Mac Sweeny
Quick answer
AI consulting for a small business should help you choose a useful change, understand its limits and decide what to do next. Start with a specific workflow and a measure of the problem. Advice, staff training and software implementation are different pieces of work.
How I would work through the decision
The starting point is your work, rather than a particular tool.
- 01
Show the workflow
Bring a real example, the tools involved and where you get stuck.
- 02
Choose an approach
Compare a simpler process, an existing tool and a separately scoped build.
- 03
Review what happened
Try the agreed next step and use the result to guide the next decision.
A useful next step has an owner, a clear purpose and a way to check whether it helped.
Put it to work · Added 7 September 2026
Bring this one-page brief to a consultant
A useful small-business AI brief names the workflow, its current cost in time, the person responsible and the decision you need help making. It also separates advice, training and software development.
You don’t need a finished AI strategy to have a useful conversation. I’d start with one awkward piece of work and the evidence below. Use this in Australia or the US; agree time zones and the commercial scope separately.
| Part of the brief | What to bring | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| The problem | One workflow and a recent example you are allowed to share | Which step would you change, and why? |
| The starting point | Volume, handling time, corrections and delays | How will we compare the trial with today? |
| The constraints | Existing tools, budget, staff availability and access limits | Could an existing feature or simpler process solve this? |
| The responsibility | A process owner and a person who can review outputs | Who checks exceptions and maintains the change? |
| The scope | The decision you want help making | Which work is advice, which is implementation, and what is excluded? |
Your next step. Compare proposals against the same brief. Ask for the next decision, its evidence and its owner. Consulting is advice and planning; a software build needs its own agreed scope.
Download the worksheet (CSV)Choose a scope that fits your business
I’d judge a consultant by the work they propose, rather than the size of the firm. Ask how they will learn your process, involve the person doing it and compare a trial with the starting point. A long report is not a substitute for those answers.
For an owner-led business, a useful starting point might be one office process: preparing quotes, checking job notes or gathering a weekly report. Bring a recent example, your current tools and the constraints that matter. That makes the conversation concrete without committing to a software build.
What a small business actually needs
A short list of candidate workflows is useful when each item has a reason for being there. Record the volume of work, handling time, correction effort and effect of mistakes. Then name the person who could own a trial.
- Quotes: compare drafting time and review effort. Keep rates, quantities and the final quote under human review.
- Follow-ups: check the existing reply and job status before another message is prepared. An ordinary reminder feature may be enough.
- Job notes: put the original note beside the proposed office record so missing information is visible.
- Reports: agree the period and source of each figure before asking AI to summarise it.
These are examples to assess, not claims that every business needs the same changes. Try a small sample with the people who will use it. Include an exception, record corrections and decide whether the result justifies continuing.
What it costs
AI Consulting is A$1,195 per month + GST, with a call each fortnight, clarity on what to build in Claude or ChatGPT and practical guidance on how to do it. No lock-in.
Custom development is A$150/hour + GST, with a separate project scope, estimated hours and terms before work starts.
We agree the work, estimated hours and engagement terms before starting.
How to prepare for a useful call
Use the brief above. Bring the problem, the volume, an example you can share and the decision you need help making. Remove unrelated personal information from examples and check that you are permitted to share the material.
Be clear about budget, software constraints and staff availability. If those are unknown, identifying them is the next step. I’d rather leave you with one useful decision and a named owner than a list nobody has time to use.
If you already know the task, the automation guide explains how to compare configuration, rules and AI before asking for a quote.
Official resources
Explore the tools and check current details with the people who make them.
