AI for Small Business: Start with One Task

You do not need to begin with a complicated system. Begin with one piece of work you understand.

In From Rural Haiti to AI, Johnny Jean-Baptiste connects his own learning journey with practical uses of AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT. Here are three starting points to try with fictional examples.

1. Draft a customer follow-up

Give the assistant a clear purpose, tone, and next step. For example:

“Draft a friendly payment reminder for a fictional customer. The invoice is seven days overdue. Ask whether they received it and offer to answer questions. Keep it under 100 words.”

Review every detail before sending. Use placeholders for customer information.

2. Explain your service clearly

Describe what your business does, who it serves, and what action you want the reader to take. Ask for a short website introduction or social post, then check that every claim is true.

3. Turn a rough list into a plan

Ask an assistant to organize your own task list by deadline and effort. Tell it which dates are fixed and which tasks depend on someone else. You remain responsible for the priorities.

Learn with the book and videos

The book’s Tools and Build sections cover asking good questions, marketing on a small budget, back-office work, and building apps without being a programmer. It ends with a 30-day plan.