Welcome to another episode of Ask Me Anything – where I answer common questions from fellow indie consultants or fractional leaders. 

How many tools and platforms do you use in your practice? 

Do you have a graveyard of unused subscriptions, or do you still do everything manually? 

I think you only need four essentials – every one of them useful for everyday tasks. 

Anything else you add should pass the ultimate efficiency test: 

Reach the least number of clicks to get sh*t done. 

Listen to the full podcast here:

Q: When did you realize you actually needed a tech stack? 

A: I love tinkering with technology, and I already burned a lot of hours on building my tech stack. When you’re running an independent business, everything goes through you – and the amount of time you give to your client work or admin is time you’re taking away from your life. I think the best solution is to use technology and ready-made platforms to take back some time. 

I realized I needed to build a tech stack the moment I forgot to send an invoice. Nothing sharpens your operational instincts like forgetting to get paid. I thought I needed a better way to keep track of invoices than just a paper list to keep me organized. 

Q: Why does a tech stack really matter? 

A: The obvious answer is that it will give you back some time, but the real value is friction reduction. A good tech stack doesn’t just move things faster – it removes decisions, reduces context switching, and protects your mental energy. 

When you’re balancing multiple clients, business development, and admin, all that cognitive load adds up fast – leading to you doing worse work. 

You need systems to help you catch dropped balls before they cost you real money. 

Anything that can reduce low-value tasks off of your brains, fingertips, or keyboard could be a great addition to your tech stack. 

Q: What should I set up in my tech stack? 

A: We can look at this in two ways: if you’re starting from day one as an indie, or if you’ve been here a few months and you want a useful stack for your day-to-day. 

If you’re just getting started, the first thing you need is a secure email address tied to your own domain. 

This kind of thing goes without saying, but you’d be surprised at how many new consultants who have been operating for months still use Gmail. It’s not secure, and it doesn’t signal credibility.  

Instead of Gmail, I recommend Microsoft 365 because it’s the most complete all-in-one solution. Email, calendar, file storage, chat, meetings – all in one ecosystem.

It replaces tools like Zoom, Slack, Dropbox, and Calendly with fewer logins and fewer passwords. For a business of one, that consolidation matters. 

Next, you need an accounting software. I hate QuickBooks, but there’s no better recommendation. It’s dated, but it can get you through optimizing and tracking your expenses to minimize your taxes.  

Paired with QuickBooks, I also suggest setting up a business credit card through a fintech platform like Ramp. It syncs cleanly with QuickBooks, categorizes expenses accurately, manages vendor payments, and even handles treasury functions.

I’ve tested multiple fintech options, and Ramp’s UI and roadmap have consistently been the strongest. 

Now, we’re going from peanut butter and jelly to a club sandwich – we're adding more tools you might need if you’ve been here for a couple of months. 

The first thing I would add is a project management software to replace your to-do list. It’s the cheese in our club sandwich. 

I use Asana because it has been ridiculously helpful for me to get more work done. M365 offers a planner tool right out of the box, but it’s not as great as the Kanban approach in Asana. It also works the best on my phone. 

Another layer to add to your tech stack is the AI bucket. 

We primarily use ChatGPT Plus because that’s what was the best six months ago, and we already locked in. 

We use it as the baseline for content creation, but also for research. I honestly don’t think the platform matters since we’ve been hearing great feedback about Claude and Gemini recently.

You can be model agnostic – just choose one that works best for you and use it. 

Think of this as a mental power-up.

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Q: What are some platforms you used before but don’t anymore? 

A: As I said, it took some trial and error along with hours of research to settle on the tech stack that I use. 

One platform that I used and dropped was Dropbox, because we already have cloud storage on SharePoint (as part of M365). We also don’t use Slack or Zoom because we have Teams. We also cancelled Calendly because M365 has bookings, allowing us to shuffle some meetings between whoever is available when we’re recruiting. 

Q: When do I need an e-signature platform like DocuSign? 

A: You need an e-signature tool as soon as you’re working with clients who aren’t routing contracts through their own signing system. 

Most enterprise clients already use dedicated platforms, so you’ll simply sign inside their workflow. In those cases, you don’t need anything on your end. Otherwise, you need a simple way to send, track, and store signed contracts. DocuSign is a common choice, but any reputable e-signature software works. 

Q: Do I need to invest in a website or domain at the early stage? 

A: This is another technical question, but to summarize it – yes to a domain, but no to a website. 

Go buy the domain because you need it for your email. You can’t work with a Gmail address. Just don’t do it. 

A website on the other hand, is a complete waste of your time at the early stage. 

A strong LinkedIn profile does the job better. When people Google you, LinkedIn shows up first anyway. Revisit your website plans later when you have a lot of case studies to feature – and a clear messaging or branding to tell people. 

Q: How do you think about security for a one-person consulting business? 

A: A lot of people don’t abide by the golden rule of email: never write anything to anyone in any form, if you would be embarrassed to see it in on the cover of Wall Street Journal. 

And you would be embarrassed if you had a security leak. 

Security is non-negotiable. Don’t store passwords anywhere easily accessible by other people – and no ‘password123’s please. I have my own system for managing passwords but use a password manager if you can. 

Another mechanism you can explore is having E&O insurance and cybersecurity insurance. They’re relatively inexpensive for a business of one, yet they’re a worthwhile investment. 

(We also wrote an article about the right way to expand your tech stack coming out by the end of March so stay tuned.) 

This one will make you feel like a hero – or a wise wizard. 

Framing the problem is one of the key parts of any consulting engagement. 

To identify the problem statement on your own, use a simple framework like SCI first. 

But to communicate that problem statement to a broader audience? 

You need a story. 

Cue in the HTDQ Framework – your best bet to convey the right narrative about the problem. 

Introduced by IMD Professor Arnauld Chevalier, this framework is story-based (which clients love) and dead simple (which consultants love). 

It’s made up of four different parts: 

Map this out, and you will have the whole room agreeing to a problem statement. 

Let’s picture a fractional COO who was brought in to “fix operations” at a fast-growing SaaS startup. 

Morale was low because the team was scattered. They couldn’t agree on the real problem.

Cue in, the consultant as a knight in shining armor with the HTDQ framework. 

They identified the problem first, and rallied the rest of the organization around this story: 

Armed with the right story, leadership was able to go to the town hall – giving the rest of the team hope, excitement, and knowledge that the problem is known and being taken care of.

Leadership just needs them to participate and do some things. 

Six weeks later, people start parroting your narrative or speak in the same way, instead of only talking about their personal experiences and anecdotes. 

My advice? Add this to your toolkit. You’ll look smart, sound clear, and move fast. 

Download it here.

Remember, the path to success is paved with continuous learning and embracing fresh perspectives.

Let's stay connected, share ideas, and elevate your consulting business.

Stay curious, friends.

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