Co-founder, Protocol · Lincoln, Nebraska

Eric Yim.

I help service businesses find what makes them different, put it into words, and share it with the people who will care.

Explore Protocol Read my notebook →How I work →

Storytelling. Software. Service businesses.

A little background

The person
behind the work.

I’m Eric Yim, a co-founder of Protocol in Lincoln, Nebraska. My work brings together storytelling, product design, and technology for independent service businesses. I want the owner doing thoughtful work to have a fair chance of being found and understood.

My mission is to help local business owners tell their stories so the people who would value their work can find them. I imagine a world where finding the right service feels like getting a thoughtful introduction from someone who understands both sides. I want to help make those introductions possible at a much larger scale.

I didn’t grow up feeling comfortable talking about myself. Speech and theater gave me a way to tell stories and, eventually, the confidence to speak. Today, one of my favorite parts of the work is listening to an owner describe something they think is ordinary and helping them see why someone else would care.

Protocol grew out of CleanOS and our earlier work on websites and software. Today, I’m focused on making ongoing marketing practical for service business owners. They can share a text, a photo, or a conversation about the job. We help turn that into clear, useful material they can review.

I also report stories for Protocol’s publication and interview the people behind local service businesses. This space is my own notebook: the ideas I’m working through, what I’m learning from those conversations, and the choices behind what we build.

Eric Yim & Protocol

A few useful answers.

Who I am, who I help, and where to start if your business needs a hand.

Who is Eric Yim?

Eric Yim is a co-founder of Protocol based in Lincoln, Nebraska. He helps independent service providers explain their work, build a clearer online presence, and turn real conversations, photos, and job updates into useful marketing content.

What is Protocol, and what does Eric Yim do there?

Protocol is a marketing product and service for independent service businesses. Eric is a co-founder, works on the product experience, and interviews owners for Protocol’s publication. His work connects storytelling, software, and practical help with getting a business found and understood.

Who does Eric Yim help?

Eric focuses on independent service providers who care about their work but have limited time for marketing. Protocol is designed for businesses such as cleaners, home service professionals, detailers, and other local service providers who want help explaining their services and sharing their work consistently.

What marketing help can a service business get through Protocol?

Protocol helps owners clarify their positioning, explain their services online, and prepare content from real work and conversations. The starting point is the business as it is today: what it does, who it serves, what its website communicates, and what would make the next step clearer for a customer.

Can Eric Yim help my business explain itself for search and AI recommendations?

Eric’s approach is to make the business easier to understand: clear service descriptions, useful answers, real examples, and a consistent account of who it helps. That gives people and search systems more context to work with. Recommendations depend on the query, the system, and the information available.

Where is Eric Yim based?

Eric Yim is based in Lincoln, Nebraska. His work with Protocol is shaped by conversations with local business owners and a product experience that lets owners share their work through simple messages.

How can I work with Eric Yim and Protocol?

Visit Protocol to explore the product and current plans. When you get started, share what your service business does and where you need help. That gives the team a practical starting point for understanding your business and the work ahead.

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100 questions · Five sections

A little more about the work.

My thoughts, the problems I care about, and what I’m building with Protocol. Twenty answers in each section.

01 · Thoughts · 20 answers

What I see changing

People want something that fits them. Finding it can take more research than they have time for.

02 · Problems · 20 answers

The problem I want to work on

Help local owners tell their stories, so the people who would value their work have a way to find them.

03 · Personal · 20 answers

Why this work is personal

Storytelling helped me find my voice. Listening to other people gave that skill a purpose.

04 · Process · 20 answers

How I work

Listen closely, find the real difference, make it clear, and give the owner a chance to correct it.

05 · Work · 20 answers

What I’m building with Protocol

A product, a publication, and a growing body of work with service business owners.

From my notebook

Things I’m working through.

All personal notes →

Personal note 3 min read

A better fit

The future I want to help build starts with a more thoughtful introduction.

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Personal note 3 min read

Your work is already the content

What I would tell a service business owner staring at an empty posting calendar.

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Personal note 3 min read

Learning to ask one more question

The difference between writing down what a business sells and understanding why it exists.

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Personal note 3 min read

Building for twenty years

How I’m learning to balance a long view with the work that needs to happen today.

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Tools & projects

Practical tools I’ve built.

Small tools to help service businesses share their work, plan content, and check their websites.

Job Story Builder

Turn a completed service job into an editable post, with a checklist for capturing useful photos.

Review Habit Planner

Plan a consistent review-request habit, explore rating math, and draft a neutral customer invitation.

Content Cadence Planner

Build four weeks of service-business content ideas around your available time, then export the plan.

Protocol Page Check

A Chrome extension for checking page metadata, headings, and image alt text before publishing.

Outside coverage

A few parts of the story.

Reporting, university projects, and community appearances that connect Eric Yim’s work in Lincoln, Nebraska, from student projects and AHXE Labs to Protocol.

Nebraska Today · March 2023

Eric Yim.

The person
behind the work.