October 20, 2026

Podcast

My Small Business Tech Stack: The Tools I Use and Why

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Here you’ll find brand session highlights and educational content for photographers, videographers, and business owners.

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So On Brand, Episode 8

TL;DR

  • Every tool has to pass three questions: does it save me time, does it fit my brand, and will I keep using it month after month?
  • In August, I reviewed my software spending, canceled what I wasn’t using, and now I am trying to keep my stack small-er on purpose.
  • Claude is my daily work partner for drafting, and nothing goes out without my review.
  • Starting from scratch? Pick an email tool, one AI tool, and a way to invoice and deliver.

This week, I walked through my small business tech stack, grouped by the job each tool does, with the AI tools one at a time. I’m not here to sell you on anything. There’s one affiliate link, and the rest are tools I’ve enjoyed over 10 years in business. Take the ideas that fit how you work.

In this episode

  • [00:00] What’s in my tech stack
  • [01:20] Three questions a tool has to answer
  • [03:45] My August software spending review
  • [04:45] Recording and editing
  • [07:50] Publishing and Flodesk
  • [10:40] Why I mostly post in the moment
  • [12:05] Running the business
  • [16:50] Photo and video
  • [18:50] The AI tools I use
  • [24:45] Where to start
  • [26:20] Good Company: Roberts Camera
  • [28:45] Next week: Diet Coke

How a tool earns its spot

Does it save me time? During the trial, I want to see right away that it solves a problem. Running a business alone, so much comes down to time.

Does it fit my brand? Can I customize it with my fonts, colors and the way I talk about my work? Generic output won’t keep my business on brand.

Will I keep using it month after month? I have paid for plenty of one-time tools long after I stopped using them, so please learn from me on that one! I also ask whether the setup is realistic for the way I work.

My August software spending review

In August, now that I’m using AI more, I went back and analyzed all my spending. Software has been a really big expense year after year. Some tools I wasn’t using to their full ability, and a few did similar jobs. It was a humbling afternoon. I canceled things, I feel much better now, and I keep my stack small on purpose.

Takeaway: pull your software charges into one list

Put every software charge in one list and see where you could cut some corners.

Recording and editing

I record in GarageBand. It came on my Mac, it’s free, and it works for what I need. My studio is a corner of my garage with a mic and my laptop. Nothing fancy.

I edit in Descript. You edit by your transcript, so deleting a line cuts the audio and video with it. It removes pauses and “ums,” edits video, and turns long-form video into short clips, and it’s a really nice tool for learning video editing.

I also use the voice notes app on my iPhone a lot. When I’m driving or on a walk, I talk through my to-do list or notes from a client session, then pull the transcript and turn it into content. On my computer, I’ve played around with Wispr Flow for voice to text. It has a free and a paid version.

Publishing: Acast, WordPress and Flodesk

The podcast goes on Acast, and Acast pushes it out to Apple and Spotify. My blog and show notes publish through WordPress inside my Showit site. Email goes through Flodesk.

I used Mailchimp my first year or two, then switched to Flodesk. It’s a female-led company built around design and simplicity for small business owners, and the people I know there are lovely and so helpful. I use it for workflows and freebie opt-ins, and I sell my AI audit through it. Use my Flodesk link for 25% off your first year , and I believe they have a free trial too.

Takeaway: email is the audience you own

These people opted in for your content. On social media, it’s up to the algorithm and whoever happens to be scrolling that day. Start your list early and keep it clean so your emails get delivered.

Scheduling: why I mostly post in the moment

Email, the blog and the podcast already have scheduling built in. For social, I’ve used Plann (two Ns) and Later, and scheduling could serve a lot of businesses really well. Lately I make content in the Edits app and push out Reels in the morning or evening. Scheduling everything got too complex for me, and it’s where I started to lose the social side of social media.

Running the business

This is the boring part, and maybe the most important.

Showit runs my website. I moved from Squarespace for the creative flexibility and the community. Dubsado is my CRM, and since I bought their Life plan early on, it isn’t an expense anymore. Lately Claude sets up Dubsado workflows and drafts emails, and I review and adjust. That’s a lot quicker for someone who starts clicking around and ends up in one of 30 other tabs. QuickBooks handles bookkeeping and is hooked into Claude now. Asana holds my tasks. I dump everything in, then organize it before I start work for the day.

Canva has been my graphics tool basically the entire time I’ve been in business. I’ve played around with Claude Design, and it has made strides. Give it your brand guidelines, fonts, colors and logos, and you can get nice templates to refine in Canva. Trust your own eye, especially for design.

Google Drive, Docs and Dropbox round it out. I used to host things on Podia, and Kajabi and Circle are other platforms people use, but none of those are on my payroll right now.

Photo and video

Lightroom is where all my galleries get edited. With its AI tools, I take things to Photoshop less and less. I cull through Imagen, an AI tool you train over time. It culls and does a first-round edit, then I review the culling and do the final polish in Lightroom, like background removals and skin smoothing. That review also makes sure none of the photos I love got cut. If you have the full Adobe suite, explore what you already pay for before you invest in something new.

The AI tools I use, one at a time

Claude is my daily work partner. It’s connected to Google Drive and QuickBooks, it can work in the browser, and it’s the AI tool I’ve given the longest leash. I’m on the paid plan. Drafting and repurposing that used to take a lot of hands-on time, like turning long-form content into blogs and emails, can be automated now, and nothing goes out without my review. It’s trained on years of my videos and podcast interviews, so first drafts come out pretty close to the stories I’d tell. I also built a daily brief that checks my calendar and email each day, so I start knowing what’s most important.

Then there are skills. They keep you from doing the same work twice. My favorite is my podcast pipeline skill. It edits each episode in Descript and drafts the show notes and an email from my transcript. AI hallucinates now and then, so I check everything. My brand voice file pulls in new stories from our conversations each week. There was one word Claude kept using all the time, and I finally told it to stop.

I started with ChatGPT around the end of 2022, and in the world of AI I feel like that makes me an elder. Right now Claude is the one I know best, and I’m exploring Meta’s Muse Spark too.

Takeaway: where you point AI really matters

Use it for drafts, give it good input (my 5 AI Prompts freebie walks through the CORE framework for prompts), and review before you hit publish.

Where to start

New to AI? Record a voice note about your business and where you’re running into challenges, put it into an AI tool and ask, “How can you help me with these?” Starting from scratch? Pick an email tool (I’d say Flodesk, but use what you like), pick one AI tool, and have a way to invoice and deliver. I use ShootProof and Dropbox for delivery and my CRM for invoicing. Try free trials before you jump, and don’t forget to cancel the ones you don’t keep!

Build a small business tech stack that fits how you work

This week, pull your software charges into one list and run each tool through the three questions. Then message me on Instagram at @kelliwhitecreative about a tool I didn’t mention that’s helping your business. I would love to hear about it!

Good Company of the Week: Roberts Camera

This episode was all about tools, so I’m featuring a place that carries a lot of my favorites: Roberts Camera in downtown Indianapolis. Robert (Bob) and Rose Pallman founded it in August 1957 as Roberts Distributors. An employee suggested they sell cameras, and they listened. I love that part of the story so much! It’s still family-owned, now in its third generation, with the founders’ granddaughter Meredith Reinker as a partner.

Their used gear side, UsedPhotoPro, is mostly online, and I’ve bought and sold a few things there. For bigger purchases, I make a point to go to Roberts instead of Amazon, because I love supporting a local camera shop that’s been here so long.

Visit: Roberts Camera, 220 E. St. Clair Street, Indianapolis, IN 46204 | robertscamera.com | usedphotopro.com

Frequently asked questions

What is a tech stack?
It’s the set of software tools you use to run your business.

Can I trust what AI drafts for my business?
Treat it as a first draft. Check every fact and edit it into your own words before anything goes out.

Can I shop Roberts Camera and UsedPhotoPro online?
Yes, through both websites. Locals can also stop by the store on East St. Clair Street.

When do new So On Brand episodes come out?
Tuesdays. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Acast so you don’t miss one.

Places and resources mentioned

Listen and subscribe

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Acast, and grab my free AI search checklist. Next week: Diet Coke, and what turns a brand into a ritual.

Want help building content that fits the way you work? Let’s plan your content.

Kelli White is an Indianapolis-based strategic content partner for women-owned businesses across the northside, including Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Noblesville and Zionsville. She creates photo, video and content strategy that helps businesses show up consistently, and So On Brand is her podcast about brands and the businesses behind them.

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