---
title: Doudlah Farms Email Migration to Google Workspace
type: article
created: '2026-04-05'
updated: '2026-04-05'
source_docs:
- raw/2025-11-14-impromptu-zoom-meeting-101797678.md
tags:
- email
- google-workspace
- doudlah-farms
- old-world-popcorn
- operations
- migration
layer: 2
client_source: null
industry_context: null
transferable: true
---

# Doudlah Farms Email Migration to Google Workspace

## Overview

During the November 2025 Amazon margins review, the DFO team identified significant pain points with their existing Outlook-based email setup and decided to migrate to Google Workspace. The migration covers both Doudlah Farms Organics and Old World Popcorn, with goals of separating brand communications, creating a shared orders inbox, and consolidating fragmented calendars.

**Decision made:** Migrate from Outlook to Google Workspace (~$15/month for two users at $7/user/month).

Related meeting: [[clients/doudlah-farms/meetings/2025-11-14-amazon-margins-operations-review]]

---

## Problem Statement

The existing Outlook setup had several compounding issues:

- **Storage limits:** Outlook's small storage cap caused send/receive failures once the inbox exceeded ~2,000 emails, requiring constant manual deletion
- **Brand confusion:** All communications — DFO and Old World Popcorn — flowed through a single `lucy@doudlahfarms.com` address, creating confusion for customers and no clean separation between brands
- **No shared inbox:** Jason (warehouse) had no visibility into orders, requiring Lucy to relay information manually
- **Calendar fragmentation:** Three separate calendars in use (Outlook, Gmail, iPhone), causing missed calls and scheduling conflicts

---

## Migration Plan

### Accounts to Set Up

| Account | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Google Workspace — Doudlah Farms Organics | Primary business email for Lucy/Mark; replaces Outlook |
| Google Workspace — Old World Popcorn | Separate brand identity for OWP customer inquiries |
| `orders@doudlahfarmsorganics.com` | Shared inbox for order management; accessible to Lucy and Jason |
| `orders@oldworldpopcorn.com` | OWP-specific orders, forwarding into shared mailbox |

### Key Requirements

- **Unified inbox:** All orders from both brands can route into a single shared mailbox, but outbound replies must send from the correct brand address (DFO vs. OWP)
- **Jason access:** Jason needs read/respond access to the orders mailbox for warehouse fulfillment coordination
- **Calendar consolidation:** Migrate to Google Calendar as the single source of truth; eliminate the Outlook/Gmail/iPhone split
- **On-site setup:** Mark Hope to visit and configure email clients on local machines after accounts are provisioned

### Why Not Free Gmail?

A free `@gmail.com` address was considered for Old World Popcorn but rejected — it signals low trust to customers and wholesale partners. Google Workspace at $7/user/month provides custom domain email at minimal cost.

---

## Action Items

- [ ] **Mark Doudlah** — Call Mark Hope with credit card info to provision Google Workspace accounts (~$15/month)
- [ ] **Mark Hope** — Set up Google Workspace for DFO and Old World Popcorn domains
- [ ] **Mark Hope** — Configure `orders@` shared mailbox with access for Lucy and Jason
- [ ] **Mark Hope** — Set up OWP email addresses with correct send-as routing
- [ ] **Mark Hope** — Consolidate calendars into Google Calendar; sync with iPhone
- [ ] **Mark Hope** — Visit on-site to configure email clients on local machines

---

## Context & Notes

- The Outlook storage problem was exacerbated by bot traffic generating large volumes of failed order notification emails to the DFO inbox — a side effect of the website bot attack documented in [[clients/doudlah-farms/meetings/2025-11-14-amazon-margins-operations-review]]
- Mark Hope noted the Outlook → Gmail transition is "not horrible" — the main adjustment is behavioral, not technical; nothing lives locally in Gmail so storage limits are effectively eliminated
- The `orders@` shared mailbox pattern is a recommended best practice for small teams: if one person is unavailable, others can see and respond to customer inquiries without gaps

---

## Related

- [[clients/doudlah-farms/index]]
- [[clients/doudlah-farms/meetings/2025-11-14-amazon-margins-operations-review]]
- [[knowledge/operations/shared-inbox-best-practices]]