Your Business Has Outgrown How You Run It.
You know where you want to go. We help you figure out what needs to change and build it with you.
Sound Familiar?
01.
"I can't step away from the business"
Owner bottleneck
02.
"I can't find or keep good people"
Talent gaps
03.
"Customers slip through the cracks"
Customers falling through
04.
"I don't know if we're actually making money"
No financial clarity
05.
"We run everything out of spreadsheets and it's falling apart"
Spreadsheet overload
06.
"Our systems don't talk to each other"
Disconnected tools
What Is It Costing?
Some formulas to consider against your own numbers.
The owner-bottleneck math
Hours per week × what your time is worth
Hours you spend on decisions and approvals only you can make, multiplied by what your time is actually worth to the business. Most owners undercount both numbers.
The lead-leak math
Lost leads per month × average job value × 12
Inbound leads that go cold or unanswered. Walk this through with your average job value and an annual horizon and the number gets uncomfortable fast.
The scheduling math
Missed appointments per month × cost per appointment
Crews waiting, customers picking up the phone book, the rebook tax. Each missed slot has a real number behind it.
The retention math
Replacement cost × people you have lost in the last 18 months
Cost to hire and train a replacement, multiplied by how many you have lost recently. Owners always undercount this and the number is always painful.
How We Engage
From first conversation to full handoff. Same shape every time, scoped to your business.
We listen first
We start with a conversation. What are you trying to accomplish? Where do things get stuck? We listen until we understand the business, the people, and what success looks like, before we propose anything.
We figure it out together
You know your business. We bring operational experience. The shape of the solution comes from both, not a kit we showed up with.
You see the scope and price before you commit
Once we've defined a solution, we put together a written scope and a fixed project price. You see both before you commit. We adjust the shape until it fits, and we'll tell you if we're not the right people for the work.
We build and train alongside your team
We design, build, configure, and train alongside your team. The engagement ends when your team is running what we built, with documentation in their hands. We stay available if a follow-up makes sense.
How we price
We Quote A Fixed Price
Every business is different. We learn how yours runs, then quote a fixed price for the work.
- One price for the engagement. You see the total before you commit.
- Engagements scale to the work. A small problem gets a small project.
What We Do
01.
Process design
We document what's working, fix what isn't, and write it down so your team can run without you.
02.
Custom internal tools
Built when off-the-shelf doesn't fit how you work. A script, a small app, or a workflow inside something you already use.
03.
Systems integration
Getting the tools you already pay for to talk to each other, so the same data doesn't live in five places.
04.
Operational visibility
Knowing what's actually happening across your business without piecing it together every Friday.
05.
Vendor and platform selection
When you need a new tool, we help you pick the one that fits where your business is now.
06.
AI and automation
When AI fits the work, we use it. When a simpler script does the job, we use that instead.
Read morePatterns We See
Composite patterns drawn from problems we keep seeing. Not specific engagements. As we close real ones, those replace what is here.
Owner as dispatcher
The situation
The owner dispatches every job. The schedule lives in three places: a whiteboard, a shared calendar, and text threads. Website leads sit in a Gmail inbox until someone gets to them. The owner rarely takes a full day off because every question routes back to them.
The solution
One dispatching workflow the whole crew can see, in the office or in the field. Lead capture with tracked follow-up so nothing sits unread. A daily check-in so the owner stays informed without being the hub for every question.
Partner in every decision
The situation
Every client question routes to the founding partner, even the routine ones. The sales pipeline lives in someone's head. Client onboarding takes weeks because every step is manual and different every time. The partner wants to focus on advisory work but spends most of the day as the bottleneck for routine decisions.
The solution
A documented intake and onboarding process the team can run without the partner. A visible pipeline everyone can see. Templated communication for routine client questions so the partner's time goes to work that actually needs them.
Lead capture and lost jobs
The situation
Website leads come in through a contact form and sit unread for days. Double-bookings happen because the office and the field crew are on different calendars. Nobody knows which jobs are profitable. The books are behind and pricing is gut feel.
The solution
Lead capture tied to automatic assignment and follow-up so nothing sits unread. One scheduling tool the whole crew can get to from the field. Clean books with job-level profitability so pricing decisions come from numbers, not feel.
Turnover under pressure
The situation
New hires have no structured onboarding and are left to figure things out on their own. Every team member handles policies differently. Nobody knows if someone is doing a good job until a client complains. Good people move on to places where they feel more supported.
The solution
A structured onboarding process so new hires know what to expect and aren't guessing from day one. Documented workflows for common policy types so the team handles things consistently. Simple tracking so managers can see workload and spot problems before they turn into resignations.
Estimates from field notes
The situation
The owner takes photos and voice notes during a site visit, then writes up the estimate at home that night. Two or three hours per estimate, often after a twelve-hour day. The first one of the night reads sharp; the last one reads tired. Customers are waiting two or three days to hear back.
The solution
AI drafts a structured estimate from the photos and voice notes, following the firm's template. The owner reviews and edits in ten or fifteen minutes instead of writing from scratch. AI handles the structured-text part it is actually good at; the owner keeps the judgment about scope and price.
When AI is the wrong tool
The situation
The firm wanted AI to draft client memos. They had seen demos and were worried about falling behind. Each memo required reading the file, understanding the relevant law, and making judgment calls about what the client needed to know. The drafting was not the slow part; the thinking was.
The solution
We said no to AI here. We built a stronger memo template library, a checklist the associate runs through, and a one-page reference for the most common matter types. The associates ship cleaner first drafts in less time. AI would have generated text that took longer to review and correct than to write from a good template.
Who We Are
I've been building software since the '90s. I still find it endlessly fascinating. I started as a self-taught developer, moved into product management, and spent two decades on enterprise web applications for Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 clients. I have a wealth of experience across a broad spectrum of business problems.
I started SMD Services because I like helping people. It's one of the things that brings me joy in life.
It's a particularly interesting time to be in this field. Every business is leveraging technology in one way or another, and so much of it is accessible now. But software has a way of getting complicated faster than you expect, and it's easy to end up with a lot of things just about working, right up until they aren't. You need somebody who can come in, put the pieces together, wire it up, connect the dots, and get you over the current hurdle. I like to be that person.
Let's Talk About Your Business
We'll ask how things run and where you're trying to go. You'll walk away with a clearer picture of how to get there, whether we work together or not.