Inquiries go quiet
A promising email, call or website inquiry arrives when everyone is busy, then follow-up becomes inconsistent.
Practical AI for owner-led businesses in Victoria, BC
Every inquiry answered. Every promise tracked. No one working late to make it happen.
Practical AI for owner-led teams, set up by someone who has put technology into small businesses since 1987.
You tell me where work slips.I tell you whether it’s fixable and what it would cost.If it isn’t worth doing, I’ll say so.
Prefer to start alone? Take the 3-minute Leak Check.
Fixed scope, agreed in writing. If the fix doesn’t hold for ten business days, I keep working on it or refund the fix fee.
Mark ShepardVictoria, BC · Small-business technology since 1987
Who it’s for: trades, accounting and law offices, property managers, family-run shops and other owner-led teams.
What you can expect
A written plan you own, and a guarantee behind it.
What the assessment gives you
A short, prioritized plan for your business
- Your three to five best opportunities
- Priorities by effort and impact
- Tools to keep, change or ignore
- A four-day quick-start plan
- Clear data and human-review boundaries
- A findings call and one recommended fix
Suggested outcomes
Illustrative examples of what a fix is built to do. Not quotes from clients.
- “New inquiries don’t wait for whoever happens to notice them.”
- “Promises made on calls show up as next actions with a name on them.”
- “Work keeps moving when the owner is out for the day.”
Does this sound familiar?
The business is working, but too much still depends on memory.
Promises live in inboxes
Customer commitments are scattered across email, texts, notes and individual memory.
One person knows everything
Work slows down when the owner or a key employee is unavailable because important context lives with them.
Too many tools, no verdict
You have heard about dozens of AI products but cannot tell which ones will improve the business.
Common first fixes
Before and after one fix.
The goal is not to install more AI. It is to make one important part of the business more reliable.
Inquiries
TodayA quote request comes in at 4:45 on Friday. It waits until Monday.
After the fixIt’s logged straight away, with a reply drafted for someone to approve, and on someone’s list by name.
See this for tradesPromises
TodayYou tell a customer on a call you’ll send the revised estimate Thursday. Then they have to remind you.
After the fixThe promise becomes a visible next action with an owner and a date.
See this for professional officesHandoffs
TodayThe one person who knows where a job stands is away, and work stops.
After the fixThe next person sees the context they need without another meeting or a search through old threads.
See this for family-run shopsDesk work
TodaySomeone loses an afternoon copying the same details between email and a spreadsheet.
After the fixThe repetitive drafting and data movement is prepared for them, and a person checks the result.
See this for admin-heavy officesHow it works
Find it. Fix it. Keep it working.
We begin with the business result you want and how work operates today, not with a predetermined software recommendation.
Find it
The assessment. We find the outcome worth improving first and trace the workflow, tools and decisions behind it.
- A 45-minute interview with the owner
- Three to five tailored recommendations
- A prioritized written plan and four-day quick-start plan
- A findings call to choose the next step
From $995 CAD for the assessment and written plan
Fix it
One problem, fixed price, guaranteed. We fix one agreed problem, either guiding your team through it or doing it for you, then hand it over.
- One agreed outcome and workflow
- What “working” means, agreed in writing
- Accounts your business owns
- Testing, documentation and handoff
Quoted separately after the assessment
Keep it working
Optional ongoing help. Regular guidance on what to keep, adjust or try next, without turning into unlimited support.
- Choose and use established tools well
- Work in accounts your business owns
- Review what is working and what needs adjustment
- No unlimited support or open-ended custom development
Optional, scoped separately
Two guarantees
What happens if it doesn’t pay off.
The assessment
A clear assessment guarantee.
If your written plan doesn’t show you at least one fix worth doing, tell me on the findings call and I’ll refund the full fee.
The price we agree in writing is the price you pay.
The fix
It holds for ten business days, or I keep working or refund the fee.
Before a fix starts, we agree in writing on the outcome, scope and what “working” means. For example, every new inquiry is acknowledged within one business day.
The fix has to hold for ten consecutive business days under normal conditions, in accounts your business owns and run by your team after handoff. If it doesn’t, I keep working within the agreed scope until it does, or the fix fee is refunded.
Price
Assessments start at $995 CAD.
Your scope and price are agreed in writing before any work begins, so there are no surprises. You own the written plan, and any later work stays in accounts your business owns.
About Mark
Technology has to survive a real working day.
I’ve been putting technology into small businesses since 1987. My first company, Shepard Computer Systems, installed networks for local firms, hospitals and municipalities. Then I spent 22 years running my own referral-driven practice in Victoria, so I know what a missed follow-up costs.
Now I help owner-led businesses use AI carefully and practically, without handing important customer relationships to a black box. More about Mark
The goal is not more AI. The goal is fewer missed promises, cleaner handoffs and stronger customer relationships.
Since 1987Co-founded Shepard Computer Systems: networks for local firms, hospitals and municipalities
22 yearsRan a referral-driven small business in Victoria
IndependentVendor-neutral recommendations with no software quota
Clear boundaries
Human responsibility stays in the workflow.
The assessment identifies the outcome worth improving, where AI may reduce friction and where it should stay out of the way.
We work on
- Customer inquiries and follow-up
- Promises, tasks and internal handoffs
- Repetitive drafting, review and reporting
- Established tools in client-owned accounts with clear human review
We do not do
- Unsupervised customer communication
- Replace core systems by default
- Offer unlimited support or open-ended custom development
- Put sensitive information into unapproved tools
Fair questions
What owners ask before the call.
“I’m not techy.”
You don’t need to be. I do the setup.
“Is customer data safe?”
Everything stays in accounts you own. Nothing goes into tools you haven’t approved.
“Will this replace my staff?”
No. It takes the chasing and re-typing off their plates. A person still approves anything a customer sees.
“We tried ChatGPT and it didn’t stick.”
That’s normal. A tool without a defined job gets dropped. We start with the job.
“How much of my time?”
A 45-minute interview, a few real examples from your week, then a findings call.
“What if it doesn’t work?”
If your written plan doesn’t show you at least one fix worth doing, tell me on the findings call and I’ll refund the full fee.
If a fix doesn’t hold for ten business days, I keep working within the agreed scope until it does, or the fix fee is refunded.
“It’s just me. Is this overkill?”
No. When you’re the only one, every missed call and forgotten follow-up is yours. One fix can give you back your evenings.
Find your first fix.
A free 20-minute call.
You tell me where work slips.I tell you whether it’s fixable and what it would cost.If it isn’t worth doing, I’ll say so.
Prefer to call? (778) 562-8413. My AI assistant answers, takes your details and passes them to me.