Small Business Consulting
Big-Business Experience. Practical Small-Business Solutions.
From employee onboarding and HR systems to inventory management and operational improvement, DDG helps small businesses build the structure they need without unnecessary complexity.
What we help with
The structure a growing business needs.
Dixon Development System · Pillar 04Systems and StandardizationIs the right way documented, taught, and repeatable?Small Business Operations Improvement
- Daily management systems
- Operational checklists
- Inventory management processes
- Standard operating procedures
- Employee training systems
- Workflow organization
- Operational accountability
- Process documentation
- Practical management tools
Our approach
Structure without complexity
A growing small business usually runs on a few people who know how everything works. That works until someone is out sick, a new hire starts, or the owner tries to step away.
DDG translates experience from large organizations into straightforward tools that employees and managers can use every day: checklists, work instructions, training plans, and simple routines that make the business less dependent on any one person, including the consultant.
Experience behind it
An owner's perspective
- Business development
- Estimating and pricing
- Customer relationships
- Equipment and field operations
- Crew coordination
- Service quality
- Operational problem-solving
- Small business management
Teddy's experience in the paving industry dates to 1984, through a family business established in 1961: business development, estimating and pricing, customer relationships, equipment and field operations, crew coordination, and service quality. He knows what it means to balance sales, employees, equipment, customers, and daily operations at the same time.
Current engagement · 2026 to present
Building the Foundation for Growth: People, Processes, and Systems in a Small Business
Through Dixon Development Group, Teddy provides a growing food-service business north of Kansas City with hands-on organizational development, human resources support, employee development, process documentation, and operational improvement consulting. This engagement translates experience from large organizations into practical systems suitable for a small business.
Human resources development
- Acting as an outsourced HR resource for the business
- Developing employee policies and HR documentation
- Creating employee handbook materials
- Developing job descriptions and defining position expectations
- Supporting recruitment, interviewing, and candidate evaluation
- Assisting with hiring and employee onboarding
- Creating employment applications and related forms
- Developing employee acknowledgments and documentation
- Supporting employee relations and workplace communication
- Advising management on employee expectations, accountability, and performance issues
- Helping develop practical compensation and tip distribution policies, subject to applicable legal requirements
Process documentation and standardized work
- Documenting daily operating processes
- Creating opening and closing checklists
- Developing station-specific work instructions
- Establishing repeatable procedures for food and beverage preparation
- Creating training documents that simplify complex activities
- Identifying opportunities to improve consistency and reduce errors
- Building visual tools that employees can reference during daily work
- Developing systems to make training less dependent on individual employees
Employee training and development
- Creating role-specific training checklists
- Developing onboarding and station qualification processes
- Establishing training expectations for different employee levels
- Supporting management in evaluating employee readiness
- Improving consistency in how employees are trained
- Helping employees understand responsibilities and expectations
- Developing tools for coaching, feedback, and performance improvement
Operational and process improvement
- Observing daily operations and identifying opportunities for improvement
- Helping management address recurring operational problems
- Developing action registers and countermeasure logs
- Improving communication between employees and management
- Creating practical follow-up and accountability processes
- Identifying unnecessary steps, delays, confusion, and duplicated work
- Helping management establish more efficient operating practices
Inventory management and operational controls (ongoing)
- Supporting the development of practical inventory management processes
- Helping establish consistent ingredient, supply, and inventory tracking
- Identifying opportunities to reduce waste and improve material availability
- Developing systems for inventory organization and control
- Supporting clearer ownership of inventory-related responsibilities
- Connecting inventory management with standardized work and daily operations
Employee relations and management support
- Serving as a resource for employee concerns and management questions
- Helping establish consistent expectations and workplace policies
- Supporting constructive communication between management and employees
- Assisting with employee performance and accountability issues
- Helping management address problems before they become recurring conflicts
- Providing practical HR guidance appropriate for a growing small business
This engagement shows the Dixon Development System in action: establishing the people systems, documented processes, training tools, management practices, and operating standards a growing business needs for long-term success.
The ultimate objective is to help the business become less dependent on outside consulting by building internal capabilities and systems that employees and management can sustain independently.
Is my business too small to work with a consultant?
No. DDG's small business work is built for owner-led businesses that need structure but do not need corporate complexity. The tools are simple on purpose so your team will actually use them.
Can you help if we do not have an HR person?
Yes. DDG can act as an outsourced HR resource: policies, handbook materials, job descriptions, applications and forms, hiring and onboarding, and practical guidance on employee expectations and accountability.
Will this mean more paperwork for my team?
The goal is less confusion, not more paperwork. Rather than creating unnecessary complexity, Teddy focuses on straightforward tools that employees and managers can use every day.
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Let’s build an organization that can sustain its own success.
The goal is not to make clients dependent on a consultant. It is to develop the people and systems that allow organizations to succeed long after the engagement ends.