Hi Reader,

As always I appreciate you being here! Here's what you'll find in today's email:

• The 5 Tools Running My Solo Business
• The Test I Run Before I Renew Anything
• My Trending Content

You read. I listen. Let me know what you think by replying to this email.

The 5 Tools Running My Solo Business

In the age of AI coding agents (Claude Code & Codex), 99% of AI tools suck, have no moat, and are now a complete waste of money.

At one point a few years ago I was paying for 15+ AI tools lol.

Today five tools run my entire six-figure solo business:

• Claude Code: 95% of my daily work happens in one tool: content, SEO, client deliverables, automations. It's the reason ten other subscriptions had nothing left to do. (I pay $200/month for Claude Max)
• Codex: Every important output gets a second opinion. Codex 'red-teams' Claude Code's work and handles all my image generation. (I pay $20/month for ChatGPT Plus)
• ​Blotato: One command schedules a week of social. It connects to Claude Code through MCP: raw video in, captioned posts across all my accounts out. (I get this for free since they are a client 😎)
• ​DataForSEO: My SEO calls run on live SERP and keyword data, priced per query, instead of scammy subscriptions. (I pay $50 every 3-4 months)
• ​Kit: The newsletter learns from its own history. Kit sends it, and Claude Code reads my send stats straight from Kit to see what actually gets clicked. (I pay $115/month)

And when I want to use an open-source model, I point Claude Code at OpenRouter. Pay per use, no subscription, so it never even faces the renewal test below.

Here's the honest part: five tools only work this hard because my skill files carry a decade of marketing baked in.

And yes, Claude Code and Codex overlap on purpose. Redundancy in the tool doing 95% of my work is the one duplicate worth paying for.

The Test I Run Before I Renew Anything

Steal the three questions I run before any AI subscription renews:

1. Can my AI coding agent already do this? If Claude Code or Codex produces the same output, the point tool is a duplicate. This question alone cancelled my image, writing, and research subscriptions.
2. Does it own a whole job, or just a button? Social media is a job. Background removal is a button. Important jobs earn a subscription.
3. When did I last open it? Check the login history, not your intentions. A tool you haven't touched in three weeks already gave you its answer.

Which AI subscriptions are you on the fence about? Hit reply and tell me. I read every response.

Until Next Time 🫡
Ryan

P.S. I just created a new digital product called the AI Content Engine. This is a packaged version of my own content workflow: drop in one video and get back blog posts, social posts, and newsletters, all written in your voice with no slop. This system alone has saved me hours.

My Trending Content

Check out the trending content on my website:

• ​My New AI Website Stack (Goodbye WordPress)​
• ​How I Make Money by Selling Claude Skills​
• ​How to Automate SEO Content With AI That Ranks​