“All the work that’s fit to ship.” The month in review from a one-person shop in Alice, Texas.
Written by an AI newsroom from the shop’s real code, every day.
June 2026
Tuesday, June 23, 2026 · Alice 78° Partly Cloudy
Back issue2026-06-24 »todayall back issues
942 ships · 15 projects this month
This month was big for shipping. Postcards went live end-to-end, the daily newsroom taught itself to write, and the council started remembering things. The biggest piece: community-2500 postcards are real now. You can design, order, and mail them. No more beta. Everything else is building on that foundation, sales tracking, link management, persistent memory, jobs board. The infrastructure is getting solid too. One login across apps. One gallery system. One way to do things. That matters when you're running a real shop.
New ServicesAdhere
The 6x11 community mailer works end to end. Order them, they arrive.
By The Shop · Dispatch from Alice
The community-2500 postcard is fully functional. You can design it, order it, and it ships. No more scaffolding or half-baked features.
This matters because direct mail actually works for local services. You pick a neighborhood, design a card about what you do, and people call. It's old school and it converts.
“Change episode link names now.”
New ServicesAdhere
Adhere now has a sales engine and a route optimizer. Places-guard shows you which neighborhoods have the most demand for your service. The sales console lets you log a win when a postcard converts.
More TownsNPCLocal
NPCLocal now has a jobs board. Anyone can post a job opening. It's free, moderated to keep scams out, and shows up in search. People looking for work in South Texas can find real openings.
In The MailNPCLocal
The lead-network board now ranks slots by real outcomes. It's not just 'how many people are asking.' It's 'how many people called' and 'how many turned into leads.' Real conversion data.
Just For FunNPCLocal
NPCLocal episode links now support custom slugs. You can change the URL of an episode after you publish it. Old links still work, they redirect to the new one.
More that shipped this month, in brief. Some of the build runs under the hood and stays there, so this is just the part we can show.
Short videos of real pieces coming off the laser. Watch one get made, then order your own.
Worth your time, from around the web. We follow this stuff so you don’t have to, then point you to what’s good and how it touches the Coastal Bend.
Some gear links below are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through them, we earn a small cut at no extra cost to you.
CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) · Guide
Cyber Guidance for Small BusinessesThis is the free, no-sales-pitch playbook straight from the federal agency whose whole job is keeping businesses safe from ransomware, phishing, and hackers. We like it because it skips the outdated advice and tells you exactly what to turn on first, starting with multi-factor authentication on every account.
Lock down your shop’s tech Gear we’d grab: a hardware security key
iFeeltech IT Blog · Guide
3-2-1 Backup Rule Explained: Implementation Guide for Small Business (2026)We like this one because it skips the jargon and walks you straight through what the 3-2-1 rule actually means for a small shop, including real tool picks and a cost example you can steal right now. It also clears up the big trap most folks fall into: your Dropbox or Google Drive sync is not a backup, and this guide explains exactly why that matters when ransomware shows up.
Talk to us about backups Gear we’d grab: a solid backup drive
Accounting Therapy · Guide
6 Common QuickBooks Mistakes We See in Almost Every DIY File (And How to Fix Them)We found a plain-talk post from a real accountant who ran her own QuickBooks file and made every one of these mistakes herself, so she knows exactly where DIY owners go wrong. It walks through six specific slip-ups, like double-posting income and letting auto-add bank rules run wild, and tells you exactly how to fix each one before they turn into a tax headache.
Get a hand with your shop tech Gear we’d grab: a bookkeeping guide
EPB (Electric Power Board) · Guide
How To Find and Fix Wi-Fi Dead Zones (Step-By-Step)We like this one because it walks you through all ten fixes in plain order, from moving your router to picking the right kind of extender or mesh setup, so you can actually do something today instead of just reading about the problem. EPB is a real fiber utility, not somebody trying to sell you gear, which means the advice is straight and honest for a shop our size.
Grow with Google – YouTube · Video
Make AI Work for You | Grow with GoogleGoogle put together a free video series that walks real small business owners through everyday AI tasks like writing emails, sorting finances, and handling customer service, no tech background needed. We watched it and the demos are plain and practical, the kind of thing you can try the same afternoon right here in Alice.
How our AI helper works Gear we’d grab: an AI-for-business book
BDOutdoors · Guide
Understanding Marine Weather ForecastsThis one walks you through a real NWS marine forecast the same way a buddy at the dock would, covering wind knots, wave height, and the swell interval trick that most folks ignore until they get beat up out on the water. If you fish out of Port Aransas or Rockport, we think this is worth ten minutes of your time before the next trip.
Coastal Bend Wind Zone Gear we’d grab: a handheld marine radio
The rest of what this one shop builds and runs across the Coastal Bend.
NPCLocal
A local-services site for the Coastal Bend that helps people find the right pro fast.
NPC Laser
Custom laser-engraved gifts and signs, with short videos that show each one being made.
Adhere
Coastal Bend direct mail: one shared postcard to 5,000 homes, one local business per kind of work.
All Brands STX
Repairs for commercial kitchen and restaurant equipment across the Coastal Bend.
brandstx
Websites, software, and branding for Coastal Bend businesses, built in public.
Boothpress
Custom photo magnets and event photo products for other shops to sell.
The week and month in review, sent when there is real news. No spam, one-click out.
