For family-run shops, studios, cafés, repair businesses and small service companies
When one person knows everything: a fix for family-run shops.
Orders and customer history live in one person’s head. Get them out, so the shop runs when they’re away.
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.
Sound familiar?
- “If I’m not here, nobody knows what’s going on.”
- “It’s all in my head, or in my texts.”
- “We haven’t had a real holiday in years.”
- “He said he’d order it. Did he?”
Before and after
A customer comes in to collect a special order. The person who took it is at an appointment, and nobody else can find the details. The customer hears, “You’ll have to wait until she’s back.”
Orders, promises and customer notes are captured as they happen and sit in one place either of you can check, from the counter or from home.
What the fix involves
Special orders, supplier arrangements and customer history usually live with one person. The fix moves them somewhere you can both see.
- I sit down with whoever holds the knowledge and map where it lives now: texts, sticky notes, memory, one inbox.
- I set up one simple way to capture it, such as a spoken note that becomes a shared list, using tools you already have.
- You both see the same list. Nothing reaches a customer without one of you approving it.
Running the business on your own? See the fix for solo operators.
Who sets this up
I’ve been putting technology into small businesses since 1987, and spent 22 years running my own referral-driven practice in Victoria.Mark Shepard, Victoria, BC · More about Mark
Three questions
- “We’re too small for this.”
- Two people is where it matters most, because there’s no one else to cover.
- “My partner won’t use anything complicated.”
- It’s built around what they already do, such as talking into a phone.
- “We don’t want customers dealing with a robot.”
- They won’t. This is for the two of you, behind the counter.
Price and guarantee
From $995 CAD for the assessment and written plan. Your scope and price are agreed in writing before any work begins.
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.
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.
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.
Prefer to start alone? Take the 3-minute Leak Check.