Operations · Systems · Pacific Northwest
I build the back of the house, so you can run the front.
Systems for small businesses, built so the business is worth more, and so is your time.
I spent 15 years building operations for international development programs. Now I do the same for small businesses. You get the systems, you learn to run them, and I step out when you no longer need me.
How I work
I build what your business actually needs.
Everything I hand over is shaped to your business specifically: your books, your systems, your site, your constraints, what you want the thing to become.
What that turns out to be depends on what I find. Sometimes it’s an operations build — clean books, documented systems, the owner-dependency designed out. Sometimes it’s a website people can actually find. Sometimes it’s an AI workflow that takes a recurring job off your desk for good. Often it starts with a readiness assessment and the roadmap that comes out of it. The stage changes. The method doesn’t: find out exactly where the business stands, build the plan to get it where you want it, then do the highest-leverage parts with you.
AI-native means the research, the diagnostics, and the deliverables all move through workflows I design and run myself. That’s how one consultant delivers the depth of a firm without the overhead of one. And every engagement aims at the same end: a business that is solid, valuable, and yours — worth more to a future buyer whether or not you ever decide to sell.
Not sure where to start?
Run one of the free tools and see what it turns up, or book a call and tell me the situation.
Questions owners ask
What kind of clients does Marika Olson Consulting work with?
Small business owners, almost always for-profit, who have decided to fix their systems and are ready to engage. I work across three stages: owners just starting, who need a website and the few systems that keep admin from running their life; established owners at a plateau, who can feel money leaking where they can't see it; and owners thinking about the next chapter, who want to hand the business off well. The common thread is the owner, not the type of business. My best work is with owners who share what's actually going on, make decisions, and treat this as scoped expertise for a real outcome. I'm based in Hoodsport, Washington. Most of my clients are in the Pacific Northwest, though the operations and web work travels anywhere.
Which path is right for me: Starting, Growing, or Transitioning?
Pick the one that sounds like where you are. Starting: you're getting a business off the ground, you need it to work from day one, and you need a website. Growing: it works, but everything runs through you, and time and money are draining where you can't point to it. Transitioning: you're established, and someday you want the option to sell, pass it on, or step back without it falling apart. If you're between two, start with a free Operations Health Check and we'll place you. Whichever one it is, I'm building toward the same thing: a business that's solid and valuable, one you own, not one that owns you.
Do you work on a retainer, or how does pricing work?
I lead with scoped builds priced to real deliverables, not open-ended retainers. We agree up front on what we're building and what done looks like, so you're never paying just to keep me around. Every engagement is quoted upfront with a clear start and a defined finish. Ongoing support exists, but only when it's genuinely additive, never as a default subscription you're stuck paying for.
What makes Marika Olson different from other consultants or agencies?
I spent 15 years building operations for international development programs at USAID, managing portfolios worth up to $250 million across three continents. The job was building systems that survived political crises, natural disasters, and constant transitions. That's the same muscle I bring to a small business, at a different scale. The practical differences: everything I build belongs to you, I teach you to run it, and I'm built to graduate. No decks, no jargon, no 47-email funnel.