Counter Hour Charm checklist
Your one-hour fix for a stubborn business snag, with a clear process and concrete follow-up from Observatory HQ.
| Focus | Advisory |
|---|---|
| Format | Booked hour |
| Prep | One blocker |
| Follow-up | Notes |
| Supplier hub | Observatory |
Email magic@ for a tailored pack.
Also see supplier notes and projects.
Counter Hour Charm steps
This checklist helps you get the most from your booked Counter Hour Charm at Observatory HQ. Each step lines up your blocker, your prep, your session with a specialist and the all-important follow-up notes. Use it as a one-pager before and after your booked hour. You can check your cadence or handoff process with Counter Hour Charm cadence if you want to repeat this rhythm every month.
- Write a 2-line blocker summary naming the actual problem (e.g. VAT201 not submitting for March) and send it to magic@bizmagic.co.za.
- Attach any key document (e.g. March VAT201 form, screenshot of SARS eFiling error) to your blocker summary.
- Include your business name, your first name and your preferred time slot between 8:00 and 15:30 on a weekday.
- Confirm your booking date and hour by replying to your session confirmation email from the Observatory supplier hub.
- Block out one hour on your phone calendar with the name of the BizMagic specialist (e.g. Zanele, Observatory).
- Arrive at Observatory HQ at least 10 minutes before your hour starts to check in and grab a seat.
- Bring your ID or company registration certificate if your blocker might need them (e.g. FICA packs or CIPC updates).
- Work through the blocker together with your specialist in the one-hour session, finishing with a 5-minute action summary.
- Get your follow-up notes by email within 2 working days, listing any outstanding actions or linked resources.
- Review your notes and, if progress stalls, reference the handoff guide to decide if this needs a supplier or a ritual.
- Use the one-blocker hour note if you need to log any supplier feedback or outcomes.
Where SA founders break this
Most slip-ups happens in three places. One, the blocker summary is too long or vague (e.g. “fix admin” instead of 'March EMP201 mismatch'). Two, the right supporting doc is missing, often the thing you can't find on payday or after a Highveld thunderstorm. Three, you land at Observatory on the right day but forgot your ID, so you can't action anything official. Mondays see the most of these, funnily enough.
What 'done' looks like on paper
You know you're finished when the follow-up notes from your session land in your inbox, listing exactly what was tackled (e.g. sorted the Polokwane VAT issue on SARS eFiling, or mapped out the new POPI process for your Hartbeespoort bike shop). Each step has a next action or a tick-off. Any paperwork triggers (like needing a fresh B-BBEE affidavit or a new municipal trading permit) are written as a concrete to-do with a name and a date. If a new supplier is needed, it's named and you can find them in the supplier list. For ongoing issues, you might shift over to a weekly counter-hour ritual.
Real small business example
Ntokozo owns Greenstone Plant Hire, just outside Hartbeespoort. She gets stuck when her March VAT201 triggers a SARS pop-up about missing COIDA numbers. She emails a one-liner blocker to magic@bizmagic.co.za, attaches her VAT201 draft and picks Thursday at 14:00. The Observatory session nails the COIDA document mismatch and how to update it for the next quarter. Ntokozo leaves with an action note for her bookkeeper and a plan for her April EMP201, which honestly saved her alot of April headaches.
