About
Michelle Craigen, Founder
Elevate & Automate Consulting was built on a simple premise: the operational discipline that makes large organizations run well should be accessible to the businesses that need it most.
Michelle brings over 20 years of experience in enterprise operations — including work at IBM and Amazon — to founder-led service businesses that have outgrown the way they currently operate. The result is a higher standard of operational rigor, applied at the right scale and without the corporate overhead.
Background
Enterprise-grade thinking. Right-sized for your business.
Michelle spent more than two decades working in operations at some of the most process-intensive organizations in the world. At IBM and Amazon, she worked inside the systems that allow large, complex organizations to execute consistently — building documentation, coordinating cross-functional workflows, supporting executive operations, and developing the processes that keep things from falling apart under pressure.
That experience gave her a clear picture of what operational discipline actually looks like — and what it costs businesses that do not have it. Strong systems reduce friction. Clear documentation protects quality. Well-designed handoffs prevent the kind of slow leaks that quietly erode a business from the inside.
What she noticed is that most founder-led businesses are running without any of this infrastructure — not because they do not need it, but because no one has ever translated it into something practical for a ten-person service business. That is the gap Elevate & Automate Consulting was built to close.
The firm is women-owned and independent — built to serve founder-led businesses with the same rigor that was once reserved for enterprise clients.
Enterprise Background
20+ years in operations at IBM and Amazon — building systems, documentation, and processes at scale.
Operational Depth
Hands-on experience in workflow design, process documentation, executive operations, and cross-functional coordination.
Right-Sized for Small Business
Enterprise rigor applied practically — without the overhead, the jargon, or the one-size-fits-all frameworks.
How We Think
The principles behind the work
Clarity over complexity
We simplify operations, not complicate them. Every recommendation is designed to reduce confusion, not add layers.
Systems that work without the founder
The goal is always to build processes and systems that hold — so the business runs consistently whether the owner is in the room or not.
Practical over theoretical
We do not sell frameworks or methodologies. We look at what is actually happening inside the business and fix the specific problems we find.
Documentation as a business asset
Written processes, SOPs, and operational documentation are not busywork. They are the foundation of quality, delegation, and growth.
Who We Work With
Service businesses that have outgrown the way they operate — and know it
Our clients are typically founder-led service businesses — coaches, consultants, agencies, and service providers with small, lean teams. They have built something real. They have clients, revenue, and a team that is working hard. What they do not have is the operational backbone to support where they are headed.
What they share is a common pattern: the founder is too involved in the day-to-day, the team is working without clear processes, and the business needs systems that match its ambition.
Typical client profile
- Founder-led service business with a small, lean team
- Revenue is growing, but operations feel harder than they should
- The founder is deeply involved in daily execution
- Processes are informal, inconsistent, or undocumented
- Onboarding — for clients or team members — is a known weak spot
- Ready to invest in systems that will hold as the business grows
If your operations feel harder than they should, that is worth looking at.
The Operations Clarity Audit is the clearest starting point. It gives you a structured picture of what is working, what is not, and what to address first — before any further engagement.