← AI Lean Edge: Practical AI for Small Businesses
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Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on where you are in the world. Welcome back to the AI Lean Edge Podcast, the show where we make businesses a little smarter, a little leaner, and a whole lot faster. I'm Brian Bricker, coming to you from my office at AI Lean Solutions. So starting off, I'm very excited to share that the AI Lean Edge podcast is now the 250th most popular business podcast in Canada. And, and oddly, we just broke the top 20 in the African nation of Chad. So today we're diving into one of the industries that needs efficiency more than ever. Real estate. Now, here's what's coming your way. In today's podcast. I'm going to tell you about one AI tool that can cut your client follow up time in half while actually making your clients feel more cared for. We're going to walk through a story of a real estate broker who went from drowning in paperwork to doubling closings in a year without hiring more. And I'll break down five simple ways you can use AI right now to win back hours every week and close more deals without burning out. If you've ever felt like real estate is 20% showing houses and 80% chasing emails, scheduling and paperwork, stick around. AI might just be the assistant you've been waiting for. And the good news is it's affordable and accessible right now. But first, back by popular demand, I'll also be covering the top five tech news headlines from this week 40 years ago in 1985. So grab your coffee, buckle up, and let's talk about how AI can help you save time and close more deals.
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Chaos out, clarity in cut the noise and dial in the wind A Eileen Edge Stream it, dream it, lean it tight A Eileen Edge Everything just works right A Eileen Edge say goodbye to the sludge Run it clean, run it mean AI Le and we're back.
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Before we get into the magic of lean thinking and AI in real estate, let's check the Wayback Machine and step into mid September 1985, a fascinating moment in the history of computers, software and networking, which marks a turning point in what was then cutting edge. Let's get started. So one of the news items running in Los Angeles area business Pages in mid September 1985 was that Western Digital announced a venture in partnership with Siemens to develop a new computer chip. While full technical details were not yet released, the intention was clear to build higher performance semiconductors for computing applications. This is really significant because 1985 saw heavy demand for faster, more efficient chips in microcomputers workstations, data processing hardware, things like that. A chip collaboration between two major players like Western Digital and Siemens signals acceleration in performance expectations. It foreshadows the push toward moving more computing from larger mainframes into smaller, more capable machines like home computers. Also around this time in 1985, there was growing activity in the networking community. The National Science foundation was building NSFNET and linking supercomputer centers using TCP IP protocol. The idea was to connect institutions such as Princeton, Pittsburgh, Illinois, San Diego and Cornell into a backbone network. Though precise announcements around the third week of September are less well documented, in 1985 there was momentum as more regional and educational networks were preparing to hook into this mainframe. The outcome would be the tcpip, which started in research context, was becoming more central to how institutions shared data. This shift was one of the foundations of the modern Internet. What this meant for people in September 1985 was that networking wasn't hypothetical or just for big research labs anymore. The infrastructure was being built out, standards were being tested, and more organizations were about to get connected. And by this time, Unix systems were getting more refined tools for networked file sharing and remote login, especially in university labs and research centers. There were reports out of academic computing departments of enhancements or patches to Unix's networking stack, better performance on terminals, remote logins, remote shell tools, and more stable file systems across network links. This laid the groundwork for what became distributed computing and client server models. Now in 1985, home and personal computing were gaining capability fast as well. Machines with 64 kilobyte or 128 kilobyte memory were increasing in use. Capabilities like better graphics, colors and sprites, better input output ports, and more sophisticated basic interpreters or compiled languages were improving. Around this time, there were also industry reports of newer chips or boards being developed for PCs to speed up processing. For example, enhancements to popular CPU families like the Intel 8086 and 8286 line Motorola 68000 family. They were under development or shipping in higher end models. Software vendors were also pushing more mature operating system features, multitasking in certain OS variants or improved memory. And finally, another important trend surfacing strongly in late summer into the fall of 1985, 40 years ago from now, was vendor workshops and protocol standardization. Discussion for networking. Vendors of different hardware or network equipment like routers, terminals and modems were increasingly interested in ensuring compatibility with TCP ip, or at least interoperability with research networks, university systems, or regional academic networks. So workshops, tutorials, and meetings were being organized, many of them internal to universities or research associations, to share updates on what works, what does not, and what the performance issues were. Some smaller commercial network protocol implementations were being tested in those workshop settings as well. So what do these all mean together? When you when you look back at these five main topics from 40 years ago in in mid September 1985, you see the focus on chip development, NSF net backbone expansion, Unix networking enhancements, home computer capability growth, and vendor workshops for standardization. And through them, you see the shape of what was coming. One, the performance ceiling was rising. People wanted faster chips, more memory, and better graphics. Two, Networking was moving from academic laboratories into more formal infrastructure, with TCP IP becoming the main the main process, the main protocol for connected systems. Three, Software and operating systems were responding. They were providing more stability, better tools for file sharing and remote access. Four, Home computing was no longer a hobbyist afterthought. Manufacturers and users both were pushing for features that would make them more like business machines. And perhaps most importantly, people recognized that compatibility mattered because that standard protocols, vendor cooperation and workshops mattered in reducing friction as networks grew. So from where we stand now in the decades beyond 1985, that time in mid September 40 years ago, although looks like small incremental changes or incremental improvements, those were actually seeds being planted that are now huge. The chips developed then made possible the microprocessor power that we take for granted today. NSFNET's expansion became part of the Internet backbone growth. Unix networking tools evolved into the remote systems, cloud and Web services we now depend on. And enhanced memory and home PC capabilities paved the way for modern desktop OSs and software. And early vendor standardization helped avoid fragmentation, letting the Internet and computer ecosystems scale in a way that has created the technology world that we see today. So thank you for joining me in this walk back in time. Staying curious about where we came from helps to better understand where we're going. Let's get down to business by talking about the grind of real estate. If you ask most people what a Realtor does, they'll say something like, oh, you know, you show houses, you negotiate deals, you hand over keys. That sounds nice, right? But anyone who has actually worked in real estate knows that maybe 20% of the job on a good week is doing those things. The other 80% is the stuff that wears you down. Endless emails, text messages at midnight, trying to get buyers and sellers to line up on times, retyping, listing information because one form didn't talk to another, filling out disclosures, checking boxes that no client will ever see. For real estate professionals, it's even more intense. You're trying to build a career, but you've also got family obligations, maybe aging parents, maybe kids in school. Maybe you're just trying to get to the gym once in a while. And yet the job never stops. Clients expect instant responses. They expect you to know everything about the market. They expect you to hold their hand through the biggest purchase of their lives. And they expect all of it. Yesterday, I once sat down with a realtor with a very successful practice. Plenty of clients, a good reputation. But when I asked her how she was spending her time, she laughed and said, I feel like I'm a professional scheduler who shows houses on the side. She calculated that she was spending more than 15 hours a week just trying to schedule showings and follow up appointments. 15 hours. It's almost two full work days every week. So this is where lean thinking comes into play. In Lean, we talk about waste. Waste is any activity that consumes resources but does not add value to the customer. When Susan was typing the same availability into emails over and over, was she adding value? No. When she was manually copying the same directions into three different forms, was she adding value? No. That's pure waste. And the hard truth is that most professionals, not just real estate, but across industries, spend the majority of their week in waste. Busy work. Things that look like work but do not move the needle from a customer value standpoint. Now, before we move on, I want to take a quick moment to tell you about something I've poured my heart into. It's my new book, Smarter Leaner How AI and Lean Thinking Can Transform your Small Business. It's available right now on Amazon in both Kindle and paperback. Here's why I wrote it. I've spent years helping organizations cut waste, improve processes, and use technology in ways that make life better, not more complicated. And I kept seeing small business owners, especially people in fields like real estate, retail, and accounting, struggling to keep up with technology shifts. They knew they needed help, but everything out there felt like it was written for Silicon Valley, not Main Street. Smarter, Leaner, Faster is different. It's written for people like you, people who are running a business, juggling a hundred things, and just wanting real, practical solutions. In it, I walk you through the history of lean thinking, the five principles that every small business can apply, the seven wastes that are silently draining your money, and exactly how AI can supercharge your results. And if you like what you've been hearing on this podcast, the book is the deeper Dive. It's the roadmap, and it's something you can keep on your desk and go back to whenever you feel stuck or overwhelmed. So here's my ask Head over to Amazon, Search, Smarter, Leaner, Faster and grab your copy today. Whether you prefer Kindle or paperback, it's there waiting for you. And when you do, send me a note. I'd love to hear how you're putting it to use in your business. Remember, that's Smarter, Leaner, Faster on Amazon. Let's build businesses that work smarter, not harder. Okay, back to it. So where does AI come in when it comes to real estate? AI is not some scary robot taking over jobs. AI is a tool. It's like having an assistant who never sleeps, who learns your preferences, who never complains about late night texts. It is software that takes the repetitive, mind numbing tasks off your plate so you can focus on the human side of real estate. Let's walk through a few examples. First, scheduling AI scheduling tools can read your calendar, compare it to your client's availability, and offer up times automatically. No more five back and forth texts that end with oh, never mind, that doesn't work. The system can't handle that for you. Second, chatbots on your listings. How many times have you answered the question is this Property still available? 101,000? An AI chatbot can answer that question instantly on your website or even on social media. It can also gather lead information like the person's name and phone number, so you can follow up personally when it matters. Third, voice detects note capture. Instead of driving away from a showing and telling yourself I'll write my notes later, you can just speak into your phone. AI transcribes it, organizes it and drops it into your CRM. No more lost notes. Fourth, predictive analytics. This is where AI shines. Imagine your CRM not only storing contacts, but telling you which ones are most likely to close in the next 90 days. AI can score leads based on activity, engagement and history so you know where to spend your time. Let me give you a simple analogy. Remember when we all use MapQuest, you would print out directions, hope they were right, and if you missed a turn, you were out of luck. Then GPS came along. Now we just type in the address and the system guides us, reroutes us and updates us in real time. That's the leap AI is bringing to real estate. You can keep doing things the hard way or you can let the system guide you and save hours every week. Let me tell you about Mark. He's a mid career Realtor in The Midwest. Mark had been in the business for about 15 years. He was good at what he did, but he was drowning. Every day felt like firefighting. He was missing leads, losing track of client conversations, and barely holding on. Mark decided to try a simple AI chatbot. Nothing fancy, just a system that would answer common questions on his website and schedule showings automatically. Within two weeks, he noticed a difference. He was saving about eight hours a week. That's one entire workday back in his pocket. Instead of chasing texts, Mark was spending more time face to face with clients. He was building relationships. He was walking him through offers and inspections. And here's the best part. Within three months, Mark closed three more homes than his usual average. Nothing else changed. He didn't spend more money on advertising. He didn't hire more staff. He just freed up his time by letting AI handle the repetitive work. This is the essence of lean thinking, respect for people. AI does not replace the realtor. It frees the realtor to do what only humans can do, which is to build trust, understand emotions, and guide clients through one of the biggest decisions of their lives. Okay, are you ready to make this practical now? If you're listening to this and thinking, okay, I'm interested, but where do I start? Here are five things you can try this week. Number one, automate your FAQs with a chatbot, even if it only answers, Is this property available? That's still 10 minutes a day you just saved. Number two, use AI transcription for showings and meetings. Stop scribbling notes you can't read later. Just speak your thoughts, let the AI transcribe and drop it into your system. Number three, leverage AI lead scoring in your CRM. Many platforms now offer this built in. Even if it's not perfect, it will guide your attention to the clients most likely to move. Number four, use AI for property descriptions. Writing compelling listings takes time. AI can draft a strong first version in seconds. You can polish it, but the heavy lifting is done. Number five, adopt a smart scheduling assistant. Let the software offer times, send reminders and reduce no shows. This is low hanging fruit that can immediately be giving you hours back each week. If that feels overwhelming, don't try all five at once. Just pick one. Pick one on your biggest pain point and start small. Even if you just save one hour this week, that's an extra client call, one extra dinner with your family, and one less late night in front of the computer. So let's bring it all together. Real estate will always be about relationships. That will never change. But the grind does not have to be your identity. AI tools are here right now. They are affordable, and they can take the weight of repetitive tasks off your shoulders. Think about Susan, who was drowning in scheduling, or mark, who closed three extra homes just by letting AI handle his FAQs and his showings. These are not futuristic stories. They're happening today. Your challenge this week is simple. Pick one AI tool. I know I'm starting to sound like a broken record on these podcasts. Just pick one. Pick one AI tool on your biggest pain point. Try it. See how much time it gives you back. Because time is the one resource you cannot create more of, but you can reclaim it. And when you do, you'll be able to close more deals, serve more clients, and still have energy left at the end of the day. And that's what this podcast is about. Building businesses that are smarter, leaner, and faster. And remember, if you like the AI Lean Edge, please follow, comment, and share with other small business owners so we can keep helping as many people as possible. So until next time, I'm Brian Bricker. This is the AI Lean Edge podcast. And remember, keep leaning into AI.
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Run it Mean alien edge. We live, we pivot, we pledge.