Martin

Systems Manager | THE HOUSE OF BEAUTY

THE HOUSE OF BEAUTY • Freelance

Apr 2025 - Present • 1 yr 6 mos

Project Overview Sigrun Lilja, an Icelandic business owner and long-term collaborator, approached me with growing organizational challenges. As her team expanded, existing systems could no longer support secure communication, structured workflows, and clear ownership across projects. The initial goal was to build a CRM and client database inside Notion that would centralize sensitive client information and internal operations. Challenge & Strategic Pivot After extensive planning and implementation, we identified a critical limitation: Notion was not the right tool for storing highly sensitive CRM data at the level required for her business. Rather than forcing an imperfect solution, we made a strategic decision to pivot. Without changing the scope or cost of the original engagement, I restructured the project to focus on what Notion does best—workspace organization, operations, and team systems—while moving the CRM to a more suitable platform. Solution We designed and implemented a fully integrated Notion workspace that became the operational backbone of her business. Over the course of several months and more than ten live working sessions, we: Built a centralized hub for communication, announcements, and SOPs Designed structured databases for projects, time tracking, and internal workflows Created role-based access and permissions, ensuring each team member had their own controlled workspace Iterated continuously—reviewing, refining, and optimizing every system in real time Trained the client thoroughly to ensure long-term autonomy and clarity The focus was not just functionality, but clarity, scalability, and ease of use. Outcome The final workspace delivered a single source of truth for the entire team. Operations became clearer, onboarding became easier, and day-to-day execution significantly improved.