Field Notes

Thinking out loud, in writing.

Practical notes on technology, AI, and operations for small businesses. Written from the field, not the boardroom.

16 notes
Business StrategyAugust 25, 2026 · 4 min read

Two Booms, One Garage: What Watching This Happen Twice Taught Me About Staying Current

I learned computers in my father's garage in the early nineties, building and selling machines that look like dinosaurs next to what we have now. Here's what watching two tech booms, thirty-five years apart, taught me about paying attention without losing your mind to it.

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Business StrategyAugust 13, 2026 · 5 min read

What Does Your Online Presence Say to Your Customers?

A Hungarian restaurant that's the only one for fifty miles can get away with a dated website. A roofer competing against a hundred others in metro Atlanta can't. The difference is whether your online presence has to do any convincing.

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OperationsAugust 11, 2026 · 5 min read

The Five-Minute Rule: Why Lead Response Time Is an Operations Problem

The research on lead response time is brutal: waiting even an hour can cut your odds of ever landing the job. A plain look at what happens in the gap, and what to do about it without living on your phone.

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AI & TechnologyAugust 9, 2026 · 4 min read

When the Free Stack Runs Out of Runway

Five free tools can carry a small business further than most owners expect. Here's what actually breaks when they can't carry it any further, and what replaces them.

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OperationsAugust 7, 2026 · 7 min read

Your Old PC Isn't Dead. It's Just Running Windows.

A practical, no-jargon walkthrough for switching an old or slow Windows PC to Linux Mint Cinnamon: what it actually costs, what breaks, and how to do it without losing anything.

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AI & TechnologyAugust 3, 2026 · 7 min read

The Checkout Moved Into the Chat Window

AI shopping agents are already comparing prices, reading reviews, and in some cases buying, without a human ever landing on your homepage. What that costs, what it takes to be findable, and what changes next.

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WebsitesJuly 24, 2026 · 5 min read

Nothing Changed on Your Website. Everything Changed Around It.

Four reasons a website built in 2023 quietly stopped bringing in calls, and how to tell which one is yours.

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OperationsJuly 15, 2026 · 8 min read

Before You Spend a Dollar on Ads

Paid ads aren't magic, and they aren't for every business at every stage. An honest quick-start on what to have in place first, who to target, which platform fits, how to set a budget, and what a first campaign really looks like.

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AI & TechnologyJuly 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Stop Asking AI to Agree With You

The best results from AI tools don't come from asking for a plan. They come from making the thing push back, argue the other side, or work backward from failure. Five prompts you can copy, no paid plan required.

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WebsitesJune 23, 2026 · 4 min read

Your Google Business Profile Is a Free Website. Use It.

Most small businesses set up a Google Business Profile and never touch it again. Here are five things you can do today that cost nothing and actually move the needle on local search.

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WebsitesJune 22, 2026 · 4 min read

Your Facebook Page Is Not a Website. Here's Why That's Costing You Customers.

You've got a Facebook page and solid Google reviews. That feels like enough. But for a growing number of customers, it isn't, and the numbers back that up.

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AI & TechnologyJune 15, 2026 · 6 min read

Now Make Them Work Together: Connecting Your Free AI Tools Into a System

Five free tools are useful on their own. Connected, they turn your business into something that responds, books, and follows up without you managing every step. Here is how to link them.

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AI & TechnologyJune 8, 2026 · 4 min read

Five AI Tools That Can Save You Five Hours a Week (And They're All Free)

You don't need a tech background or a big budget to start using AI in your business. Here are five free tools that handle the time-draining tasks most small business owners are still doing by hand.

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WebsitesJune 7, 2026 · 5 min read

Your Website Should Work for You. Most Don't.

Wix, WordPress, and GoDaddy builder sites are easy to launch. But easy to launch isn't the same as effective. Here's what a custom-built site actually does for your business.

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AI & TechnologyJune 2, 2026 · 3 min read

Why Most Small Businesses Get AI Wrong

The problem is not that small businesses lack the tools. It is that they are solving the wrong problem first.

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