Pineapple Consulting Firm

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Main & Johnson, a business coaching and consulting company based in Charlotte, North Carolina. I work with my clients to help them grow their small businesses.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Pineapple Consulting Firm?

I needed help with improving my data analysis methods. I was using a simple spreadsheet that was very outdated, so I needed someone to build out a custom tool for me.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Pineapple Consulting Firm created a custom dashboard tool on Microsoft Excel. It was able to anticipate expenses and revenue streams and turn them into projections of future performance. The tool grouped each item by categories like revenue source, and I could then generate cash flow and income statements based on that inputted data. After they finished the first iteration of the tool, the team continued to make tweaks and improvements.

What is the team composition?

We only worked with Jack (Managing Partner).

How did you come to work with Pineapple Consulting Firm?

I met Jack, and we went for coffee just as two business owners. During our conversation, it became clear that it would be advantageous to hire him to build out a tool that I really needed.

How much have you invested with them?

We spent under $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The project started in February 2020, and the team delivered the latest version of the app in July 2021. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

The tool they created was very intuitive and robust. It made my reports more credible and accurate in anticipating the future of my clients. Consequently, it enabled our clients to monitor their statistics and project their financial growth. 

Not only did it benefit my ability to work with existing clients, but it also became a customer acquisition tool for me. Thanks to the dashboard, the number of potential clients I converted into paying customers increased by 20%.

How did Pineapple Consulting Firm perform from a project management standpoint?

Our first few meetings were in-person, but due to COVID-19, we transitioned to Zoom meetings. The team was patient and kept the end-product in mind when we were working together. Overall, Pineapple Consulting Firm was a very efficient team and produced a solid product at a rapid turnaround time. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

I was familiar with bigger data analytics systems like Power BI, but I wanted a more cost-effective solution. Pineapple Consulting Firm was able to take some of the elements of those systems and implement them in an Excel-based tool that was easy to use. The team heard my wishes and created a deliverable that was simple and uncomplicated.

Are there any areas they could improve?

When we first started working together, they were a new company, so they had some areas of improvement. However, they grew as a company and acquired a lot of experience since we last collaborated. The team’s ideas ended up being really valuable to me.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Come with your wish list, and don’t be afraid of driving the cost up. Pineapple Consulting Firm is great at looking at the complete picture — they will reverse engineer the project in a way that keeps it budget-friendly while fulfilling your needs.