Stack #1: Your Tech Gal

Welcome to the very first edition of Pretty Smart Stacks! 🎉

They say to write about what you can’t stop talking about — and for me, that's all things tech: must-have tools, time-saving workflows, and the hidden gems that power successful online businesses.

I created this newsletter because I love see what’s under the hood and sharing my latest finds with fellow business owners. Inspired by detective-style newsletters like Chenell Basilio’s Growth in Reverse, I decided to write the kind of behind-the-scenes tech deep dive I’d been wanting to read but couldn’t find.

And where better to start than with my own tech stack? This week I’m covering what I use right now in my business. If you’ve ever wondered, “What’s the best tool for _____?” I hope you’ll find a few gems here. 💎

Let’s dive in – here’s the very first stack on Pretty Smart Stacks!

Stack #1: Your Tech Gal

Before jumping into my tech stack, let me share a bit about my business. It’s important to let your business shape your tech decisions, not the other way around!

In my business, I have two areas of focus.

My first area is tech consulting under Your Tech Gal, where I offer three services:

• Power Hour: $297 for smaller tasks

• Speed Dial: $497 monthly membership for ongoing support

• Fancy Pants: Custom projects

My setup is simple: I have a 1-page website and to work with me, visitors just need to fill out an inquiry form at the bottom of the page. (In the future, I might add some direct buy options for the lower priced plans.)

My second area of focus is this newsletter. 🙂

I’m excited to grow Pretty Smart Stacks to a place where sponsorships can bring in meaningful revenue. For now, the newsletter brings eyes to Your Tech Gal, and Your Tech Gal helps build an audience for Pretty Smart Stacks.

I rely on workflows and automations to handle the admin heavy lifting, freeing me up to focus on creating content, supporting clients, and growing the business. As a one-woman show, tech is my very important right-hand. 😉

Here’s what my current tech stack looks like, organized into three main buckets:

1. Communication & Content

2. Sales, CRM & Analytics

3. Productivity & Utilities

Here's a quick look at my tech stack in a table format! *Some of the links shared below may be affiliate.

See a 💎? Read more about this tool in my Hidden Gems section below!

🎨 Communications & Content

📊 Sales, CRM & Analytics

📓 Productivity & Utilities

Hidden Gems

This week, I’m sharing three lesser-known tech tools that have saved me precious time and money. Have you heard of these?

💎 TextExpander

Find yourself typing the same things repeatedly? For me, it’s hex codes, my business address, and commonly used URLs. With TextExpander, you can create keystroke shortcuts to save time and, even more importantly, avoid the mental overhead of remembering non-essential details like #FF5000. | textexpander.com, free trial → ~$4/mo

💎 TidyCal

Meet my budget-friendly Calendly replacement! I needed a simple calendaring tool and felt like I was overpaying for Calendly. TidyCal is from the AppSumo family and does 99% of the things I need. And even more, it pays for itself in fewer than 3 months of Calendly. | tidycal.com, $29 one-time purchase

💎 CleanShot X

This makes capturing and annotating screenshotted images (and GIFs) so simple. Toggle and automagically hide all of your desktop icons. Don’t be fooled next time you watch a screen recording; their desktop is probably a mess and they’ve used this tool to fool you. 😉 | cleanshot.com, $29 one-time purchase

Workflow of the Week

One of my favorite workflows I’ve recently built was for a promotion to attract new subscribers to this newsletter.

The goal was simple: gift the next 25 subscribers a free live tech audit with me. But I needed it to be fully automated—no manual emails or back-and-forth scheduling.

This workflow wouldn’t be worth it unless it could run on autopilot.

Here’s how it works:

1. Awesome person signs up for my newsletter in beehiiv.

2. They get a special automated email introducing the bonus. To redeem the bonus, they need to complete a survey.

3. They complete a quick survey in Fillout, which sends responses straight to my CRM, Attio (this happens behind the scenes).

4. They are taken to TidyCal to schedule the bonus call with me.

5. Once it’s booked, the call details are sent to Attio via Zapier (another behind-the-scenes step).

What I love about this workflow is that it:

⭐️ Uses URL parameters to pass the subscriber’s email address and name where possible, so they only need to enter their details once (instead of three times!).

⭐️ Maintains a centralized record of subscriber information in my CRM for easy tracking.

⭐️ Keeps it simple! No complex multi-step automations—just straightforward integrations and processes.

Software Spend

While I may not be able to provide an expense breakdown for every business I profile in Pretty Smart Stacks, I’ve got the data for my own business, so here it is. ⬇️

My monthly software expenses have ranged as high as $2k+, but now they’re at the lowest they’ve ever been: $269.13.

Here’s a look at my current software expenses based on my stack:

With my lowest priced offer, Power Hour, priced at $297, I would only need to sell just 1 to cover my software costs — and still have some left over.

As my subscriber base grows, I’ll expect costs to increase — but honestly, not by much. For instance, even if I 10x my audience, my Beehiiv plan would only increase by $60/month. That’s the beauty of an online business — scalability! 😍