Leanne on Demand Daily with Leanne Hughes 🌴346. I spent $11,899 running a one-person business
This year, I ran my entire consulting business solo. No staff. No office. Just me, my laptop, and 51 paid tools doing the work of bookings, editing, hosting, scheduling, storage, marketing, fitness, and even entertainment.
Total spend
$11,899 AUD
Before you jump to judgement, this episode isn’t about flexing tools or convincing you to buy anything.
It’s about decision-making.
I sat down and did a full tech audit. What I’m keeping. What I’ve cut. And what I’m seriously questioning going into next year.
In this episode, I don’t read the full Substack article because it’s long and detailed. Instead, I share:
- Why I deliberately mix business and personal tech in one audit
- The two rules I use to stop tools creeping out of control
- The platforms that genuinely earn their keep
- The tools I probably should’ve cancelled earlier
- Where I’m torn between “this works” and “this is just habit”
You’ll hear why:
- I still pay a lot for Hello Audio and don’t regret it
- Descript is the reason this podcast even exists
- I don’t use a CRM or project management tool and why that’s intentional
- I’m questioning long-term loyalty to ChatGPT
- YouTube Premium quietly became one of my best subscriptions
If you’re a solopreneur, consultant, creator, or anyone running a one-person show, this episode will either make you feel very validated… or very itchy to open your subscriptions list.
The full breakdown, including every tool, cost, category, and rationale, is linked in the show notes on Substack.
Read it. Then audit your own setup.
Because the real cost isn’t the software.
It’s the indecision.
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Show notes for every episode at https://podcast.leannehughes.com
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