Channels
Places that already have buyers
A budget cannot outrun a shortfall. These are established platforms for work, products, recurring revenue, demand, and funding. Keel takes no cut. When an inflow becomes regular, log it in the planner.
Charge for the work
Buyers already looking for a studio, a trade, or a specialist. Faster than inventing demand.
Upwork
Longer freelance contracts across writing, development, design, and operations.
Contra
Commission-free network for independent operators and small studios.
Toptal
Screened network for senior specialists. Harder to enter, higher rates.
Bark
Local lead marketplace for trades, coaches, and professional services.
Clutch
Directory where agencies are compared. Reviews are the product.
LinkedIn
Not a gig app — the place a retainer starts after you publish the work.
Sell the product
Storefronts and catalogues. Fees, storage, and returns are costs — log them, or you will call a loss a sale.
Shopify
Your own storefront when the product deserves a brand, not just a listing.
Amazon Selling
Retail catalogue at scale. Account for fees before you call it profit.
Etsy
Handmade, vintage, and digital downloads. Digital products skip the warehouse.
eBay
Auction and fixed-price. Useful for a one-time clear-out that funds a buffer.
Gumroad
Templates, ebooks, presets, and tools with almost no setup.
Square
In-person payments and a simple shop for cafes, studios, and counters.
Collect on a cadence
Recurring revenue is not magic. It is a billing system plus a reason to stay. Log it as a line when it is real.
Stripe Billing
Subscriptions, invoices, and usage. The default rails for software and retainers.
Paddle
Merchant of record for software. Tax and payouts handled, at a fee.
Lemon Squeezy
Payments and licensing for indie products without building a tax desk.
Chargebee
Subscription ops when dunning, proration, and plans get serious.
GoCardless
Direct debit for the UK and Europe. Recurring that does not expire with a card.
Xero
Invoices on a repeating schedule. Not a channel — the memory of one.
Find the demand
Paid and owned attention. Treat acquisition as a cost line with a payback, not as a mood.
Google Ads
Intent that already wants the thing. Cap the monthly line in Keel before you scale.
Meta Ads
Demand you create. Works when the unit contribution can afford the click.
Product Hunt
A launch day, not a strategy. Useful when the product is ready to be seen.
App Store / Play
Distribution with a tax. Price so the store fee is not your margin.
PartnerStack
Affiliate and partner rails for B2B products that already convert.
G2
Where software buyers compare. Reviews compound; ads reset every month.
Fund the gap
Debt and grants buy time. They are not revenue. Log inflows as funding, and the repayments as debt service.
Innovate UK
Grants for R&D in the UK. Slow, competitive, and real when they land.
Stripe Capital
Revenue-based advance against card volume. Price the holdback as a cost.
Clearco
E-commerce funding against sales. Useful, and easy to outrun with ads.
British Business Bank
Signposts to start-up loans and growth finance in the UK.
AngelList
Where a seed round is still a conversation between people.
Crowdcube
Equity crowdfunding. A marketing campaign with legal attachments.