The case files.

The problem

A one-person agency can’t afford a stack of SaaS subscriptions, and it can’t afford to type the same client details into five places either. So we built the whole back office once, as one system on plain shared hosting.

What’s in it

• A store with real checkout. Fixed-price packages, a cart with rules, Stripe payments and subscriptions. Prices live in one file, so the site and the bill can’t disagree.
• A CRM that sets itself up. Paying turns into a contact, a won deal, an invoice, a project and to-dos, with no typing.
• Client portals. Sign-in links instead of passwords. Projects, approvals, files, invoices, plans and live stats.
• Our own analytics. Cookie-free visitor stats we wrote ourselves, for our sites and every client site.
• Website care. Uptime checks every 15 minutes, weekly security scans, monthly reports.
• A free website checkup anyone can run on syndicatemarketing.co, plus a help center, booking, quotes and invoices.

Where the AI fits

Four agent jobs run on schedules. Each one does a narrow job through an API we designed, and the rules sit in code it can’t argue with.

1. Outreach writer. Researches local businesses and drafts a personal first email.agent
2. The send rules. Daily limits, opt-outs, a do-not-contact list, allowed links only.code
3. Reply handler. Answers replies, or hands them to Grady when a person should.agent
4. Website builder. Drafts paid client sites into a sandbox that can’t publish.agent
5. Draft review. Grady approves every draft before a client sees it.person
6. Blog drafts. One a week, published only when Grady says so.person

Calls we made

• Boring on purpose. PHP and SQLite on ordinary shared hosting. No framework upgrades to chase and no stack of SaaS bills.
• Webhooks can’t be trusted alone. Every payment is double-checked against Stripe on a schedule, so a lost message never loses an order.
• Tests on the money. The store, quotes and booking each have end-to-end browser tests we rerun before shipping changes to them.

What we ran

• Shops, end to end. Setup, products, pricing and the day-to-day running of the shop.
• Creators and affiliates. Finding them, sampling them, briefing them and keeping the ones who actually sell.
• Live shopping. Planning and running lives that turn viewers into buyers.
• Teaching the field. In 2024 and 2025 we led classes for smaller agencies building their own TikTok Shop practices.

What changed

In late 2026, Creator Ops Media stopped running shops and became a consultancy. Same playbook, one hour at a time, with the person who ran it.

What they needed

A site that turns a phone search into a call or an estimate request, fast, without anybody at Kirby’s having to babysit it.

• Free-estimate form that lands straight on their phone.
• Tap to call everywhere it makes sense.
• Services and service area spelled out so the right people call.
• Visitor stats that count estimate requests and calls, so they can see what the site does.

“The website was set up quick and more than professional. Leads come straight to my phone and it’s never been easier to keep up with the quotes.”