From a phone number and a handshake to a real business
For landscapers, cleaners, contractors, and every other one-truck outfit doing real work without the paperwork to match. I help with the business side: licenses, banking, pricing, and a website people can find. Plain English. No long contracts.
Get Legitimate
Most local outfits start the same way. A truck, a phone number, word of mouth. It works fine until it doesn't. A customer wants to write a check to a business. A bank wants paperwork before it opens an account. A bigger job wants proof of insurance. None of it is hard to fix, but nobody tells you where to start. That's the part I help with.
Business Formation
The paperwork that makes it official.
- Forming an LLC in Washington. The state filing runs about $200 and takes an afternoon.
- Getting your EIN from the IRS. It's free and takes about ten minutes online.
- Your state business license, plus city or county endorsements where you work
- Contractor registration and bonding if your trade needs it
Banking, Phone & Getting Paid
Stop running the business out of your personal accounts.
- A business bank account, so checks get written to the company instead of to you
- A business phone number that isn't your personal cell
- Invoicing that doesn't depend on remembering who owes you
- Taking cards, not just cash and checks
Pricing & Quoting
Price jobs so you make money on them.
- What a job really costs you: labor, materials, gas, insurance, the truck
- Written estimates before the work starts
- Why the cheapest bid in town is usually somebody losing money slowly
- A simple quoting habit you can reuse on every job
One thing to be clear about: this is guidance, not legal or tax advice. I'm a technical guy who's been through this paperwork, not a lawyer or a CPA. When something has real legal or tax stakes, I'll say so and point you at the right professional.
Get Found Online
The other half of the problem. People are out there searching for what you do and finding someone else. A basic site done right and a properly filled-out Google listing go further than most paid ads.
Websites & WordPress
A clean, modern site your customers can find and you can update yourself.
- New websites and redesigns
- WordPress setup, fixes, and updates
- Domains, hosting, and site email
- Contact forms and online booking
Marketing Basics
Show up when people search for what you do.
- Google Business Profile setup
- Search engine basics (SEO)
- Email newsletters that get read
- Social media accounts set up right
General Tech Help
A person to call when technology gets in the way.
- Business email and file storage
- Backups and account security
- Help choosing software and tools
- Plain-English answers, no upselling
You work with one person from start to finish
Kempbell Consulting is Travis Kempbell. Fifteen years as a software engineer, and I've walked this exact checklist for my own companies more times than I'd like to admit. The person who answers your email is the person who does the work, whether that's paperwork or the website.
The first conversation is free
Tell me what you're trying to do and I'll give you an honest read on what it takes. Sometimes the honest read is that you don't need me. You'll hear that too.
Small jobs are hourly. Websites and bigger projects get a flat, written quote before any work starts.
contact@kempbellconsulting.com · Replies within one business day.