AI for Small Business Owners

Running a small business means wearing every hat. This class is for owners who are ready to let AI wear a few of them. It moves quickly from the basics of effective prompting to hands-on practice with the tools most useful for small business operations: customer communication, content creation, and workflow automation. Participants leave with a real workflow mapped to their own business, a short list of tools worth adopting, and a clear sense of where AI can give time back.

• What separates a good prompt from a great one
• The four elements of an effective prompt: context, audience, task, and constraints
• Generative AI tools worth the time: ChatGPT, Claude, Canva AI, and simple automation
• Practical prompts for customer communication, social media, and operations
• Building a workflow: mapping AI to the tasks that cost the most time

• Write effective prompts tailored to real small business tasks
• Identify two or three AI tools that fit their business operations
• Build and leave with a real workflow that embeds AI into at least one part of their business

• Participants should have basic familiarity with at least one generative AI tool such as ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini. Bring a computer, phone, or tablet.
• Introduction to AI is the recommended prerequisite.