A lot of business owners I talk to have the same hesitation about a free audit. They've been on enough sales calls disguised as discovery sessions to assume that any free thing comes with a hard pitch on the back end. The word "audit" doesn't help either. It sounds like someone is going to come in with a clipboard and tell them everything they're doing wrong.
So I want to lay out what an audit actually looks like when you book one with me, end to end. What I'm doing, what I'm not doing, and what you walk away with. If you're thinking about it but not sure whether it's worth thirty minutes, this should answer most of the questions.
Before the call
When you book the call, I'll usually send a short note asking one or two questions about your business. Nothing extensive. I'm trying to figure out what kind of operation you run, what your busy season looks like, and whether there's a specific problem you already have in mind. If you do, great. If you don't, that's also fine, and we'll figure it out on the call.
I also take five minutes to look at your website and any public information about how your business works. I'm not running a deep investigation. I just want to show up to the call with a basic mental model of what you do, so you don't have to spend the first ten minutes explaining the basics.
What we actually talk about
The call is thirty minutes. Most of it is me asking questions about how specific things in your business currently work. Things like:
How does a new lead reach you, and what happens after that. How long does it usually take you to get back to them. What happens after a job is done. How do you stay in touch with past customers. Where do clients drop off in your process. What's the thing you keep meaning to follow up on but never do.
I'm not running through a script. I'm trying to find the place in your operation where small effort produces big leakage. Every business has one or two of these. Sometimes it's the inquiries that go cold because you're busy. Sometimes it's the customers who used to come back every year and quietly stopped. Sometimes it's the document collection that takes you four reminders per client.
I will not show you a slide deck. I will not pitch a package. The conversation is the audit.
What I'm trying to figure out
There are really only three things I'm trying to land on by the end of the call.
First, is there an actual operational problem I can help with. Sometimes the answer is no. Some businesses have already solved their follow-up and retention problems through good habits, or they're so small that adding any system would be more overhead than benefit. If that's the case, I'll say so. You don't get a recommendation just because you took the call.
Second, if there is a problem, what's the smallest thing that would make a meaningful difference. Most owners come in thinking they need a full overhaul. Almost nobody does. The change that produces the most visible result is usually a single sequence: a follow-up flow after a quote, a re-engagement message before the season starts, a check-in after a service is complete. One thing, set up properly.
Third, whether the change is something you actually want done. This matters more than people think. The best automation in the world is the one you'll keep using. If a setup feels too impersonal for your customer base, or if it conflicts with how you like to run things, I'd rather find that out on the call than two weeks into a build.
What you walk away with
By the end of thirty minutes, you should have three things in your head.
A clear picture of where your time is leaking that you might not have noticed. A sense of what one or two changes would produce the most visible result. An honest read on whether it's worth paying someone to do those changes, or whether it's something you can handle yourself.
If it's worth doing together, I'll tell you roughly what it costs and how long it takes. The numbers depend on the specifics, but I'll give you a real range, not a "starting at" figure designed to anchor you. If you decide not to move forward, no problem. The audit was free, the read was honest, and you keep the notes.
What this is not
It's not a sales pitch with a half-hour delay before the close. It's not a free trial of a software tool I'm trying to upsell you into. It's not a generic list of automation ideas pulled from a template. And it's not a commitment. You don't have to hire me at the end. Most people who book the audit don't, and that's fine.
What it is, on the simplest level, is a half hour with a small business automation consultant who will look at how your business currently runs and give you a straight answer about what's worth changing. Some calls turn into projects. Some calls confirm that you don't need anything. Both are useful outcomes. Neither requires you to commit to anything beyond the call itself.
If you've been meaning to look at how your follow-ups, retention, or client communication could work better but haven't gotten around to it, this is a low-friction way to get a real read. No pitch, no slides, no pressure.
If you want to talk through what this would look like for your business, the audit is free and takes 30 minutes. Get in touch