← 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. And welcome back to the AI Lean Edge, where we cut through the hype and bring lean thinking and artificial intelligence down to earth. For small business owners like you, I'm your host, Brian Bricker. And today I want to talk to you about something that can literally change the way you run your business. Something that can take you from scattered and stressed to smooth and streamlined, creating your very first AI powered workflow. Now, that might sound like a mouthful, AI powered workflow. But don't worry, by the end of today's episode, you're going to understand exactly what that means, how it works, and most importantly, how you can build one for yourself without needing to be a computer genius or spend thousands of dollars. We're going to break it down step by step, in plain language, with real examples from businesses just like yours. And by the time you finish listening, you'll have the confidence to get started with your first AI workflow this week. That's my promise to you. So grab a cup of coffee, settle in, and let's get to it.
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Chaos out, Clarity in. Cut the noise and dial in the wind. Aileen Edge. Stream it, dream it, lean it tight. Edge. Everything just works right. Hey, Eileen Edge. Say goodbye to the sludge. Run it clean, run it mean. Hey.
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Okay, welcome back. Let's start at the very beginning. What exactly is a workflow? Now, when most people hear the word workflow, their eyes glaze over. It sounds like corporate jargon, like something that belongs in a binder on a dusty office shelf. But in reality, a workflow is just a fancy word for how you get work done. It's the step by step path a task takes from start to finish. That's it. So let's make it real. Imagine a small coffee shop that takes online orders. Here's their workflow. The order comes in through the website. The barista gets a notification on the tablet. They start making the drink. The order is labeled and placed on the pickup shelf. And the customer comes in, grabs their drink and leaves, happy. That right there is a workflow. It's repeatable and it happens dozens of times a day. And when it works well, it's smooth. When it breaks down, maybe the order never hits the tablet or the label doesn't print or the wrong drink gets made. The customer feels it. So here's the key point. Workflows are everywhere. In your emails, in your scheduling, in your invoicing, in your customer service. Every single business, no matter how big or small, runs on Workflows. Now, let's bring AI into the picture. When you add artificial intelligence to a workflow, you're not changing the destination. You're still making the coffee, you're still scheduling the meeting, you're still sending the invoice. But instead of walking that path step by step yourself, you've given yourself a bike to ride. AI speeds it up. It smooths it out. It helps you avoid tipping over rocks along the way. Sometimes it even anticipates what's coming and prepares for it before you even know you need it. Think about our coffee shop again. If they layered AI into their workflow, here's what it might look like. AI predicts the most popular orders for the morning rush and suggests prepping ingredients in advance. AI automatically texts customers when their drink is ready so they don't crowd the counter. AI analyzes purchase history and says, hey, Brian usually orders a mocha. Want to suggest a croissant with that? That's no longer just a workflow. That's a smarter workflow. And that's what we're after. Now, you might be thinking, okay, Brian, that sounds great, but where do I even start? There are a hundred things in my business that could use improvement. Should I just throw AI at all of them? Well, the easy answer is no, and here's why. Lean thinking, something I've studied and practiced for years, teaches us to start small. Don't try to boil the ocean. Don't attempt to fix everything at once. That's the fastest way to overwhelm yourself, your team, and your budget. Instead, you start with one. One workflow, one problem, one improvement. Why? Because one workflow done well can change the game. It can give you back hours each week. It can reduce errors. It can give your customers a smoother experience. And it builds momentum. Think about it this way. When Toyota was first developing the Toyota production system, which is really the birthplace of Lean, they didn't overhaul the entire company in one night. They started by fixing small things. A workstation here, a process there. They learned, they improved. And over time, the whole company transformed. You can do the same thing. Here's a story. I worked with an independent insurance agent who was drowning in follow ups. Every time she gave a quote, she. She had to manually call or email to check in with the customer. Sometimes she forgot, sometimes it took days. And as you can imagine, by then, the customer had already signed with somebody else. So we built a simple AI workflow for her. When she entered a quote into her system, it automatically triggered a series of smart emails. The AI crafted follow ups that sounded like her warm, professional, conversational. If the customer replied with a question, the AI chatbot could handle the basics and escalate to her only when it was serious. That one workflow brought her follow up time down from days to minutes, her close rate shot up, and most importantly, she felt like she was finally ahead of the game instead of constantly behind. That's the power of one workflow. You don't need to automate your whole business in one day. You just need to pick up the right starting point. And that's what we're going to talk about next. How to choose that first workflow. All right, so now you know why we start with just one workflow. But the next question is obvious. How do you know which one to choose? Here's the framework I use with clients, and it works across industries. It's simple. Step one. Ask yourself what task is wasting the most time or causing the most frustration? Is it endless emails? Scheduling headaches? Entering the same information into three different systems? Usually you already know the answer because it's the thing that makes you roll your eyes every morning. Step two. Look for something that's repetitive and rules based. That means it follows a pattern. You do it the same way every time, even if you don't realize it. For example, scheduling a consultation call. You send an email, you check your calendar, you confirm the time. You send a reminder. That's a workflow begging for automation. Step 3. Put on your lean glasses and ask, does this add value for my customer? If the answer is no, why are you spending your precious time on it? If the answer is yes, then the question becomes, how can AI help me do it better, faster, or smarter? Let me give you a few examples. Imagine you run a clothing boutique. Every week you get people asking, hey, when are those jeans coming back in stock? Normally you'd have to check inventory. Remember who asked? Maybe send an email if you had the time. And usually people slip through the cracks with a simple AI workflow. Every time an item comes back in stock, an automated email or text goes out to every customer who asked about it. You're not just saving yourself time, you're making money you were otherwise leaving on the table. Now picture a real estate agent during a busy spring market. Every buyer has the same questions. What time is the open house? How do I make an offer? Can I bring my kids? Instead of answering those over and over, you set up a chatbot on your website. It answers those FAQs 24, 7 and only escalates to you when it's something unique. Suddenly you're not chained to your phone, but your clients still feel taken care of. Let's say you're an accountant who processes hundreds of invoices. The AI scans every document, sorts it into the right category, and even flags anomalies like a bill that's 20% higher than usual. Instead of manually slogging through stacks of paper, you're focusing on strategy and advice for your clients. See the pattern here? The best first workflows are repetitive, rules based, and either don't add value to the customer or add value you can supercharge with AI. So as you're listening right now, think about your business. What's the one process that makes you sigh every time it pops up? That's where you start. Okay, once you've chosen your first workflow, the next question is, what do you use to build it? And here's where a lot of people get intimidated. They think, oh no, I'm going to have to learn to code or hire a developer or buy some $10,000 software package. Nope. The truth is, the tools to build AI powered workflows are already out there and they're designed for non tech people. You can get started today with drag and drop platforms. Let me walk you through a few categories. First category Communication Automation. This is where chatbots and smart email tools live. You've probably already interacted with one without realizing it. A customer service chatbot that answers your question in plain English. That's AI. Tools like Intercom, Drift or even ChatGPT based bots can handle FAQs, respond instantly, and hand off the conversation to you only when needed. Second category, Task routing. These are tools like Zapier or make Think of them as the plumbing that connects your apps together. Someone fills out a form on your website, Zapier can instantly create a contact in your CRM, send them a welcome email, and ping you on Slack, all without you lifting a finger. Third category AI Enhanced decisioning. This is where the magic really happens. Tools that don't just move the information, but analyze it, interpret it, and make recommendations. For example, an AI that looks at your sales pipeline and predicts which leads are most likely to close. Or one that reviews your expense reports and highlights anomalies. You should double check. And here's the beauty you don't need all three categories at once. Start with one layer in the others as you go. So let me give you a quick story. A small bakery I worked with wanted to improve repeat sales. They realized birthdays were a huge driver, but they never remembered to reach out to customers the next year. So we set up a simple workflow. Whenever someone ordered a birthday cake, their info went into Mailerlite. Eleven months later, an automated email went out. Hey, Sarah. Ethan's fifth birthday cake was a blast last year. Want to make his sixth birthday just as special? That one workflow created dozens of repeat orders. Customers felt remembered. The owners felt like he had a system working quietly in the background. That's the power of the tools. They're not flashy, they're practical, and they make you money. All right, let's put it all together. Here's the step by step process for building your very first AI workflow. You don't need fancy consultants. You don't need to know Python or JavaScript. You just need to follow this roadmap. Step 1. Map the process. Grab a pen and paper, or if you're fancy, a whiteboard. Write down the steps as they happen today. Don't sugarcoat it. If you're currently copying and pasting email addresses by hand, write that down. You need to see the real picture. Step 2. Identify the inputs and the outputs. What kicks off the process? Is it a customer filling out a form? Is it a payment being made? Is it you receiving an email? That's your input. Now, what's the outcome you want? That's your output. For example, input, someone books a consult. Output, they get a confirmation email and a calendar invite. Step three. Choose your tool. If it's mostly about communication, maybe you start with the chatbot. If it's about connecting apps, Zapier might be your tool. And if it's about analyzing data, maybe an AI assistant like ChatGPT fits. Pick the simplest tool that does the job. Step 4. Test small. Don't roll this out to your entire customer base right away. Test it with five customers or run it for one week. See where it breaks. See what you forgot. Trust me, you will forget something that's totally normal. Step 5. Review for waste, errors or bottlenecks. This is the lean part. Where are the hiccups? Did the email go to spam? Did the chatbot confuse a question? Fix those now. Step six. Standardize and expand. Once it works, make it the new normal. Train your team on it. Write it down, then look at what you could add next. Here's the mindset shift. Your first workflow doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to work. We call this in lean, a cycle of Kaizen continuous improvement. You start ugly, you refine over time, and pretty soon you have a smooth, reliable process that makes Your business faster and your life easier. And let me just say this. The first time you see your workflow fire automatically, like watching an email go out or seeing data update without you touching it, you will feel like you've discovered fire. It's that powerful. It changes how you see your business forever. By now, you might be nodding along, thinking, okay, I get it. I see how workflows work. I know where to start. I even understand the tools. But let's be honest, I'm nervous. And that's normal, too. Let's talk about the roadblocks you're going to hit. Because if you know they're coming, you can steer around them. Roadblock number one. Fear of technology. So many business owners tell me I'm not a tech person. I don't code. I can barely manage my email inbox. And here's what I say. You don't have to code. These tools are designed for people like you. If you can drag and drop, you can build a workflow. The hardest part is in the tech. It's being clear on your process. Roadblock number two. Shiny Object Syndrome. AI is everywhere right now. Every day there's a new tool, a new platform, a new feature. If you're not careful, you'll end up with 20 subscriptions, no real plan, and a lighter wallet. The cure for Shiny Object Syndrome is focus. Always ask yourself, does this solve a real problem in my business? If the answer is no, move on. Roadblock number three, Team resistance. If you have employees, some of them are going to worry. They'll hear AI and think replacement. They'll picture robots taking jobs. You've got to get ahead of that. Frame AI as a helper, not a replacer. Show your team that AI is here to handle the boring, repetitive stuff so they can spend more time on creative, valuable people, focused work. And roadblock number four? Not measuring success. Here's a hard truth. If you don't measure, you don't improve. So set a baseline. How long does the task take today? How many errors happen? How many customer complaints do you get? Then, after you launch your workflow, check again. Did you save time? Did you cut down on mistakes? Did customers respond faster? Those numbers will keep you motivated, and they'll prove the return on investment. So let me wrap this section with one more story. A real estate office I know was drowning in scheduling. Every agent was juggling calls, texts, emails, and sticky notes just to set up showings. They resisted automation because they thought clients would hate it. But finally, they tried one simple workflow, calendly integrated with Email reminders. That was it. Within a month, they realized clients loved it. Appointments got booked faster, no shows dropped, and agents had more time for actual selling. What started as resistance turned into relief. That's how you overcome roadblocks. You acknowledge them, you face them, and you keep moving. All right, let's bring this home. Today. We've covered a lot. What workflows are, why you only need one to start, how to choose the right one, the tools you'll need, the step by step roadmap, and the roadblocks to watch for. Here's the big takeaway. Creating your first AI powered workflow is not about building the perfect system. It's about building momentum. It's about freeing yourself from the tasks that waste your time and energy. It's about leaning into the future without losing your humanity. So here's my challenge to you this week. Pick one. Process just one. Sketch it out on a piece of paper. Ask yourself, what's the input? What's the output? What's the part that drives me crazy? Then take the simplest tool you can find. Maybe it's a chatbot. Maybe it's zapier. Maybe it's just an automated email sequence. And run a test. Don't wait until it's perfect. Don't wait until you've researched every single option. Just start. Because once you see that workflow fire for the first time. Once you see a task get done without you touching it, you'll never look at your business the same way again. That's how Lean meets AI. And that's how small businesses get smarter, leaner, and faster. Before we wrap up, I want to share something that can take what you've learned today and multiply it across your entire business. It's my book. Smarter, Leaner, Faster, Faster. How AI and lean thinking can transform your small business. This isn't a textbook full of theory. It's a playbook for small business owners like you. In its pages, I walk you through the history of lean thinking, how Deming and Toyota transform manufacturing. And I show you how those same principles apply to your retail shop, your bakery, your law firm, or your real estate office. You'll learn the five lean principles. You can't ignore the seven wastes that are draining your time and your money and exactly how to spot them. You'll get, step by step, instructions for running your own AI Lean Audit. You'll discover the first five things to automate in your business for immediate return on investment. And here's the best part. It's all told in plain language with real stories and real examples. No jargon, no wasted space. Just practical guidance you can put into action the same day you read it. So if you enjoyed today's episode and you're ready to go beyond your first workflow into building an entire system that works for you, not against you, grab a copy of Smarter, Leaner, Faster. You can find it on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle, or at our website@www.aileansolutions.com. again, that's smarter, leaner, faster how AI and lean thinking can transform your small business. It's time to stop running your business in circles. It's time to build something smarter, leaner, and faster. Okay, thanks for joining me today on the AI Lean Edge podcast. I hope this episode gave you not just ideas, but the courage to take action. Remember, start with one workflow. That's how transformation begins. Until next time, I'm Brian Bricker. Stay smarter, stay leaner, stay faster, and keep leaning into AI.
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Edge. We live, we pitch, pivot, we pledge.