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Hey everyone,
Quick update on my business progress.
Over the festive season I was off work, routines were disrupted, and business slowed down to basically a stop. Once I got back to work, it was the usual adjustment back into the same old routine.
Last week, something interesting happened.
A business owner I approached last year for a website reached out again — but not for a website. Instead, he had an operational problem. He needed a simple way to track jobs and see which ones were due each month.
I told him upfront I’d never built something like that before, but I’d see what I could do.
I ended up using Google Sheets to build a simple tracking system. Most of the time wasn’t spent building it (that took about 30 minutes), but learning how to set it up properly through YouTube and trial-and-error.
I sent it to him, asked him to use it for a few days, note any issues, and then I’d refine it. Today he came back happy with everything — and paid.
This got me thinking.
The “product” wasn’t the spreadsheet. The value was:
Saving him time
Giving him visibility over upcoming work
Reducing things slipping through the cracks
What I’m trying to understand next:
Is there real money in building simple operational systems like this for businesses?
Do any of you sell spreadsheet-based or lightweight internal tools as a service?
How would you approach businesses with this kind of offer without sounding like “I sell spreadsheets”?
Any advice on turning this from one-off problem solving into something more structured or repeatable?
Appreciate any feedback or direction.
Quick update on my business progress.
Over the festive season I was off work, routines were disrupted, and business slowed down to basically a stop. Once I got back to work, it was the usual adjustment back into the same old routine.
Last week, something interesting happened.
A business owner I approached last year for a website reached out again — but not for a website. Instead, he had an operational problem. He needed a simple way to track jobs and see which ones were due each month.
I told him upfront I’d never built something like that before, but I’d see what I could do.
I ended up using Google Sheets to build a simple tracking system. Most of the time wasn’t spent building it (that took about 30 minutes), but learning how to set it up properly through YouTube and trial-and-error.
I sent it to him, asked him to use it for a few days, note any issues, and then I’d refine it. Today he came back happy with everything — and paid.
This got me thinking.
The “product” wasn’t the spreadsheet. The value was:
Saving him time
Giving him visibility over upcoming work
Reducing things slipping through the cracks
What I’m trying to understand next:
Is there real money in building simple operational systems like this for businesses?
Do any of you sell spreadsheet-based or lightweight internal tools as a service?
How would you approach businesses with this kind of offer without sounding like “I sell spreadsheets”?
Any advice on turning this from one-off problem solving into something more structured or repeatable?
Appreciate any feedback or direction.
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