Notes on operations, websites and systems
What I learned fixing businesses across three countries, written for whoever has the problem today. No filler.
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Websites
How much does a contractor website cost?
The three real price ranges in the market, what each one includes, and how to tell which one your business actually needs before asking for a quote.
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Local business
You have 7 reviews, they have 400: what to do
When you cannot win on review count, change the currency of proof. What to use instead, and why it works better than chasing stars.
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Local business
A plumber’s website: what goes on top to get calls
People look for a plumber while the water is still running across the floor. How to order a site when the decision takes seconds and nobody is comparing.
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Search
My business does not show on Google Maps: why
The five real reasons a local business does not appear on the map, in the order worth checking them, and how to test it without fooling yourself.
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Systems
When a business needs a CRM and when it does not
Four concrete signs your spreadsheet has run out, and three situations where a CRM will complicate things more than it helps.
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Finance
Running a business across several currencies
Why a multi-currency spreadsheet lies without meaning to, the three ways to convert, and the only one that lets you compare months honestly.
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Websites
7 questions before hiring someone to build your site
The questions that separate someone who will solve your problem from someone who will hand you a file. With the answers you should expect.
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Websites
Bilingual website: when it pays off and how to do it right
Translating with a toggle is not having a bilingual site. The difference between the two, and why one ranks and the other does not.
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Systems
Automation in a small team: where to start
How to pick the first task to automate so it gives real time back, and the three you should leave alone for now.
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Websites
A legal services website that doesn’t promise results
How to build authority in a field where regulation forbids promises, and why the required disclaimer can work in your favor.
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Concierge
How concierge agencies charge: 4 pricing models
Retainer, commission, per-request or a blend. What each model can absorb, which one punishes good service, and how to price by client type.
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Concierge
How to track concierge requests and stop losing them
A request gets lost when no single place says what state it's in, who owns it and when it's due. What to set up before you buy any software.
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Concierge
Moving work off WhatsApp without losing the client
Your client keeps texting the same number. What changes is behind it: what gets written down, who writes it, and when it happens.
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Concierge
Building a vendor network that answers at 2 AM
How many vendors per category, how to test them before a real emergency, and what to put in writing so somebody actually picks up at 2 AM.
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Automation
What to automate with AI, and what not to
The test that settles it task by task: who sees the mistake first. Examples on both sides, and where to start without breaking anything.
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Automation
When automating a task pays off
The ten-minute math: times per week, minutes each, what that hour is worth, against build plus upkeep. With the real threshold.
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Automation
Why automations break silently and nobody notices
Automations fail quietly and keep reporting success. How to make yours alert you when nothing happens, and what to check every month.
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Platforms
Buy, rent or build your business software
How to choose between off-the-shelf software, a monthly subscription, or something custom, based on how unusual your process is and what leaving costs.
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Platforms
You bought the software and still use spreadsheets
Parallel spreadsheets aren't a discipline problem. They're the part of your process the software doesn't model. How to tell which one is wrong.
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Platforms
How many tools does a small business need?
The four that almost always cover it, the order they get added, and how to decide between buying another one and squeezing the one you have.
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