Hi Reader,
Let’s talk about something that freaks out a lot of newer business owners: paying for software (and subscriptions).
This week I’m talking about automation in my latest blog + video post—and with that always comes the most common objection I hear:
“Why would I pay $200+ a year for a CRM when I can just do it myself—for free?”
I get it. –I really do.
When I was first building my business (10 years ago now 😳), I felt the same way!
Two years in, I was eyeing Dubsado with a shot of desperation and thinking, damn, this feels expensive.
Honeybook? Same.
Bonsai? Ditto.
Even though I was desperate for help behind the scenes (when do I send follow-ups? should the proposal/contract/invoice go in one email? is there an order??), I couldn’t imagine justifying that kind of recurring cost in what still felt like a baby-business-slash-side-hustle.
But here’s what I learned the hard way—because I was still working full-time and felt like I had no choice but to automate at least a few things, or risk losing inquiries:
Software isn’t expensive when you compare it to hiring a human.
Let’s say your CRM or automation tool saves you 10 hours a month.
That’s 120 hours a year—or 2 to 3 full-time weeks worth of work.
If you paid a VA $25/hour for those same tasks? That’s $3,000/year.
If you do it yourself—and your billable rate is a very introductory $40/hour? That’s $4,800/year in time you’re not spending attracting or serving paying clients. 😬
Either way, the gap is literally thousands.
Meanwhile, Dubsado (or insert your tool of choice here) costs just $200–$400/year.
And that doesn’t even include the stress cost of forgetting to send a contract, chasing down feedback, or rebuilding the same process for the 87th time. Not to mention the time suck of hiring, training, or managing a real human to do that work for you.
See what just happened? It's subtle, but let's put a spotlight on it.
- If you're anchoring the price of the software to $0 (what you're currently spending on it now), then yes it seems expensive, because if we're comparing it to $0, then it actually is.
- But if you anchor it to the real alternative—time or hiring help—then it’s wildly more affordable. It’s a better option for leaner and newer businesses who want relief without immediately managing a team.
And I'm not even advocating for Dubsado specifically here. Sub out Dubsado with any software/tool: Squarespace, Zapier, ChatGPT/Claude, Kit/ConvertKit, Senja, Asana/ClickUp/Notion, Zapier ––whatever the software is!
So, here’s what I wish someone had told me much sooner:
You don’t have to hire help to get help.
You just need to automate (delegate to a robot).
If your brain is drowning in busywork —reminders, follow-ups, form replies, folder creation, system setups— you’re not “bad at business.” You’re just stuck manually doing things that could be automated for cheap.
And yeah, I get how scary it can feel to increase your expenses (especially when income’s still rocky). But software like this often pays you back way faster—in time, energy, and sanity—than most of those course modules/lessons still gathering dust in your Downloads or Bookmarks folders. 🫣
If your systems are currently held together by duct tape and stress, this week’s post walks you through one of my favorite new automations. (linked below!)
It’s easy to set up, powerful, and will be one less thing you’ll forget to do manually or in the right order.
You don’t have to go full automation, just automate enough to stop losing hours of your time to shit you don’t need to be touching. 💩
