Tools I actually use.

Astro

Free

What this website, and every site I build, is made with. It's fast, it's secure, and there's nothing to update every week. If you want speed, this is it.

Brain.fm

Paid

Music made to help you focus, not just another playlist. I stick it on when I need to get my head down and get stuff done.

Canva

Free plan

Quick graphics without needing a designer. Social posts, presentations and thumbnails, it handles the lot. The templates alone are worth it.

ChatGPT

Free plan

The one that started it all. I use it for brainstorming, research and quick jobs. Between this and Claude, that's most of my AI covered.

Claude Code

Paid

My go-to AI tool for building, writing and thinking things through. It built most of this website, and it's getting better all the time.

Cloudflare

Free plan

Where this site lives. Fast, reliable, and the free plan is ridiculously generous. It handles the technical bits (domains, security certificates, speed) without breaking a sweat.

Ecamm

Paid

The best tool on a Mac for recording video and going live. I record all my long videos in it. Simple to use, but properly powerful.

Facebook

Free

Still a solid place to reach local service businesses. If you run a trade or a local business, this is probably where you'll find me.

Fathom Analytics

Paid

Simple website stats that respect people's privacy. No complicated dashboards to wade through, just the numbers that actually matter, shown clearly.

Genspark

Free

AI search that gives you proper answers. I use it when I want something researched properly instead of a list of links to wade through.

GitHub

Free

Where all the code lives. It keeps every version of every change, so there's always a safety net when something goes wrong. If you're building anything, you need it.

Google Workspace

Paid

Gmail, Docs, Drive and Calendar. The basics, done well. Nothing flashy, but it all works and it all works together.

GTmetrix

Free plan

Tests how fast your website loads and tells you exactly what to fix. I use it to make sure every site I work on is properly quick. Speed matters more than most people think.

Hubdoc

Paid

Pulls in bills and receipts automatically and sends them straight to Xero. No more chasing paperwork or losing invoices.

LastPass

Free plan

A password manager that remembers everything so I don't have to. One main password, and every login is sorted. If you're still reusing passwords, get one today.

LinkedIn

Free

My main social platform for connecting with business owners. If you want to find me posting about marketing, this is where it happens.

Loom

Free plan

Perfect for quick videos: client walkthroughs, feedback and updates. Hit record, talk, send. No editing, and it saves so much back and forth over email.

Obsidian

Free

Where I do my thinking. Notes, ideas and the links between them, like a personal Wikipedia that gets more useful over time. It works offline too.

PortalOS

£99 + VAT a month

My own platform, built on GoHighLevel. Contacts, follow-ups, emails, texts, forms, bookings and review requests, all behind one login. It's what I run my business on.

Skool

Paid

Where I'm building The Marketing Portal, my community for business owners. Simple and clean: courses, discussions and actually helping people, with no distractions.

Xero

Paid

Cloud accounting that makes invoicing, expenses and bank reconciliation painless. My accountant loves it too, which makes both our lives easier.