In March 2020, while supermarket shelves were being stripped bare and most businesses were trying to figure out what the next week would look like, Ian and Jayden made a decision. They put out an offer: if you're a small business that needs a website with online ordering or booking and you can't afford it right now, we'll build it for free.
No catch. No hidden fees beyond the domain and hosting costs the business would own themselves. Just two people with the skills and the time using both to help other small businesses stay open during something none of us had a script for.
Why We Did It
The honest answer is that it felt like the right thing to do. The more considered answer is the same.
There were thousands of small businesses in 2020 that had never needed an online presence because foot traffic had always been enough. Cafes, fitness studios, trades, local retailers. Overnight, foot traffic stopped. The businesses that already had online ordering, booking systems, and digital infrastructure adapted. The ones that didn't were suddenly staring at a gap they had no idea how to close quickly or cheaply.
We knew how to close that gap. We had the capacity to help. The decision wasn't complicated.
What It Taught Us
A few things became clearer through that period that have stayed with us since.
The first is that the gap between "has a basic digital presence" and "doesn't" is enormous, and most small businesses fall into the second category not because they don't care or can't learn, but because nobody ever explained it to them in plain language without trying to sell them something at the same time. That gap is what PlainBlack's playbook products are built to close.
The second is that generosity builds trust faster than almost any marketing strategy. The businesses we helped during COVID didn't forget it. Several became long-term clients. More recommended us to people they knew. None of that was the reason we did it, but it confirmed something we already believed: do good work for people who need it and the business side takes care of itself.
The third is that small businesses are more resilient than people give them credit for. Given the right tools, a clear system, and someone who explains things without condescension, most owners will back themselves and figure it out. They don't need to be rescued. They need to be equipped.
Where That Led
The AI playbooks we build now are a direct continuation of that thinking. The medium changed. The underlying idea didn't. Stop gatekeeping useful knowledge behind expensive retainers. Give small business owners the system, the tools, and the confidence to do it themselves. Then get out of the way.
COVID was a strange and difficult period for almost everyone. For us, it clarified something about what this work is actually for. Not revenue. Not growth metrics. People trying to keep their businesses alive and look after their families. That's the client. That's always been the client.
Still the same idea, better tools
What started as free website builds during a crisis became a product line built on the same principle: give small business owners what agencies charge thousands for, at a price that doesn't require them to choose between marketing and payroll. The format evolved. The mission didn't.