Kindly Built Studio · Brooklyn & remote

Hi, I'm Michelle. I help small businesses get their week back.

I find the jobs that quietly eat your team's time, like re-typing, chasing and reminding, and I build simple tools that do them for you.

A bit about me →

About

A little about me

I've spent about 15 years helping teams deliver technology: running programs, fixing the way work flows, and turning messy processes into ones people don't have to think about. Lately that's meant a lot of AI and automation, used as a practical tool rather than a buzzword.

I started Kindly Built Studio because my favorite part of that work is the moment someone gets an hour of their week back. I'd rather do that for businesses I can get to know than for a giant org chart.

I'm based in Brooklyn and work with small businesses in NYC and anywhere else over video.

  • One person, start to finish.The person you talk to is the person who builds it.
  • Fixed scope, fixed price.No open-ended meter running.
  • Plain English.No jargon, and nothing you'll need a specialist to maintain.
  • A few clients at a time.So each one gets real attention.

Sound familiar?

  • "I copy the same information from one system into another every week."
  • "New clients get a different onboarding depending on who's around."
  • "Half my inbox is people asking things that are written down somewhere."
  • "I only find out a project is behind when someone asks where it is."
  • "We have a spreadsheet for that. Actually, we have four."
  • "Follow-ups slip because nobody remembers to send them."

These are small problems with a big cost, and they're very fixable.

How I work

Small, practical steps, with a clear scope for each.

  1. Discover

    I learn how your week really goes: what gets re-typed, chased and repeated, and what your team wishes would just happen.

  2. Design

    We agree on the smallest fix that makes a real difference, with clear deliverables, a timeline and a price.

  3. Build

    I build it: an automation, a simple app, or a better link between the tools you already use. AI helps where it's the right tool.

  4. Improve

    I watch how your team uses it and keep making it better, so it fits the way you work.

Ways to work together

Start small. Keep what works.

Every project has a fixed price and scope, agreed before any work starts.

Founding clients: I'm taking on my first few clients at a reduced rate in exchange for honest feedback and permission to share the results as a case study.

Workflow check-up

Starting at $1,500

A focused look at how work moves through your business. You get a clear map of where time goes and a plan for what to fix first, whether or not you hire me to build it.

  • Conversations with you and your team
  • A written map of your key workflows
  • A prioritized, priced plan

Build a solution

Starting at $4,000

A fixed-scope project to build the fix: an automation, a lightweight app, or a connection between the systems you already use.

  • Scope and timeline agreed up front
  • Built around how your team really works
  • Handover and training included

Ongoing care

Starting at $500 / month

Small improvements, fixes and new ideas as your business changes, so what I built keeps earning its keep.

  • A set number of hours each month
  • Monitoring so problems are caught early
  • No long-term contract

Case study

ClassHub: a class parent's weekly admin, now done from a phone

As a class parent for a 2nd-grade class, I was juggling a roster, dates, volunteer sign-ups and hand-written emails across spreadsheets, forms and group chats. So I designed and built ClassHub, a private web app that puts everything in one place and sends most of the communication automatically.

3h 45m
saved every week
3 in 4
invited parents signed in, no training
55
volunteer sign-ups, no spreadsheet
"It's so good and SO helpful!"A parent in the class, unprompted

Scattered information, repetitive messages and work tied to a desk are the same problems small businesses deal with every day.

Read the full case study (PDF)
ClassHub home screen with upcoming dates and an announcement ClassHub volunteer sign-up screen

Mockups use made-up data to protect families' privacy.

Say hello

What's slowing your team down?

Tell me in a sentence or two. I'll reply personally, and if I can help, we'll set up a free 30-minute chat.