Operations practice · Apex, NC · Bilingual

We rebuild
back offices that
have outgrown
the original setup.

An operations practice for owner-operated small and mid-size businesses. We install systems that run without the owner, document the work that lives in someone's head, and bring AI-powered automation into the back office.

Owner-dependent→System-driven Manual→Automated Scattered→Connected Reactive→Repeatable
Take the FREE Forward Diagnostic → Book a discovery call → See how the practice works
Tu negocio, modernizado. Your business, modernized.
The pattern we fix

The ceiling is rarely sales. It's the back office.

Owner-operated businesses hit a ceiling that is rarely about marketing, sales, or even talent. It is about systems that never got built. The business outgrows the way it was first put together, and the owner becomes the only thing holding it together.

01

The owner is the operating system

Decisions, knowledge, and process all live in the owner's head. Two weeks off and the business stalls.

02

Every client is a custom workflow

Nothing is repeatable. New clients require the same scramble that the last one did, every single time.

03

Software bought, not implemented

Tools sit unused while teams default to spreadsheets, sticky notes, and the owner's memory.

04

Hiring breaks the business

No documented process means no real onboarding. New hires sink. The owner ends up doing it themselves again.

What changes

What this looks like in practice.

Three of the patterns we fix most often, and what the operation looks like once the system is in place.

Before

Missed calls sit in voicemail until someone remembers to return them.

After

Missed call → automatic text → lead captured → follow-up assigned → owner notified only when needed.

Before

Quotes are built by hand from information scattered across texts, email, and notes.

After

Customer record → standardized estimate → follow-up sequence → invoice → review request.

Before

"How do we do this?" means asking the owner.

After

Documented SOP → assigned responsibility → repeatable workflow → measurable accountability.

The shift

Your business should not depend on you to keep moving.

New lead Email Text message Sticky note Voicemail Who follows up? Owner
  1. New lead
  2. CRM
  3. Follow-up
  4. Estimate
  5. Invoice
  6. Review

The owner is no longer the operating system.

One studio, two doors

Same practice. Two ways in.

The Forward Studio is one practice with one buyer: small and mid-size business owners who know operations are holding them back. Two doors, sized to the shape of the problem.

Same buyer. Different framing of the same pain. Same brand promise: we build the system, you run the business.
Door One · Systems Builds

Packaged systems for small and mid-size businesses.

"I keep missing calls and losing leads."

Trades and home services are our named niche, but this door is open to any owner-operated business with a specific bottleneck to fix. Missed-call recovery, automated quote-to-invoice, customer databases, scheduling, and the workflows that should not still live in spreadsheets. Clear deliverable, clear timeline, clear price.

Best for
A specific bottleneck to fix
Timeline
7 to 45 days
Investment
$1,497 to $5,997
Starts with
A scoped, fixed-price quote
See the three tiers →
Door Two · Operations Track

Audit, build, and fractional leadership.

"My whole back office is a mess."

For owner-operated businesses where revenue grew faster than systems. Strategic operations work, not just tools installed. Starts with a 14-day Operations Audit that produces a written diagnosis and a prioritized fix plan. From there, a build, and ongoing fractional leadership when it makes sense.

Best for
Revenue that outgrew the systems
Timeline
14 days to 12 weeks
Investment
Audit from $1,997
Starts with
The 14-day Operations Audit
See the three stages →
Door One · Systems Builds

Three packaged builds. Fixed price. Clear timeline.

For owner-operated businesses that want the system installed and running, not a six-month engagement. Each tier is scoped, priced, and delivered on a clock.

Tier 1

Quick Win Build

$1,497

A single high-impact system, installed and running in one week.

  • One core workflow rebuilt and automated
  • Missed-call recovery or quote-to-invoice or lead capture
  • Tool configured and tested with your team
  • Loom walkthrough and written SOP
Delivered in 7 days
Tier 2

Full Modernization

$3,497

The full back-office stack for an owner-operated business.

  • Three to five workflows rebuilt and connected
  • CRM, scheduling, invoicing, and review capture
  • AI assistant configured for routine customer comms
  • Team training session and written SOPs for each system
Delivered in 30 days
Tier 3

Custom Implementation

$5,997

For businesses with multi-location operations or custom workflow needs.

  • Custom workflow design across the full back office
  • Multi-location or multi-team configuration
  • Advanced automation and AI integration
  • Two weeks of post-launch support included
Delivered in 30 to 45 days

Optional ongoing support retainers from $297 to $797 per month.

Door Two · Operations Track

Audit. Build. Retain.

For owners whose back office has outgrown the way they built it, where revenue grew faster than systems and the owner has become the bottleneck. Three stages, designed so each one stands on its own and creates the next.

Stage 01

The Operations Audit

14 days · from $1,997

A structured diagnostic that produces a written report you could hand to any future operations leader. The front door to every Operations Track engagement.

  • 90-minute kickoff and intake
  • Three stakeholder interviews
  • Workflow and tool stack mapping
  • Written 15 to 20 page findings report
  • Findings call and prioritized fix plan
Stage 02

The Operations Build

6 to 12 weeks

Implementation of the highest-leverage fixes from the audit. Workflows redesigned, SOPs documented, tools configured, automations installed, team trained.

  • Focused, full, or comprehensive scope
  • Audit fee credited toward the build
  • Weekly working sessions and check-ins
  • SOP library, configured tool stack, training
  • Mid-build review and post-launch handoff
Stage 03

Fractional Leadership

Ongoing

For owners who need a senior operator in the seat without hiring full-time. Three tiers, from light advisory to embedded Chief of Staff.

  • Operations Advisor: weekly check-ins, async support
  • Fractional Operations Manager: active oversight
  • Fractional Chief of Staff: full leadership presence
  • 90-day initial commitment, month-to-month after
  • Quarterly strategic planning sessions
Single-scope work

Not every fix needs a full build.

Sometimes what you need is one thing written down, not a whole system rebuilt. These are standalone projects: scoped on their own, delivered on their own, and yours to keep using.

01

Process Documentation

One process, documented end to end. The steps, the handoffs, and the exceptions that currently live in one person's head.

  • Process mapped through interviews with the people who run it
  • Written SOP a new hire could follow without asking
  • Exceptions and edge cases captured, not glossed over
  • Delivered in a format your team will actually open
Scoped by process
02

Handbook and Onboarding

The policies and the first-week path, written down, so hiring stops breaking the business.

  • Handbook covering policies, expectations, and the basics
  • Onboarding checklist from offer letter to day thirty
  • Role-by-role starting points for new hires
  • Built so you can update it, not just us
Scoped by team size
03

Vendor and Procurement Review

What you are paying each vendor, what you are getting back, and where the terms are working against you.

  • Full inventory of vendors, contracts, and renewal dates
  • Cost and usage compared against what you actually need
  • Overlap and duplicate spend identified
  • Negotiation points and a recommendation for each
Scoped by vendor count

Standalone projects start at $497. Scope and price are confirmed before any work begins.

Not sure where you fit?

Most engagements start with a 30-minute discovery call. We'll figure out together whether you need a packaged systems build, a full operations audit, a single project, or something in between. No pitch.

Book a FREE discovery call →
The founder

Twenty-five years of running the work. Inside the work.

The Forward Studio is a small operations practice based in Apex, NC, founded by Ayeska Pichardo. The studio brings together 25 years of operations experience across corporate, nonprofit, and small business environments, and serves owner-operated businesses in the Triangle and remote.

We have built and run back offices in a range of environments: professional membership organizations, technical and manufacturing operations, multi-location retail, and residential and commercial construction. We have led HR functions, vendor and facilities operations, and multimillion-dollar procurement work. The contexts changed. The work was the same: build the system that lets the business run without the owner.

The founder has founded and co-founded multiple companies across New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina, including renovation companies and an online retail store. We know what it takes to run an owner-operated business from the inside, the late nights, the cash flow stress, the moment you realize the way you built the company will not get you to the next level. That perspective is why The Forward Studio exists.

Most consultants pitching operations have built one ops function once. We have built dozens. And we work in two languages.

Ayeska Pichardo, Founder of The Forward Studio

Let's see if your back office is the bottleneck. Or something else.

Book a 30-minute discovery call. We'll figure out where the operational drag is, whether the Studio is the right fit, and what a real path forward looks like. No pitch.

Book a discovery call → Email instead Connect on LinkedIn