Hey everyone! It’s been about two years since I started my Facebook group journey. Back then, when I was launching Telepath (a remote job platform), I was brainstorming ways to bring traffic to the website. One of my big ideas? Facebook groups.

I realized something pretty quickly. There were almost no communities focused on remote work in Thailand. So, I decided to start one.

To be honest, I was going in blind. I didn't know anything about Facebook groups; I’ve never run one before. But I tried it anyway. Looking back, here is exactly how I went from zero members to a thriving community without spending a dime on ads.

Before diving in, I need to stress that the platform matters. I actually tried running the community on Discord at first, but it didn't work well because Discord has zero discoverability. If you're starting from scratch, it’s almost impossible for new members to organically find you.

Facebook, on the other hand, has built-in ways (like search and recommendations) that help a community grow from zero, which is why it served me best for starting out.

The "spaghetti at the wall" phase

Here’s the thing I learned early on, creating a Facebook group is super easy. It takes a few clicks. You know what the magical thing is? After you create it, absolutely nobody sees it. You can do whatever you want there, and nobody cares.

My biggest advice here is to niche down. If you try to start a generic group, you’re going to be fighting against huge, established groups that already have thousands of members. It’s hard to get people to move unless those big groups are totally inactive. Instead, I went specific. Since I focused on remote work, I looked for job types and industries that were suitable for that lifestyle and built groups around that.

I started by creating multiple groups targeting different niches: remote workers, graphic designers, developers, marketers, basically anything related to my business.

You can start as many groups as you want. In the beginning, you won't know which one will take off, so just plant a few seeds and see what grows.

Overcoming the "ghost town" vibe

Once you have the group, you have to post something. It feels incredibly weird to post into an empty room, but you have to do it. If someone stumbles into your group and it’s empty, they aren't going to join.

So, start posting. Say hi, share your vision for the community, and give people a sample of the content they can expect.

Then comes the scary part, inviting people. It only takes two clicks to invite your friends. Some people are overthinking about this. Just don’t.

At that time, Facebook had this weird glitch where sometimes you invite someone, and it spams them with a hell of a lot of notifications. If you’re reading this and that happened to you, I swear, it was Facebook, not me. 😅

But seriously, you need those first 20 members. Even if they are just supportive friends who don't care about the topic, get them in there. It signals to the algorithm (and other humans) that this is a real place.

Content is king

So, what do you post? For me, I just posted job openings from my website. But here is a pro-tip. Facebook hates external links. They want to keep people on their platform. So, instead of posting only links, I created proper social media posts, with job descriptions and a nice image.

I kept doing this consistently. The more content you have, the higher the chance someone finds you when searching.

I also used a little "growth hack." If I found other generic job groups that were huge but kind of dying (unmanaged, full of spam), I would share posts from my group into those. People in those dying groups would see my active, high-quality content and think, "Hey, this looks way better," and click through to join my community.

Cracking the algorithm

Once you hit about 100 members, the magic starts to happen. Facebook will start recommending your group to people searching for your keywords.

This is why your name matters. I didn't use fancy, abstract names. I used keywords. If someone searches "Remote Jobs Thailand" or "Marketing Jobs," my group shows up because those words are in the title. Keep it simple, direct, and on point.

Managing the chaos

Eventually, the members started posting their own stuff. That’s when the group really kicked off. But that’s also when you have to switch modes from "Creator" to "Manager."

Facebook loves active communities where people talk to each other, but you have to be careful. As the group grew, the scammers arrived. If people get scammed in your group, they blame you, and they leave. I had to set up approval processes so I could review posts before they went live.

To keep engagement up, I also used polls and asked questions. It’s an easy way for people to participate without having to write a novel.

The long game

This didn't happen overnight. It took me two years.

Some people think they can start a community and have it blow up in a week. That’s rarely the case. It starts slow. You reach a few people, they share it, and it compounds over time.

Occasionally, you might get lucky and have one post go viral that brings in a ton of members, but you can't predict that. You just have to keep the machine running.

And remember, I haven't spent any money on ads for this. Aside from hiring an assistant later on, this was all just time and consistency.

So, if you’re thinking about starting a group: start in a niche, invite your friends, keep it active, and be patient. It works.

P.S. Here are a few of my communities.

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/wfhpeople/

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/designerjobsth/

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/marketingjobsth/

• https://www.facebook.com/groups/managementjobsth/

You know I've been struggling with hiring forever. But, I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of it, and I wanted to share the ten things I realized. Honestly, I wish someone had told me this stuff way sooner.

1. Stop hiring if the house is on fire. Seriously, it's way more important to make sure the people I already have are working well together before I bring in more bodies. New people don't fix a broken system, they just get confused by it.

2. Generally, I'm trying to hire fewer people. If I feel like I constantly need more staff, it’s usually a sign I haven't fixed a process problem yet.

3. Most people won't actually read the job description (seriously). So, I added a hidden line asking them to include a specific, random phrase like "I love marketing" in the first sentence of their email or cover letter. It's a super quick way to filter out the lazy ones.

4. I now share the salary right away. It’s the easiest way to immediately screen out expensive folks. Trust me, I am not a world-class negotiator, and it saves everyone a ton of wasted time later.

5. Those old take-home tests? Totally useless now, thanks to AI. I've realized I need to test how smart they are on the fly, not how well they can cheat a weekend assignment.

6. Publishing an extremely transparent company handbook is like cheating. It makes it so clear what the job is and what the culture is like, and only the right people apply.

7. I learned that because hiring is so critical, I really needed to handle it in-house. Outsourcing recruitment early on meant I was essentially outsourcing my company's culture, and that's a mistake I won't repeat.

8. I’m done taking shortcuts because I’m tired. Hiring no one is 100% better than hiring the wrong person. Seriously, firing someone is the worst, so I make sure I say no at the interview stage.

9. I prefer the candidate that can self-learn without me teaching every single thing. They need to show they can figure stuff out on their own.

10. Optimism is totally underrated. I can teach someone Python, but I can't teach them to show up with a positive attitude when things are tough.

Anyway, that’s my brain dump. What’s your biggest recruiting nightmare been lately? Let me know!

Hey everyone! With the internet, podcasts, and a million short videos competing for your attention, you might be wondering, "Do you still read books in 2025?" The short answer is yes.

Today I want to pull back the curtain and show you exactly how I manage my reading life in 2025. It's not about reading every book out there, it's about being super selective and getting the most value from the books I do read.

I'm going to walk you through my whole process: from discovering a potential read, to filtering it for the good stuff, to the actual consumption and tracking. Let's dive in!

Why Bother with Books in the Digital Age?

This is the first thing we have to tackle, right? We live in a world where almost everything is a Google search away. You've got blog articles, podcasts, YouTube, everything!

So, why slow down and read a book?

Here’s the thing: The content you get from the internet and the content you get from a book are usually very different. Most online content is trendy and immediate, like tips and tricks you can implement right away.

Books, especially non-fiction ones (which is what I focus on: business and personal improvement), tend to cover deep, evergreen concepts. We're talking about fundamental stuff like mindset, how humans think, communication psychology, and reacting to the world. These concepts don't change every week. They're useful now, and they'll be useful in ten years. A good non-fiction book is essentially a masterclass in an evergreen topic, and you just don't get that depth from a 30-second short video.

Book Discovery: Finding the Needle in the Haystack

Okay, so you've bought into the "books are great" idea. Now what? How do you pick one? It's easy to get overwhelmed! My process is pretty simple, and I've found it to be super efficient.

First, I Just Ask AI. We're in 2025, so use the tools you have! If I’m facing a problem, I'll go to Gemini and literally type in my problem, then ask it to recommend a book to help me solve it. It’s like having a personal librarian.

Another great method is to look for Curated Lists. I'll just Google things like "must-read books for solopreneurs" or "top 10 psychology books." This gives me a solid starting list of recommendations. I collect all these, but here’s my secret. I don't plan on reading all of them.

The Book Summary Filter: My Time-Saving Hack

This is where I save tons of time. I simply cannot read every book that interests me from a title or a recommendation, so I filter them out. The core concept in most non-fiction books is usually just one big idea, with the rest of the book being examples and details to make you understand that concept deeper. I use book summaries to find that single core concept.

My rule is simple: if the core concept from the summary doesn't grab me, I skip the whole book. I just saved myself hours! If the concept does interest me, then I know it's worth the time commitment for the deep dive. Using a summary for 5 to 10 minutes instead of reading an entire book to find out it's not for me? Huge time saver.

I prefer to listen to my summaries while walking or driving, and I've tried a few apps for this. I think the quality of the summaries and recordings in Blinkist is the best. The only downside for me is the cost, as you usually have to commit to an expensive annual plan. Headway is my current favorite. The quality is good enough, and the value is great, especially because I was able to snag a lifetime deal, which means I pay once and have access forever. That’s a game-changer! Finally, I've tried StoryShots, which is fine, but the library of available books isn't as extensive as the other two.

Where I Read: Going Digital

Once a book passes the summary test, I'm ready to read the full thing. I've mostly moved away from physical books and prefer reading on a device.

I used to have an Amazon Kindle Paperwhite, which was great, but I didn't like being locked into the Amazon store. So, I switched to the Onyx Boox Poke 4 Lite. It runs on Android, which means I can install any app from the app store, including my book summary apps. And most importantly, it can install Google Play Books, which is where I buy most of my books nowadays.

Book Tracking: Finding a Better Home

When you're reading a non-fiction book, you have to highlight key concepts, good sentences, and quotes you want to remember and take action on. A simple note-taking app won't cut it, so I searched for apps built for this purpose.

The most standard one is Goodreads, but honestly, the interface is a bit dated and slow. It just feels old.

I tried another app called Literal, and it looked a little nicer with more social features, but the mobile app was so slow I couldn't make myself use it regularly.

Finally, I discovered Fable, and this is my new home! It’s a book tracking and social app that lets you track TV shows and series, too. The app is snappy, the interface is great, and it feels modern. I'm just getting started with it, but so far, I'm hoping it'll be my long-term solution for tracking all my reading and the important takeaways. I'll keep you all posted on how it goes.

Your Turn!

So, that's my complete process for consuming books in 2025: I don't read randomly, I'm highly selective, I use summaries to filter, and I track my key takeaways. It's all about being intentional before you dive in.

What about you? How do you decide what to read next? What's your favorite book? Let me know in the comments!

The resume, a single piece of paper, has been the standard for job applications for an incredibly long time. In fact, the first known document resembling a modern resume was created by Leonardo da Vinci in 1482, when he wrote a letter to the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza, outlining his various skills and qualifications in an attempt to secure employment.

It was invented in an era before computers, mobile phones, and the internet. Yet, here we are in 2025, still largely relying on this traditional format. It got me thinking: if the resume didn't exist today and we had to invent it from scratch, what would it look like?

The Problems with Today's Resume

Let's look at how resumes are used now. No one really creates physical paper resumes anymore. We generate them as PDFs or Word files and send them digitally. Employers then process these files in one of two ways:

1. Human Review: A person reads the resume on a screen – a desktop monitor or, increasingly, a mobile phone. Very few people print out every resume they receive.

2. ATS (Applicant Tracking System): The file is fed into software that scrapes information from the "paper-like" PDF and reformats it to be searchable and easier for recruiters to read.

This raises a crucial question: why are we creating resumes in a format that's so inconvenient that we need special software to make them usable?

Furthermore, the primary device for consuming information today, especially for busy recruiters, is often a mobile phone or tablet. Traditional A4 or letter-sized PDF resumes are a pain on these small screens. The text is tiny, requiring constant pinching to zoom and dragging around to read. It's simply not intuitive.

Another common scenario involves people posting their resumes on social media, like Facebook groups, when looking for work. Beyond the poor readability on mobile, there's a significant security risk. People often post the exact same resume they'd send to an employer, which includes sensitive information like their phone number and email address. This exposes personal data to a public audience, which is incredibly unsafe.

Why not create a resume that's designed for how we actually live and work today?

The Rise of Digital Profiles... and Their Limits

In this digital era, we already have sophisticated digital resumes. Platforms like LinkedIn offer comprehensive profiles where you can scroll through all a person's information – just like a resume, but perfectly fitted for your mobile screen and easily navigable. At Telepath, we also offer a similar digital profile that could potentially replace the traditional resume entirely.

However, the challenge lies in conveniently sharing these digital profiles. Most companies still expect and accept PDF files (or sometimes images) as official application documents. Even when sharing on social media, while you can share links, it's often not very engaging. People promoting themselves usually share a snapshot of their traditional resume as an image. If you're going to post an image of your resume, why not design it to fit today's digital landscape?

Let's Create Something In Between

This is where the gap lies: something between a static paper resume and an advanced, fully interactive digital profile. We need a compact, engaging snapshot – a "teaser," if you will – that can quickly capture interest. If a person is truly interested in working with the candidate, then the full, detailed digital profile (or even a traditional PDF resume) can still be provided.

Considering how media has evolved to fit the mobile screen vertically (think YouTube Shorts, TikTok, Instagram Stories), it makes sense that a modern resume should adopt a vertical format, like an Instagram Story, designed to fit a mobile screen perfectly.

So, the reinvented resume needs to be:

• Mobile-friendly: It must fit a mobile screen, be easily readable without zooming.

• Concise: You can't fit an entire traditional resume onto one mobile screen while keeping it readable. It needs to contain only the most important information, making it quick and easy to grasp a candidate's key qualifications.

• Engaging: It should be quick, easy, and offer vibrant customization (like changing colors) to express your unique personality while upholding a professional image.

• Secure: Crucially, it should allow users to opt out of sensitive information like phone numbers and email addresses for public sharing.

Introducing "Storysume"

This new format isn't meant to replace the traditional resume entirely, especially for large corporations with ATS. However, for the majority of companies that rely on human review, and for situations where you want to quickly share your profile with a human – a friend, a direct recruiter, or even on social media – this format is perfect. It's designed to be easily consumable on any device.

That's why I'm calling it Storysume. It's a mobile-first, secure, and concise way to present your professional profile.

While I believe that in the future, traditional resume formats will be obsolete and digital profiles will become the standard, we're not quite there yet. For now, the expectation remains that a PDF resume is the official document, and you can't simply send your digital profile to a company and expect to get hired. 

Telepath shares this vision of ultimately replacing resumes entirely with universally usable digital profiles. But in the meantime, we can leverage something in between for the right situation.

You can generate your Storysume today from your profile on Telepath. Check it out and let me know what you think!

Hope you're having a productive week! I wanted to share some insights from my recent explorations into hosting n8n, a fantastic automation platform that helps connect apps and automate tasks online. As you know, at Telepath, we're all about efficiency, and n8n is a key tool in making things run smoothly behind the scenes.

There are several ways to get n8n up and running, and I’ve tried a few. Each has its pros and cons, depending on your technical comfort and budget. Here’s a quick rundown:

1. n8n Cloud: The "Easy Button"

n8n Cloud

This is hands-down the simplest way to use n8n. It's like signing up for any online service – no technical setup required. You just create an account, and you’re ready to build workflows.

The biggest upside here is its ease of use: you need no technical knowledge, get automatic updates, and have excellent support.

However, you'll pay a monthly fee (starting around €20), and there are limits on how many workflows and executions you can run. This option is best for non-technical folks, or anyone who just wants to get started with automation without any fuss.

Simply go to n8n.io and sign up!

2. Virtual Private Server (VPS): More Control, More Flexibility

Since n8n is open-source, you can host it yourself. A VPS means you rent a virtual computer in the cloud and install n8n there. This gives you more control and can be more cost-effective. There are 2 types of VPS I want to cover.

2.1 Unmanaged VPS

Digital Ocean

This is for the technically savvy. You get a raw server (usually Linux) and handle everything yourself—installation, security, and updates.

It's cheaper but requires you to be technical. DigitalOcean and Hetzner are good providers (Starting around $6/m). This is best for experienced users who are comfortable with command lines.

2.2 Managed VPS (My current setup)

Railway

This is a great middle ground. A company handles the server setup and much of the maintenance for you, but you still pay less than n8n Cloud. The experience is similar to n8n Cloud but with better pricing for what you get.

I personally use Railway for this (Start from $5/m and increase based on usage), and it's proven to be a reliable choice. Render is another great option. This is perfect for those who want control and cost savings without deep-dive server administration.

3. Hosting on Your Own Computer: For Testing and Local Use

Docker Desktop

You can simply download n8n and run it on your laptop or desktop. This is free to use, with no limits other than your hardware, and it's excellent for testing or trying out new workflows.

The main drawback is that it only runs when your computer is on, which isn't ideal for 24/7 automation (that kind of defeats the purpose!).

It's best for learning, testing, or very simple, infrequent personal tasks. For continuous local automation, a small, always-on computer like a Raspberry Pi could be an option.

My Recommendation

If you’re not technical and have the budget, go straight for n8n Cloud. It’s the easiest and fastest way to get started.

If you’re a bit more technical and want to save money, a managed VPS is likely your sweet spot. It offers a great balance of ease of use and cost efficiency.

And if you’re comfortable with the command line and server management, an unmanaged VPS will give you the most control and cost savings.

Ultimately, the best choice depends on your needs, but knowing these options should help you find the perfect home for your n8n automations!

I'm curious, how do you handle your n8n hosting or other automation setups?

For the past few weeks, I have dived deep into something called vibe coding. As a no-coder, my curiosity was through the roof. Could I truly leverage AI to build products without writing a single line of code? What did this even mean for someone like me?

Today, I am pulling back the curtain to share what I found: the good, the bad, and the truly eye-opening lessons.

What's "Vibe Coding" Anyway?

I define vibe coding as creating software by letting AI do the heavy lifting, without writing the code yourself. This concept is not entirely new, but with AI getting smarter by the day, it is becoming incredibly powerful. People are literally building entire products just by explaining what they want to an AI in plain English.

Since I can only code in basic HTML and CSS, this was a massive draw. My goal was simple: see if I, with zero coding background, could actually build a functional product using AI.

My Tool of Choice: Lovable

The market is buzzing with "vibe coding" tools right now. As a no-coder, I needed something genuinely accessible. I chose Lovable. It promised a low technical barrier, perfect for someone who just wants to build without getting tangled in code.

To put Lovable to the test, I brainstormed a few product ideas, mostly tools I wished existed. Then I simply prompted Lovable to bring them to life.

Project: Day Planner

My first attempt involved a simple day planning tool. While I am a Todoist user, I wondered if I could create something straightforward for others. Many task managers are too complex, do not support Thai language, and most people simply need an easy way to manage tasks, share them, and keep track of their plate.

I started with a super simple prompt: "Create a task management tool." Lovable responded quickly, generating a UI, a Kanban board, and task adding functionality. Sounds great, right? Not quite.

The first major hurdle hit immediately: data persistence. My tasks vanished every time I refreshed the page, meaning data was not being saved. Thankfully, Lovable integrates smoothly with Supabase, a PostgreSQL database. Linking my project to Supabase solved this. Now, tasks saved to the app were stored in the database and reappeared on refresh.

I continued adding features: projects, icons, colors; the app was really taking shape. But then, Lovable started misbehaving. Sometimes, my prompts to change something would yield no change at all.

This taught me my first big lesson: words matter. I wanted a "dropdown menu" to appear when clicking a three-dot icon, for renaming or deleting projects. However, I kept calling it a "context menu." Lovable did create a context menu, which appeared when I right-clicked the icon! If I had used "dropdown menu" from the start, it would have worked instantly. Even with plain English, you still need to speak the programmer's language, to get what you want.

Then came team functionality. Allowing team members to see each other's tasks meant I needed to design an "organization" structure within the database. Should tasks live with the user or the organization? This led to another crucial insight: for complex apps, you must plan your data structure and how things relate in the database. Without this blueprint, the AI will build something that simply does not work the way you envision.

Plus, the AI sometimes had a mind of its own, deleting existing features when I asked for new ones. You need to be incredibly specific with prompts, or ideally, set rules for what the AI should not touch.

Finally, external integrations, like Google authentication, proved almost impossible. Despite asking the AI to fix errors, I could not get it working. My lack of understanding about how Google authentication works and how apps interact with it left me completely stuck.

After this failed project, I tried a few more times. Each time, I ran into new problems. Sometimes I just didn't understand how the data should move. Other times, I needed a specific connection that was hard to set up. Or the AI would do something unexpected. I kept getting stuck because I didn't have a strong technical background. It became clear that even though the AI could write the code, my inability to fix issues or design complex systems meant I often had no idea how to move forward.

The Bottom Line: Vibe Coding for No-Coders

So, what is my takeaway?

• Internal Tools? Yes! Vibe coding is fantastic for building simple, internal tools for yourself or a small team. You can get something functional up and running incredibly fast for very specific tasks.

• Production Apps? Not So Much. If you are dreaming of a complex, production-ready application for the masses, you will struggle without some fundamental coding knowledge.

• A Programmer's Superpower: For developers who already understand app design, logic, best practices, and security, vibe coding will be a game-changer, letting them build at warp speed.

What no-coders still need to learn: For us "clueless founders" who do not code, there is still a learning curve. To truly harness AI's power, we need to grasp:

• Basic application architecture.

• Database design and relationships.

• UI/UX principles.

• The correct terminology that programmers use.

In short, vibe coding is powerful, but it is not a magic wand that bypasses the need for any technical understanding. You might not write the code, but you still need to learn the language of building.

Here's the deal: I'm building Telepath, my remote job board. Traffic's going up, and I'm trying to figure out what keywords are working and how visible we are on search engines.

So, I started checking out SEO tools. Turns out, a lot of them are either garbage or way too expensive for a small company. And those "free" tools? Half the time, they're outdated. Like, the blog post says they were free in 2021, but they're not anymore. Or the "free tier" is so limited it's basically a demo with a timer.

But I found some tools that are okay to use.

The "Free" Rank Tracking Tools

Semrush

Semrush Position Tracker

Their free plan lets you track 10 keywords for one website. Sounds okay, right? Nope. It's limited to one language, one location, and one device type. So, yeah, not that great.

I've been using Semrush's free plan for a while now. But their cheapest paid plan is $117 a month, which is way more than I want to spend right now, especially since I wouldn't even use all the features.

Mangools

Mangools Rank Tracking

Similar deal. You can track 5 keywords, but you've got the same restrictions as Semrush – location, language, device.

Basically, these are fine if you're tracking keywords for something super small. But for anything real? Forget it. Everything else I found was either free with a million limitations, a free trial with a ticking clock, or just plain useless.

After realizing I'd get more actionable insights by blindfolding myself and guessing keywords than relying on most of these tools, I pivoted to Plan B: hacking together free tools in unconventional ways.

Plan B: DIY Rank Tracking (with duct tapes)

Google Search Console + Looker Studio

Looker Studio

This is the peanut butter and jelly of free SEO. Google Search Console tells you what keywords are bringing in traffic and your average position. It doesn't track the specific keywords you want, but it shows you the actual search queries people are using.

Then, you plug it into Looker Studio, and boom – you've got charts, filters, trends, all for free. It's not perfect rank tracking, but it tells you what Google thinks you're ranking for, which is arguably more important. And, of course, it's free, unlimited keywords.

The downside? It takes time to set up and keep updated. But if you’ve got the time, it’s worth it.

SerpBear (Self-hosted, open-source)

SerpBear

This one's for the techy people. SerpBear is an open-source rank tracker that you host yourself. No limits on keywords. No credit system. No BS usage caps.

The catch? You have to set it up, maintain it, and fix it if it breaks. But if you know your way around a VPS, it's the best value I've found, hands down.

Final Thoughts

For most people, Google Search Console and Looker Studio will get the job done. If you're tech-savvy or have someone who can handle the setup, SerpBear is a solid option. Whether you're bootstrapping or on a budget, give these tools a try.

Okay, real talk. Online security is a huge deal. I mean, I didn’t always think so. But then one day, I saw someone get hacked, and it was an absolute disaster. Imagine waking up, trying to log into Facebook, and boom… account gone. Most people would just be like, “Eh, I’ll make a new one.”

But if you run a business online, losing your account is like watching your entire operation go up in flames. That Facebook account? It’s connected to business pages, community groups, ad accounts, tracking pixels, and all sorts of important things. If it gets hacked, you’re basically screwed.

And here’s the wild part, I see this happening all the time! Not because people are dumb, but because no one ever taught them how to actually protect themselves online.

Parents Teach Self-Defense, But Not Online Security

Think about it. When we were kids, our parents drilled basic self-defense into us. “Don’t talk to strangers,” “Look both ways before crossing the street,” “Scream if someone tries to kidnap you.” All that good stuff.

But did they ever sit us down and say, “Hey, here’s how to make a strong password” or “Never click on sketchy links”? Nope. And that’s why so many people fall for scams or get their accounts stolen.

The crazy thing is, online threats are just as real as physical ones. Getting hacked can mean losing money, personal info, or even your entire business. But most of us are just out here winging it, hoping we don’t get hit.

How You’re Making It Easy for Hackers

Most people don’t get hacked because hackers are geniuses. They get hacked because they make it way too easy. If you’re doing any of these, you’re basically inviting trouble:

• Using Weak or Reused Passwords – "123456" isn’t a password; it’s an invitation. And if you use the same password everywhere, one leak can take down everything.

• Ignoring Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – It’s one extra step that stops hackers in their tracks, yet so many people skip it.

• Falling for Phishing Scams – That “urgent” email from your bank? Probably fake. Click the wrong link, and you just handed over your data.

• Neglecting Updates – Old software = open doors for hackers. Updates patch security flaws, so stop hitting “Remind Me Later.”

• Oversharing Online – The more personal details you post, the easier it is for hackers to guess your passwords or impersonate you.

Simple Fixes to Keep Your Accounts Safe

The good news? You don’t need to be a tech expert to lock things down. Here’s what you can do right now:

• Get a Password Manager – Strong, unique passwords for every account, without having to remember them all.

• Turn on 2FA – It’s annoying, but not as annoying as losing access to your accounts.

• Stay Skeptical of Emails & Links – If something feels off, don’t click. When in doubt, check directly with the source.

• Keep Everything Updated – Your phone, apps, and computer need the latest security patches. Don’t delay updates.

• Limit What You Share Online – The less personal info floating around, the harder it is for hackers to target you.

• Back Up Important Data – If the worst happens, you’ll have a copy of what matters most.

Online Security Is a Life Skill

The internet isn’t going anywhere. And neither are hackers. So learning how to protect yourself online is just as important as learning how to drive or manage your money.

You don’t want to wait until you actually get hacked to start caring about security. By then, it’s too late. Take a few minutes now to lock down your accounts. You’ll thank yourself later.

As someone who juggles multiple projects and responsibilities, keeping track of meetings is difficult sometimes. So I look for a way to make sure I will always be aware of the upcoming meetings and hopefully never miss one again.

The Problem: Calendar Notifications Aren’t Enough

Google Calendar and other scheduling tools have built-in notifications, but they often fall short. The notifications either pop up too early or get lost among dozens of other alerts on my phone. Worse, if my phone is on silent or I’m deep in work mode, I might not even notice them.

Enter Buzzkill: A Smarter Way to Get Notified

Buzzkill is a notification filtering app that lets you create custom alerts based on specific triggers. Buzzkill can actually do a lot more, but we’ll focus on meeting notifications. 

Here’s how I use it to guarantee I never miss an important meeting:

1. Setting Up a Meeting Alarm

I use Google Calendar for scheduling, and I’ve set Buzzkill to trigger a persistent, loud alarm whenever a meeting notification arrives. Unlike regular notifications that can be dismissed or forgotten, this one demands my attention.

2. Creating a Custom Rule for Meeting Alerts

Buzzkill allows me to filter notifications based on keywords. I’ve set a rule that detects phrases like “Meeting”, “Call”, or “Zoom” from my calendar notifications and triggers an alert that’s impossible to ignore.

3. Ensuring I See the Notification

To make sure I actually acknowledge the alert, I’ve customized it to:

• Play a loud sound, even if my phone is on silent

• Vibrate continuously until I dismiss it

• Show a full-screen notification instead of just a banner

4. Backup Reminder for Extra Security

For particularly important meetings, I set a second notification that triggers an additional reminder two minutes before the event. This way, even if I’m distracted, I get another nudge right before it starts.

The Result: No More Missed Meetings

Since implementing Buzzkill into my workflow, I haven’t missed a single meeting (from my Google Calendar, I’m still figuring out syncing Lark calendar). It’s given me peace of mind, knowing that I’ll always be reminded in a way that cuts through distractions.

Your turn

If you’re struggling with missed meetings or unreliable notifications, I highly recommend giving Buzzkill a try. It’s a game-changer for anyone who needs to stay on top of their schedule without relying on default notification settings that can easily be ignored.

Do you use Buzzkill or any other notification management tool? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear how you stay on top of your schedule!

Over the years, I’ve tested countless tools and platforms, refining my stack to suit my specific needs. Here’s a look at the tools that power my work in 2025.

This stack gears toward solopreneurs and small teams with some specific criteria.

1. It has a free plan. I want to be flexible and try it out in a real environment (and I think you should too). Too often, the software looks nice, but nobody on the team uses it. I want to make sure that it is actually useful to the team before settling in.

2. It has to work on a browser. Since I travel a lot, the idea is that it should work on any device, anywhere in the world. Desktop and mobile apps are optional but good to have.

This one is going to be a bit long. Feel free to jump to the area that you are interested in.

Table of Contents

• 1. Productivity

  • Office software: Google Workspace

  • Project management: Todoist

  • Team communication: Discord

  • Knowledge base: Google Docs + Gitbook

  • Note-taking: Google Keep

  • AI: Gemini + ChatGPT

  • Automation: Make + Relay

• 2. Product Development

  • Front-end: Toddle

  • Back-end: Supabase

  • Internal tool: Retool

  • Content Management System (CMS): Hygraph + Content …

  • Planning: Linear

  • Product analytics: PostHog

  • Notification: Mailersend + Loops

  • Payment: Stripe

  • Tag management: Cloudflare Zaraz + Google Tag Mana …

• 3. Design

  • General-purpose: Figma

  • UI Framework: Shadcn/ui

  • Design Materials: Lucide

• 4. Marketing

  • Marketing analytics: Google Analytics

  • Email marketing: MailerLite

  • Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search Console + …

  • Content marketing: Publer

  • Advertising: Google Ads + Meta

  • Dashboard: Datapad

• 5. Sales & Customer Support

  • Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Attio

  • Outreach: Apollo

  • Scheduling: Cal.com

  • Customer support: Helpscout

• 6. Financial Management

  • Bookkeeping: Peak

  • Banking: K BIZ

  • eSign: Documenso

• Conclusion

1. Productivity

Everyone can relate to this section as they are general apps used in any kind of business.

Office software: Google Workspace

There are a few players in this space: Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, Lark, and a few others.

I find Google Workspace better fits my needs. I use almost everything they offer. Gmail is the standard of email nowadays. Calendar is easy to use and integrates with pretty much everything. Docs have been upgraded recently to replace Notion. Sheets is collaborative and reliable. Slides and Meet work everywhere.

The cool thing about all this is, that with Cloudflare Email Routing, I can have business email in my regular Gmail account with no additional cost. I can get around with this for a while. However, it’s not a secure way to set up, so not recommended for bigger teams.

Sadly, there’s no project management tool in their suite, so I need another tool for this. And they lack database tools. I find myself still using Airtable for some type of work.

I can’t recommend Microsoft 365 from my personal experience. Read more below.

Why I choose Google Workspace over Microsoft 365

www.cluelessfounder.com/p/google-workspace-vs-microsoft-365

Lark is another good option and it’s getting more popular. However, it doesn’t fit me for the same reasons as Microsoft 365. Not all apps work on a browser. You will need to download the desktop app to experience the full functionality. And they integrate with nothing but themselves. If those are not the problem for you, I highly recommend you to try Lark.

Project management: Todoist

Back then at my previous company, my personal and work life were clearly separated. So I used two different tools for each purpose: Google Tasks for personal and Asana for work stuff.

This year, I will be involved with so many more projects, to the point that work and life are blended. Todoist works well in this regard.

With Todoist, I’m able to set up personal projects e.g. housework, home business, personal branding, etc., and work projects within one app. It also has a great Google Calendar integration, the best one by far compared to other apps I have tried.

If you’re like me, blending work and life stuff, and want to have one view for everything, Todoist is a great choice. If not, Asana for work projects and something else for your personal tasks will do.

Team communication: Discord

There are many great chat apps for teams. Slack, MS Teams, Google Chat, Lark, etc. But I find Discord fits my needs.

Discord is not exactly a work chat app, but rather a community app for gamers. However, it can work for this purpose too as it has everything other apps have to offer, from channels, DMs, voice chat, etc.

Some might argue that Slack is a better option. Yes, Slack is free and has more powerful integration with other work apps. But the free version limits chat history to only 90 days, 10 integrations, external and huddles only work 1:1, and the list goes on. Why bother with those limitations when you can have everything for free on Discord?

Still, Discord is not designed to be used for work. It lacks controls and security features which may be necessary for big teams. In that case, go with other options.

Knowledge base: Google Docs + Gitbook

Recently, Google Docs added “tabs" where you can group content into sections within the same doc. We can now truly forget about Notion🤣. I use Google Docs for internal documents where appearance doesn’t matter much.

For external docs, I use Gitbook. It’s prettier than Docs. And it’s free.

Note-taking: Google Keep

I’ve tried a few note-taking apps. Notion, OneNote, Evernote, Capacities, etc. I ended up coming back to Google Keep due to its simplicity. It’s free, fast, easy to use, and reliable. What else do you want?

AI: Gemini + ChatGPT

I talk to AI a lot, at least 3 conversations every single day. I find Gemini is best for general purposes while ChatGPT is better for some specific topics like coding. I will also keep an eye on DeepSeek this year.

Automation: Make + Relay

Automation is the key to running a small team as it eliminates routine tasks entirely, allowing you and your team to focus on other matters. Zapier is the most well-known in the category but I find it too expensive.

Make and Relay is a great alternative and I find it more flexible than Zapier in many ways. I also find that some apps integrate better in Relay so I still keep both. But if I were to choose just one, Make is the way to go. Whatever apps you using, Make will likely be able to connect them.

2. Product Development

This section is specific for businesses that build software products and may not apply to many types of businesses.

Front-end: Toddle

I’m no coder, so I will need to use a no-code, low-code tool to build my apps. If you can code, you may skip this section.

Before I was able to make the decision, I studied a lot about the rendering technique each platform uses, why one is faster than another, and most importantly, why one is more SEO-friendly. It’s a big topic for another time😅.

Last year, I started building my app with WeWeb, a web app builder. While they’re great in what they do, I find it lacks SEO functionality which my business relies on a lot. So this year, I migrated almost everything to Toddle.

Toddle is a visual development platform. If we compare it to a website builder, this is similar to Webflow but for building web applications.

In my roadmap, I will need to build native apps on Android and iOS too. Flutterflow looks promising. I will share my experience later this year.

If you want to build a simple website, I highly recommend Webflow. I no longer recommend using WordPress. If you want to know why, read this one below.

STOP using WordPress in 2024

WordPress powers more than 43% of the web. Today I will try to convince you why you shouldn’t use it anymore in 2024.

www.cluelessfounder.com/p/stop-using-wordpress-in-2024

Back-end: Supabase

Supabase provides all I need as a backend: database, storage, authentication, etc. It’s not a no-code platform so I need to learn how to write SQL a bit. But thankfully, AI helps me a lot here.

Internal tool: Retool

This section will vary across the different types of businesses you’re in. For most businesses, all you need is a way to store data and a portal for your team to access and manage them. Tools like Airtable, Notion, Glide, Lark Base, or AppSheet will be your best bet.

Each has its advantages. Airtable is like the standard of a no-code database. Glide is mobile-friendly and easy to learn (Sadly, they keep increasing their pricing to the point that it’s no longer a valid option). Lark has Base which is pretty much their version of Airtable. AppSheet works with data in Google Sheets. Depending on where you keep your data, pick one that connects with it.

In my case, as I’m building a web app, it depends on what type of database I use for my app. In my case, I use PostgreSQL. Giving your team direct access to the database is dangerous, so I need another layer.

There are a few tools in this internal tool space. Budibase is great for simple databases. Mine is quite complex so I chose Retool.

Content Management System (CMS): Hygraph + Contentful

If you use something like Webflow, WordPress, or Bubble, you already have built-in CMS. However, I prefer a modular approach to avoid vendor-lock-in.

People seem to hate GraphQL but I find it better for complex queries. So I use Hygraph for blog content. For regular page content, I use Contentful. However, Contentful pricing is steep once exceeds the free plan. So I will explore some other alternatives.

Planning: Linear

I keep my development tasks separate from other business operations. I find Linear fits this space. Linear is like Asana but for product development. I use it to plan what to build next.

Product analytics: PostHog

PostHog offers everything you need to build a better product from analytics, heatmap, session replay, surveys, and more.

Notification: Mailersend + Loops

For email notifications, Mailersend does the job. If you are a coder you may want to checkout Resend. Loops is another great option built for software companies specifically. It’s a bit more expensive so I keep this for my B2B customers.

Another aspect that I haven’t looked into is push notifications. I will try Knock, Onesignal later.

Payment: Stripe

I chose Stripe because it’s easy to implement as a no-coder. If I can code, I would explore other options like Opn and 2C2P. But as of now, Stripe is good enough.

Tag management: Cloudflare Zaraz + Google Tag Manager

Thanks to these tag management tools, implementing tracking pixels is easier than ever. I find Cloudflare Zaraz has better performance as they’re server-side by default so I prefer it for public pages.

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is client-side which can slow down your website quite a bit. It does offer a server-side option, but it comes with a price. Because of that, I prefer GTM for private pages where SEO doesn’t matter much.

3. Design

I’m no designer so I don’t use professional design tools like Illustrator, Photoshop, Lightroom, etc. My design work mostly relates to web and UI design, and maybe some simple social media posts.

General-purpose: Figma

I use Figma for everything from designing a logo, banner, social media post, prototype, web UI, and the rest. My design work is mostly vector-based so Figma will do just fine.

For most people, just go with Canva.

UI Framework: Shadcn/ui

I don’t really use Shadcn directly but rather my own version of it. As I use a no-code platform, I will need to rebuild the design system in those platforms which may be slightly different from the original. I like the look and feel of Shadcn so I base my design on it.

There are other great UI kits like Untitled UI, Ant, Stratis, and more. Just choose whichever you like.

Design Materials: Lucide

Clean, customizable, icon packs. Some honorable mentions: Material Icons, Phosphor.

4. Marketing

Marketing is necessary for every business. You will probably need one for each of the categories below.

Marketing analytics: Google Analytics

I need to admit that Google Analytics is still by far, the most accurate marketing analytics out there due to the ability to track cross-device. It’s also one of the most not-so-privacy😅.

There are many privacy-focused analytics out there. But they’re not so reliable. What’s the point of making a decision based on inaccurate data, or even worse, incorrect data?

Email marketing: MailerLite

MailerLite is great at one thing, email. It has great email tools, segmentation, grouping, automation, and reasonable prices.

While they also offer other tools like website and landing page builder, they’re not the best. If you want an all-in-one solution, Brevo is a great option.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Search Console + Ahrefs

I find the Search Console and the free version of Ahrefs are good enough to keep me busy for a while.

Some other useful tools are Keyword Planner, Semrush, Ubersuggest.

Content marketing: Publer

If you need to post to multiple social media, Publer or Buffer are great. They are similar in many ways so whatever you pick will be good.

This year, I will also work to semi-automate content creation and publication. I plan to use a combination of Airtable, Make, and OpenAI (or DeepSeek). It’s not done yet so I’ll share what I learn along the way.

Advertising: Google Ads + Meta

While I focus on organic growth, I do run some ads focusing on the B2B side of the business. And when it comes to online ads, you can’t get away from these big ad networks. For B2C business, you may want to include TikTok ads too.

Dashboard: Datapad

I really like the simplicity of Datapad. Just connect the data sources and display them in one place. It supports data from a few platforms but you can always expand it with Google Sheets.

If you find Datapad too basic, check out Looker Studio.

5. Sales & Customer Support

Every business needs to sell. However, due to the nature of my business, I may not yet use these tools at their full potential.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Attio

I like Attio that it focuses on being just a CRM. This makes it easy to use and affordable. Folk is another one similar to Attio.

These tools are geared toward small teams. If you’re in a big team, you may consider Salesforce or HubSpot.

Outreach: Apollo

I’m too lazy to write and send emails one by one. Apollo helps me do exactly that but at scale.

Scheduling: Cal.com

I use this for scheduling meetings, avoiding the back-and-forth of endless emails. And it’s better than Calendly. If you’re on Google Workspace, you can just use the appointment feature built-in to Calendar.

Customer support: Helpscout

I chose Helpscout as a temporary solution because it’s free and looks nice, haven’t had a chance to use it that much yet.

Intercom is a bit too expensive. Tawk.to, Tidio, and Crisp are good options to check out.

6. Financial Management

Bookkeeping: Peak

There are many traditional accounting software. But I prefer the cloud ones as it makes more sense to me. Financial data should always be available at your fingertips, not the accountant’s schedule.

While I prefer Xero’s integration with other apps, Peak works well in my country (Thailand) as it covers local requirements better like tax documents.

FlowAccount is another great option but it lacks bank reconciliation. In Peak, you will be able to import your bank statement and be able to map each statement line to the transaction in the platform. This makes sure you won’t miss a single line in the statement. In FlowAccount, you need to do this manually which is a pain🥲.

Banking: K BIZ

I prefer SCB Business Anywhere over K BIZ. But due to my limitations, K BIZ is my best bet. Read my experience about this below.

I tried to open bank accounts for business in 2024 in Thailand. Here's my experience.

I’ve tried opening accounts with 3 banks: SCB, KTB, and KBank.

www.cluelessfounder.com/p/bank-accounts-for-business-thailand

eSign: Documenso

There are quite a few good options here. In the end, I chose Documenso due to its modern UI. It’s free up to 5 docs per month which is more than enough for me.

signNow is another good option if you need to sign more documents.

Conclusion

My tech stack is designed for automation, simplicity, and scalability. These tools help me run multiple businesses while traveling and staying flexible. I hope this stack gives you some inspiration!

If you’re on a similar journey, I’d love to hear about your favorite tools—what’s in your 2025 tech stack? Let’s share insights and keep building!

It has been nearly a year since I launched Telepath, a job board website designed for remote workers in Thailand. This feels like the right moment to reflect on the journey so far, share achievements, acknowledge challenges, and outline future goals.

Telepath was launched to the public in February 2024. In the beginning, it was a side project with minimal investment and no revenue. Realizing its potential, I sought funding to scale operations. Today, Telepath is a registered company, supported by DEPA (Digital Economy Promotion Agency).

Achievements

Here’s what Telepath has accomplished over the past year:

• 30,618 website users

• 2,311 registered users

• 615 jobs posted

• 1,207 company profiles created

• 385 recorded applications

• 2,473 unrecorded application clicks

• 233 social media followers

• 44,404 community members

Challenges

• Profitability: Telepath is not yet profitable. The silver lining is that the platform’s maintenance requirements are minimal.

• Growth Strategy: To conserve resources, we rely on organic growth, which demands consistent effort and patience.

Lessons Learned

• Data Collection is Crucial: In the early days, I chose not to require user registration for job applications, prioritizing user experience. This decision led to a significant loss of valuable data. Moving forward, data collection will be a priority.

• Start Social Media Early: While I successfully grew a Facebook group, I overlooked other platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok. Building a social media presence takes time, so it’s best to start as early as possible.

Looking Ahead

As we enter 2025, I am focusing on two main objectives:

1. Organic Growth: Increasing platform users enhances its value. Since we can’t afford to pay for all traffic, I’ll prioritize organic strategies, including SEO, social media, and video content.

2. Sales: Revenue is essential for sustainability. I plan to engage more with customers to better understand their needs and shape the platform’s direction.

Final Thoughts

The journey so far has been both challenging and rewarding. With the lessons learned and a clear focus on growth and revenue, I am optimistic about Telepath’s future. Here’s to another year of progress and innovation!

I recently registered a new company. To continue doing any kind of financial activity, I need a bank account. So I’ve tried opening accounts with 3 banks: SCB, KTB, and KBank. Let’s go through each of them.

SCB (Siam Commercial Bank)

SCB

SCB was my first choice as I was with them when I ran my previous company. Nowadays, you don’t interact with the bank but with the software they provide. And their software for business (SCB Business Anywhere) is quite intuitive.

To open an account with SCB, you need the following documents: Company Affidavit (หนังสือรับรอง), Certified Copy of Shareholder List (บอจ.5), and Shareholder’s ID.

I was surprised to learn that they no longer require the “Board of Directors meeting minutes.” I’ll discuss about this later.

Everything seems fine, except they have some limitations.

First, SCB is the only one on the list that does not accept new companies (younger than 30 days). This is a weird policy since a bank account is one of the first things a new company should have. They simply said no.

Another limitation, they do not allow cross-district account openings. This means you need to open an account at the specific branch according to the registered address of your company. Again, the only bank on the list that still has some kind of location restriction. This is kinda disappointing. I didn’t expect to see this kind of problem in 2024.

For those reasons, despite having great experience with them, I’m unable to continue using their services due to those restrictions.

KTB (Krungthai Bank)

KTB

KTB was my next attempt. This one is required for me as I need an account for the Digital Startup program. You can open an account with them regardless of the company's age and registered address, which is cool!

Their business software is called Krungthai Business. I tried this before. It’s above average but I still found it not as intuitive as SCB’s one.

To open an account with KTB, you need a similar set of documents: Company Affidavit (หนังสือรับรอง), Certified Copy of Shareholder List (บอจ.5), Shareholder’s ID, AND the Board of Directors meeting minutes.

KTB is the only one here that still requires the Board of Directors meeting minutes. It is basically a document that says all directors agree to open a bank account.

This makes no sense in my case as a sole owner. It’s kinda ridiculous that I need to print a paper to declare that I agree with myself to open an account, even though I was there in person.

One last thing, you need 500 THB, in cash only. So I must walk to the ATM and withdraw a single 500 note.

KBank (Kasikorn Bank)

KBANK

I have no prior business experience with KBank, only personal ones. It’s one of the easiest to open an account with, requiring the same sets of documents as SCB, but without any of their restrictions.

Their business software is kinda complicated. They have K BIZ, available on the web, and K SME, as a mobile application. They will replace K SME with a new app soon, so I only registered for K BIZ on the web. Their web app is ok but not as good as the other two. And there is no English interface.

Verdict

If you want to open an account quickly, KBank is the easiest. But if you plan to actively use their software, SCB has the best experience.

Have you tried any other banks? Let me know in the comments.

I’m starting a new company and choosing office software for my team. For those who are not familiar with office suites, think of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. There are a few providers but two of the most popular are Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) and Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides).

I used Google Workspace for my previous company, very satisfied with it. But I wonder what it’s like on the other side. So I did some tests, and it confirmed my decision.

This article is based purely on my personal experience using both platforms as a user. I mostly cover the user experience and may not cover technical security aspects. If you work in a big corporation, please consult your IT.

Table of Contents

• What I like about Google Workspace (and I don’t ab …

  • Cloud-native

  • Reliability

  • Third-party integrations

  • You need a Google account anyway

• What Google Workspace lacks (and Microsft 365’s do …

  • Familiarity

  • Project management tool

  • Pricing

• Conclusion

What I like about Google Workspace (and I don’t about Microsoft 365)

Cloud-native

On Google Workspace, you do everything through a web browser. This can be Chrome, Edge, Arc, Firefox, or whatever browser you prefer, no apps to download or install. All features work everywhere because there is only one place, the cloud.

On Microsoft 365, you have 2 connected experiences, the online and desktop versions. And their connection is not very smooth. Some features are available on desktop, but not online, making the work inconsistent.

Some may argue that Desktop apps are more powerful. For example, Excel Desktop has features that may never be implemented on Google Sheets. And I agree.

But let me ask you this. When is the last time you use Power Pivot and Power Query? For me, it was 9 years ago when I worked at Lazada with 10 million rows of data. Many of you may not even know what Power Pivot or Power Query is.

And that’s the point. Google Sheets already covers 99.99% of the work you do daily. Even if you were that 0.01%, you should be using something else like Power BI or Looker.

Works everywhere

This matters, especially when working with external parties like clients or partners who may or may not use any of Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. They might use Apple Business, Lark, Libre, or not use anything at all.

Microsoft 365 online version rarely works as intended for me. There will be times like, “Hmm this looks weird online, let’s try downloading it and open on the desktop app. Oh, it works now”. I mean, what’s the point of having the online version if I have to download the file anyway?

When I send a link to a client, I want to make sure that that link is guaranteed to work on whatever device, OS, or browser they use. And this is where Google Workspace serves me well, while Microsoft 365 is the opposite.

Reliability

This is kinda continue to the fact that Microsoft 365 is not cloud-native, I ran into some issues.

Word Online always has formatting issues, showing broken formatting when viewed online (This happens today still). If you send someone a link to a Word file, you will need that person to open it on Word Desktop to see exactly what you see. What if they don’t have Word installed? Good luck then.

You will never face this issue on Google Docs. As long as that person can open the link on a web browser, they will see what you see.

Excel also has issues when collaborating. When two people are working on the same Excel file, it crashes so often that I need to regularly refresh to check if my input is saved properly (This happened a few months ago). Again, never see this issue with Google Sheets.

So, the only reliable way to work with Microsoft 365 is to work on a downloaded file on a desktop, not collaborating with anyone, which destroys the purpose of the online version.

Third-party integrations

Microsoft 365 has tight integrations… first-party. Meaning, that they work well together within their ecosystem. However, in reality, you are likely to be using third-party software, which many times, may not integrate with Microsoft 365.

On the other hand, Google Workspace seems to have a much (much) wider integration with third parties. This is kinda obvious. How many times do you see “Sign in with Google” vs. “Sign in with Microsoft”? Yeah.

If you work with many tools, you will be frustrated when you find a situation like: “I wish I could import this directly to Excel. Sadly this tool only integrates with Google Sheets”.

Don’t get me wrong, you can pretty much do the same integration with Microsoft 365. But it’s not available natively for many providers. Meaning that you need to build it yourself, which is not for average users.

You need a Google account anyway

In your business journey, you will end up using at least one of the Google Services, especially if your company has a marketing team (which you should!). To use that service, you will need a Google account including:

• Google Analytics - if you have a website

• Google Ads - if you run an advertising campaign

• Google Search Console - if you do SEO

• Google Business Profile - if you want to have a pin on Google Maps

While you can use any email to create a Google account, it’s seamless to just have your email as a Google account. You need a Google account one day, but you may never need a Microsoft account.

While I’m a Google fanboy, there are some downsides. Let’s cover that too.

What Google Workspace lacks (and Microsft 365’s done better)

Familiarity

Most people are quite familiar with Microsoft’s suite. They already know how the tool works which makes them quick and easy to adopt. Google Workspace needs some training on how the cloud works which can be complicated in the beginning. Worst case, they may not adopt it at all.

Project management tool

Microsoft 365 has a project management tool called Microsoft Planner which can be used to manage projects and tasks for your team. Google Workspace has none. This means you need to use other tools for it, which may involve additional costs.

Pricing

Most people say that Microsoft 365 is cheaper as it starts at $4.75 (without Teams) including 1TB of storage while Google Workspace costs a bit more ($6) but only offers 30GB of storage. However, I find this argument unrelatable.

From my experience running a business using Google Workspace for years, I’ve never hit the storage limit as Google’s storage is much more efficient. For example, a blank Google Slides uses 3 KB while PPTX from PowerPoint uses 31 KB! Unless you are a YouTuber, you shouldn’t worry about the storage at all.

Another thing is that Microsoft 365’s base plan doesn’t include the desktop apps, only the (buggy) online version. You will need the Business Standard plan ($12.50) that includes the desktop apps to just be useful, which is comparable to Google Workspace’s Business Standard plan ($12) with double the storage (2 TB).

Conclusion

Microsoft 365 is easier to adopt and balances online and offline work, while Google Workspace takes a more modern approach but requires everything to be done on the Internet.

People are not very good at change. Most will prefer Microsoft 365 and do it offline, the old-fashioned way. Some may prefer the cloud path, where everything is truly connected. This depends on how you want your company culture to be.

My recommendations are:

• If you already have a running company and have already chosen one, just go on with it. The differences may not be worth the time and resources migrating.

• If you have a running small company (a few hundred employees) with young employees (Gen Y and below), choose Google Workspace.

• If your team works mostly online, choose Google Workspace, otherwise go with Microsoft 365.

• If you have a big company, you might already be on Microsoft 365.

• If you are starting a new company, choose Google Workspace.

Have you tried any? Let me know your thoughts.

I recently came to realize how building an audience is an unfair advantage in business, and life in general. Having a strong social media presence is vital for anyone looking to establish a brand, build credibility, or grow a community.

Recognizing this, I’ve decided to actively post on social media. By doing so, I aim to increase visibility for my projects, foster meaningful connections, and engage with like-minded individuals.

I have little to no audience so I use this as an advantage to just go and test things. That’s how I decided to just post something every single day and see how it goes.

My approach

My first post of this series started on Aug 13 and continued for a month. I’ve made a total of 30 posts. Each post had been published on 3 platforms: LinkedIn, X, and Threads. All platforms get the same content. Most of my posts were either texts or images.

At first, I tried to post daily. But it’s too difficult and time-consuming to just sit and come up with what to post each day. So I organized my posts into themes. This way, I know exactly what kind of content to post each day and was able to prepare them in advance.

• Mon (5 PM): #productoftheweek - Share 1 new product I found useful

• Tue (5 PM): #buildinpublic - Share the progress of my project

• Wed (5 PM): #usefulwebsite - Share website I found useful

• Thu (5 PM): #buildinpublic

• Fri (12 PM): #thoughts - Questions on whatever is on my mind

• Sat (12 PM): #thoughts

• Sun (7 AM): #bookquote - Share a quote from a book I read

I kept this schedule for 30 days. Here are the results.

The results

I receive a lot of views from LinkedIn. However, this is kinda biased as I have more followers to start with. While on X and Threads, I’m pretty much nobody. Threads doesn’t provide view data sadly so I’m gonna skip this and analyze the other two.

Overview

LinkedIn seems to have much more exposure. But if we look at the ratio between engagement and views, X is doing a bit better (2% on LinkedIn vs 2.5% on X). Let’s look a bit deeper at each channel.

Views on LinkedIn

Now this becomes more interesting. When we break it down by date, LinkedIn has a significant declining trend. The more I post, the fewer views I get. I must be doing something wrong here.

Views on X

On X, it has a similar declining trend but is not very obvious, aligning with the engagement rate.

Let’s have a look at each content type.

LinkedIn content type

On LinkedIn, #thoughts has the most views on average and #bookquote has the most engagement. People didn’t seem to care about the products I shared.

X content type

While on X, #buildinpublic has the most views and engagement. Interestingly, #bookquote which has the highest engagement on Linkedin, gets absolutely zero engagement on X.

What I learned

I assume that people on each platform have different expectations of the content they consume. By posting everything to everyone, I ended up pleasing no one. To fix this, let’s clearly define who my audience is on each platform.

My LinkedIn audiences are in 2 groups: managers and recruiters. From the stats, I assume they like self-improvement content. And from my observation, most engaging posts on the platform seem to either be long, or in video form. I guess I should try crafting longer content too.

They don’t care about the product I find useful. This could be because most of them work in corporates. And most corporates already have a strict way of working. So even though it’s super useful to me, it may not be applicable for many of them.

On X, #buildinpublic gets the most exposure so I assume they are indie makers or something similar. I follow a few indie makers building a product like me. Learning from what they share is invaluable. By sharing what I do, I hope to inspire others just like what they did to me.

#thoughts works on both platforms which is the most personal type of content compared to other post types. The content should reflect me and who I am so that people feel that personal connection. I’ll keep this one in mind when crafting the next content.

Another thing I was missing is the improvement cycle. As I have so many themes of content, some of them are templated and I didn’t put in enough energy to make it better.

Next steps

Now I’m facing this dilemma. Should I be consistent and keep posting daily? or Should I cut the consistency and focus on tailoring my content? Without the data above, this is difficult to decide.

But now that I have the information I need, I can make a data-informed decision. And the choice is clear.

I can’t produce unique content for multiple platforms every day. So instead of posting daily, I will decrease the number and type of posts to focus on delivering value on each post for each group of audiences.

Do you post on social media? I would love to hear what you have learned too.

There are literally hundreds of productivity apps trying to help you get things done. And I need to get things done so I tried so many of them. Let’s see how I choose one for myself.

Why am I looking for a task management tool in the first place?

It’s pretty simple. My brain is pretty bad at remembering things. If the human brain were a computer, I would have a fast CPU and tons of storage, but super low on RAM.

Luckily, we have computers and smartphones nowadays to help us with all kinds of stuff. Then we have another problem, choosing the right tool. I mean, look at how many of them are trying to solve this problem.

Task Management Software (G2.com)

Choosing the right one is kind of subjective as each has different needs and preferences. Let’s first scope down our search by setting up criteria. This is quite specific for me but you can probably set up something similar.

What am I looking for?

1. I’ll be using this app for personal tasks only. This includes paying monthly credit cards, doing laundry and groceries, meeting with the dentist, and other day-to-day small tasks. I’ll use another project management app for work separately (I use Asana for work).

2. It has to be some kind of checklist where tasks can be checked off as a clear indication of completion.

3. It should be easy to jump in, no initial setup is required.

4. It has to be able to create recurring tasks as most of them will be repeating.

5. It should work on all devices. I use a Windows PC and an Android phone. But to be safe, it should work on Mac, iOS, and web browsers.

6. And finally, it should be free as it is for personal use.

These criteria filter out a lot of the options, including some popular ones. Things only work on Mac and iOS. Trello doesn’t do recurring without hacks. And Notion… well, despite its popularity, I never consider Notion as a task/project management tool 😂.

In the end, all I need is just a list of things, in the cloud, reminding me what to do and when. That’s it. Google Tasks is good enough for this.

What I like about Google Tasks

Google Tasks is dead simple. It’s a list of tasks. It has all the basic functions a task management app should have. Add tasks, put due dates, check them off, done! You can still make things more complex by adding notes, subtasks, and lists if you want. It also works on all devices and operating systems. They are all synced up under a Google account.

Tasks can repeat themselves, which surprisingly is not possible for some other apps. You can set tasks to repeat weekly/monthly/yearly. You can also set how many times it should repeat. And you can even do some tricky stuff like repeat a task every first Saturday of each month.

Because it’s a Google app, it integrates with the Google Ecosystem, especially Google Calendar, which many other apps struggle with. And I use Google Calendar a lot. It’s quite nice when you can just complete your task right on the calendar.

You can create, edit, and complete tasks via Calendar.

What I don’t like about Google Tasks

Lists are difficult to use in real life. The problem with having tasks in multiple lists is not knowing what to do at a certain time. This is because there is no view to see tasks that due today from all the lists. So I need to check all lists to see if I need to do something in it, which is kind of frustrating. I solved this by just using one list.

There is no file attachment. This is not a big deal as I’ll be using links to Google Drive anyway. But I wish those links could be prettified automatically. It’s annoying to see long URLs in the description sometimes.

There is no collaboration feature. You can neither share a list nor assign a task to another. It’s just your own lists and tasks. I wish I could assign tasks to my wife 😂.

There is no dedicated desktop app. It used to have one. But no more. To use Google Tasks on a desktop, you need to either use it in Gmail’s sidebar, or in Google Calendar. They’re fine, but I still prefer having a dedicated app icon.

You can use it on the sidebar of Gmail on your desktop.

Not yet a dedicated app but a page on Calendar.

What if you don’t like Google?

You may be an iPhone user or just don’t like Google. Here are my recommendations that are pretty close to Google Tasks.

Todoist

Todoist can do pretty much all Google Tasks can, plus more like a collaboration feature. I tried this one before moving to Google Tasks as the calendar integration is not as good.

TickTick

TickTick is close to Todoist but only works on mobile. If that’s fine for you, it can be one of the good options.

Things

Things is for Mac users. If you are in Apple’s ecosystem, then this is the one.

Microsoft To Do

Microsoft To Do is from, well… Microsoft. Similar to Google, it works seamlessly within Microsoft’s ecosystem. Most of the apps work with Google Calendar in some way. But if you use Outlook as your calendar of choice, this is probably the best.

Superlist

Superlist is new in town. It’s from the same creator of Wunderlist. This one looks pretty and promising. I’ll keep an eye on this one.

Conclusion

There are a lot more and I will never be able to cover all of them. And I believe there is no one right app for everyone. Each of them has pros and cons. And each of you has different needs. Just try some and pick the one that works for you. Let me know which one is your favorite.

Everyone has an email. But not many of them know how to use it properly. I don’t have many opportunities to peek into other people’s phones. But when I did, I almost always saw 1,000+ unread email badges on their mail app icon.

You need emails for almost everything online. People tend to only use it for signing up for online services, getting all junk mail piling up. And when there is one super important email that they are supposed to read, they have no idea where it is.

This situation is so common that people try to come up with ways to deal with their inboxes. One of them is Inbox Zero.

What is Inbox Zero?

Inbox Zero aims to keep an inbox almost empty at all times. There are 5 steps according to the Inbox Zero methodology. However, instead of going through them, I would like to share tips I use daily to make my inbox manageable.

My 7 tips to declutter your inbox

1. Archive

Archive vs. Delete

The first step is to remove unnecessary emails. You can either delete or archive emails you no longer need. Deleting an email will send it to trash box, which will later be deleted forever. Archiving an email will simply remove them from your inbox but still be searchable and available in your All Mail box.

I personally never delete emails from my inbox. Most email services are very generous. On average, you can store up to 1.5 billion emails before reach the storage limit.

If you have thousands of emails siting in your inbox right now, you can simply archive them all, knowing that they are not going away and you can always search for them. Voilà, you have achieved Inbox Zero!

I did this the first time to empty my inbox. Then I continue to check daily and archive emails I no longer need.

2. Unsubscribe

Unsubscribe button

You need an email to sign up for online services. And most of them will automatically opt you into the mailing list, sending you regular marketing emails. Some of them are valuable. The rest are junk. But did you know that you can ask them to stop sending?

Every marketing email requires telling recipients how to opt out of receiving future marketing emails. This usually comes in the form of an unsubscribe link at the end of each email. Clicking this link will ask the sender to remove you from the mailing list and stop receiving emails from them.

All marketing emails must have this unsubscribe link. And it is illegal not to have one. Nowadays, email platforms like Gmail detect this link and display the unsubscribe button at the top of the email, making this much easier to do so.

Now that you have an empty inbox, start unsubscribing from incoming marketing emails that you are no longer interested in. And don’t forget to archive them after that :)

3. Filter

Filter actions

Some emails will still get to your inbox offering no way to unsubscribe. This may include transactional emails and automatic spam emails. If you keep archiving them, the platform will learn from your choice and will later put them in the spam box. You can also make this process faster by reporting it as spam.

However, the spam box acts the same as the trash box where emails here will be deleted after 30 days. And many times you don’t want to delete those emails. This is where filters come in.

You can create a filter in the ‘Settings > Filters and Blocked Addresses’ in Gmail and similar on other platforms. You can define the criteria to match emails and actions for them. You can also create filter from the mail itself by selecting ‘Filter messages like this’ menu at the top right.

Filter messages like this

For example, I have a daily report from the banking system. I don’t read them but I want to be able to search for them whenever I need. I create a filter with a ‘From’ condition ‘@mybank.com’. Then assign it to ‘Skip the inbox’ and ‘Never mark it as Spam’. This way, all emails from the bank will go straight to the All Mail box.

4. @mention

@mention teammates

Sometimes you are the only recipient but the person who can take action is someone else. You can choose to forward the email to that person. But the first sender will have no idea that you have passed the email.

A better way to do is to reply with @mention. You can simply include people in the email loop by @mention, just like you do in a chat app. Doing so will automatically include that person in the Cc field and letting the original sender know that you are passing the conversation to someone else at the same time.

5. Reply all

Default to Reply all

When there are many people in the email thread, you can choose to ‘Reply’ or ‘Reply All’. If you choose Reply, only people in the From field will receive the mail, while Reply all will also include those in the Cc field.

Since the ‘Reply’ button is the default one, it is common to see people make this mistake. To avoid this mistake, you can change the default reply behavior in the General Settings. This way the Reply All button will always be the first one.

6. Snooze

Email snooze

There are some emails that you cannot reply to now but will be able to in the future date. Don’t leave them in your inbox. You can snooze them. Snooze will simply hide the email from your inbox and set it to be visible again at a later date and time.

For example, if the management asks me for the monthly report but the report will be ready in the next 3 days. Instead of keeping that email, I will reply to let them know when they can expect this, then snooze the email. This way I have a clean inbox to work on and will receive this email again in the next 3 days, exactly when my report is ready.

7. Create task

Asana task import

Finally, there are emails that you need to work on. And email sucks as a task management. Therefore, you should have a dedicated tool that helps you organize your daily tasks. If not, I recommend trying Todoist or Asana.

Both tools integrate with almost every email service, offering an extension to import emails directly into the platform as tasks. This way, you can continue your work in one place.

Your turn

Now that you have my 7 tips. The only way to make it work is to implement them into your daily routine. It may feel overwhelming at first. But I assure you, when you reach the point, it will be such a satisfying email experience.

However, do keep in mind that Inbox Zero may not be for everyone. You may have other ways to manage your inbox that are more effective for your use case. If you do, I would love to hear from you.

I’ve designed multiple logos throughout my career. Actually, it began way before that. My first logo was a room logo to be used on the yearbook. After that, I designed quite a few e.g. class projects, a dormitory forum, and some of my early business ideas. They were all pretty bad when I look back now. But back then, they were gorgeous✨.

Each time I created a new logo, I would try new techniques, tools, and processes as I saw the flaws of the current one. So I keep learning and adjusting the process over time. Today, I want to share my current process of designing a logo I use for my latest business, Telepath.

Warning, I’m an indie maker, not a professional designer. I don’t want to spend too much time designing logos as I would rather spend time developing the business itself. Therefore, this process is intended to create a design that is ‘good enough’ as quickly as possible and is not intended to be used long-term. Use it at your own risk.

Inspiration

If you want to follow along, I assume you already have a name for your brand, with some meaning behind it as a starting point. Now it’s time to look for inspiration.

There are multiple ways to gather inspiration. What I usually do is search for the name on Google Images and append the design keywords I prefer. For example, I may try searching for, “Telepath icon”, Telepath symbol”, “Telepath flat”, “Telepath material”, etc. This helps me solidify the name into shapes or symbols.

Google Images

Another way is to use the logo maker tools. Try searching for “logo maker” on Google and you will find a ton. The results are quite generic but still good for inspiration.

As a marketer, I collect swipe files. A swipe file is a collection of marketing materials to use for inspiration. This can be Facebook posts, display ads, blog banners, YouTube thumbnails, etc. In other words, collections of designs I like.

Whenever I see something I like, I save it to my collection (I simply use Google Keep). By doing this regularly, I end up having a big library of design examples that are up to my taste. Not only that it is a good source of inspiration for my future designs, but also when I outsource the design to someone else.

Draft

After gathering inspiration, it is time to start drawing. The easiest way is to grab a pen and paper (or a tablet if you have one) and just keep drawing. If you are on a PC, you can use Excalidraw or any whiteboard tools. There is no rule at this point, just keep drawing multiple symbols, types, sketches, and shapes until they start to repeat.

What do I mean when they start to repeat? It means when you draw the same or very similar sketch twice. Now highlight those repeating sketches and pick a few more you like. At this point, you may have drawn 10–20 sketches. You have to pick only 4–5 of them.

Logo sketches

Design tool

In the past, the first design tool I learned was Adobe Photoshop (I don’t count Paint🤣). Because it was the only tool I knew at the time, I used it for everything. While it is doable, other tools can be far better and easier for different purposes. Going into that, we need to understand the differences between Bitmap and Vector.

Source: https://www.stickeryou.com/blog/post/vector-vs-bitmap

Bitmap images (JPG, PNG files) are made up of a grid of pixels that contain information about the color of each pixel. When you export an image from Photoshop, you need to specify the size in pixels not bigger than your original design resolution. If you design in 1080 x 1080 px, you can export anything smaller but not bigger, or else your image will be blurry.

Vector images (EPS, PDF, SVG files), on the other hand, are made up of lines, curves, and shapes and can be scaled to any size without losing resolution. Because of that, they are better for creating layouts, illustrations, and, in our case, logos. Adobe Illustrator is designed for that. This approach is more flexible as you can design in vector and later export it as bitmap files.

So, what tool do I use for logo design today? Figma is my design tool of choice. It is primarily used for UX design and is not as powerful as Adobe Illustrator. But it is very easy to learn, works on the web, and is free to use. (I use ChromeOS at work, so can’t use any of Abobe’s software anyway🥲)

Figma

Logomark

Logomark and logotype

Now we need to turn those sketches into clean shapes. Whichever tool you choose, create clean shapes of your logo. What I recommend here is to draw them in black and white. We are going to ignore colors for now.

Why black and white? Your logo will usually be displayed in many places, monitors, phone screens, packages, papers, and many more. Having them in black and white ensures that your logo will always be recognizable, without the color. So even when printed on a black and white newspaper, people should not confuse your brand with others.

Logotype

Choosing the font is one of the most time-consuming for many designers, but not for me. I don’t plan to buy fonts so I stick to free fonts available on Google Fonts.

Keep in mind that the logo font doesn’t have to be the same as the font you use for other stuff. So you can pretty much pick whatever you like. For example, I use Plus Jakarta Sans for the logotype, Noto Sans for headlines, and Noto Serif for body texts.

Google Fonts

Once the font is selected, you need to choose the case: UPPERCASE, lowercase, or Title Case. There is no right or wrong but I prefer the title case. I think using uppercase and lowercase might be cool for you, but difficult for everyone else.

Let’s give Facebook as an example. Should I write facebook? (the consumer logo) or FACEBOOK? (the enterprise logo) or Facebook? (what Facebook wants us to write). See? It is confusing. (It is now Meta, thank god🤣)

Facebook logos

Having your logotype capitalized or as a title case will ensure that it will always be consistent everywhere. But I’m no designer so, some may disagree👎.

Selection

At this point, you should have a few pairs of logomarks and logotypes. Take a screenshot of all of them side by side and send them to your friends for feedback. This doesn’t mean that you let your friends decide which one to go for. This is only to safeguard some critical stuff you may have missed.

For example, one of your friends may spot that one of your logos is too similar to a well-known brand in the market. Or one of your logomarks can be misleading or inappropriate to a certain group of people. What is left is for you to make the final decision.

Final logo design

Color

Once you have your logo, it is time to brighten it up with colors. There are ways to come up with colors. Using tools like Adobe Color or Coolers is a good way. But I still found it too difficult for me. There are millions of colors to choose from and I have no clue how to pick the right shades.

So instead of learning the color theory, it is much easier to just copy from a set of colors in existing design frameworks like Tailwind CSS (or tailwindcss?🤣).

For this project, I use UntitledUI. Another good thing about using this is they already account for the contrast ratios, so I know when to pair it with white or dark text color.

Color palettes

Generally, you will need one or two brand palettes (I prefer only one) plus one gray palette. These palettes will be used throughout your future designs. Usually, I use shade 600–700 of the brand color for the logomark and pair it with shade 900 of gray for the logotype. But for this project specifically, I would like to try gradient.

Logo colors

Variations

We’re not done yet? Hell no! We only have one version of our logo, the default version. In this step, we need to expand our logo into different variations including light, dark, white, black, brand, and gray.

Logo variations

There are also situations we need our logo with the background, so pair them with different background colors too. We also need our logo as icons, sometimes pre-cropped in circles.

Logo with background combinations

When pairing the logo with the background, you will need to leave some padding (space between the edges and the logo). While you can set this distance in pixels, it is best practice to use the existing element in the logo itself as a guide.

Logo padding with background

Setting padding in fixed pixels won’t apply as you scale your logo up or down, difficult for day-to-day use. For example, if the padding is 60 pixels when your logo is 500 x 1200 px. What if I want the logo to be 750 px in height, what is the padding now? I need to do some calculations to know exactly how much space I should leave.

On the other hand, by using an element in the logo, in this case, I decided to use the capital T letter as a guide, Anyone can easily guess the distance regardless of the logo size.

Export

Now that we are done with the design, it is time to export them. Export the transparent variations (those without background) as PNG and SVG, and background variations as PNG only. The PNG should be at 512 pixels in height. I found that this size is big enough for general purposes. You can always come back and export again for any specific use cases.

Why did I choose PNG and not JPG?

JPG and PNG are bitmap images. JPG doesn’t support transparency while PNG does. The reason we still need these is because many platforms require them. While JPG is smaller, we only use these formats on platforms other than ours, where we don’t care how big it gets. Most platforms will do their own image compressions anyway so PNG will be fine.

And what is SVG?

SVGs are Scalable Vector Graphics or vector files. It has no size and can scale infinitely. It is also much smaller than bitmaps like PNG and JPG. We will use this on our website.

Why not use PNG on the website?

Logo placement on the website

PNG is a bitmap and not scalable. But your website is (or should be) responsive and scale to any device. Too large images will be slow to load which is bad for SEO. Too small images are blurry and bad for user experience. Unless you have a system to auto-resize images to fit exactly every screen of your users, you will end up serving too large or too small images.

This doesn’t apply to SVG as it scales to fit any screen size. So instead of serving 5 different sizes of PNG logos, you can just use one SVG file. It is also smaller and faster to load. Your logo will almost always be at the top of every single page of your website. So every little thing adds up.

Store and share

As you have a lot of variations, it is best to set some kind of naming convention so that it is easier to find. Then keep them in folders somewhere that is easy to share.

I uploaded all my logos to Google Drive and set the folder to public. The next time I need someone to take care of my design, I can just attach the link to all of my logos.

Store logos on Google Drive

Your turn

And that’s how I design a logo. I hope this is useful to young founders looking to build an awesome brand in the future.

Again, I’m no designer. If you need a properly designed logo, I recommend consulting a real designer😂.

Am I missing something? Let me know in the comments.

Chat apps are essential ways to communicate among team members nowadays. It’s fast, convenient, and instant. However, I’m surprised how many teams are still using Line as their day-to-day team communication tool.

Line is very popular in my country and is great for what it is, for personal use with casual chats and some stickers. But let’s admit it, Line sucks when we try to use it at the workplace. It is slow, mixes topics, keeps no history, keeps no files, invades privacy, and much more.

Regardless of how bad it is, many teams are still using it. This could be because they don’t know other better tools, or simply because their boss forces them to.

There are many better tools for this. Let’s see what can we use to communicate with our teammates effectively and professionally.

Slack

I used Slack a while ago and still revisit it from time to time. Feature-wise, Slack is probably the best of all. It’s free and easy to use. And it integrates with pretty much any cloud software out there. If you have a good setup, you can do most of your work without leaving Slack.

While Slack is free to use, the free version lacks a few important things. It only keeps chat history for 90 days, including files in there. Which is okay to get started with. But it can be problematic for a bigger team. To get access to old messages, you need to upgrade.

The free version only allows 1:1 meetings. To have group meetings, you will need to upgrade or use other software like Zoom.

If you decide to go with the paid plan, it doesn’t give everything you need either. Slack is just a chat app after all. In the real working environment, you will need more tools to manage files, documents, spreadsheets, and slides. If your organization already subscribes to other business suites e.g. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace, adding Slack on top of those can be quite expensive.

If you don’t mind juggling between many apps, or you just need a business chat app for your team, then Slack’s free plan might fit you.

Microsoft Teams

If you already subscribe to Microsoft 365, Teams is probably the best option as you get to use it for free. It tightly integrates with the Microsoft ecosystem that most people are familiar with.

However, it is a bit more difficult to set up than other options. Since it comes with Microsoft 365, you can’t just have Teams as a standalone app. You will need to set up the entire software suite which can be complicated for some.

It also doesn’t play well with other tools. You might find it limiting when trying to connect outside of its ecosystem.

If you already love Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, Teams is a no-brainer.

Google Chat

Similar to Teams, Google Chat comes with Google Workspace, integrating with all of Google’s ecosystem. I find Google’s suite is much better on the web compared to others.

One advantage of Google Chat is, it’s not exclusive to paid Google Workspace users. In fact, every Google account (including Gmail users) already has access to it. This makes connecting with people outside of your organization much easier.

The downside, it’s pretty barebone. You don’t get fancy features like others. If simple chat is all you need, then you will like it.

Lark

I came across Lark not long ago and I’m surprised at how powerful it is. Lark Messenger is a part of Lark Suite. Similar to Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace, Lark Suite has all the tools you need for your daily work, some even more powerful than its competitors.

Lark also has a very generous free plan for up to 50 users. If you can utilize this, it can potentially save you a lot of money.

Unlike Google Workspace, Lark is similar to Microsoft 365 where it works well on desktop and mobile, but not so well on the web. While you can use some of the features from the browser, many require you to open its desktop app which can be confusing for new users.

If you are on a budget but still want powerful software, Lark is definitely a good option to consider.

Discord

Discord is built for gamers but we can use it for work too. It can be a good free alternative to Slack. It keeps all your chat history. It has powerful voice chat and video calls. And it’s free.

However, as it is designed to be a chat for gaming, it doesn’t integrate with business software natively. You can still do it yourself but will require some technical knowledge.

If you already use Discord for games, it can be a challenge to separate your work and personal life. You wouldn’t want your boss to see that you are in a boss fight in Elden Ring, do you?

Which chat app should you use?

I’ve tried all of the above. They all have their unique advantages and trade-offs. But you need to pick only one for your team and this is my suggestion.

Most small teams are likely not using many business software. Hence, I recommend getting started with Slack. It’s easy to set up and use.

If you need office software too (doc, sheet, slide) but you are on a budget, Lark is a good option. If you have a budget to spend, then go with either Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace.

For big teams, your team is most likely already with Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. If that’s the case, then use what you already have: MS Teams or Google Chat. Both are very capable in their ecosystem and free to use.

If none of the above fits you, Discord is your last resort.

The email was invented in 1971 by Ray Tomlinson. That was 50 years ago and we still use it today as a formal way to communicate online, especially among businesses.

You can create email inboxes for free. The most popular ones are Gmail and Outlook. But sending yourname@gmail.com to your business partner seems a bit unprofessional. That’s why you might want to have a business email like yourname@yourbusiness.com.

There are a few ways to get business emails. One way is to use services like Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. But they are pricey if you don’t utilize all their tools. Another is to rent an email hosting. However, I find this method unreliable and requires some maintenance.

When I was running the agency, our team used Google Workspace and all the tools it provides. But now that I’m a solopreneur, I can’t afford to pay for premium tools anymore.

Therefore, I have been searching for a solid way to get business emails at the lowest cost possible and require little to no maintenance. And I want to share my preferred methods.

Keep reading if you are still using @gmail.com or @outlook.com for your business.

For big teams

If you are not a technical person, you will need to sign up for a kind of service. This is the only way so that you don’t have to maintain the server, etc. Luckily, some services are offering free tier for business emails.

My preferred one is Lark. Lark is a collaboration platform developed by ByteDance (It’s basically a translated version of Feishu).

Lark is pretty much like Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. It has all the similar tools like Docs, Sheets, Messenger, and most importantly in our case, business emails. Their free plan is very generous too, with up to 50 users.

Google Workspace costs $12 per user. If you run a team of 50 people, that will cost you $600 per month. So Lark can potentially save you a lot of money.

For small teams

If you are a technical person and don’t mind getting your hands dirty, you can set up an email routing.

Instead of creating a separate inbox for business, we will be utilizing our personal Gmail inbox to send and receive business emails using Cloudflare Email Routing .

What it does is that it forwards emails coming into the business address to the personal Gmail inbox. We then set up Gmail inbox to be able to send emails using the business address. This way we can send and receive both ways.

It’s very convenient as I will have one inbox for everything. And I get to use the same Gmail interface over learning to use a new platform. However, there are limitations.

It’s a bit complex to set up. And you need to set up each email individually. You cannot set policies for other users. If you work with other people, business emails will land in their personal inbox which is a huge security risk. In the end, it’s just a Gmail masked with your business address.

I’m currently using this method as I’m running solo. If you are running a small team, say up to 5 people, this method is still manageable. However, if you are working with a bigger team, I recommend going with Lark.

Your turn

Depending on your preference, all the options above will give you professional business email addresses.

Lark gives you a professional suite of tools to work with, not just emails. However, there are some risks involved as you don’t know how long it will stay free. If one day Lark decides to reduce the number of free users, you may end up paying or be in a big migration mess.

Cloudflare Email Routing simply gives a professional email address to your personal inbox. But it comes with security risks and complexity to set up.

Either way, you are using free services. And there will always be trade-offs.

WordPress powers more than 43% of the web. It is, definitely, the most popular website builder on the planet. Today I will try to convince you why you shouldn’t use it anymore in 2024.

I created my first WordPress website when I started freelancing in 2016. At the time, WordPress is the only good way to build a website without code. I continue to develop more websites with WordPress. It was great at the beginning. But things started to get worse.

After running on WordPress for several years, I faced many frustrations maintaining simple websites. Websites started to slow down, and things broke frequently, which ended up costing me more time and money just to keep websites working. Let’s break down the problems I found using WordPress.

1. Hidden costs — WordPress.org is free. You can launch your new website with literally $0. But is it really free? If you create a website for fun, then yes. But if you create a business website, serving real customers, heck no. It will end up costing you a lot more for hosting, performance plugins, security plugins, utility plugins, maintenance, and many more. To sum up, it’s free to create a shitty website, but quite costly to create a professional one.

2. Plugins — WordPress started as a blogging platform. Then people want it to do everything else, so they develop plugins for it. To create a functional website, you need a lot of plugins. Some are free, but the good ones are not.
   Everything requires plugins. Oh, you want a nice form on your website? install a plugin. Oh, you want a popup to show promotions? install a plugin. Oh, you want a cookie banner? install a plugin. This happened until you ended up having 20+ plugins installed which significantly slowed down your entire site. Oh, you want your website to run faster? Install a plugin!

3. Dependencies— What makes WordPress easy to build are themes. You can find millions of beautiful WordPress themes to buy. Once you install it, it looks great. After a while, it starts to fall apart. This is because most themes depend on a set of plugins. If one of the plugins stops working, so as your theme. Not only themes that tie to the plugins. Some plugins themselves also tie to other plugins, making this a big mess.

4. Maintenance — If you think that you design a website, launch it, and leave it be forever, you are dead wrong. Your website needs to be updated. Just like your phone, it will get an OS update with new functionality and security patches. WordPress will release software updates and your website will update itself automatically. Right? No.
   You need to update your WordPress site manually. Why? Because of the plugins.
   When you update your website to a new version, some of the plugins will not be compatible and will stop working. So you need to wait until all the developers of the plugins you installed fix their plugins. Big ones are quick, small ones might take weeks, or never get updated. If you run into a plugin with inactive dev, you will need to find new plugins to replace. The worst part is, that even after the update, some updates will still break your website regardless.

5. Security —WordPress powers so many websites that it attracts malware. And there are so many ways malware can get to your website. One of them is… you guess it… plugins. Each plugins are developed by different developers around the world. If one of your plugins is compromised, then your entire site is doomed.

6. No support — Once your site gets infected, now what? You need to fix it or hire someone to do so. WordPress offers no support. It is open-source and free so they have no responsibility to maintain it for you. Some plugins will provide support. But you have 20+ plugins. So which one is breaking your website? No idea. Let’s uninstall all of them and activate them one by one. Then you find it and contact the developer. Turns out hundreds of other people are posting on the support forum about your exact problem. Then you wait for 2 weeks and luckily they fix it.
   This scenario is fine if it is a hobby website. But we are doing business here. If your website is down for 2 weeks, losing a lot of money, and raging a lot of customers, you are the only one to blame.

7. Learning curve — Launching a WordPress website is easy. There are tons of tutorials on the internet for you to follow. However, developing a good WordPress website is not easy. You need to learn how to choose a good hosting. You need to learn how to optimize your website for speed. You need to learn about security and how to deal with malware. You need to learn how to deal with spam. You need to learn how to choose a good theme. You need to try tons of plugins. You need to learn a lot.

Because of the frustrations above, I started seeking alternatives. It’s time to move on. In 2022, I decided to jump ship to other platforms entirely.

WordPress alternatives

WordPress tries to be everything, but not good at anything. If you want to build a website for a specific business use case, there is most likely a better solution that serves your specific needs. Let’s see what I recommend today.

Webflow — for business websites

Webflow is by far the most powerful website builder. It is sad to see very few people using it in my country. It has all the functionality you need to create a professional website built into the platform. It produces clean code which helps with website speed and SEO.

With all the greatness, here comes the downsides. Webflow is a complex tool with a steep learning curve. You need to have a basic understanding of how web layout works. The interface is quite overwhelming for beginners too. I mean look at the tool, it looks like Photoshop. But once you get past the learning phase, this is the best website builder you can find.

Shopify — for e-commerce websites

Shopify is not only a website builder, but an e-commerce platform. While you can use WordPress + WooCommerce, you will get into the maintenance hell again. Shopify removes all those hassles and lets you focus on the most important aspect of e-commerce business, selling.

Since the platform is standardized, you may find it limited in customizability. But for most people, this is much more than good enough to run a stable e-commerce website.

Framer — for personal or small business websites

Framer is the easiest way to design and publish a website. Designers may prefer Framer over Webflow because of the simple design process.

In Webflow, you will need to design your website in another software, in most cases, Figma. Then you need to recreate those designs in Webflow. In Framer, it is much simpler as the tool itself is also a design tool. So you can skip Figma and start designing websites in Framer directly. Once the design is finished, just click publish and your website will be live.

Framer is new in town so they still miss a few functionalities. But if you are a designer and looking to create a simple website, you will love it.

Ghost — for blogs

Ghost is a powerful app for professional publishers. While WordPress was originally built to be a blogging platform, it lacks many features to call it a modern publishing platform.

On the other hand, Ghost comes with essential tools like membership, newsletter, monetization, analytics, and integration with other apps.

Your turn

The only situation in which I would still recommend WordPress is if you already have a WordPress website with a team to maintain it. If you already have a running website and business, don’t reinvent the wheel. WordPress still had its upside of a big community, and a wide range of providers to support and maintain.

However, if you are looking to start a new website in 2024, and you are the one managing the website, avoid WordPress at all costs.