Marika Olson Consulting
You didn't start your business to manage spreadsheets
You started it to make something, build something, help someone. Somewhere along the way, the backend took over — and now you're spending more time on systems than on the work that matters.
I can help with that.
I work with small business owners who are great at what they do — and buried in the systems that are supposed to support them.
Whether you're growing, stepping back, or starting to wonder what this business looks like without you in the middle of everything, the backend has to work. That's what I build.
The Business Works, But You’re Exhausted
The clients are there. The revenue is there. But you're the one holding it all together — the inventory, the website, the onboarding, the tools that don't talk to each other. You can't take a week off without something breaking. And lately, you've been wondering: is this what I signed up for?
Here's what I know: your business doesn't need more of your time. It needs systems that work without you white-knuckling every detail.
I'm Marika Olson. I come in, I learn how your business actually runs, and I build the systems that let you get back to the work you started this for. Not a strategy deck. Not a forever engagement you can't get out of. Real systems, built together, designed so you can eventually run them yourself — or hand them to someone else entirely.
Clarity through Tending, not Overhaul
Most consultants show up with a framework they're going to impose on your business whether it fits or not. I work differently.
I call it a practice, not a project. We start by looking at what's actually happening in your business, not what should be happening on paper. Then we build from there, one system at a time, testing as we go. Some things will be beautiful. Some will be functional. Most will be both, imperfectly.
The goal isn't a perfect machine. It's a business that runs clearly enough to grow, to transition, or to let you take a Tuesday off without everything falling apart.
Operations Partnership
Your backend, sorted. Workflows, SOPs, client management, the invisible stuff that makes your business valuable — to you, to a buyer, or to the partner you haven't hired yet.
Two Ways we can Work Together
Website Design
Your front door, rebuilt. A site that reflects how your business actually works and brings in the clients you want.
Not Sure Where to Start?
That’s ok. Most people aren’t, but remember, there is no one ‘wrong’ or ‘right’ way to move forward. Your business, your priorities, your approach. Marika Olson Consulting has two paths to start your journey, and both are entirely free.
Book a free 30-minute call and we’ll figure out what’s actually going on, and how we can move forward together.
15 minutes, pen and paper. Real questions about how your business runs, where the strain is, what a potential buyer or investor would notice.
"I had been struggling with website development for over a year until I met Marika Olson Consulting. She had me up and running within a week. I highly recommend her."
— Cari Hug, Jersey Girl Soap LLC | via Google Reviews
Hi, I’m Marika, nice to meet you
I spent 15 years at USAID managing programs worth up to $250M across four continents. I know what it looks like when systems work at scale, and I know what breaks them. Now I bring that same operational brain to small businesses, the ones doing real work with real constraints and not enough hours in the day.
I live on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington with three cats and a lot of trees. I believe the best business systems are the ones you barely notice because they just work.
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