§ 01 · BUILD IT FOR ME
The Digital Operating System, built for you.
You bring the business. We design the connected layer underneath — website, CRM, customer follow-up, reporting, AI tools, automations, and SOPs — so your operation runs as one system instead of seven disconnected logins.
§ THE PROBLEM
Most businesses don't have a website problem. They have a systems problem.
The website is live, but the follow-up is manual. The CRM is a spreadsheet. Reporting takes a day every Monday. AI tools are being tested, but nothing's connected. We build the connected layer underneath your business so your tools, your team, and your workflows actually work together.
Want the long version? Read the pillar article.
§ THE SCOPE
Six things we build into every Digital Operating System.
Six layers, one connected system. Hover any card to see what it connects to.
The website
Custom-built on Next.js, fast, mobile-first, search-engine ready from day one. Hosted on Vercel. Yours to own — no platform lock-in.
CRM and customer follow-up
Every enquiry tracked. Every customer remembered. We connect the form, the calendar, the inbox, and the spreadsheet that's pretending to be a CRM into one place where nothing falls through.
Automation
The manual work that keeps landing on someone's plate — quote-to-invoice, onboarding, supplier ordering, reminders — handled without anyone touching the keyboard.
Reporting
Weekly numbers from Meta, GA4, Xero, and your CRM pulled into one report you can read in five minutes. No spreadsheet jockey required.
AI tools
BCE for clarity and decisions. Custom GPTs and Claude Projects loaded with your business context. Monitored prompt libraries that stay current as platforms move.
SOPs and workflows
Every system we build comes with the documented procedure for running it. So when the new staff member starts or the bookkeeper changes, nothing breaks.
The SOPs we ship with every build are drawn from the same library we publish publicly — including How to Get Quality Results from Any AI Tool (SOP #005), the four-pillar framework that makes every other workflow work.
§ THE STACK
The tools we work with most often.
We're tool-agnostic where it makes sense and opinionated where it matters. This is the working stack — what we reach for when scoping a new build.
Shopify
Product, e-commerce, member intake
Klaviyo
Email flows and customer nurture
Supabase
Backend, dashboards, member data
GA4 + Meta Pixel
Conversion tracking the right way
n8n / Make
Workflow automation between tools
Claude + GPT
Business-context AI agents
Notion
Documentation, SOPs, internal wiki
Xero
Accounting and finance ops
HubSpot · Airtable · custom
CRM picked for your scale
§ PROOF
Built once. Compounding ever since.
DermaGen by Botanical Chemist came to CH Digitals doing roughly $500/month online. The brief was a Shopify rebuild — but the work was a full Digital Operating System: store, email, SEO, content, reporting, ongoing optimisation.
Six months in, online revenue was $30,000/month. Three years later, $592K+ in total sales. The system is still running.
“Kathryn turned our website sales to positive profit in a few months. She is committed, creative and organised. Highly recommended.”— Karen, DermaGen by Botanical ChemistRead the full case study →
$592K+
3-year sales
313K+
Sessions
6,542
Orders
54.2%
Checkout conv.
$79.16
Avg order value
10K+
Email subscribers
Built across Shopify, Klaviyo, SEO, email flows, content, reporting and ongoing optimisation.
§ THE FRAMEWORK
Four phases. Same shape every time.
Every engagement runs through the same four phases. The work inside each phase shifts per business, but the structure stays consistent. You always know where you are in the build.
01
Map
Audit the system that already exists. The tools, the workflows, the gaps. Honest before-state captured in writing.
02
Plan
Design the system that should exist. Connected tools, real automation, clear ownership. No tool added without a job.
03
Build
Build it in phases. Ship the changes that compound first; defer the ones that don't until the early ones prove out.
04
Operate
Hand it over with SOPs, training, and a weekly rhythm. We stay on retainer when it makes sense, and we leave when it doesn't.
§ WHO IT'S FOR
The right fit if…
- Regional businesses with 5–50 staff outgrowing disconnected tools.
Seven disconnected logins become one connected workflow.
- Founders who want to build the system once and have it run.
Built once, runs by itself. Three months of support included after launch.
- Operators who already have a website but know it's not the whole picture.
Website becomes one of six layers, not the whole strategy.
- Businesses ready to invest in infrastructure, not just another marketing campaign.
Built for compounding, not for monthly billing hours.
Not sure if you need a Digital Operating System or just a better website? Read the comparison.
We'll save you the call if…
- You want a $500 website. We are not the cheapest, and we will not pretend to be.
- You want someone to do digital marketing without first fixing the operational layer underneath. We work the other way around.
- You want a long-term agency relationship with monthly retainer fees built around hours, not outcomes. Our retainers are work-shaped, not invoice-shaped.
§ AFTER LAUNCH
Three retainer tiers. Optional. Work-shaped, not invoice-shaped.
The build is project-priced. Three months of support is included after launch. Plenty of clients run independently from there. Those who want ongoing work pick a tier.
Foundation
“Keep the lights on. Hosting, monitoring, monthly health-check, small change requests.”
For businesses that have a working system and want it kept that way — no big build coming, just steady hands.
Growth
“Foundation plus active work — content, strategy session, ongoing optimisation.”
For businesses building something new alongside their existing system. The most common tier.
Partner
“Growth plus a fractional digital director — weekly rhythm, quarterly reset, full strategic involvement.”
For founders who want a senior digital partner in the room without hiring one full time.
Specific tier pricing is set per engagement and confirmed in your quote — we do not publish a fixed monthly figure because the right number depends on what you actually need each month.
§ COMMON QUESTIONS
The questions people actually ask.
What is a Digital Operating System for a small business?
A Digital Operating System is the connected layer underneath your business — website, CRM, customer follow-up, reporting, AI tools, and SOPs — built so they run as one system instead of seven disconnected logins. The website is one component. The system is everything that makes the business actually run.
How long does a build take?
Most engagements run 8 to 16 weeks from kickoff to launch, depending on scope. The discovery call confirms the realistic window for your project — not the marketing window, the actual one.
What does it cost?
Project-priced from a written quote after the discovery call. We do not publish a fixed price because the scope changes per business. The cheapest builds start at around $5K for a focused website. Full Digital Operating System engagements with workflows, SOPs and AI tools sit higher, scoped honestly to what you actually need.
Do I have to commit to a retainer?
No. The build is project-priced. Retainers are optional and start at the end of the three-month support window if it makes sense for the business. Plenty of clients run their system independently after launch and call us when they need something.
Can you work with the tools we already have?
Most of the time, yes. We start with an audit of your current stack. If a tool is doing its job, we keep it and integrate it. If a tool is blocking the system, we replace it — but only after we've shown you why. We never rebuild for the sake of rebuilding.
What if I already have a website?
Then we audit it. If it works, we leave it and build the operational layer underneath. If it does not, we rebuild. The brief is what changes, not the principle — the website is one component of a larger system, not the whole job.
Can you build just one part — just the CRM, or just the website?
Yes. Not every business needs the full Digital Operating System on day one. Some start with the website and add the CRM and automations later. The discovery call decides where to start based on what's actually breaking, not what looks impressive in a proposal.
Do you take on businesses outside the Central Highlands?
Yes. About a third of clients are outside Queensland. The work is regional in voice and origin, not in geography. Discovery calls run on Google Meet from the home office in Emerald.
Who actually does the work?
Kathryn leads every engagement. Specialist contractors come in for design, copy, and bespoke development as the scope requires — all working off the same brief, all answering to the same quality standard.
What happens after launch?
Three months of support is included with every build. After that, you can stay on a retainer (Foundation, Growth, or Partner), pay for occasional work as it comes up, or run the system independently. Whatever fits.
§ NEXT
If this sounds like the right fit, the next step is a thirty-minute call.
We talk through where you are, what you have already, what is breaking, and whether a Digital Operating System build is the right answer. If it is not, we say so and point you at what is.