Spent $0 on software until client 6. Here is the exact stack. FOR FINDING PROSPECTS (FREE): LinkedIn (free account): Search posts with pain keywords Apollo.io (free tier): 50 email lookups monthly for contact info Google Sheets: Track prospects and pipeline FOR OUTREACH (FREE): Gmail: Send personalized messages Loom (free tier): Record 5-minute video demos Calendly (free tier): Let prospects book discovery calls FOR BUILDING (FREE/LOW COST): n8n (self-hosted): Completely free workflow automation Make.com (free tier): 1,000 operations monthly Google Drive: Store and process documents Google Sheets: Output destination for demos FOR DEMOS (FREE): Zoom (free tier): 40-minute calls plenty for discovery + demo Their actual documents: The most powerful demo tool costs nothing THE TOTAL COST: Months 1-3: $0 Revenue months 1-3: $4,200 Only upgrade when clients pay for the solution. THE RULE: Do NOT buy pro subscriptions before you have clients. Do NOT invest in fancy tools before revenue. Do NOT spend money you have not earned. THE UPGRADES (WHEN NEEDED): n8n Cloud ($20/month): When self-hosting becomes annoying Make.com paid ($9/month): When you hit free tier limits Calendly paid ($10/month): When you want multiple meeting types Total at month 6: $39/month Revenue at month 6: $2,400/month THE PHILOSOPHY: Free tools until revenue covers paid tools. Client money funds your growth. Your money stays in your pocket. What free tool will you set up today to start prospecting?