I help small businesses and organizations in Southeastern Massachusetts get more out of their technology, without the upsells, the jargon, or the feeling that you're being sold something you didn't ask for.
The problem I keep running into
Over my career in IT, I've watched the same story play out again and again. A small business gets tied to an outside IT company or a software vendor whose business is built on the monthly bill, not on what the customer actually needs. The software ends up deciding how the work gets done, instead of the other way around. And when something breaks, the support isn't there.
Big companies with big budgets can absorb that, and they usually have someone whose job is to push back. Small businesses usually don't have either. Nobody in the room is asking whether the thing being sold is worth it.
That's the job I try to do.
How I work
I'm not a managed service provider (an outside IT company you pay every month), and I don't sell software. I work for you, not for a vendor, so when the right answer is "don't spend the money," that's what I'll tell you.
- Plain language. If I use a technical term, I'll explain it. You shouldn't need an IT background to understand what I'm recommending or why.
- On your side. Part of the job is looking at what you already pay for (software, vendors, support contracts) and telling you honestly whether it's earning its keep.
- Projects, not a help desk. I'm at my best figuring out what's wrong with how things are set up, fixing it, and handing it back in a state you can run. I'm happy to stay involved after, but I don't run a help desk.
- Experience at both ends. Nearly a decade in infrastructure engineering, at organizations ranging from sole proprietors to enterprises with more than 5,000 employees.
What I help with
- Getting the basics right. Email, accounts, shared files, networks and who has access to what, set up to fit how your business actually works.
- Workflow and process. Finding where outdated or overpriced tools are dictating how you work, and fixing that.
- Backups, security and staying open when something breaks. The stuff nobody thinks about until the day it matters.
- Security plans and practice runs. For tax and accounting firms and other regulated offices: checking that your written information security plan (the WISP tax preparers are required to keep) matches the systems you actually run, and walking your team through realistic scenarios before they happen for real. Think of an email from a familiar sender asking you to wire money to a new account, or a morning when every file is locked. I can run these with your team in person and write up what we found.
- Practical AI. Sorting out where AI tools actually save time and where they add risk, and setting them up with sensible limits.
- Vendor and contract review. A second opinion before you sign or renew anything.
- Websites. Building them and keeping them running.
- Custom tools. Small internal apps for day-to-day work that off-the-shelf software doesn't handle well.
Who I work with
I focus on owner-run and small-to-midsize businesses and organizations across Southeastern Massachusetts: law offices, accounting, financial and medical practices, real estate professionals, nonprofits and other local businesses. Some have no IT help at all. Others already have an IT person or an outside company and just want a second set of eyes that's looking out for them specifically.
A recent example
This year I've been building out the technology behind the Pembroke Citizen Journal, our local nonprofit newspaper. When I started, stories were Word documents emailed back and forth, and the website had to be rebuilt by hand for every issue. Now the paper runs on its own Google Workspace and a new website, and the newsroom works in an app I built for them, where every story moves from pitch to editing to the website in one place. The paper publishes every week now, and it's all documented so the paper isn't stuck if I'm not around.
It's the kind of project I like best: a real organization with real limits, looking for practical solutions instead of a sales pitch. Read the full write-up.
How it starts
Most work starts with a free conversation. No obligation, no pitch. I'll ask what's frustrating you, take a look at what's actually going on, and give you a straight read on what I see, including what's working fine and should be left alone.
If it makes sense to work together after that, we'll figure out the right scope from there.
Get in touch. I'd like to hear what's not working.