So, I was recently at a holiday party, and as is often the case, I found myself inadvertently drifting to the techy side of the crowd. I typically avoid this drift because I’m a recovering IT survivor. I prefer to hang out with the artsy folks these days. But I was already there, making the best of the situation and trying to make some small talk.

This is when a spunky young man, obviously still in the honeymoon phase of an early IT career, came up and asked, I suppose as an ice breaker: “So, what’s your stack?” While I know what he meant, it’s one of those IT questions that you don’t hear anywhere else. It seemed odd at a holiday party with families and Xmas music in the background.

If you think about it, it’s an odd thing to ask. Try doing that in the gym locker room or standing around a BBQ at the local pool: “Hey, man, what’s your stack?” Some might take that the wrong way. I wouldn’t suggest asking that to someone standing before a Jackson Pollock painting at the Museum, either.

Now, for those who aren’t in IT, a stack is a term used mostly in the programming world. It means the list of favorite programming tools they use. I understood what he meant, so decided to answer. The problem is that I don’t have a stack of programming tools. My stack these days is more along the lines of productivity apps and marketing tools. I needed to find some examples of tools he would be familiar with.

So, what is my stack, you ask? Well, here it is. You can click on the heading to go straight to the home page of each app. Note that these are referral links, so if you sign up for any of their services, it helps me out as well.

Medium – The Blogging Platform for Writers

Medium is my preferred blogging platform. I’ve used many, but none is as easy, convenient, and rewarding. Medium immediately puts you in a community of fellow writers who prefer to write instead of producing video shorts and posting on social media.

I consider Medium a break from the pressure of other platforms. You publish in a simple interface and at your own pace. No, it won’t make you rich overnight, but if that’s why you join, then you’re missing the point. You should post on Medium if you like reading and writing and want to be surrounded by like-minded people.

ACDSee - The Best Photoshop alternative

Yes, it’s a silly name, but it’s an excellent full-featured alternative to the Adobe suite, Canva, and most other image management and editing apps. This is because they are bucking the subscription trend and still offer a single desktop license that is good indefinitely – you pay once, and you’re done.

As for features, it has 90% of what I ever used Adobe CS for, and I’ve used their products for decades. My issue with Adobe was that it was just becoming too expensive. So, I switched to ACDSee and I’ve been thoroughly impressed with all that it can do. If you’ve been looking for a great alternative to subscription-based graphics applications, you need to give ACDSee a look.

Namecheap – The Best Website Registration Service

To set up a website you will need a web address (your www.yourbusiness.com address), also known as a domain name. Many companies offer this service, and some offers are ridiculously expensive, too. Don’t fall for paying more to register your address than you need to. Fortunately, Namecheap (yes, it’s also a bit of a silly name, but bear with me) offers just that.

The cost is about $1.50 per month for a top-level .com web address name. They have a very simple interface, and their tech support is excellent. I’ve used them for many years without issue. I cannot recommend Namecheap enough. I’ve used others, but none compare for cost, service, or ease of use.

Carrd – The Best Value in Website Hosting, Period

I’ve used many different website hosting platforms, including bargain-basement options to ridiculously expensive ones. I have also managed websites for individuals and small businesses for years. If cost is important and you just need to put up a quick, simple site, then Carrd is the least expensive and easiest option you can use.

They even have a free version, but to be honest, the paid plan at just a couple of dollars per month is the way to go. No, you can’t build a shopping cart or a blog on Carrd, but if you need a simple site of just a few pages, and you need it fast, Carrd is what you want. I have started dozens of clients on Carrd.

SquareUp – The Only Real Option for a Free Shopping Cart

So, you want to set up an online store, but you don’t want to pay $40 and up to Shopify or Etsy. Is there still a free shopping cart option? There is, and it’s from the folks who make those white little square credit card swipers for cell phones. They’ve been doing credit card processing for years and they recently acquired Weebly, so now they offer free websites to sell your wares.

They also have paid options, but the free version is just fine if you just need to get started. Yes, it has limitations, but few of those will impact your ability to earn an income from your online store. I’ve now set up multiple businesses for clients who were just starting, and it has worked fine for them.

Once you start earning much more, you can always consider upgrading to a paid SquareUp plan, or even switch to another company. But if you’re just starting out, SquareUp is a great place to do just that.

Squarespace – The Best Full-Featured Website Hosting Service

I’ve been a Squarespace user for over a decade. I’ve set up many individuals and businesses on the platform. It’s not a free service and it’s not a specialized service like Shopify, for example. What it is, is a beautiful, full-featured, powerful, and easy-to-learn platform for hosting your website. The support is also excellent.

I typically move businesses over to Squarespace once they’ve outgrown Carrd and Square. It offers far more features and also includes powerful add-ons like mailing lists and social media integration. It has a very capable shopping cart and great payment handling. Once you are at a point where you need something beyond the budget & free options for a website, then Squarespace should be your next step.

Gusto – Simply the Easiest Way to Manage Payroll and Employees

A few years back we decided to hire our children for our business. It was the best decision we ever made, but managing the hiring, pay schedules, tax documents, and payments was a chore. After doing some research we found that this is a common headache for small businesses. Overwhelmingly, the highest-rated software that business owners turned to was Gusto.

Yes, I know, it’s another strange name, but don’t let that fool you. They are an excellent partner for hiring W2 and contract employees. Gusto is simpler, faster, and more modern than the competition. The step-by-step process of signing people up and managing each step of payroll has saved us countless hours of work. It’s not inexpensive, but I cannot recommend Gusto enough.

Conclusion

I have other apps that I use regularly as well, but these were the ones that immediately came to mind. I use them just about every day. I occasionally need to dip into the alternatives (like when someone sends me a Photoshop file), so I keep those apps on my computer, but honestly, I much prefer what’s in my stack.

How did the conversation at the party go? Funny you should ask. His stack was very different from mine, mostly programming tools, but we did compare notes. For example, he had always registered domains with Go Dady, not so much because it was good, but just because it was the most popular. He hadn’t heard about Namecheap, but he said he would give it a try.

We also agreed that software subscriptions suck. He doesn’t use graphics or photo editing that much, but he said if he does in the future, he will give ACDSee a try too. We both agree that it’s a silly name, though.

For my part, I’m going to pay more attention to Slack, an application he uses daily. I have several clients who use it regularly as well, so it’s in my wheelhouse. It’s just an interface I never cared for, but then again, I’m a graphics and visual person, so maybe that’s why Slack just never appealed to me very much; but I can adapt.

So, if someone asks you about your stack, they probably aren’t talking about pancakes.