.
Instead, I put something on Gumroad.
Then I spent hours researching if that was the right choice.
Should I use Stan Store? Maybe Beacons, or Sellfy, or Lemon Squeezy. or or or…
What about my automations?
Build them in Beehiiv or High Level?
Should I copy what this guy is doing?
What about that creator's setup?
Maybe I need something completely different?
Three months.
Three months of debating tools while my newsletter started growing and I made exactly zero offers.
The good-enough system was sitting right there the whole time.
But I was too busy debating to actually use it.
The Fear Behind the Tools
Here's what I've had to admit to myself: the tool obsession is fear.
It's easier to spend a week researching email platforms than to write an email that might get rejected.
It's safer to debate funnel builders than to build a funnel people might ignore.
Tools feel productive.
They feel like progress.
They give you something to do that isn't the scary thing.
The scary thing is putting an idea out into the world and seeing if anyone cares enough to pay for it.
What if they don't?
What if my offer sucks?
What if I've been wrong about what people want?
Much easier to spend another day researching checkout systems.
The Advice I Give vs. The Advice I Take
The truly embarrassing part?
I coach people through this exact problem.
"Stop overthinking and just make an offer," I tell clients on calls. "Put something out there and see what happens. You can optimize later."
I've probably given that advice a hundred times.
Their usual excuse?
"But I need to get the funnel right first. I need to find the perfect platform. I need to research what everyone else is doing."
Sound familiar?
I can diagnose this pattern in other people instantly.
When it's my own business, I often feel powerless to cut through the excuses and do the thing that needs to be done.
What Actually Makes Money
No amount of software will fix a weak offer.
The most elegant funnel in the world is unlikely to sell something people don't want.
The perfect email sequence can't save a product you'll never ship because you're still "researching."
The only thing that makes a business work is putting offers in front of real people and seeing what happens.
Not perfect offers.
Not optimized offers.
Just offers.
That newsletter I've been writing for months?
I could have been testing offers the whole time.
Simple ones.
"Want me to audit your funnel? $500."
"Need help picking the right tools? Here's a 30-minute call."
Instead, I've been perfecting my tool stack while making zero dollars.
The Simple Tool
I kept looking for the perfect platform to make offers.
Turns out the tool I needed was simple: just make the offers.
I have a handful offers live now.
Nothing fancy.
Still need to consolidate platforms and organize them into something more cohesive.
But they're out there. Some are working. Some aren't.
Three months of tool research: $0.
Three weeks of imperfect offers: paying customers.
The simple tool was using what I already had, and giving people a chance to say yes.
Here They Are
I said I have a few offers live. Check them out here:
Newsletter & Email Marketing Action Plan Audit: Turn Your Scattered Email Strategy Into a Clear, Profitable System in 48 Hours (built on High Level)
Email List Launchpad: The fast-start system to grow your list, write better emails, and turn subscribers into clients--without burnout or confusion (built on High Level)
Welcome‑Sequence Power‑Up: The 5-Email Welcome Sequence that Sells for You (available on Gumroad)
Chat one-on-one: If your email list isn't growing or you're overwhelmed by tools and strategy, book a session. I'll help you cut through the noise and build a plan that fits how you work. (Made in TidyCal)
Nothing revolutionary. Just clear problems with clear solutions.
And people are buying them.
This is Letter #14 of 'Solopreneur Letters' – a series I’m writing where I share the hard-earned wisdom I wish I’d had when I started on my solopreneur journey. See the full list:
