How We Work

How a Meridian engagement starts and runs

Three steps, and you can stop after any of them. No lock-in at any point, on either offering.

  1. 1

    A free Discovery Session

    Sixty minutes with the founder who runs the offering you're asking about, not a salesperson. You tell us what's going on, and we tell you honestly whether we can help.

    If neither offering fits, we'll say so. That happens, and it's a better outcome than selling you something that doesn't work.

  2. 2

    A first piece of work

    VibeOps: a one to two week Operational and AI Diagnostic, scoped and quoted on its own. We work out what's slowing the business down and hand back a prioritised plan. Some people stop there and run it themselves, which is a perfectly good outcome.

    Ops Backbone: a two to four week opening block on your real backlog, billed as normal, so you both find out how it goes on work that matters.

  3. 3

    An ongoing engagement

    A retainer at the number of days a week that fits: one, two or three. Month to month, no lock-in, and adjustable as the need changes.

Engagement Formats

Three ways to structure the work

Same work either way. The structure depends on whether the need is ongoing, bounded, or occasional.

Monthly retainer

The usual arrangement on both offerings. A set number of days a week, one, two or three, so you have reliable capacity and we have enough continuity to be useful.

Month to month. No lock-in, and adjustable as the need changes.

Fixed-scope project

One defined outcome, one agreed price, agreed before we start. The Diagnostic works this way, and so does a specific build: a reporting pack, an automation, a governance framework.

Best when you know exactly what you want done and want certainty on the number.

Hourly, for occasional work

For genuinely ad-hoc requests: a board pack before a meeting, a month-end crunch, a second opinion on something specific.

It's the exception rather than the model. Ongoing work priced by the hour turns into task-watching, which is the opposite of what either offering is for.

Two adjustments that sit on top of any of the three: smaller non-profits on Ops Backbone have a community arrangement built for non-profit budgets, and VibeOps works fully remotely from the start for clients outside South Africa.

The Handoff

One bridge between the two, and it runs one direction. If a VibeOps engagement produces a system your own team can't run day to day, Mandy joins the engagement and does the work.

It's scoped and quoted separately, and it only comes up once the need is real. It is never proposed upfront as a bundle.

What It Costs

Scoped to the engagement, quoted after Discovery.

We don't publish a price list, because the honest answer depends on what you need, how many days a week it takes, and which offering you're on. Quoting a number before we understand the problem would just be a guess.

What we can tell you upfront: you'll be quoted as a monthly retainer, a fixed-scope project, or hourly for occasional work, whichever fits. Both offerings start with a scoped first piece of work, retainers run month to month, and there's no lock-in. You'll have a clear number in front of you before anything ongoing begins.

Talk to us and we'll scope it

Start Here

Start with a conversation.

Sixty minutes, free, with the right founder. Nothing follows unless you want it to.

Email us at hello@meridianimpact.co.za.

  • Free, and about 60 minutes.
  • You talk to Daryn or Mandy directly, not a salesperson.
  • No lock-in, and you can stop after any step.

or pick the offering that sounds like you:

VibeOps: Fractional COO & AI Implementation Email Daryn to book

or call Daryn on +27 83 297 4433, or message on WhatsApp.

Ops Backbone: Operations & Admin Partner Email Mandy to book

or call Mandy on +27 83 269 7873, or message on WhatsApp.

Talk to us