The 2026 Tech Stack Every School SLP Building a Side Business Should Know About
I still remember sitting in my car in the school parking lot trying to figure out which app was going to send my new freebie to someone who just followed me on Instagram. I didn't have a big budget and I definitely didn't have extra hours in my day, so every tool I added had to earn its spot.
Fast forward to now, and people assume that because I teach AI, systems, and online business, I must be running some huge, expensive tech stack behind the scenes. I'm not. I built this business on a school salary, and even though it's grown a lot since that parking lot moment, I still choose tools that fit affordability, automation and integration. If a tool doesn't check at least one of those boxes, it doesn't make the cut.
Here's exactly what's running my SLP side business right now.
My Philosophy for Choosing Business Software
Affordable and efficient beats trendy every time. I'd rather use a tool that does its one job well than pay for something flashy that half my business never touches. Every piece of software I use has to solve a real problem I actually have, and integrations matter to me more than fancy features I'll open once and forget about.
I still think like someone building this on a budget, because in a lot of ways I am. Automation is what creates the freedom to keep my school job while running a business on the side, and I avoid paying for three different tools that all do the same thing when one would cover it.
My business runs because every single tool has one specific job.
My Core Marketing and Sales Stack
This is the foundation everything else sits on top of.
Flodesk
Email marketing is where I nurture the people who find me before they ever become a client or a customer. Flodesk handles my newsletters and nurture sequences, and the templates look polished without needing any design skill to use them.
Building an email list early is one of the smartest moves you can make in this business, because it's the one platform you actually own. Instagram can change its algorithm overnight, but your email list stays yours.
If you want help building that list from scratch, that's exactly what's covered inside the Side Biz Starter Kit.
Wanna give Flodesk a try? Get 25% off your first year of Flodesk here.
ThriveCart
Every digital product, course, and sales page I have runs through ThriveCart. It handles checkout, affiliates, and my sales pages, and I paid for it once instead of committing to another monthly bill.
It's grown with me too. What worked when I had one freebie still works now that I have a full suite of offers. Check out ThriveCart here.
ManyChat
ManyChat runs keyword automations in my Instagram DMs, so when someone comments a specific word on a post, they get a freebie delivered automatically. This is passive lead generation happening while I'm teaching, seeing clients, or sitting in an IEP meeting.
Get 30% off your ManyChat account for the first 3 months through this link.
My Content Creation and Repurposing Tools
Canva
Canva is where every graphic, freebie, presentation, and social media post gets made. It integrates directly with Flodesk, which makes building out email graphics simple, and it's beginner friendly enough that you don't need any design background to make something that looks good.
Riverside
This is where I record my podcast, including every guest interview. The recording and editing workflow is smooth, and it integrates well with Spotify for Podcasters for publishing. Check out Riverside here.
Loom
I use Loom for course recordings, tutorials, and quick screen recordings when I need to show someone exactly what I mean instead of typing it out. I'm actually considering moving over to Google Vids at some point since I already pay for Google Workspace, but for now Loom still gets the job done.
ChatGPT and Claude
I use AI daily inside my content workflow. Repurposing podcast transcripts into blog posts and social captions, brainstorming new content ideas, outlining projects before I write them, and analyzing data all happen with ChatGPT and Claude sitting right next to me like a second brain.
Business Operations
Google Workspace
My business email, Drive, Docs, Sheets, and Forms all run through Google Workspace. Contracts, internal notes, and day to day communication all live here too, under my actual business name instead of a personal Gmail account.
Get 10% off your first year through this link.
Airtable
Airtable is the operational hub behind my group programs, and it's probably the tool people are most surprised to hear I use.
Once someone becomes a client, Airtable is where all of it gets organized. Onboarding form responses, homework submissions, and client data all compile into one centralized place instead of being scattered across ten different spreadsheets.
My favorite feature is Interfaces. Instead of digging through rows of data trying to remember where someone left off, I can build a clean dashboard that shows me a client's onboarding responses, homework, and progress at a glance. That means less time searching for information and more time actually supporting the people I'm working with.
TidyCal
I used Calendly for a long time before switching to TidyCal, and the switch came down to one thing. I was tired of paying a monthly fee for scheduling when a one time purchase could do the exact same job. TidyCal handles my discovery calls and coaching sessions now, and the lifetime license means I'm not paying for it every single month forever.
Squarespace
My website runs on Squarespace. It's beginner friendly enough to DIY without hiring a developer, which mattered a lot to me starting out, and it still looks professional years later.
Spotify for Podcasters
This is where my podcast is hosted. It's free, and it works seamlessly with Riverside for publishing new episodes.
How Everything Works Together
None of these tools operate on their own. The real magic is in how they connect.
1.) Someone sees an Instagram post and comments a keyword.
2.) ManyChat catches that and delivers a freebie automatically. That person becomes a subscriber, and Flodesk starts nurturing them through email.
3.) When they're ready, they purchase through ThriveCart. Once they join a program, their onboarding information flows straight into Airtable, where their homework gets tracked and their progress gets summarized through Interfaces.
4.) Meanwhile I'm repurposing content with ChatGPT, recording podcast episodes in Riverside, and creating graphics in Canva to keep the whole cycle going.
Every tool has one job, and because they integrate well, the business keeps running even while I'm at school or sitting with a client.
What I Don't Spend Money On
Just as important as what I use is what I skip entirely.
Extra subscriptions for tools that already do the job somewhere else in my stack
Duplicate software that solves the same problem twice
Complicated CRMs built for teams of twenty when it's just me
Expensive all in one platforms that promise everything and deliver half of it
Anything I bought because it was trending, then opened once and never touched again
Keeping the stack lean means more of what I make actually stays in my pocket instead of funding a dozen subscriptions I forgot I signed up for.
If You're Just Starting an SLP Side Hustle…
You don't need every tool on this list on day one. Add software as your business grows and each one solves an actual problem you're running into, not before.
A simple order to start with:
Google Workspace, for a professional email and basic file organization
Flodesk, to start building your email list from the very beginning
ThriveCart, once you have something to sell
ManyChat, to start automating lead generation on Instagram
Airtable, once you're consistently serving clients or running a program and need somewhere to keep it all organized
Build the Stack That Fits You!
You don't need dozens of expensive subscriptions to build a profitable business on the side of your school SLP job. You need systems, automation, and organization. You need tools that communicate with each other, and you need software you'll actually open and use.
That's why I've intentionally built my business around a lean, affordable tech stack that supports both my marketing and the experience my clients get once they're inside my programs.
If you want more support building out your own systems, my Systems Intensive walks through exactly how to set this up for your business, and you can always book a coaching call if you want to talk through your specific stack.
You can also join my weekly email list for more behind the scenes on how I run things, or check out the AI Assistant Workshop if you want AI to be part of your systems too.
A few of the links above are affiliate or referral links. If you use them, I may earn a small commission or credit at no additional cost to you. I only recommend tools I use myself.
