Why I built Marra (and why your business isn’t “bad at admin”)
A longer read: From nuclear systems to Cumbrian businesses — and why documentation and data come before the clever AI stuff.
If you only take one idea from this piece, take this: a chaotic business often looks, from the outside, like an ADHD brain on a bad day. Not because the owner is lazy or disorganised — but because there are too many “open loops” and not enough external structure.
AI can help. A lot. But only after you’ve got the basics right. Everyone wants the robot first. That’s backwards — and I’ve seen what happens when you get the order wrong.
1. Workington roots and the long path to systems thinking
I grew up in Workington. My first proper job was pressure washing floors. Nothing glamorous about it, but that’s the point — most of the local economy runs on graft, tight margins, and remembering to send the invoice.
Later I moved into the nuclear industry, where I learned to design and deliver digital systems in some of the most regulated environments in the UK. I documented processes, built training frameworks, redesigned work delivery, and created real-time transparency on major programmes. The same patterns kept showing up: when knowledge only lives in people’s heads or scattered notes, everything slows down and mistakes creep in.
That experience isn’t as distant from a window firm in Whitehaven or a scaffolder in Egremont as it sounds. The core problem is the same: when the process is invisible, the owner becomes the process.
“Executive function” is the boring name for the mental skills that help you plan, prioritise, and finish tasks without everything falling apart. When those skills are weak (or when a business is too busy firefighting), open loops pile up — unpaid bills, half-finished quotes, leads going cold.
A family business does the same thing at organisational scale. Quotes live in WhatsApp threads. Pricing exists in someone’s head. Everyone is working hard, but the business feels fragile.
Throwing a generic AI tool straight into that chaos is like giving a faster car to someone driving on unmarked roads. It might help a bit, but it often just creates another unused subscription.
3. Early AI, personal crisis, and learning the hard way
I was one of the first 10,000 beta testers for what became GPT-2. I used early language models when I was at my lowest — burnout, bad habits, and a brain that could handle complex industrial projects but struggled with daily life.
That taught me something I still repeat to every local owner I meet: AI is closer to a “word calculator” than a colleague. Feed it poor or incomplete inputs and you get generic answers. Give it your real processes, your tone, your data, and your rules — and it becomes genuinely useful.
The big lesson? AI is powerful, but it needs a solid foundation. Documentation first. Clean data second. Clever automations third.
Real example: Kevin Dickinson Windows ran profitably for 27 years on paper stacks and staples. We didn’t sprinkle AI on top. We built the foundation first — and now Linda (one of the Marras) drafts supplier quotes by breakfast so Kevin can hit send and get on site.
I believe those who adopt AI practically will thrive, while those who don’t risk falling behind. Not because they’re doing anything wrong today — but because the productivity gap is going to widen.
That’s why Marra exists: to make proper AI adoption realistic and effective for Cumbrian businesses. Whether you’re a plumber, window fitter, scaffolder, or any other hands-on operation, you deserve systems that give you time back — not more things to manage.
If your business has manufacturing or engineering elements, we can also help you explore match-funded grants through Made Smarter North West (up to £20,000) to reduce the cost of implementation.
Understood. Not judged. Hopeful that there’s a calmer, more organised way forward.
If you’re carrying the weight of sixteen hours a week of admin, you’re not behind the times — you’re normal. The question is whether the next step is another tool that ends up unused, or a calm conversation about mapping how work actually flows in your business.
Send me a blunt email. Tell me what’s stealing your Sundays. I can’t promise magic, but I can promise honest scoping, plain English, and the same rigour I’d bring if the stakes were nuclear.
Because for most local businesses, the real regulator isn’t a government inspector — it’s cash flow and sleep. Both matter.
— Kris Wilkinson, Workington