The solopreneur tool stack: what you actually need in year one

It is easy to spend the first month of a new business trying apps instead of finding customers. The good news: almost every one-person business runs on the same six jobs, and each has a free or cheap starting point.

The rule of thumb for year one is simple: pay for a tool only when its absence costs you time or money every week. Until then, the free plan is fine.

1. A domain and a simple website

Your website is where people check you are real. You need three things: a domain name in your own name, somewhere to host the site, and a professional email address on that domain.

• Buy the domain yourself, from a registrar, and keep the login. Never let a web designer register it in their name.
• Start with one page that says what you do, who it is for and how to contact or pay you. You can add a blog later.
• Hosting: a basic shared plan is enough for most solo businesses for years. Watch the renewal price, not just the first-year discount.

Our guide to choosing web hosting and a domain goes through this step by step.

2. An email list

Social media accounts can be suspended, and their reach changes with every algorithm update. An email list is the audience you own. Start collecting addresses from day one, even if you only email once a month.

Most email platforms are free up to a few hundred or a few thousand subscribers. Pick one that fits what you sell. Read how to pick your first email platform.

3. Invoicing and bookkeeping

Getting paid on time and knowing what you can spend are what keep a business alive. In year one you need:

• a separate bank account for the business, even if you are a sole trader;
• a way to send invoices and see who has not paid;
• a record of expenses, with receipts, for tax time.

An invoicing app such as FreshBooks does all three and saves hours at year end. Our simple weekly bookkeeping system shows how to keep it to 20 minutes a week.

4. Passwords and backups

When you are the whole company, losing access to your email or your laptop can stop the business for days. Two cheap habits prevent most disasters:

• a password manager, so every account has a different, strong password, plus two-step login on email, bank and payment accounts;
• automatic backups of your files to a second place, ideally one off-site.

The details are in protecting a one-person business.

5. Writing help

You will write sales pages, proposals, emails and posts. A grammar and tone checker catches the typos that make a small business look careless. The free tiers of most checkers are enough to start.

6. A place to keep your work organised

A notes app, a calendar and a simple to-do list beat any complicated project tool when you are on your own. Use what is already on your phone and laptop before you buy anything.

What to leave for later

• All-in-one “business operating systems”. They promise to replace everything, and usually take weeks to set up.
• Paid SEO tools. Useful once you publish regularly; overkill before your first ten articles.
• Paid design subscriptions. Free templates cover the first year for most people.

Year-one budget check: if your tools cost more each month than one day of your income, cut back to the free plans and add tools back only when you miss them.

A starter checklist

Get these six in place and you can stop shopping for tools and get back to the work that pays.

Free tools for this

Tools mentioned in this guide

Frequently asked questions