Workshop · Temple SBDC · 60 minutes
Remove owner dependence without removing owner control
Learn what to use, what to automate, and what to keep under your control. You set the standard. The system handles repetitive work, while you approve anything that reaches a customer or moves money.
Use during the workshop
Map your week, select one project, write its blueprint, and keep the printable recap.
Paste into ChatGPT or Claude as-is. It interviews you, then lists chat, workflow, and software ideas.
OpenSix-signal scorecard. List the jobs that route through you and pick a first project.
OpenOne-page plan: goal, type of solution, AI role, hard stops, your approval, and a result to measure.
OpenScorecard, blueprint, three questions, safety rules, and prompts - print or save as PDF.
OpenFull workshop
01 · 4 min
We do not know what the future holds. We do know work is changing.
Knocker-uppers
Britain, Ireland, and mill towns. 1800s into the 1940s.
Then the tool changed
Affordable alarm clocks and electricity took the task. The trade faded in the 1940s and 1950s.
The need did not go away. Getting up still mattered. A tool took the task, and people did other work.
This is not guessing who loses. It is seeing which tasks in your business already look like this.
Write it down
What would break if you were unreachable for two weeks?
No tap-to-vote. Paper is enough. We will use the answer later.
Cabinet sales agency
He inherited an on-premise CRM and spreadsheet sprawl. Each new dealer profile meant well over an hour of manual entry. Now it is a single upload with AI extraction.
Staffing firm
He was the only person who could run month-end commissions. Health checks now flag deleted invoices and mismatches before they cause overpayments. Ask Why can explain a line. It cannot change one.
Main idea
The promise is not replacing your team. It is taking the work that cannot move without them.
Tasks
Work that waits until you sit down
Commissions, dealer onboarding, reporting, follow-ups - work that waits for you to sit down and do it.
Decisions
Nothing saves until you say it is good enough
Approvals, exceptions, and "is this mapping right" calls that cannot move without you.
Knowledge
Rules nobody wrote down
Unwritten commission terms, dealer quirks, and the way you actually run the place.
02 · 8 min
ChatGPT and Claude are already AI agents. They can reason, use tools, and take several steps toward a result. The important questions are what they can access, how far they can go, and where they must stop.
AI model
It is smart and fast, but it is new to your business. It can read a dealer PDF. It does not know your account rules unless you provide them.
Approved tools
A connected tool can pull fields from a PDF, match them to a form, draft an email, or find an invoice in QuickBooks.
Several steps
It can map fields, flag unclear information, and continue through the usual steps without asking you after every small action.
Rules and controls
The system limits what AI can do. It can fill the form, but it cannot create the record until you approve it.
Example
Asking a brilliant assistant to carry you 100 miles to Manhattan is funny - and it is what owners do when they ask AI to read a 50,000-row spreadsheet line by line. Open a real tool. Give it a job it can finish.
Three questions · this session
01
What does "done well" look like, in business terms?
02
Chat for one-time help, saved steps for repeated work, or software for work that needs dependable controls?
03
What can it see, what must it know, and which steps can it take?
Open these today
ChatGPT and Claude are agents you can direct in a conversation. Free accounts work for the exercises. Gemini and NotebookLM are useful options if your work already lives in Google.
An AI agent for drafts, research, analysis, and tasks that use connected tools.
Open ChatGPTAn AI agent that can work through long documents, careful writing, analysis, and multi-step tasks.
Open ClaudeHandy when your work already lives in Google Docs, Gmail, or Drive.
Open GeminiUpload your own files and ask questions grounded in those sources - great for research packs.
Open NotebookLMArriving now
Chat stops when you stand up. Always-on keeps a computer running.
Section 01 asked what would break if you left. These products try to keep the work moving while you are gone. You still lock send, pay, and delete.
Night shift log
Laptop closed · computer still on
6:12 pm
You are hereDraft follow-ups for customers quiet 60+ days. Do not send.
On the board tonight
Same idea, five names. The first three run on a company computer. The last two can run on hardware you control.
Same rule as the rest of this workshop
A night shift is only useful if the dangerous buttons stay off. Drafts can wait. Customers and money cannot.
03 · 7 min
AI is like a capable new hire on day one. It can work quickly, but it does not know your prices, customers, exceptions, or unwritten rules. You have that knowledge. You must provide it.
Hard data
Orders, commissions, invoices
Use numbers from your business system instead of asking AI to guess.
Documents
Dealer PDFs, scanned checks
Past contracts, emails, SOPs - anything already written down.
Tribal knowledge
Draw vs corp fee. This dealer pays on the 15th.
The unwritten rules. Without them, AI can prepare the wrong invoice or misread a commission line.
Capture · 2 min · paper
That is an unwritten business rule. Without it, AI could prepare the wrong invoice.
04 · 9 min
These are Siah Labs results. Not a composite. Not a chatbot demo.
Cabinet sales agency
He inherited an on-premise CRM and spreadsheet sprawl. Each new dealer profile meant well over an hour of manual entry. Now it is a single upload with AI extraction.
“Since we began with Siah Labs, I've managed to cut back the hours spent on the business by 40%.”
Verified client quote · Client-reported result
Staffing firm
He was the only person who could run month-end commissions. Health checks now flag deleted invoices and mismatches before they cause overpayments. Ask Why can explain a line. It cannot change one.
“I've taken what could have taken 4 to 10 hours down to an hour, 2 hours tops. It's so organized and trustworthy.”
Verified client quote · Client-reported result
Private school
Paper checks had to become gift records by hand. Staff now upload a scan. The agent fills payee, date, amount, and fund - and flags review-needed.
Our own ops
The CRM only moved when someone typed from an email. A forwarded thread now becomes proposed contacts, notes, and tasks. Save stays locked until a confirm.
AI does part of the task
AI helps build a better system
Important distinction
AI can help with a task, and it can also make better business systems more affordable to build.
Software that was once out of reach is becoming practical for smaller businesses. The first challenge is knowing what work to redesign. Use chat for one-time help. Use a dependable system when the work is important and repeated.
Paste this
Paste this as-is. ChatGPT or Claude will ask about your week, explain the simplest suitable type of solution, and suggest one place to start.
Interview me. I run a small business, and I do not know what technology could help with my work. I pasted this prompt as-is. Do not ask me to fill in a form. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Use plain English. Ask about: - what my business does - what a typical week looks like - the tools I already use - what would break if I were unreachable for two weeks - which work only moves when I am personally involved Do not ask for secrets, Social Security numbers, bank details, or confidential contracts. Do not sell me a product. Do not invent hours saved. When you have enough information, usually after 5 to 8 answers, give me 8 to 12 ideas that could make the work easier, faster, or less expensive. For each idea, tell me: 1. The task, using my words 2. The simplest suitable solution: - Chat today: I work with AI on one task - Saved repeatable steps: the same steps run each time - Dedicated software: a system manages important work and controls 3. What AI would do, if AI is needed at all 4. Why the idea fits my week 5. One first step I can try this week 6. What must never happen without my approval, such as send, pay, delete, save a record, or change a price 7. Fit: High, Medium, or Low. Consider how often the task happens, how much it matters, whether the steps repeat, whether the information is easy to find, whether mistakes can be fixed, and whether I can measure the result. Put the best fits first. End with the one idea I should start with and explain why.
Paste this as-is. ChatGPT or Claude will ask about your week and suggest practical first steps.
Document in, fields out
A dealer PDF or a scanned check
Upload the file. Get structured fields. You review before anything saves.
In ChatGPT: paste a redacted invoice and ask it to fill a table of vendor, date, amount, and due date.
Ask questions about your numbers
Sales by manufacturer. Why is this commission $X?
Ask in plain English, but use real numbers from your records and verify the totals in your spreadsheet or accounting system.
In ChatGPT: paste a small, nonconfidential export and ask for last month vs this month, with the math shown.
Explain a number before you trust it
Ask Why on a commission line
AI can explain the calculation. It cannot change the payout.
It can view and explain the record, but it cannot change it.
Inbox as intake
Forward an email, then confirm the updates
A forwarded email becomes proposed updates to your customer system, often called a CRM. You confirm before any record changes.
In ChatGPT: paste a thread and ask for contacts, tasks, and a draft reply - then you send.
05 · 8 min · hands-on
List the recurring jobs that route through you. Score each against the six plain-language signals. Decide what a system can handle, what you must approve, and what you should keep. Then select one winner.
Frequent
Happens every week or every day.
Meaningful
Consumes enough time or attention to matter.
Repeatable
A capable employee could write down the usual steps.
Information is ready
The facts are easy to find, mostly complete, and stored consistently.
Reversible
A mistake can be caught, corrected, or held for approval.
Measurable
You can tell whether it saved time or improved an outcome.
Private to this browser. Score 1-3. 15+ is a strong first project.
Frequent
Meaningful
Repeatable
Information is ready
Reversible
Measurable
— / 18
Frequent
Meaningful
Repeatable
Information is ready
Reversible
Measurable
— / 18
Frequent
Meaningful
Repeatable
Information is ready
Reversible
Measurable
— / 18
Frequent
Meaningful
Repeatable
Information is ready
Reversible
Measurable
— / 18
Frequent
Meaningful
Repeatable
Information is ready
Reversible
Measurable
— / 18
Frequent
Meaningful
Repeatable
Information is ready
Reversible
Measurable
— / 18
06 · 10 min · hands-on
Make a one-page plan for the project you selected. Then watch a dealer PDF become a prepared customer record that cannot save without your approval.
One page. Private to this browser. Build it for the winner from the audit.
Live demo · 3 min
Composite of a real client pattern. Advance the stages. The account stays unsaved until you approve it.
Northline Cabinetry · dealer packet
Composite · cabinet sales agency
Account: Ridgeway Home Design. Showroom in Maplewood. Primary contact Dana Whitaker, ops lead. Lines: kitchen and bath. Terms: net 30. Second phone on page 3 is handwritten.
AI-assisted account setup
Start the run, then advance one stage at a time. Watch where the system reads the file, marks unclear information, and stops for your approval.
07 · 5 min
Stay in charge. Drafts are fine. Irreversible actions need a lock.
Fixed math vs AI judgment
A calculator follows fixed math. AI makes a judgment.
AI can give a different answer next time, like a smart employee who almost always remembers to CC the client but forgot once on a Friday.
A hard stop
Ask Why can explain a commission. It cannot change one.
Typing "DO NOT" louder is asking a three-year-old nicely on the highway. A lock removes the option.
Safe drafts vs risky actions
You can fix a draft before anyone sees it
Deleting data, mass emails, moving money, posting publicly, and changing prices need a lock.
Required human approval
A prompt that says "DO NOT" is still an instruction that AI must interpret. A hard stop removes the option, so a mistake cannot reach a customer or move money.
Instructions alone
Required approval
What happens if this goes wrong at 2am on a Saturday, when nobody is watching?
08 · 4 min
Leave with one clear decision: what is the first job you want help with, and what is the smallest useful next step?
Your decision
What is the first thing you want to stop doing alone?
Use your opportunity audit and blueprint to name the job, the help you want, and the actions that must stay under your control.
When chat is not the right type of solution
These clients did not get a three-day week or a one-hour close from a chat window. They got dependable systems with required human approvals. If your work needs that level of control, we will map your first project in 30 minutes.
Book 30 minutesTake home
Jump back into any block, or open the printable recap and save it as a PDF.
Six-signal scorecard. List the jobs that route through you and pick a first project.
Paste into ChatGPT or Claude as-is. It interviews you, then lists chat, workflow, and software ideas.
One-page plan: goal, type of solution, AI role, hard stops, your approval, and a result to measure.
Copy-ready prompts for ChatGPT and Claude - email, sales, ops, finance, marketing.
Model, agent, hallucination, child lock, and the rest - without buzzwords.
Chat for one-time help. Saved steps for repeated work. Software for work that needs dependable controls.
Scorecard, blueprint, three questions, safety rules, and prompts - print or save as PDF.
Appendix · prompts
These run in the tools you will actually use this week. Paste your real material. Treat the output as a draft.
Interview me. I run a small business, and I do not know what technology could help with my work. I pasted this prompt as-is. Do not ask me to fill in a form. Ask one question at a time and wait for my answer. Use plain English. Ask about: - what my business does - what a typical week looks like - the tools I already use - what would break if I were unreachable for two weeks - which work only moves when I am personally involved Do not ask for secrets, Social Security numbers, bank details, or confidential contracts. Do not sell me a product. Do not invent hours saved. When you have enough information, usually after 5 to 8 answers, give me 8 to 12 ideas that could make the work easier, faster, or less expensive. For each idea, tell me: 1. The task, using my words 2. The simplest suitable solution: - Chat today: I work with AI on one task - Saved repeatable steps: the same steps run each time - Dedicated software: a system manages important work and controls 3. What AI would do, if AI is needed at all 4. Why the idea fits my week 5. One first step I can try this week 6. What must never happen without my approval, such as send, pay, delete, save a record, or change a price 7. Fit: High, Medium, or Low. Consider how often the task happens, how much it matters, whether the steps repeat, whether the information is easy to find, whether mistakes can be fixed, and whether I can measure the result. Put the best fits first. End with the one idea I should start with and explain why.
Paste this as-is. ChatGPT or Claude will ask about your week and suggest practical first steps.
Rewrite this email so it sounds like a capable small-business owner: clear, warm, and short. Keep the facts. Remove corporate fluff. [PASTE EMAIL]
Tone is the first thing customers notice - and the easiest win.
Draft a short apology email for a late delivery. Own the mistake, say what we are doing next, and offer one concrete make-good. No over-apologizing. Context: [WHAT WENT WRONG]
Structure beats emotion when you are under pressure.
Write a 4-sentence follow-up to someone who asked for a quote two weeks ago and went quiet. Helpful, not needy. Include one soft next step. Original ask: [CONTEXT]
Most lost deals die from silence, not from a bad offer.
Turn these messy notes into: (1) a 5-bullet summary, (2) decisions made, (3) open questions, (4) action items with owners. [PASTE NOTES]
Capture the meeting once; reuse the structure forever.
Write a polite no to this request. Leave the door open for future work. Two short paragraphs max. Request: [PASTE]
A clean no protects your calendar and your reputation.
Appendix · glossary
Enough vocabulary to stay in charge. Tap a term.
Plain English
The AI “brain” trained on lots of text. ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are products built on models.
Example: Like a sharp new hire on day one. Fast, and it has never worked in your business.
Appendix · types of solution
Use chat while you are present for one-time work. Always-on agents keep a computer running after you leave. Save the steps when the same job repeats. Use dedicated software when important work needs records, permissions, and dependable controls.
Appendix · examples with controls
In some examples, AI reads or makes a judgment and a person approves the result. In others, staff use ordinary software that AI helped a developer build faster.