Claire Marika | Operations Strategy

Custom systems and strategy for businesses growing faster than they can keep up.

FOR SMALL AND MID-SIZE BUSINESSES, NONPROFITS, AND STARTUPS

You're great at what you do, but so busy that you risk missing out on opportunities. You need to get organized, but you can’t just drop everything to figure it out.Claire Marika designs systems that free you from your biggest time sinks, and helps you grow through smarter positioning and marketing strategy.

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You're busy and want to hire help

...but there's no system you can train new hires on. I'll build the systems and train your assistant to use them, so adding more people actually takes work off your plate.

You're a founder that's just getting started

You want your operations set up right from day one, and are figuring out what you need as you go. I'll build a foundation that helps you launch strong and keeps up as you grow.

You're launching a new product or service

You have more good ideas than infrastructure to carry them out. I'll build the systems to support your new launch, so it can grow without overwhelming you.

Your informal processes need to be sorted out

How you do things was cobbled together over time, and the process lives in people's heads. It works until it doesn't. I'll sort it out and turn it into clear systems and SOPs.

You run a department

Your team's work depends on handoffs with other departments, and things keep falling through the cracks. I'll make your piece run smoothly so everyone loves working with you.

See services and pricing →

Hi, I'm Claire.

People have told me that I’m “the most organized person they’ve ever met.”My systems are approved by people who describe themselves as “super busy,” “Type B,” “ADHD,” and “naturally disorganized.”Most organizational systems force you to suddenly become someone who is organized enough to stick to them. But you just don’t see the point in burying yourself in tedious details when you have the big picture to manage.It doesn’t have to be that way. I design the system around you instead of expecting you to change to fit the system. My systems flag you when they need your attention, so you're not constantly maintaining them. They're more convenient to stick to than not to.

Here's how it works...

1. Investigate

I learn:

I dig into how things already get done, including talking to the people who do the work. I investigate to discover exactly where things are breaking down.

2. Offload

I create a system for each time sink.

I design what the ideal process would look like (with your input). Then I build the tech to support that design so your ideal process can be your reality.I train you and your team to use it comfortably.See an example →

3. Grow

I help you turn your focus towards higher-value opportunities (instead of grinding through lots of small ones).

This can include:

“I can't even begin to express how much I appreciate this. It took so so much off my plate and it's better than anything I could've ever done.”

Jenna had a vision for what a raptor center could look like at its full potential.

She wanted the freedom to make strategic decisions, like training her birds for high-ticket opportunities instead of putting their wellbeing at risk by grinding out hundreds of low-paying bookings. She wanted to expand enough to provide training for other organizations and improve the care of raptors across the entire industry.When I met Jenna, she was extremely busy, juggling many obligations as she worked to get her nonprofit's income streams off the ground. She needed enough income to leave her part-time job and work on growing her nonprofit full time.

Here's what we built (all mobile-friendly):

Raptor Care Tracking System

Makes it easy to ensure that the most important thing is always taken care of.

Private Event Booking System

Eliminates time-consuming communication with customers and empowers her to book more events in less time. See case study →

Public Event Management System

Keeps all her details in one place and allows her to publish events to her website and social media with a single click.

Polished Website

Shares her high-quality services with the world, and is structured to encourage visitors to book private events or buy tickets to public events.

Strategic Positioning

With her time reclaimed, we turned towards improving her marketing and customer outreach. We focused on building out higher-margin opportunities such as corporate events and private sessions for professional wildlife photographers.

Now Jenna has systems in place to serve as the foundation for the rest of her business. She’s no longer forced to use all her energy just treading water, and can actually start growing.

Jenna always had the talent and potential to realize her vision.

All we had to do was redirect her energy so she could do more with less effort.

What is a system?

A system is a defined process + the container to support and sustain that process.Each system is made up of these 8 components.

The Process

We design your ideal process around what already works for you, accounting for every detail and every mistake that could go wrong. We map out the process from start to finish in all scenarios.

The Interface

The way you interact with your data is designed to fit you, so it’s easy to use and maintain. You're not digging through spreadsheets to find and update information.

The Automations

Predictable steps are handled by automations so the process keeps moving forward without you having to remember to take action for every step.

The Failsafes

Built-in reminders that notify you when you need to take action—so you don't need to pay attention until the system flags you.

The Data

Interconnected spreadsheets that give all of your information a place to live. Once your information is structured and organized, we can use it to make the rest of the system work.

The Communications

Forms, automated emails, and templatized interactions that set expectations, collect information, and guide people through the process without your involvement.

The Guidelines

Instructions and checklists are built in to both your end and the external-facing ends of the process, making it easy to follow on autopilot.

The Funnels

Public-facing communications that attract people to enter the process in the first place. Strategic positioning and outreach to your ideal audience (such as customers, donors, or collab partners).

The result: your process runs reliably every time, without depending on you to hold it all together. Every piece of information has a place to live and a path to travel, so you always know what's going on, and what you need shows up when you need it.

You used to think the only way to get more done was more hours in the day. Now your tasks just take less time.

What can be systematized?

Some examples:

Any process you do more than once can be turned into a system. If it has moving parts, deadlines, handoffs, or details that change from client to client, it can run smoother.I can audit and improve what you already have, or build something for you from scratch.

Custom orders and production
Bakery cake orders, custom clothing or bridal, t-shirt and print jobs, furniture or woodworking commissions, wedding floralsBookings and scheduling
Event bookings, class and private-lesson scheduling for a studio, venue or space rentals, field trips and group visits, tutoring sessionsRecurring tasks and upkeep
Gym equipment maintenance, property maintenance requests, safety inspections, daily care logs (animals, plants, facilities)Handoffs between people and teams
Passing a new client from sales to delivery, requests that bounce between departments, information that lives in one person's inbox, and anywhere things fall through the cracks between roles

Relationships and follow-up
Donor and sponsor tracking, wholesale accounts, vendor management, volunteer coordination, following up on leads so none slip throughProjects with many moving parts
Book publishing timelines, events with many stakeholders, content pipelines, renovation or contractor jobs, grant applications with multiple contributors and deadlinesIntake and onboarding
New client onboarding, volunteer or new-hire onboarding, application or intake forms that feed straight into a workflowInventory and resources
Supply tracking, rental gear check-in and check-out, expense tracking, lending libraries, materials for classes or programs

Private event bookings for a wildlife education nonprofit

Jenna’s nonprofit’s mission is to educate the public on raptors and advocate for their conservation through live educational presentations.Since Jenna doesn’t have her own facilities yet, she needs to book private offsite events. She needs to book more events so she can make more income and leave her day job.Interested customers are reaching out, but each new booking means sinking hours of work into event coordination.

She doesn’t have enough hours in the day to grow at this rate.

Goal:

Create a system that allows Jenna to book many events with very little effort.

What's already working for Jenna, to keep:

Time wasters to eliminate:

Tools:

TOTAL COST: $12/month

Results:

Before, each booking was a multi-day email exchange, around two days even when customers replied quickly, and Jenna had to keep track of every open thread in her head.Now booking an event consists of a 20-minute phone call and two button presses when prompted. The whole system runs for $12 a month, and Jenna owns it outright, with no licensing fees or ongoing payments to me.With this new system in place, Jenna can commit to more bookings without increasing her risk of making a mistake. She can afford to say “yes” to more opportunities.

The new workflow:

Services

What working together looks like

Every build starts with a free, no-strings-attached 30-minute discovery call to see if we're a good fit.

From there, I send a written scope and agreement so we're aligned on what's included before any work begins.Once we're underway, we start with a 60–90 minute deep dive into your goals and how your business runs today. Once we figure out what your ideal system would look like, I design and build it. Once it's ready, I walk you and your team through it, making any small adjustments to further tailor it to you. I make sure you're comfortable with the system before we wrap up.After you've had time to use it, we follow up to make refinements and make sure everything is working smoothly according to our original scope. If any large changes or additions to the original scope are needed, those are scoped and priced separately.

Questions?
Contact [email protected]

Advisory session, 60 mins · $250/session

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A focused, one-on-one conversation to talk through a problem or decision about how your business runs or grows. (No build included.) Good for when:

If you decide to book a build within 30 days, your session fee is credited toward it.

Custom system build · starting at $7,500

• Book a discovery call

You have a process that eats your time, or several. Whether you're starting from scratch or need help untangling what you already have, I design a system around how you actually work, build it, and hand it over ready to use, with a check-in after you've had time to live with it.Most builds take about a month, depending on complexity. The timeline for each build is set during scoping.See case study →

Ongoing partnership · $9,500/month (3-month minimum)

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For organizations that are still figuring out what needs to be built as they go, and need a partner in their operations and growth. I'm here to be a thinking partner, build your core operations, and be hands-on to help you keep moving forward.Each month starts with a planning session where we set priorities together, followed by a second deep-dive and regular check-ins. I focus my time on the work with the most leverage for your organization.

Growth strategy projects · starting at $3,000

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Need a better website, stronger marketing materials, or a smoother path from first contact to purchase? Want to find high-margin opportunities that make your work go further? Have something else in mind? Tell me what you're trying to accomplish, and we'll scope out a plan.

Operations platform for a wildlife education nonprofit

GREAT LAKES RAPTOR CENTER

Built the center's operations from the ground up in Airtable: raptor health tracking with automatic weather logging, a daily care dashboard, compliance tracking, and a booking system connected to their website and payment platform. Booking an event went from a multi-day email exchange to a 20-minute phone call. Also advised on policies and revenue strategy. See case study →

Relevant situations: informal processes, new founder, new launch

Project management platform for an in-house publishing imprint

ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY

Created a workspace to track the multi-stage publishing process for each book, with a place for every piece of information so the team no longer had to dig through emails. Made project management easier and team meetings shorter.

Relevant situations: informal processes, new launch

Automated attendance reporting

ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY

Automated library event attendance reporting, saving 3 staff hours weekly and ending forgotten reports.

Relevant situations: department heads, informal processes

One festival planning process for six departments

ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY

Designed a standardized, scalable planning process to eliminate duplicate work and close communication gaps between six departments, including an Airtable workspace with tiered permissions, a structured meeting cadence, and meeting agenda templates. Built to eliminate the need for a dedicated project coordinator role.

Relevant situations: department heads, informal processes, hiring help, new launch

Inventory and retail overhaul for a small business

ENLIGHTENED SOUL CENTER

Consolidated inventory for 1,000+ products from 10 scattered spreadsheets into one, designed so sales were easy to log and the owner could hand off updates to other staff. Also digitized event registration and redesigned retail displays on a minimal budget, contributing to a 38% increase in profit from the previous year.

Relevant situations: hiring help, informal processes

Room rental SOPs and templates

ANN ARBOR DISTRICT LIBRARY

Standardized room rental bookings, which everyone handled differently and required memorizing a detailed process. Created procedures, email templates, and a checklist anyone could follow, then trained multiple new hires on the new system.

Relevant situations: hiring help, informal processes, department heads

My Story

I studied international development at Michigan State University, where I kept noticing the same pattern: band-aid solutions get chosen over lasting ones, not because they work better, but because they're easier to explain. For example, it's easy to explain to donors that their donation went towards vaccinating 100 children. But it's hard to explain all the intricacies that go into building reliable hospital infrastructure, a goal that takes years and never delivers a simple, satisfying update. As a result, problems remained unsolved despite the resources going into them.Later, I saw the same thing inside organizations. At a large public library system, I helped coordinate operations for a growing system running 30 to 60 events a week. To keep up, I started refining the processes around me. I found that no matter how chaotic things look on the surface, you can always trace the source of problems to specific places where communication repeatedly breaks down. These can be left to spiral into emergencies, or you can find them, fix them, and forget about the problem forever.Claire Marika is the vehicle that allows me to put these lifelong experiences and fascinations into practice. Solving the communication problems within your organization improves your productivity, then improving the communication between you and your customers attracts your audience to you with less effort. You're already passionate and working hard at what you do, and your systems and strategy should reflect that. Let's redirect the resources already flowing towards your business and make sure every last drop goes into helping you grow into your potential.

If any of this sounds familiar, schedule a call and let's explore what we can build together.

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