I build FixyFlow — a customer-communication tool for 1–5 person service businesses. The idea came from watching local shops in Collingwood and the Georgian Bay area lose hours every week to “is it ready?” calls and “where are you?” texts. The big field-service platforms were overkill; paper was chaos. FixyFlow is the in-between.
Before FixyFlow, I founded and ran More Customer Growth, an SEO consulting firm working with small businesses on local search, technical SEO, and measurable growth. A lot of what shows up in this blog — the GSC analyses, the SERP-differentiation work, the “run real math, not example math” instinct — comes from years of doing exactly that for clients before I started building tools instead of just consulting on them.
Outside of FixyFlow I run a handful of other small ventures (mostly cottage-care services for the Georgian Bay area) and spend a lot of time talking to shop owners about what actually works versus what software companies tell them should work. Most of the blog here comes from those conversations.
Where the numbers in these articles come from
Every article on this blog tries to do the same three things: open with a real owner's words (not a generic “small business owner Jane” example), run real GTA / Ontario dollar math (not convenient round numbers), and acknowledge what the data doesn't actually say (instead of pretending precision that isn't there).
Most stats are sourced from primary research where it exists (Harvard Business Review's response-time study, Invoca platform data, Ambs Call Center's 2025 missed-call cost report) and from owner-language pulled directly from r/HVAC, r/Plumbing, r/Electricians, r/AskMechanics, ContractorTalk, LawnSite, Mike Holt Forum, and equivalent venues. Where a widely-cited number has murky origins (the “85% of voicemail callers don't call back” figure is the classic example) I attribute it honestly as “widely cited but original methodology unclear” rather than pretending a single peer-reviewed study exists.
GTA pricing in the articles is current 2026, calibrated against the trades I'm closest to (HVAC, plumbing, electrical, auto, mobile services). If you spot a number that's drifted, the LinkedIn link above is the fastest way to flag it.
Topics I write about
88 articles across the topics that come up most often in conversations with small service-business owners.
Missed calls and lost leads
What unanswered calls actually cost service businesses, why owners are stuck in the gap between answering and hiring, and what works in 2026.
No-shows and reminders
Industry benchmarks for no-show rates, what each missed appointment costs, and the 4-step reminder systems that work.
Pricing for solo operators
What service businesses actually charge per hour, why industry averages mislead, and how to price your own shop without scaring off your customer base.
Customer communication and SMS
Templates, scripts, and tactics for service-business customer comms — including 10DLC compliance, WhatsApp vs SMS, and review-request timing.
About FixyFlow
FixyFlow is a per-job customer-communication tool for owner-operator and small service businesses (typically 1–5 people). It handles the SMS layer that the field-service platforms either bury or charge $79–$199/month for: status updates, “on my way” ETAs, post-job review requests, and (with 10DLC registration handled in the background) the missed-call text-back that closes the gap between “customer called” and “customer booked someone else.”
Plans start at $19/month, with a free tier for under 5 tickets a month. The shape of the product comes directly from the same conversations that produce the blog content — the goal isn't a 50-field FSM; it's the text-the-customer half of an FSM at one-tenth the cost.
Recent articles
The latest posts on customer communication for small service businesses.
Do You Need WSIB as a Solo Trade Operator in Ontario?
In construction trades, yes, even with no employees, unless the homeowner you work for pays every invoice. Who is covered, the 2026 rates by trade, and what it costs at $60,000.
September 29, 2026 · 11 min read
Phone Repair Shop Warranty Tracking: What to Record and When
Phone repair shop warranty tracking: what to record at drop-off, when the warranty clock starts, and how to find the original job when a phone comes back.
September 26, 2026 · 7 min read
Electrician Hourly Rate in Ontario (2026): Wage vs Billed Rate
Ontario electricians bill $90 to $150 per hour in 2026 while the median wage is $34. Rates by region, ESA permit fees, and one panel upgrade walked from wage to invoice.
September 18, 2026 · 11 min read
Camera Repair Shop Customer Communication: The Backlog Problem
Camera repair backlogs now run for months. How the best benches keep customers calm: honest queue language, teardown estimates, and status texts at every stage.
September 8, 2026 · 9 min read
12 Shoe Repair Text Message Templates for Cobbler Shops
Copy-paste SMS for shoe repair: drop-off tickets, quote approvals, ready-for-pickup nudges, and the texts that finally shrink the unclaimed-shoes shelf.
September 1, 2026 · 9 min read
Backflow Testing in Ontario: Rules, Costs and Deadlines
How often a backflow preventer must be tested in Ontario, what a test costs, who is allowed to do it, and how seven city programs compare. A province-wide guide.
August 25, 2026 · 10 min read