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You don't need an AI strategy or a plan to keep up with every new tool. Pick the one task you redo every week, fix only that, and let it stay fixed.

Yesterday I ran a 90-minute AI workshop for Concord Chamber members. Here's what we covered - the practical stuff that actually holds up in daily use, and the things I told people to skip.

I print QR codes on almost everything now. But a QR code can be too full to scan, and the usual culprit is the link inside it. Long links make QR codes harder to scan, and the fix is simple: shorten the link before you make the code.

Most small business branding advice focuses on logos and colors. The first impression usually comes from two details you probably haven't thought about: your email address and your links.

Most small business owners know they should have a professional email address. Fewer realize the setup behind it can cause problems: email going to spam, a domain that's easy to impersonate, and replies that still come from a personal Gmail account.

You don't need to hire anyone to run this test. Imagine someone starts working for you on Monday with no prior context. How long before they can do the job without asking questions? The answer shows you where your process gaps are.

Most small businesses collect tools one problem at a time. What actually runs one well usually comes down to three categories, and staying inside them makes everything else easier.

The same five problems keep showing up in small businesses: the same data typed twice, files lost in email, no onboarding steps, overlapping tools, and work that should run on its own. None is glamorous, and each one eats time every week.

Email is still where most business actually gets done. Six things I set up on every email account, from using your own domain to deciding whether your signature needs an image at all.

After almost 30 years in corporate IT, I left my job at the end of 2023 because I missed working with people face to face. At the Concord Chamber of Commerce I kept meeting small business owners buried in tasks that a small setup change could fix, so that's the work I do now.