Short Work Co. Mike JacksonBusiness Systems & Practical AI Book a First Look

Some part of your business takes more effort than it should.

You already know which part. The follow-ups you carry in your head. The report that swallows a morning. The job that gets typed in three times.

I work directly with owners to find that work and put a practical fix in place: a clearer process, better use of software you already have, automation, or AI where it genuinely helps.

I start with how your business works, not with a tool to sell you.

Book your free First Look

Free30 minutes, then 20Google Meet

Mike Jackson, smiling, in a black T-shirt

Where I usually start

You don't need to arrive with an AI project. Most good starting points sound more like something you've said this month:

  • “If I'm out for a week, nobody knows what's going on.”
  • “We enter the same job in three different places.”
  • “The month-end numbers take my whole weekend.”
  • “Only one person knows how that works, and she's on vacation.”

If one of those is yours, that's a good place to begin. If your situation looks different, that's fine too.

Who I work with: owner-run businesses of 5 to 75 people. The current focus is association management companies and continuing education providers.

Understand first. Then improve.

  1. First Look

    Free

    Thirty minutes on how your business runs. From your answers I draw a one-page map, then we spend 20 minutes on it within 2 days. You keep the map.

  2. Business Map

    $4,500

    Your whole business on one page, plus the two areas that matter most mapped step by step. You get a ranked list of fixes, each with a price.

  3. Build

    Usually $5,000 to $15,000

    I build the top fix inside the tools you already pay for, at a fixed price agreed before work starts, and make sure the people using it every day are comfortable with it.

  4. Keep it running

    $2,000 every four weeks

    Optional. I look after what we built, make small changes as you need them, and check it's still helping. Cancel any cycle.

Nothing gets built until we both agree it's the right thing to build.

If the problem is already clear, we can skip the Map and go straight to a build.

What a Business Map gives you

If your First Look shows there's more worth seeing, the Business Map is the full written version: your whole business on one page, the two areas that matter most mapped step by step with the time, cost and errors counted, and a ranked list of fixes with a price for each. You get it in writing within 10 business days, and we go through it together on a call.

You can act on it with me, with someone else, or on your own.

It costs $4,500. If you sign a build within 14 days of getting your Map, the fee comes off your first build payment, up to 60% of the build price.

From a Business Map

Fix 1 on the ranked list

Illustrative example. Not a real client.

What you said
“Every Friday I chase the same customers for the same paperwork.”
What I found
Requests go out from three different inboxes, and no one can see which ones are still open.
How I know
I watched it on screen with the person who sends them.
Fix 1
Log each request in the customer record of the accounting software you already pay for, with one shared view of what's outstanding.
The simpler option I considered
A shared spreadsheet. It would help, but it becomes a fourth place to check.

I run an operation too.

I'm Mike Jackson. Short Work Co. is my practice, and I lead every engagement myself, from the first conversation through the recommendation, the work, and the handoff.

I've built the systems behind businesses I've run and helped run: an organization that's been around since 1979, and a real estate video business. So when you describe the part of your week that shouldn't be this hard, I've usually had to fix a version of it myself.

Building systems that make a business simpler to run is what I do best. Short Work Co. is how I bring that to other owners. I use AI where it helps, and I'll tell you when it doesn't.

Questions

Is this just an AI pitch?

No. AI is one option. A clearer process or a feature in software you already own may be the better answer.

Am I going to be told I need a new system?

Often not. If something new is worth building, I'll explain why before anything is built.

What happens in the First Look?

Two short calls. First, 30 minutes on how your business runs, and you do most of the talking. From your answers I draw a one-page map, with the spots where work waits on one person marked. Within 2 days we spend 20 minutes on it together. You keep the map and leave with one or two ideas you can use, whether or not we work together. If I can help, I'll tell you what I'd do first and roughly what it would cost. Written recommendations and prices are the paid Business Map. No pressure.

What will it cost?

The First Look is free. The Business Map is $4,500. Most builds are $5,000 to $15,000, at a fixed price agreed in writing before any work starts. Keeping it running is $2,000 every four weeks, and you can cancel any cycle.

Does the Map fee count toward a build?

Yes. If you sign a build within 14 days of getting your Map, the $4,500 comes off your first build payment, up to 60% of the build price. On a $5,000 build, that's $3,000 off.

Do I need to send you anything first?

No. A short description is enough. If a project needs records, we'll agree a secure way to share them.

Tell me which part is harder than it should be.

You don't need a fully formed project or an AI idea. Describe the work in your own words, and we'll start there.

Book your free First Look

Prefer email? info@shortworkco.com