Operational infrastructure for service businesses doing $200K to $2M. Workflow design, software setup, pricing architecture, and workspace build — delivered in weeks, documented to outlast the engagement.
Start a discovery call →A Twin Cities specialty electronics repair business needed to move from cash-and-carry retail into commercial accounts. The owner had the technical depth to do the work but no operating infrastructure underneath it — no intake workflow, no documented pricing, no separation of consumer and B2B service tiers, no controls on the cash that came through the door.
Over three days on-site and a follow-on documentation phase, Ember built the operating layer the business needed to grow without the owner present at every transaction. That included a standardized intake-to-close workflow with required fields and status definitions, a B2B fleet pricing structure with triage fees and turnaround tiers, daily cash control and reconciliation routines, and the customer-facing collateral the new commercial offering required.
Every Ember consulting engagement is structured this way: defined scope, written deliverable, time-boxed, and built so the system continues running without the consultant in the room.
Half-day on-site assessment of current operations, followed by a written findings document delivered within 48 hours. Identifies the operational gaps that matter most, the order to address them in, and what the work would look like. Useful as a standalone diagnostic or as the scoping step before a larger engagement.
End-to-end documentation and implementation of one core operational process — intake, dispatch, close-out, customer communication, or another bounded workflow. Includes the documented procedure, the templates and forms required to run it, and operating documentation any future staff member can follow.
Configuration and operational implementation of one platform — Jobber, RepairDesk, Buildium, or comparable. Goes beyond plug-and-play setup to design the workflow inside the tool, build the templates and automations, train the owner on the day-to-day, and document the configuration so it can be maintained.
Designed pricing structure for service businesses moving from undifferentiated hourly billing into tiered packages, B2B accounts, or fixed-scope offerings. Includes competitive context, internal cost analysis, and the documented rate card and pricing logic the business will use going forward.
Spatial design, technical infrastructure, and operating documentation for solo professionals and small teams setting up dedicated workspaces. Brings interior design judgment together with the technical execution most setups require — cabling, equipment specification, software stack, and a documented configuration any future tech can maintain.
Materials and equipment billed at cost plus 18%, itemized with receipts. Travel beyond the West Metro available at standard rates. Engagements outside this menu are quoted on request when they fall within Ember's scope.
Phone or text, fifteen minutes. Confirm the fit and the scope.
Engagement terms confirmed, deposit invoiced, calendar set.
Two to four weeks depending on the package. Status updates throughout.
Deliverables and operating documentation in writing. 30 days of follow-up support included.
Ember is best suited for owner-operators of service businesses doing $200K to $2M in revenue — auto shops, repair shops, small property management portfolios, residential contractors, home service operators with field techs. The work tends to land well when there's a clear operational gap and a willingness to commit to a defined scope.
Ember is targeted toward defined, time-boxed engagements. Work that calls for ongoing fractional leadership, financial modeling, fundraising preparation, or full-time embedded executive support is better served elsewhere — and Ember is happy to make a referral when that's the case.
Hourly billing rewards the consultant for taking longer. Fixed price aligns the engagement around the deliverable. You know what you're paying. The work stays focused on getting the system built.
A change order with revised scope, price, and timeline. Discussed before any additional work begins.
Typically one to two weeks from the discovery call.
Yes — async only. A monthly review-and-advisory retainer is available at $650 per month, covering up to four hours of document review and email-based advisory work. No live meeting availability is included; that's reserved for active scoped engagements.
Yes. Standard practice on most engagements.
Ember's principal currently holds a full-time role in operations and is available for evening and weekend engagements. Capacity is intentionally limited to one active engagement at a time.
That's not what Ember does. Ember builds operating systems — the documented workflows, the configured tools, the rate cards, the spaces — that businesses use day to day. Strategy advisory is better sourced from a firm built around it.