Recommended Tools for Solopreneurs

These are the tools I actually use and recommend, organized by the four systems every solopreneur needs. A system isn’t just a bunch of tools — it’s making them work together. So treat this as a menu, not a mandate.

These are suggestions, not requirements. If you already use and like a tool I didn’t mention, use it. The goal is a system you’ll actually use.

Start Here: If You Only Get Three Tools

If you don’t already have a preference, the default apps on your phone or computer are perfectly fine. If you’re looking for a step up, start with these three. They cover the foundation — your time, your tasks, and your notes.

  • Todoist* — for tasks. Truly cross-platform, has an inbox for quick capture, works with Zapier and Make, and has an MCP so LLMs can talk to it. Its Ramble feature lets you talk stream-of-consciousness and sorts out the tasks for you.
  • Obsidian — for notes. The most flexible option, and it’s easy to get things into and out of it. Cross-platform.
  • Cal.com† — for meetings. Free scheduling, and you can make only your least productive hours available. It also has Zapier and Make integrations, so you can build on it later.

Admin Work

This one’s first because it can potentially have the biggest impact. It’s foundational — every other system builds on what you have for admin work.

Calendar & Scheduling

  • Fantastical — My pick. I gladly pay for it every year because it handles large amounts of calendars best. I have 20+ across my personal and work life, and I can show or hide sets of them depending on what I’m doing.
  • Cal.com† — My pick. Free scheduling tool. Make only your least productive times available for meetings, and protect your best hours for deep work.

Tasks

  • Todoist* — My pick. Cross-platform, Zapier and Make integrations, MCP support, and an inbox for quick capture.
  • Your phone’s default tasks app — Simplest option. If it’s what you’ll actually use, it’s the right one.

Notes

  • Obsidian — My pick. The most flexible, in my opinion, and easy to get stuff into and out of.
  • Bear Notes — A really good alternative if Obsidian feels like too much.
  • Simplenote — Another solid, simpler alternative.
  • Your default notes app — Simplest option. Whatever you have, the key is one inbox for all your notes and a habit of reviewing them later, not in the moment.

Meeting Notes

  • Fathom — My pick, and probably best for most people. It’s free, it’s common, it doesn’t need to join your meetings, you can chat with meetings and take notes, and it has an MCP.
  • Gemini — If Google Meet is your main meeting platform, it’ll capture the transcript and notes for you.
  • Supernormal* — Also solid.

One important note: use LLMs to summarize things you’ve consumed as a primary source. It’s the only way to ensure accuracy. Supplement, not replace.

Email

  • Mimestream — My pick. Since all my email is on Google, this is what I use. It’s focused on making a great email experience without piling on AI features or trying to also be a calendar and task app.
  • SaneBox* — Smartly filters your email so your inbox stays clear.
  • Feedbin — Send your newsletters here instead of your inbox.
  • Raycast† — I use its Focus feature to physically block apps and websites.
  • The Brick — Same idea, in physical form.

Automation & AI

  • Zapier — Connects the tools above to each other.
  • Make — The other big automation platform.
  • Claude — What I use to run skills like my Inbox Sweep, which pulls action items out of my email and sends them to Todoist.

A reminder before you go tool shopping: the tool isn’t the fix. The system is. Don’t fall into the trap of searching for the perfect tool — that’s another thing that feels productive but is actually wasted time.

CRM

A CRM is just a way to capture, nurture, and convert leads into clients. It does not need to be complicated. I always recommend starting with something simple so you actually use it — a big honkin’ CRM is exactly what kept me from implementing one for years.

The CRM Itself

  • Notion — My pick. Built-in forms so leads go straight into your database, Zapier integration and MCP, multiple views, built-in reminders and emails, and you can start simple and add complexity as needed.
  • Trello — Easy to use, free to start, works with automation tools.
  • HubSpot* — If you want a complete, soup-to-nuts solution, it’s free to start, which makes onboarding pretty painless.

Forms

  • Gravity Forms — My pick (for WordPress). The extension library is the draw: direct integrations with HubSpot, Kit.com, and Zapier. When someone fills out my coaching form, it goes straight to my Notion CRM.
  • Ninja Forms* — Another solid WordPress option.
  • Paperform — If you’re not on WordPress.
  • Tally — Same, and simple to start with.

My Fewest Links Philosophy: the fewer links in the chain, the better. Big complicated automations are fun, but the more links, the more likely something breaks. Direct integrations or one-step automations usually win on reliability.

The Rest of the CRM System

  • Cal.com† — For discovery, coaching, and consulting calls. These are your warmest leads.
  • Kit.com*† — My pick for an ESP. Mailing list opt-ins put people in your orbit even when they’re not ready to buy. Kit lets you tag on click and automate from there.
  • Tella† — My pick. I’m a huge fan for sending personalized sales videos, plus tutorials and coaching videos. More versatile than purpose-built alternatives, at a similar price.
  • ThriveCart — What clients pay through. It has direct Kit.com integration and works with Zapier, so a new subscription can kick off the whole onboarding flow.

Don’t underestimate the act of following up. In 2025, I added $20,000 to Q4 simply by following up with leads from earlier that year. Most people won’t “just reach out” when they need you. Most need a nudge from time to time.

Content Creation

If you’re a solopreneur, you’re likely creating some sort of content. A good system here is what lets you be consistent without feeling overwhelmed.

Content Planner

  • Notion — My pick. If you’ve already adopted Notion for your CRM, keep your systems in one place. The flexible content field is the main edge over Trello.
  • Trello — The simpler route. Create a board with all your statuses, use the rich-text description, add team members, and automate if you’d like. It’s what I usually recommend to clients who don’t want Notion.

Writing

  • Obsidian — My pick. I write here, and a plugin publishes directly to WordPress.
  • Kit.com*† — Where the newsletter goes.
  • Claude — For review and proofreading. This is one of the places AI slots perfectly into the process: grammar, spelling, structure, logic. You write the first draft and make the edits.

Video

  • Ecamm† — My pick. Build scenes and layouts so you do everything during recording instead of adding text and overlays in the edit. Start here instead if you’re live streaming or screen sharing.
  • Gling — Start here if you’re picking one. My favorite text-based editing app. Record talking-head videos, then use Gling to cut, edit, and add zooms.

Without these two apps, I wouldn’t produce nearly as many videos as I do.

Podcasting

  • RSS.com† — Best for most people. (Disclosure: I’m a contractor for RSS.com.)
  • Transistor† — What I use. Go here if you need private podcast feeds, dynamic content, or video hosting.
  • Riverside.fm† — For remote interview recording. It’s what I have the most experience with.
  • Zencastr — Another remote recording option; I’ve heard good things.

And wear headphones when you record. There are services that can “remove” echo, but it’s better not to have the problem than to fix it later and risk ruining the recording.

SOPs & Delegation

  • Tella† — Record yourself doing the work and narrate what you’re doing. That’s the fastest way to a real SOP.
  • Claude — Transcribe the video, hand it the transcript, and have it write out the steps. Then review it for accuracy. Congrats — that’s your first SOP.

Being a solopreneur doesn’t mean doing everything yourself. Content creation is one of the clearest opportunities for delegation, because so many of the steps are common across platforms.

Idea Generation & Capture

Most people think, “if the idea is good enough, it will come back to me.” That is demonstrably not true for most people. I operate under the assumption that if I don’t capture it now, it’s gone forever.

My general recommendation: have 1–2 clear ways to capture ideas, and make sure they always go to the same place.

Capture

  • Your phone’s default notes app — Simplest option, and a real one. It’s on all your devices and has widgets and complications, which makes it ideal for quick capture from anywhere.
  • Obsidian — My pick. Everything lands in an “Inbox” folder by default.

Voice Capture

  • Whisper Memos — My pick. Great Apple Watch support (works fully disconnected from my phone), it emails you the transcript, it can create custom summaries from your own prompts, and it has Zapier, webhook, and agent integrations.
  • AudioPen — Another good voice-to-text option.
  • Wispr Flow — Dictation that works across your apps.
  • MacWhisper — Local transcription on the Mac.
  • Your built-in voice recorder — Simplest option. Voice Memos on Apple, Voice Recorder on Android. Both transcribe natively now and export to your notes app.

Routing & Review

  • Zapier — Sends my voice notes automatically into my Obsidian inbox.
  • Notion — Where content-specific ideas go, since that’s where my content system lives.
  • Claude — I’ll photograph a whiteboard, upload it, and have it route the notes to the right place.

Once a week, review the inbox. There are three outcomes: act on it now, keep it for later, or delete it. Logging everything is useless if you do nothing with it.

A Final Word on Tools

You can build a fancy, complicated system based on someone else’s template — but if you’re not going to use it, all you’ve done is waste time and money.

Pick one system, the one that feels most urgent, and implement the simplest version. See how it feels, then tweak it into something you’d actually use.

Tools and systems for solopreneurs: Solopreneur Systems Starter Kit

Want the whole system, not just the tools?

The free Solopreneur Systems Starter Kit walks through all four systems — why each matters, the questions to ask yourself, and the simplest version you can start with today.

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