The ADHDer's guide to: Avoiding signing up for another subscription for your business that you don't actually need but you'll forget to cancel for years
If you're a solopreneur with ADHD (like me)…
…the instinct to sign up for lots of shiny new tools and platforms that people on the internet are raving about is strong.
Not only do us ADHDers get that nice lil dopamine hit from signing up for something shiny, new, and exciting (especially when others tell us it's gonna change our lives and revolutionise the way we run our businesses), but there are other influences that can easily sway our decisions and perceptions of what tools are actually gonna help us run our businesses.
It's kinda got football team vibes.
I'm sure you've seen the debates that go down on Threads semi-regularly, where everyone is yelling about whether they're Team Dubsado, Team Honeybook, or Team Moxie, and all vehemently disagreeing over which features, pricing, and even platform aesthetics are the best.
All this means that solopreneurs with ADHD are often encouraged to sign up for subscriptions without getting accurate or relevant advice to help with the decision making process.
And the result?
It's something I see with my clients, time and time again: a tech stack that resembles an expensive graveyard of tools, rather than an effective backend systems set-up for their business.
But it's not just draining their bank accounts when those subscriptions roll over every year——it's got them stuck in decision paralysis trying to figure out what to cancel and what to keep, and it's overcomplicating their client experience with too many different platforms for clients to navigate while working together.
So what do we do about it?
How do we break the cycle of signing up for endless unnecessary subscriptions, and safeguard our revenue from business expenses that eat away at our income for years?
Well, here's a handy checklist I've put together to guide you in choosing tools for your business that you actually need, that are aligned to your finances, and don't clutter up your client experience and get in the way of delivering your services with ease.
1. Think critically about who’s recommending (or promoting) a certain platform to you.
There are a few different factors to this one: relevancy, expertise, and motivation.
Relevancy is about asking whether this fellow business owner has enough in common with you and your business for their advice to be relevant.
Are they in the same industry as you? Do they support the same kinds of clients in the same kinds of formats as you?
Are you in the same stage of business? Are you both solopreneurs, or do they have a team working with them?
Expertise looks at the credentials of the person recommending tools to you for your business.
If you’re being recommended a platform for an email marketing, is the recommendation coming from an email marketing strategist, or someone who uses email marketing in their business?
If you’re being recommended a platform to deliver a membership, are you speaking to someone who specialises in designing and setting up membership delivery platforms, or someone who runs a membership?
Let me be clear here: there’s nothing wrong with getting advice from business owners about their first-hand user experience of different platforms available——in fact, I definitely encourage it! But make sure you get advice from industry experts, too.
Motivation needs us to be critical about the intention behind someone’s recommendations for a specific platform. If someone is replying to your request for guidance on Threads with “go for this option, it’s the only real option, I promise! Use my link to get 10% off!”, there’s most likely an affiliate payout in it for them.
Affiliate links aren’t necessarily a red flag——most of us business owners use them for one thing or another——but it’s just another factor to take into consideration when thinking critically about the tools and platforms you’re recommended by other business owners.
Ultimately, we’re all unique business owners with unique goals doing unique work—and our systems need to reflect that, too!
2. Read the ‘Features’ page like you’re shopping for now (and tentatively scoping out space for growth).
We need to have our realistic eyes focused on those Features lists, because first and foremost, we’re shopping for a tool that meets our needs right now. But… we’re also gently scoping out whether a tool can support our growth in years to come.
While browsing, ask yourself:
Does the ‘Free’ or lowest priced plan deliver what you need right now?
What would it take for you to need to upgrade to a more expensive plan? How soon do you think that might happen?
Take note of whether the cost increases with more clients using the platform, or if you add more team members (if relevant to your goals).
3. Remember, quality over quantity.
It’s better to use a couple of tools really well, to set them up with great attention to detail, rather than to partially set up a large selection of tools and only use some of their features.
So, before entering your card details, review the ‘Features’ lists for the tools you’re already using in your business. Are there any features you’re not (yet) making the most of but are already paying for? Play around with those before signing up for something new.
4. Free plan > free trial
If you’ve got this far and you’re still thinking “I’ve got to try this platform out, it definitely seems to have what I’m looking for”, start with a free plan——avoid putting in your card details unless absolutely necessary (that should be like the golden rule for solopreneurs with ADHD lol).
If there’s a free plan, sign up for that and push it to its limits. See where you come up against roadblocks caused by not having access to premium features. Then you know it’s time for a free trial.
Before you sign up for a free trial, look into if you can cancel immediately and still keep access to the trial features. You can always sign up again after the trial ends and you decide you definitely want to go ahead!
5. Ask yourself: is it the platform or the client experience?
If you're working as a client with another service provider and one of the platforms used in their service delivery has really blown you away, ask yourself: is it the platform itself or the service and client experience I'm receiving that's impressive?
For example, if you work with a service provider who delivers an incredible onboarding experience via Slack, remember that Slack isn’t solely responsible for that amazing delivery. It’s also about the way their onboarding has been mapped out, clarity of information shared, and how Slack interacts with the other tools in their tech stack. Moving your Onboarding process to Slack won’t guarantee the exact same experience and results for you and your clients by itself!
Remember, the platform is a supporting resource for their service delivery, not the reason their service and client experience are excellent.
6. Remember: there's no universal "best tool" that works equally well for every business owner.
Marketing and branding are powerful tools that influence our decision making, but remember that hype and cute aesthetics alone aren't markers of a strong product that works for you.
No one can tell you what the “best” tool for you and your business is without having a proper conversation with you about your needs, goals, and way of working.
7. If in doubt, consult an expert.
Decision paralysis is real for us ADHDers, and we often end up either making snap decisions without enough research, or getting completely overwhelmed and stuck in the decision phase for months.
It doesn’t have to take that long to figure out what you need——especially when you’ve got a specialist to listen, help you reflect and get clear on what you need, and advise on the best solutions to make it happen.
If you’re a solopreneur with ADHD (like me!), then my Rebalancing Review support sprint is designed to help pinpoint exactly where your systems are draining your energy so you can reset the way you deliver services from the inside out.
Let’s recap":
Assess relevancy, expertise, and motivation behind any tech recommendations you receive.
Look for ‘Features’ that support where you’re at now over where you plan to grow to.
Prioritise quality of set-up over quantity of tools used.
Free plan first, free trial second (and cancel immediately when possible).
Before taking inspiration from others, ask: is it the platform or the client experience?
Remember: there's no universal "best tool" that works equally well for every business owner.
If in doubt, consult an expert—don’t spend months stuck in decision paralysis!
Got questions? Feel free to leave them in the comments!