The Toolkit · Updated September 2026
The software Iactually pay for.
Clients ask me what they should be using. This is the real answer, kept in one place so I stop retyping it. Six tools, what each one is good for, and who should not bother.
None of this is a starter pack you buy all at once. Pick the one that matches the problem you have this month.
How this page makes money
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one, I earn a commission at no extra cost to you, and in a few cases you get a discount you would not get otherwise. That is the whole arrangement. Nothing is on this list because someone paid to put it here, and I have turned down programs for tools I do not use.
SEMDash
SEO & keyword research
Keyword research and competitor analysis without the Semrush bill.
This is where I check what a page already ranks for and what the top three results cover that it does not. Most of my content gap work starts here. A Semrush subscription costs more per month than SEMDash costs for a year, and for the work a small business actually needs, I have not found the gap in quality that the price difference implies.
Skip it if
Skip it if you are not going to log in. No SEO tool does the work for you. It tells you where to point, and then you still have to write the thing.
20% off
forever, with code RJ20earlybird
Visit SEMDash(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Affiliate link
Or have me run your SEOSquarespace
Website builder
A website you can build and then actually update yourself.
When someone needs a site live in two weeks and does not need anything custom, this is what I point them at. The templates are genuinely good now, and you will not need to call a developer every time you want to change a phone number.
Skip it if
Skip it once the site is doing real revenue work. Custom functionality, proper integrations, and page speed at scale are all places where a hosted builder starts fighting you instead of helping.
20% off
your first year, applied with my link
Visit Squarespace(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Affiliate link
Or have me build itSendFox
Email marketing
Newsletters and simple automations, with no monthly bill.
The honest answer for most local businesses is that you need to email your list every few weeks and that is it. SendFox does that without the subscription that quietly grows every time your list does.
Skip it if
Skip it if you need real segmentation, e-commerce flows, or behaviour-based automation. It is deliberately simple, and past a certain point that stops being a feature.
Lifetime
one-time price, no monthly bill
Visit SendFox(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Affiliate link
Or have me write themTidyCal
Scheduling
Booking links, so people can grab time without the email tennis.
Every consultation booked on this website comes through TidyCal. I have used it for years. It does what Calendly does, for a one-time price instead of a monthly one.
Skip it if
Skip it if you already pay for Calendly and it works. Switching scheduling tools to save a few dollars a month is not the best use of your afternoon.
Lifetime
one-time price, no monthly bill
Visit TidyCal(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Affiliate link
AppSumo
Software deals
A marketplace for one-time software deals instead of subscriptions.
Both SendFox and TidyCal came from here. When I need a tool for something small, I check AppSumo before signing up for yet another monthly plan.
Skip it if
One real warning. Buy the tool you already need, not the deal that looks good. It is very easy to spend a couple hundred dollars on software you never open again. I have done it more than once.
Lifetime
where the two deals above live
Visit AppSumo(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Affiliate link
SiPhox Health
Not marketing software
At-home blood testing you mail in.
This one is not a marketing tool and I am including it anyway. In a business this size the owner is the bottleneck, and everything downstream depends on you being able to think clearly. I would rather have real numbers than guess at why I am useless by three in the afternoon.
Skip it if
Skip it if your doctor already runs the panels you care about. This is a convenience, not medical advice, and it does not replace anyone who went to medical school.
$50 off
applied with my link at checkout
Visit SiPhox Health(affiliate link, opens in a new tab)Affiliate link
How something earns a spot here.
I pay for it, or I have.
Nothing lands here off a press release. Every entry is something running in my business right now or something I set up on real client work and watched perform.
It has to fit a small business.
Enterprise software priced for a team of fifty is not useful to you. The bar is whether a business with fewer than ten people can buy it, learn it, and get value out of it inside a month.
Every entry says who should skip it.
If I cannot write an honest reason not to buy something, it does not go on the list. A recommendation with no limits attached is just an ad.
Tools change. If something on this list stops being the right call, it comes off, and I would rather hear about it from you than find out late. The list was last reviewed in September 2026.
Not sure which one you need?
Buying the wrong tool is cheaper than hiring the wrong agency, but it is still a waste. Book a free consultation and I will tell you what is worth paying for in your situation, whether you hire me or not.