Tech I Hated or Outgrew

2 weeks ago I wrote about my 5 favorite software that I use daily.

A newsletter subscriber replied to that article and said, "That was great! Now tell me some of the tech that you hated using or outgrew over time."

Bingo! What a cool newsletter topic for this week. I have so much to say on this subject from 4 years of experience trying (seemingly) everything under the sun.

Using different tools has helped me see what works for me and what doesn't.

None of the software is inherently awful to work with (well, ok, one is and it rhymes with Schtick Tunnels). I found by trying so many different products that none will solve all my problems and make me rich. I had to figure out my own processes and ways of effectively working.

I hope this breakdown will help you:

1. Understand the problem usually wasn't the tech, it was me not needing it or growing out of it

2. Find tools that help you out

Planning Tool: Trello, Monday, Asana

Problem: I was organizing things I didn't want to be doing

My old way of working and keeping track of to-do's: a pencil and paper

That worked well for me working by myself, but as my team grew I needed a way where we could track progress on multiple projects and everyone could see what was going on in real time.

When I saw Trello, Monday and Asana my eyes lit up. Ah! The organization! The ability to keep an entire team on the same page!

I used Trello for 2 years, Monday for 1.5 years and Asana for a year after that. They were great. They kept us all on the same page and were able to track all progress.

If it was so great why aren't I using either of them now?

It felt like a lot of my work was managing 'work' in there rather than doing, you know: the real work.

I've also found that both teamwork and complex projects that need to be juggled aren't for me. If I can't simplify my work into a simple to-do list for the day then it's not work I want to be doing. I've found I'm a lone ranger. I don't want to manage teams. I don't need any project management software other than a pencil and paper.

Recording Tool: Otter AI

Problem: It was flashy and 'cool' but wasn't solving a problem for me

For years my OtterAI joined all of my Zoom meetings. This technology recorded and transcribed all of my meetings, storing them in one place for me to easily refer back to them in the future. It was great! All those transcripts are even searchable. How cool is that!?

It was very cool tech that I had running for years.

But, in my annual line-by-line cost-cutting budget day I considered if I actually used any of those cool features.

I didn't.

So I cut it and saved my company money and one more login to manage.

Plus, now most meeting platforms integrate AI anyway and automatically record and summarize your meetings so this tech felt particularly unuseful.

Website Tool: SquareSpace and ClickFunnels

Problem: I hate websites. They suck my time and energy

As a brand new bright-eyed entrepreneur back in 2020 when I first opened my business what was the first thing I did? Yep, make a website.

*Face palm*

That's the last thing I should have done. Websites don't matter under you understand the problem you are solving, who you are helping, and proof that your help works.

Yet, when we have a website we feel like the real deal and like we need it to find customers.

For me, messing with websites (with no prior experience) and hiring expensive people to put together super complex websites (that are hard to use!) drained my energy and made me want to throw in the towel with business altogether.

For years (and still now) my only real website was my LinkedIn profile. That paired with my digital writing twice a day was all I needed to grow my 7-figure company. I really feel like websites are overrated. I'm sure someday I'll need one, but I'd rather put that off and get really good at my thing first, then build something I'm proud of that has a www in front of it.

Admin Tool: DocuSign

Problem: It made me super defensive about my content

One of the first technologies I paid for when I started my first online course was DocuSign. I needed to protect my ideas, after all. I paid hundreds of dollars from my meager budget so I could send off pages-long documents (that were very official) to protect my work.

I'm so embarrassed about that now.

I was trying to do what my lawyers and other course creators told me to do: protect my work!

But I know when I'm a customer I hate signing a 9-page stupid long document. It's very off-putting. I hated doing it, but felt, "Well, this is how business works."

It felt so freeing to cut that cord and work in a higher way that aligns with me.

Bye-bye super intense, stupid contracts. ????

CRM Tool: HoneyBook & InfusionSoft/Keap

Problem: I tried to automate way way way too early.

I started my first business in October of 2020. By January of 2021 I needed to figure out to email people and follow up with them in a more organized way than doing it all myself in my Google inbox.

I had never heard of a CRM (customer relationship management) before. When I learned that you can automate and schedule email sequences I knew I needed this technology to run my business to save me so much time.

So, I jumped in with each software and started building complex email sequences and customer journeys.

It was cool, and made me a lot of money quickly...however it was to my long-term loss. I needed to be close to people and my work from day 1. By distancing myself and automating everything it gave me a jump start, but it also set me up to make my business way more complicated than it needed to be.

If I were to go back in time and spend a bit more time in my email and working with customers 1:1 I could've built a business with a better foundation and slowly set up a customer journey that more aligned with their needs

Well, there it is. 5 software that I used and thought I loved at the time. Then, I grew out of most of them (and just simply hated one).

I'm doing a better job of separating "Hey this is so cool! It's got to be useful" to "Is this actually saving me time, or making me money?"

I hope this helps some of you on your journey today.

Try new things!

But also consider: are actually helping you? Or they keeping you busy feeling like an entrepreneur?

Jamie

PS-Whenever you're ready, there is 1 additional way I can help you:

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