Little CRM’s initial alpha is live!

There’s so much left to do in the app, but it’s finally at the stage where people besides me can see & act on the vision I have. So it’s time to get out there, let the bugs roll in, and continue shipping it!

The vision

I want Little CRM to be a tool that helps you grow the relationships that are the foundation for your work.

That doesn’t just mean the people who have given you money, far from it! Some of the people most critical to your success will never give you a dime. Frankly, it’s insulting that traditional CRMs funnel everyone into “a source of money.” That framing makes my skin crawl: seeing people as a resource to extract from, a series of transactions.

From my perspective, a number of factors are true:

• We live in a world where no one does just one thing; which means that our internal recordkeeping is fragmented.
• Relationships have always been crucial, but that's never been more true. All we have is each other.
• Collectively, our ability to sniff out that "resource extraction" mindset is very strong as a survival mechanism (good! We need it! Do not accept bullshit!)

So: what’s one way to maintain genuine relationships in a working environment, that doesn’t skeeve people out? Figure out a good note-taking system, that focuses on people as people.

Let’s walk through a story, showing off what’s currently available & how things work. Hopefully it’ll help you see what I mean.

Coffee Talk¹

Saturday mornings are specifically for practicing making music. Usually. Today, I’m just not feeling it.

Once I’m there, I chat with my favorite barista, Alex. We talk about what we’ve been listening to, and they recommend Nilüfer Yanya’s latest album. I make sure to jot it down, particularly their notes on the back half of the album.

I also want to make sure I don’t forget to check in after their dog has surgery.

Coffee in hand, I sit down at the bar. I’m half-people watching, half-chatting with a friend who helps me edit my music.

Alex waves me to the other side of the bar to meet someone new. One thing I can count on is Alex knowing someone I’ve gotta know. 😂 Turns out, they’re a drummer! Which is great, because I am not one. 😅

Throughout the conversation, I jot down some notes. Music to check out, a YouTube series on candombe, a reminder to check out their band.

After they leave, I go ahead and add them to my contacts, then link them to all those notes. After all, I want to check out their album. I’m in a creative rut, I need some fresh tunes.

Once that’s done, I go ahead and send them a Bandcamp code for my latest EP. I’ve got a few lying around, and I want their notes if they have any.

I leave the shop slightly overcaffeinated, but with some new albums to listen to, some edits reviewed, and a new acquaintance in town.

What’s next?

There’s still a bunch I’m going to add, including:

• Team tracking, with the same importance as People (and flexibility too! Since you likely know someone in a variety of contexts, and people switch teams regularly)
• Tracking the avenues where you spend your time & effort, so you know what’s actually working
• same for specific initiatives & opportunities, acting as a running journal of your progress (great for when it feels like you’re stuck & going nowhere)
• purchase, discount code, and redemption code tracking. And, public sites you can link to for distributing batches of codes (great for street teams and QR codes!)
• A deliberate focus on allowing you to sustainably grow your business, freezing specific things, turn the heat on when you’re locked in, and put everything on pause when you’re on vacation.
• Other stuff I haven’t thought of! You can help shape it, this is an early alpha!

It’s serendipitous that I got the initial alpha out during the waves of Bluesky migration, because the main way Little CRM works is Posting™️. 9 out of 10 people love Posting™️, and Little CRM gives you 100% private feeds to Post Through It.

With private feeds, a whole set of features open up:

• Editing! You can drop the most half-baked, typo-ridden dictated note, and clean it up when you’re able.
• You get the freedom of your drafts, with the fun of actually hitting post.
• You can retroactively connect the dots on an idea, a note, or a quote you wrote down.

This sounds great! How do I sign up?

Practical Computer’s SaaS products are run differently than most: – They’re closed-invitation. That way I don’t have to worry as much about spam or bad actors, since I can vibe-check each customer. Which means less firefighting and more time building products! – I only add customers as I’m able to handle them. This makes sure it’s sustainable for me, you get the support you deserve. – There isn’t really a free trial, but I’m always happy to discuss the product, share screencasts, go over it in detail; so you can make an informed decision. If I’m going to build a product, I want to build it for folks that are actually going to use it and have skin in the same.

If what you’ve read is exciting & you want to really give it a shot, reach out! If you stumbled across this announcement and don’t have a quick way to reach me, our site has a contact form