You invest your time, share access to your data, and engage in real conversations about your business — at zero cost. By the time you're deciding whether to sign a contract, you've already received meaningful work product:
An analysis of your data
A discovery conversation about your goals
A Growth Plan tailored to your specific business
If we're not the right fit, you walk away with insight you didn't have before. The 30-day buildout and ongoing coaching begin only after a contract is signed.
Three Broad Chapters
Most of the heavy lifting is on our side. Your involvement is concentrated in a handful of focused conversations and a few specific things only you can provide.
Phase 1 — Complimentary
First Conversation (15-30 minutes)
We start with an introductory conversation about your business — what you do, how you grow, what's working, what isn't, and what you'd like to be different. This is exploratory on both sides. You're learning whether CARVE is the right fit, and we're learning whether we can deliver real value for your specific situation.
What We Discuss
Your business model, current growth drivers, pain points, and aspirations. No agenda — just an honest, open conversation that helps both sides decide whether to move forward.
What Happens Next
If there's mutual interest, you'll receive a kickoff email with two specific requests that set the timeline for everything that follows.
What We Ask of You
An honest conversation about your business and goals. Nothing more at this stage.
Phase 2 — Complimentary
Marketing Access & CRM Extracts
The kickoff email asks for two things, and the order matters — both feed everything that follows.
Marketing Platform Access
We need access to your Google Analytics, Google Ads, and Meta advertising accounts. Once granted, your data starts flowing into our managed environment immediately. We need at least 1 week of accumulation before meaningful analysis is possible — so prompt access is what sets the timeline for everything else.
CRM Extracts
A set of standard reports from your CRM — MindBody, Vagaro, or whatever platform you use. These give us a real window into how your business operates: customers, transactions, services, and retention patterns. We use these to come into the discovery call already informed.
What We're Doing in the Background
Verifying data is flowing correctly, reviewing your CRM extracts, and developing initial questions and hypotheses about your business to bring to the discovery call.
Speed matters here. The faster access and exports arrive, the faster the entire engagement progresses.
Our kickoff email gives you step-by-step instructions on how to provide all the data required.
Phase 3 — Complimentary
Discovery Call
The discovery call is a working session focused entirely on you and your business. It's not a sales pitch — by this point the engagement is already moving forward. This conversation is exploratory and broad.
What We Cover
Your business model and operating processes
The challenges and friction points you face day to day
Your personal goals alongside your business goals
One-year and three-year horizons for growth
We're building a real understanding of where you are and where you want to be — because the system we build needs to serve those goals, not just generate reports.
Session Details
Duration: 60 to 90 minutes
What we ask: Time, candor, and clear thinking about where you want your business to go.
What you'll know by the end: When to expect your Growth Plan and exactly what it will contain.
By the time this call ends, we have what we need to begin drafting your Growth Plan.
Phase 4 — Complimentary
Growth Plan & Contract
We come back to you with a Growth Plan — a presentation that lays out what we've learned, where we see the biggest opportunities, what we recommend building, and how the engagement will be structured. This is a working session, not a one-way delivery.
The Growth Plan
A tailored analysis of your business with specific recommendations. We present it together, you ask questions, we adjust. Whether or not you sign, the Growth Plan is yours to keep.
The Contract Decision
Some clients sign in the room. Others want a few days to think it over. Both are completely normal. We'll never pressure a decision — the fit has to be right for both sides.
After Signature
We schedule the kickoff for your 30-day buildout, collect any remaining credentials, and Day 1 begins. From here, the platform starts taking shape.
Phase 5 — Begins After Contract
The 30-Day Buildout
The 30-day window between contract signature and go-live is when your platform gets built, your data gets connected, and your reporting framework gets defined. Several workstreams run in parallel — some are conversations with you, some are technical work happening behind the scenes.
The Conversations
Translating "what good looks like" into specific KPIs and revenue projections
Quarterly and annual revenue planning, staffing assumptions, and performance targets
Iterative reviews of your data to surface anomalies before reports go live
Every business has quirks in how data is captured. Finding and resolving them during this window is one of the most valuable things we do — and it only happens when someone works through the data with real knowledge of the business.
The Technical Work
Standing up your dedicated data environment
Building API integrations to your CRM for automatic data flow
Configuring the platform to your specific KPIs and business model
Deploying your branded application instance
Validation — Two Passes
Walkthrough together: Navigate the platform, confirm data looks right, flag anomalies
Hands-on user testing: Your team gets direct access in real conditions
What we ask of you: Availability for working sessions, thoughtful engagement on goals and KPIs, and willingness to dig into data anomalies when they surface. What you can expect from us: Steady progress, clear communication, and an honest assessment whenever a decision is needed from you.
Phase 6 — Ongoing Engagement
Go-Live & Coaching Begins
At the end of the 30-day window, the platform is live, your data is flowing, your KPIs are configured, and your team has access. A formal handoff session covers navigation, interpretation, and how to extract maximum value from what's been built.
Weekly
Best for businesses in active growth mode or those making frequent operational changes. Maximum touchpoints, fastest iteration cycles.
Semi-Monthly
A strong cadence for most businesses — frequent enough to stay ahead of trends, spaced enough to let actions produce measurable results before the next review.
Monthly
Suited to more stable businesses or those in a steady-state phase. Enough frequency to stay strategic without over-managing the data.
In each session, we review your data together, identify what's working and what isn't, and define the concrete actions you'll take before the next session. The platform tells you what's happening. The coaching turns that into what you do about it — week after week, month after month, as your business grows toward the goals you set in Phase 3.
The Pattern You'll Notice
Across every phase of the engagement, a few things stay consistent — by design.
Most of the work is on our side
You're not managing a project or coordinating between vendors. We do the building. Your role is to show up for focused conversations and provide access when we ask for it.
Your time is concentrated in conversations
The kickoff, discovery, plan presentation, working sessions during buildout, and ongoing coaching. Everything in between is us doing the work.
Speed is set by access and decisions
When we're waiting on something, it's almost always credentials, an extract, or a decision from you. The faster those arrive, the faster the engagement moves.
The system is built for your business
The conversations during the 30-day window aren't a formality — they're where your specific reality gets encoded into the platform. No generic templates.
The platform is the means, not the end
What you're really hiring CARVE for is sustained growth. The platform makes that possible. The coaching makes it happen.
Summary: What You're Signing Up For
Every phase has a clear purpose, a clear ask, and a clear deliverable. Here's the full picture at a glance.