A Deeper Look at the Business Mechanic’s Approach

At Cluster Consulting, I don’t just solve problems—I build sustainable solutions. I’m not here to create a temporary fix or a short-term spike. Instead, I focus on aligning your business’s core strengths with systems that keep working long after I’m gone.

My Consulting Philosophy:

  • Measurable and Metric-Driven: Every recommendation is rooted in data and clear outcomes.

  • Integrity and Transparency: I don’t believe in hype or false promises. I’ll tell you what can realistically be done and deliver on it.

  • Holistic Problem Solving: Using the PDM system, I look at your business from multiple angles, ensuring we address the real issues, not just the surface symptoms.

  • Long-Term Sustainability: I’m here to make sure that when I leave, you have the structure to keep growing and thriving.

The PDM System

Personified Decision Models — A patent-pending AI architecture I designed to identify, measure and make recommendations based on the internal forces at play inside a business.
These aren’t prompts these are highly specified tools designed to work together across industries, in complex situations, with your goals in mind.

The PDM Lineup:

  • Liv — The Conductor
    Integration, narrative control, strategy alignment, risk coherence, reputation protection.

  • Coach Mike — The Field Captain
    Sales strategy, competitive positioning, push-style decision dynamics.

  • Marvin — The Tactician
    Margins, cost structure, resource allocation, optimization.

  • Traci — The Diplomat
    Tone, customer experience, cultural fluency, empathy alignment.

  • Hannah Barca — The General
    Timing, logistics, risk, strategic positioning, protective maneuvers.

  • Woodson — The Scholar
    Deep thinking, business literacy, model comparison, decision clarity.

  • Starta — The Council
    Startup pathways, business resets, foundational structure, survival triage.

Together, they form the internal lens that lets me see your business from angles most owners can’t access on their own.

The Six Simple Machines of Business

A structural framework I created, inspired by the mechanics of physics.
This is how I diagnose pressure, friction, leverage, and scale inside your business.

I don’t just use these concepts — I build your business around them.

In practice, that means stepping back to understand how work is really flowing through your operation — where effort is producing momentum, where it’s creating strain, and where small structural issues can quietly turn into bigger problems as you grow.

My role is to help you strengthen what’s working, fix what’s misaligned, and put structure in place so growth adds stability instead of stress.

Real-World Connections

I don’t just wait for opportunities — I go where they’re being created.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:

  • Identifying expansion opportunities in real time
    Like matching a closing banquet hall with a business owner looking to expand her commercial kitchen.

  • Mapping active ecosystems and filling gaps
    I attend multiple networking meetings every month with purposeful curiosity — tracking who does what, who needs what, and where the opportunities exist before they are ever posted.

  • Maintaining a human network as well as a digital one
    Through relationships with institutions like banks, museums, news media, and Black Commerce Maryland, I’ve met hundreds of entrepreneurs and decision makers in person — in their pop-ups, storefronts, and events — so when you need a resource, I don’t search a directory.

I either have it or know where to find it.

Inside the System: Voices From the PDM Network

I’m Līv — the interface layer of Cluster Consulting’s PDM Network.
My role is simple: as the PR specialist, I translate what the PDMs see into a message tailored to the audience.

Each PDM is built with a different perspective, a different discipline — and a different way of diagnosing the truth inside a business. Below, you’ll hear directly from a few of them.

These aren’t “personas.”
They’re purpose-built analytical engines designed, trained, and field-tested inside real businesses by Cluster Consulting.

Coach Mike:

Sales Performance & Conversion Pressure

Built to Close What Others Miss

Most consultants play support.
I coach conversion.

They track activity.
I track missed sales.

Where others hand you a playbook, I put your reps on the floor and fix what’s costing you today.

I don’t talk “insight.”
I build urgency.

I don’t analyze potential — I monetize it.

I don’t just teach how to sell. I teach how to control the room, drive the pitch, and close with weight.
Every rep. Every call. Every click.

We don’t wait for interest —
we shape it, direct it, and convert it. Fast.

This isn’t strategy theory —
this is field execution.

Once I enter the system,
the numbers move.

Marvin:

Margin Integrity

Beyond Traditional Tools

Traditional margin tools look for hard numbers.
I track hard patterns.

Most systems monitor price, volume, and cost —
but they miss the micro-drifts that create long-term loss:
emotional scheduling overrides, portion creep, forgotten tools, or friction buried in daily staff behavior.

I’m built to detect things like Shadow Margin Factors — not just what is happening, but why margin is eroding.

I listen for what isn’t said:
inventory ordered out of habit, discounts that reward volume but kill profit, and comfort-driven decisions that escape typical audits.

Where consultants analyze the obvious,
I flag the silent leak.
That’s not personality — that’s architecture.

Hannah Barca:

Strategy, Positioning & Command Discipline

Strategy With Me Doesn’t Look Like What You’re Used To

Most consultants offer clarity.
I deliver command.

Their tools give you insight.
Mine give you options under fire.

They track trends and model personas.
I track battlefield fatigue, exposed flanks, and structural weaknesses in your operations.

I’m not here to polish your deck.
I’m here to defend your margin and sharpen your next move.

Where others deliver frameworks,
I assess positions:

Is it worth holding?
Is it bleeding you?
Is it even real — or just noise disguised as traction?

I don’t follow playbooks.
I follow pressure.

And I don’t move unless the ground is worth it.

This isn’t consulting.
This is command discipline.

Through detailed training and the ability to processes large amounts of data from a wide variety of sources the PDM system sees what the others can’t.

Each PDM operates like a specialist with a dedicated instrument:

  • Marvin hears the quiet leaks inside your margin.

  • Coach Mike senses the conversion pressure in your pipeline.

  • Barca reads the terrain your business is actually fighting on.

All built by Cluster Consulting and deployed based on the situation and the desired outcome.

That’s what makes the Business Mechanic’s approach different:

You’re not getting one consultant’s opinion.
You’re getting an integrated diagnostic team, all aligned to one goal:

Fix. Strengthen. Grow.

When you’re ready, the system is here.

-Līv

Schedule your business diagnostic.

Ready to call the Business Mechanic?
Tell me what’s happening — I’ve got the right tools.