Siah Labs × Temple SBDC

AI Agents for Small Business · Recap

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Back to workshop

Map my week

Paste this as-is. ChatGPT or Claude will ask about your week and suggest practical first steps.

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.

First-project scorecard

Score each 1 (Not yet) · 2 (Somewhat) · 3 (Yes). 15+ is a strong first project.

  • Frequent

    Happens every week or every day.

    Score: ___ / 3

  • Meaningful

    Consumes enough time or attention to matter.

    Score: ___ / 3

  • Repeatable

    A capable employee could write down the usual steps.

    Score: ___ / 3

  • Information is ready

    The facts are easy to find, mostly complete, and stored consistently.

    Score: ___ / 3

  • Reversible

    A mistake can be caught, corrected, or held for approval.

    Score: ___ / 3

  • Measurable

    You can tell whether it saved time or improved an outcome.

    Score: ___ / 3

Blueprint

Fill this for the winner from the scorecard.

  • Goal

    What does "done well" look like, in business terms?

  • Type of solution

    One-time chat, saved repeatable steps, or dedicated software?

  • What AI does

    What can it see, what must it know, and which steps can it take?

  • Starting event and steps

    What starts the work, and what happens in order?

  • Hard stops

    Which actions must be impossible without a person?

  • Your approval

    What must you review before anything saves, sends, posts, or pays?

  • Metric

    Hours saved, response time, or errors?

Always-on agents

Chat stops when you stand up. Always-on keeps a computer running. Lock send, pay, and delete. Names on the board: Grok Bot, Muse, Dots, Hermes Agent, OpenClaw.

Three questions

  1. 01 · Goal

    What does "done well" look like, in business terms?

  2. 02 · Type of solution

    Chat for one-time help, saved steps for repeated work, or software for work that needs dependable controls?

  3. 03 · What AI does

    What can it see, what must it know, and which steps can it take?

Verify before send

  • Treat every AI output as a draft until you approve it.
  • Do not paste SSNs, bank details, or confidential contracts into ChatGPT or Claude.
  • Customer-facing and money-facing work gets a verify-before-send rule.
  • Ask: what happens if this goes wrong at 2am on a Saturday, when nobody is watching?

Glossary

Model
The AI “brain” trained on lots of text. ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are products built on models.
Prompt
The instructions and context you give the model. Better prompts = better drafts.
Token
A chunk of text the model reads or writes - roughly a short word or part of a word. Longer chats use more tokens.
Hallucination
When the model invents names, dates, policies, or sources with total confidence.
Agent
AI that can work toward a result, use available tools, and take several steps. ChatGPT and Claude are agents. Their abilities depend on the tools, information, and permissions available to them.
Tool
A connected ability, such as searching your customer system, reading a calendar, creating a task, or preparing an email.
Always-on agent
An agent with its own computer that keeps working after you close the laptop. ChatGPT waits for you. Always-on comes back in the morning with drafts, then stops at send, pay, and delete if you lock those.
AI-built software
Ordinary software with no AI at runtime, built much faster because AI helped write it.
Hard stop, or child lock
A hard stop outside the model’s control - usually human approval before send, pay, or delete.
Saved repeatable steps, or workflow
A saved series of steps that moves a repeated job forward without the same copy-and-paste work each time.
Context
The facts, examples, and constraints you feed the model so it works like it knows your business.
Training data
What the model learned from in the past. It is not a live feed of your books, inventory, or today’s rules.

Prompt library (40)

Paste into ChatGPT or Claude. Categories: Email, Sales, Ops, Finance, Marketing.

Email

  1. 1. Rewrite a stiff email · Any

    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.

  2. 2. Apology that rebuilds trust · Services

    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.

  3. 3. Follow up without being pushy · Sales

    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.

  4. 4. Meeting notes to action list · Any

    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.

  5. 5. Decline politely · Any

    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.

  6. 6. Vendor status chase · Ops

    Draft a firm but professional email asking for a status update on a late order. Ask for a date, not a vague assurance.

Order details: [PASTE]

    Specific asks get specific answers.

  7. 7. Internal handoff note · Ops

    Write a handoff note for a teammate covering this account while I am out. Include status, next deadline, landmines, and who to call.

[PASTE CONTEXT]

    Handoffs fail when context lives only in one person’s head.

  8. 8. Customer FAQ reply · Retail

    Answer this customer question using only the facts below. If something is missing, say what you need before answering. Keep it under 120 words.

Facts: [PASTE]
Question: [PASTE]

    Grounding the model in your facts cuts hallucinations.

Sales

  1. 1. Qualify a web lead · Services

    Here is a website inquiry. Score fit High / Med / Low for our business. List missing info. Draft a reply that either books a call or politely redirects.

Our offer: [1–2 SENTENCES]
Inquiry: [PASTE]

    Triage first, charm second.

  2. 2. Discovery call agenda · Any

    Build a 20-minute discovery agenda for this prospect. 5 questions max, ordered so we learn budget, timeline, and decision process early.

Prospect: [PASTE]

    Good questions beat a polished pitch.

  3. 3. Proposal outline · Contractor

    Outline a one-page proposal: problem, approach, scope in / out, timeline, price range, next step. Plain English for a non-technical buyer.

Job details: [PASTE]

    Structure is half the sale.

  4. 4. Objection handler · Any

    The prospect said: “[OBJECTION]”. Give me 3 response options: empathize, reframe with a question, and a soft close. Keep each under 40 words.

    Practice responses before the call, not during it.

  5. 5. Win-back list message · Retail

    Using this customer list, draft 5 short win-back messages for people who have not ordered in 60+ days. Personal, non-spammy, one clear offer each.

[PASTE LIST OR NOTES]

    Quiet customers are cheaper to win than cold leads.

  6. 6. Compare two quotes · Any

    Compare these two vendor quotes side by side: price, scope, timeline, risks, and what I should ask before choosing.

Quote A: [PASTE]
Quote B: [PASTE]

    A checklist beats gut feel when numbers blur together.

  7. 7. Referral ask · Services

    Draft a short referral ask to a happy client. Specific about who is a good fit. Easy to forward. No guilt.

Client context: [PASTE]

    Happy clients refer when you make it easy.

  8. 8. Pipeline weekly review · Any

    Here is my pipeline snapshot. Which deals need a move this week, which should I close-lost, and what is the single highest-leverage action?

[PASTE PIPELINE]

    Attention is the scarce resource in sales.

Ops

  1. 1. Job slipping behind · Contractor

    Here is my job list with status and last update. Which jobs are falling behind, and what should I ask each crew lead tomorrow morning?

[PASTE LIST]

    Early flags beat Friday fire drills.

  2. 2. SOP from a walkthrough · Any

    Turn this messy description of how we do [TASK] into a numbered SOP a new hire could follow. Flag steps that need judgment vs steps that are mechanical.

[PASTE DESCRIPTION]

    If you cannot write the steps, you cannot automate them.

  3. 3. Vendor onboarding checklist · Any

    Create a checklist for onboarding a new vendor: docs we need, systems to add them to, first order test, and who owns each step.

    Onboarding chaos becomes permanent process debt.

  4. 4. Inventory reorder logic · Retail

    Using this sales and stock snapshot, which SKUs should I reorder this week, which can wait, and what am I missing to decide well?

[PASTE DATA]

    Stockouts and overstock both start as fuzzy judgment.

  5. 5. Shift coverage plan · Services

    Two people called out. Here is the schedule and skills. Propose a coverage plan and the texts I should send.

[PASTE SCHEDULE]

    Calm plans beat reactive scrambling.

  6. 6. Incident write-up · Any

    Turn these notes into a short incident write-up: what happened, impact, root cause (best guess), fix, and prevention. Stick to facts.

[PASTE NOTES]

    Clear write-ups stop the same mistake twice.

  7. 7. Customer complaint triage · Services

    Triage this complaint: severity, likely cause, who should handle it, and a first reply draft. Flag anything that needs a manager.

[PASTE COMPLAINT]

    Speed plus judgment beats a perfect late reply.

  8. 8. Weekly ops standup agenda · Any

    Build a 15-minute Monday standup agenda for a 5-person team. Focus on blockers, deadlines, and one metric. No status theater.

    Short meetings need a spine.

Finance

  1. 1. Spot unusual expenses · CPA / Bookkeeper

    Compare this month vs last for Client A. Call out unusual expenses and draft a client email in plain English.

[PASTE NUMBERS OR NOTES]

    Anomalies deserve a human look before the client sees them.

  2. 2. Cash forecast questions · Owner

    I have these receivables, payables, and known bills for the next 30 days. What questions should I answer before I decide on a big purchase?

[PASTE]

    Cash decisions fail from missing questions, not missing math.

  3. 3. Invoice reminder sequence · Any

    Write a 3-step overdue invoice reminder sequence: day 3, day 10, day 21. Firm, respectful, escalating. Include subject lines.

    Collections get easier with a playbook.

  4. 4. Explain a bill to a client · Services

    Explain this invoice line by line in plain English for a non-finance client. No jargon. Offer one place they can ask questions.

[PASTE INVOICE SUMMARY]

    Confused clients delay payment.

  5. 5. Bid total check · Contractor

    Materials $[X], markup [Y]%, labor [Z] days at $[RATE]/day. Show the math step by step for the bid total. I will verify in a spreadsheet.

    Language models are not calculators - force the steps.

  6. 6. Budget vs actual review · Owner

    Here is budget vs actual for the quarter. Highlight the top 5 variances, ask clarifying questions, and suggest 2 cuts that would not hurt customers.

[PASTE]

    Variance without a story is just noise.

  7. 7. Payment plan options · Services

    A client owes $[AMOUNT] and asked for a plan. Propose 3 options with dates and a short script for the call. Protect cash flow without burning the relationship.

    Structure turns an awkward ask into a decision.

  8. 8. Tax question prep · Owner

    I want to ask my CPA about [TOPIC]. List the documents I should bring and 5 precise questions. Do not invent credits or deadlines.

    Better questions make the CPA hour worth more.

Marketing

  1. 1. Social post from a win · Any

    Turn this customer win into one LinkedIn post and one short Instagram caption. Specific, humble, no hype words.

Win: [PASTE]

    Proof beats adjectives.

  2. 2. Event follow-up blast · Any

    I met these people at a local mixer. Draft a personal follow-up email template with blanks for name and one detail from our chat.

Notes: [PASTE]

    Mixer cards die without a same-week follow-up.

  3. 3. Service page rewrite · Services

    Rewrite this service page for a busy NJ business owner. Lead with the problem, then the outcome, then proof. Cut fluff.

[PASTE DRAFT]

    Clarity converts better than cleverness.

  4. 4. Google review reply · Retail

    Draft replies to these Google reviews: one 5-star, one 3-star, one 1-star. Brand voice: warm and direct. Never argue in public.

[PASTE REVIEWS]

    Public replies are part of the product.

  5. 5. Offer one-pager · Any

    Create a one-page offer: who it is for, what they get, what it costs, what happens next. Use this rough offer:

[PASTE]

    A crisp offer is easier to sell and easier to deliver.

  6. 6. Seasonal hours post · Retail

    Draft a short post about our hours change. Use only these facts. If a date or tax holiday is mentioned, leave a blank for me to fill - do not invent dates.

Facts: [PASTE]

    Stale local facts are how AI embarrasses you in public.

  7. 7. Case study skeleton · Services

    Turn this project into a case study skeleton: situation, constraint, what we did, result, quote placeholder. Keep it honest.

[PASTE NOTES]

    Case studies sell while you sleep - if you capture them.

  8. 8. Competitor teardown (fair) · Any

    Compare our offer to this competitor’s public page. Be fair. List where we win, where they win, and one improvement we should make without copying them.

Us: [PASTE]
Them: [PASTE]

    Honest comparison beats insecure copying.