Module 3 of 6 · 7 min
Everyday business wins
Last module: Brief the AI like a new hire — context, task, constraints, format — then improve the draft with feedback.
Where the time comes back
You don’t need an “AI strategy.” You need AI on the tasks that already eat your week. In most small businesses, that’s five places — and every one follows the same safe pattern:
1 · Writing: everything you've been putting off
Customer updates, job posts, estimates, the website copy from 2019. Writing stalls because blank pages are hard. AI removes the blank page — you bring the facts, it brings the draft.
Context: construction company, residential remodel client, kitchen project. Facts: cabinets arrived damaged, replacement adds ~10 days, countertop install moves with it, no cost change to the client. We caught it at delivery, supplier is covering it. Write a short email to the client: honest about the delay, clear on the new timeline, reassuring without over-apologizing. Sign off as Mike.
2 · Summarizing: read less, know more
Paste in the long thing — a contract, an inspection report, a 40-email thread. Then ask for what youneed from it. A pointed question gets an answer; “summarize this” gets a book report.
Summarize this contract for me as the business owner signing it. I care about: 1. Exactly what I'm committing to deliver, and by when 2. Payment terms and any penalties 3. How either side can cancel 4. Anything unusual a lawyer would flag Keep it under a page. Quote the section numbers so I can check the original. [paste contract]
3 · Analysis: your numbers, interrogated
Paste a table straight from your spreadsheet. Ask questions in plain English: which products are slipping, what changed after the price increase. It’s a first-pass analyst that never gets bored.
Here are 6 months of monthly sales by service line (pasted below). 1. What are the 3 most notable trends? 2. Anything seasonal I should plan for? 3. If you were me, what one question would you dig into next? Be specific and cite the numbers you're using. [paste your table]
4 · Customer service: the reply you're too annoyed to write
The angry email. The unreasonable demand. AI is remarkably good at the calm, specific reply when your own draft would have an edge to it.
A customer emailed, upset that our crew left mud on their driveway and threatening a bad review. They're partly right — we should have cleaned up — but the "$500 compensation" demand is not happening. Draft a reply that: - Owns the cleanup miss plainly, no weasel words - Offers to send someone tomorrow to make it right - Politely does not engage the $500 - Sounds like a real person, not corporate I'll review before sending.
5 · Hiring and marketing: volume work
- Hiring: job posts, interview questions, rejection emails, onboarding checklists.
- Marketing: a month of social posts from one good project story.
- Research: “What should I ask before buying scheduling software for a 15-person crew?”
Knowledge check
Answer all three to complete the module. Wrong guesses just mean try again.