I still like
building things.
Alongside client work, I spend quite a bit of time building and testing ideas of my own.
Some are commercial. Some are experiments. One definitely isn’t.
They give me somewhere to test ideas around AI, SEO, ecommerce, customer experience and business systems in the real world rather than just talking about them.
Not everything will work. Some things will change direction and some may never become much more than an experiment.
That’s fine. The useful bit is what I learn by actually building them.
The Garage Advisor
Helping independent garages become better businesses, not just better workshops.
The Garage Advisor grew out of spending time looking at how independent garages actually operate.
It covers the bits around the workshop that can make a surprisingly big difference to the business: visibility, enquiries, conversion, customer communication, workflow, retention and reputation.
Touch Point Manager
A practical front-desk tool I’m developing to help busy garages keep track of customer enquiries, quotes, callbacks and follow-ups.
It came from seeing how easily small customer promises can disappear during a busy working day, even in well-run businesses.
I’m still testing and refining it in the real world before deciding exactly where it goes next.
Agentic Engineer
AI is moving ridiculously quickly.
Agentic Engineer gives me somewhere to experiment with it properly rather than simply writing about what AI might be able to do.
I’m particularly interested in the less glamorous side of AI: removing repetitive work, improving processes, making information easier to use and helping smaller businesses do things they previously wouldn’t have had the resources to do.
Reyt Comfy
A return to something I know pretty well: ecommerce.
Reyt Comfy is a Yorkshire-led furniture and sleep site I’ve built to experiment with search behaviour, buying guides, affiliate ecommerce and the way people research considered purchases online.
Rainbathing
This one started with a very simple thought.
Wild swimming has become hugely popular. But you don’t necessarily need a lake, river or sea to get outside, get wet and experience the weather.
That thought became Rainbathing, which has since developed into a working site with weather tools, rain alerts and the beginnings of a community idea around it.
I still don’t know exactly where it will go. That’s partly why I’m building it.
ANYWAY.
This one is different.
It isn’t a business.
ANYWAY. is built around a very simple question: when life doesn’t go to plan, what next?
No accounts. No need to explain what happened. Just somewhere to find one manageable next step and, where appropriate, organisations that can provide proper help.
It’s deliberately simple and I’d like to keep it that way.
No Comments