Field notes & essays.
Working notes, lessons, and the occasional opinion — from building websites, software, and AI systems for real businesses.
The full archive.
Every post, in chronological order.
When to Build Custom Software vs Buy Off-the-Shelf SaaS
A practical decision framework for small businesses choosing between building custom software and buying SaaS like Monday, Notion, Airtable, or Pipedrive.
Internal Business Tools That Pay for Themselves in 6 Months
Practical examples of internal tools small service businesses build to recoup investment in under six months, with ROI math and what actually works.
Stripe Integrations for Service Businesses: Beyond Just Payments
What service businesses can do with Stripe beyond accepting cards: subscriptions, payment links, the customer portal, Connect, and dunning that recovers revenue.
Migrating Off WordPress: A Calm, Step-by-Step Plan
A practical, step-by-step plan for small businesses moving off WordPress to a modern stack without losing SEO, leads, or the pages that already work.
GoDaddy to Microsoft 365: How to Move Business Email Without Breaking Things
A step-by-step plan for moving small business email from GoDaddy to Microsoft 365 — DNS, MX records, mailbox migration, and the risks to plan around.
Website Maintenance That Matters: A Monthly Checklist for Service Businesses
A focused monthly website maintenance checklist for service businesses — security, backups, performance, SEO, and the habits that keep a site working.