What I do
Every engagement, scoped before it starts.
You'll always know what you're getting, what it costs, and when it's done. We agree on the work before it starts, so there are no surprise invoices.
Not sure where to start? Tell me what is going on. We can work out what you need together.
Hands-On Project Work
Some problems do not need an assessment or a retainer. They need someone to get the work done and a clear finish line.
That may mean setting up or replacing computers and servers; fixing network or Wi-Fi trouble; moving email to Microsoft 365; getting backups, MFA, or phishing resistance in place; connecting printers and copiers; working through cabling, cameras, door access, VoIP phones, point-of-sale, ISP, or cellular questions; setting up a new location; or giving you independent hardware and purchasing advice.
If it plugs in or logs in, ask. Small jobs are welcome. Availability varies, so call or text to find out what I can take on now. If I am around and the situation warrants it, I will make time; if it is not a fit, I will say so plainly.
Tell me what needs doing Call Larry Text Larry
IT & Security Health Check
The question this answers: Where do we actually stand — and what’s worth fixing first?
A fixed-fee, fixed-scope review of the whole environment: network and Wi-Fi, email security, endpoints, accounts and access, backup and restore, and the recurring services that have accumulated over time. The backup is not marked healthy because a dashboard is green; the ability to restore is what matters.
What you get:
- A plain-language picture of the environment as it actually operates
- A prioritized list of what matters now, what can wait, and what is not worth doing
- A record of avoidable costs, overlapping tools, and services you may be able to stop paying for
- A written report and a walkthrough of the findings
Format: Fixed fee. Days, not weeks. Defined deliverable.
Fee: Fixed and agreed in writing before work begins — sized for small businesses. Nothing starts until you approve it.
You own the plan whether you ask me to carry out the work, use your current provider, or handle it internally. The point is to give you a clear view, not to manufacture a project.
If backup confidence or an insurance application brought you here, start with the guides to testing whether a backup actually restores and answering a cyber-insurance questionnaire from evidence.
Want to see the shape of the report first? Review the illustrative Health Check sample — findings, priorities, ownership, and the work that can safely wait.
Start with a Health Check See a sample
Your IT Person, Part Time
The question this answers: Who do we call when an IT decision is bigger than our team but smaller than a new hire?
This is your IT person without hiring an IT person: a seasoned second set of eyes for vendor proposals, budget decisions, security questions, renewals, and the moments when a problem crosses from one part of the stack into another.
It is not a staffed help desk or a contract designed to sell hardware. I help your team and existing providers make better decisions, challenge recommendations that do not add up, and keep the work pointed at the business outcome. When hands-on work is needed, we can define that separately so the responsibility and finish line stay clear.
Format: Monthly retainer, sized to how much of me you need. Often the natural next step after a Health Check.
If you are still deciding whether the business needs managed service, project help, or an independent advisor, read Do you need an MSP, or just someone in your corner?.
Practical AI for Small Business
The question this answers: What should we let people use, what should stay out, and what does a sensible policy look like?
Should you turn on Microsoft Copilot? Staff are already pasting customer information into ChatGPT — what should the rule be? A vendor says its tool is private; what does that claim actually cover?
These are short, fixed-fee engagements: a tool review, a practical AI-use policy, or a staff guidance session built around the data your business handles. The aim is not to turn a small business into an AI laboratory. It is to make a useful decision before informal use makes the decision for you.
If the immediate need is a rule people can use, start with the guide to a practical AI-use policy for a small business.
Specialist engagements
For organizations with regulated data and heavier obligations, this is the deeper end of the practice.
Private AI Readiness Assessment
The question this answers: Can we run AI on our own data — safely, compliantly, and on infrastructure we control — and what will it actually take?
Everyone wants the productivity of modern AI. Few have looked honestly at what feeding sensitive data to an outside model does to their risk and compliance posture. This assessment closes that gap before you’ve committed a dollar to building anything.
What you get:
- A review of your candidate use cases — which are worth doing, which aren’t, and which carry hidden data-exposure risk
- A recommended on-premise / private architecture, grounded in a working reference design rather than theory
- A data-protection and compliance assessment mapped to your actual obligations
- A phased roadmap with a realistic implementation cost estimate
- A written report and a live walkthrough with your team
Format: Fixed fee. Two to three weeks. Defined deliverable.
The fee is quoted after the initial working call, and varies mainly with the number of use cases, data systems, and compliance obligations in scope. You approve it before any work begins — that’s what “fixed” means here.
What it is not: This engagement decides whether and how — it doesn’t start building. Implementation is a separate, clearly scoped engagement, so this stays honest and bounded. You leave with a plan you own, whether you build it with me or on your own.
If “private AI” and “confidential computing” are being used interchangeably in your planning, start with the guide to what each one protects — and what it does not.
Want to see the shape of it first? There’s an illustrative sample deliverable — structure, use-case triage, reference architecture, and all.
Start with an assessment See a sample
Encryption & Key Management Advisory
The question this answers: Is our sensitive data genuinely protected — and will it still be protected in five years?
This is the foundation everything else sits on, and it’s where I’ve spent my career. It’s rarely urgent until it suddenly is: a failed audit, a breach, a regulator’s letter, a merger’s due-diligence review.
Where I help:
- Encryption architecture reviews — is data actually protected at rest and in transit, or only on paper?
- Key management strategy — because who controls the keys determines whether your encryption means anything
- Hardware security module (HSM) guidance and design
- Post-quantum readiness — the migration NIST says organizations should begin planning now, started before it becomes an emergency. Most teams have no inventory of where their cryptography even lives. That’s where this begins; the practical first step is a cryptographic inventory.
Format: Scoped to the engagement — from a focused architecture review to a full key-management strategy.
Fit and boundaries
- Do you replace our MSP?
- Not necessarily. If you need regular help-desk coverage, monitoring, and after-hours response, the right MSP may be exactly what you need. I can help you choose one, work alongside the one you have, or cover the decisions and projects that sit outside its normal service.
- Will you work with our current providers?
- Yes. Good work often means giving the existing network, software, copier, security, or managed-service provider a clearer plan and one person who can connect the decisions across vendors.
- Do you provide a help desk or after-hours emergency line?
- Not a staffed desk, and I do not publish guaranteed support hours. Call or text to find out my current availability. If I am around and the situation warrants it, I will make myself available. If your business needs continuous monitoring, guaranteed response times, or 24/7 coverage, I can help you choose an MSP that provides it and stay in your corner for the decisions outside its normal service.
- Can you implement what you recommend?
- Often, yes. An assessment stays separate from implementation so the recommendation remains honest. Any follow-on work receives its own written scope, timing, and fee.
- How are fees established?
- The initial call is no-obligation. If there is a fit, you receive a written scope with the deliverable, timing, and fixed fee—or a clearly bounded retainer for ongoing advisory. Nothing begins until you approve it.
- Do you work outside Eastern North Dakota?
- Yes. On-site work is centered on Eastern North Dakota; advisory, assessments, vendor reviews, and much of the specialist work can be done remotely.
Not sure which fits? Most engagements start with a short call to figure out what you actually need — which is sometimes less than you feared, and occasionally something you hadn’t considered.