Technology Consulting for Traverse City Businesses
The problem
A vendor says you need a new system. Another says the old one just needs an upgrade. Your web person blames the phone company, the phone company blames the internet provider, and nobody is looking at the whole picture. Meanwhile there’s a contract on your desk, and you’re not sure it solves the problem you actually have.
What I do
I give you a straight answer about what you need before you spend money on it, including when the answer is to change nothing.
- Finding what’s slowing you down. I sit down with you and the people doing the work to see where time is being lost: information entered twice, workarounds everyone has learned to live with, software nobody fully uses.
- Vendor evaluation. Before you sign, I read the proposal, ask the vendor the right questions, and compare it against the realistic alternatives.
- System planning. A plan for how your software, network, and phones should fit together over the next few years, in an order you can actually afford.
- Second opinions. Someone quoted you a big project. I’ll tell you whether it looks reasonable, overbuilt, or missing something important.
- Sorting out what’s left behind. Logins nobody can find, a website nobody can update, accounts registered to someone who left years ago. I’ll untangle what you have and who controls it.
You come away with something written down: what’s wrong, what to fix first, and roughly what each step will take. Whether you hire me for any of it is entirely up to you.
Who it’s for
- Owners and managers about to make a significant technology purchase
- Businesses whose IT person or web developer has moved on and left things undocumented
- Growing companies where the setup that worked at five people is straining at twenty-five
- Restaurants, wineries, manufacturers, medical and dental offices, and nonprofits run by people who know something is wrong but don’t have time to become the expert
Consulting is often where other projects begin, but it doesn’t have to lead anywhere. Sometimes the most valuable result is finding out you don’t need to buy anything at all.
Technology training for your staff
Many businesses pay for software their staff was never trained to use. I’ll work with your team on the tools you already have and help you decide which newer tools, including AI, are worth using.
What it costs
The first conversation is free — a call or a visit, so I can hear what's going on and tell you whether I'm the right person for it.
If you're not sure what you need, that's its own job. An assessment starts at $600: I spend real time in your operation and hand back a written plan — where the time is going, what I'd do about it, in what order, and what it would cost. Larger or multi-location operations run $1,200 to $2,000.
The plan is yours either way. And if you hire me for the work within 90 days, the assessment comes off the project.
Technology training for your staff is $500 for a two-hour session and $1,200 for a half day. Same as an assessment: if you hire me for work within 90 days, it comes off the project.