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The Small Business AI Starter Kit
Twelve copy-paste prompts, a one-page tool shortlist and a 30-minute setup plan. Free, and it arrives with the weekly newsletter.
What is in the kit
- 12 prompts written for an owner, not a prompt engineer: quotes, review replies, job ads, supplier emails, social posts, chasing invoices
- A one-page tool shortlist: which tool for which job, and where a free plan is enough
- A 30-minute first setup you can do today, in one sitting
- The skip list: what is not worth your money yet
Three of the twelve prompts, free, right here
No email needed for these. Copy, paste, fill in the brackets.
1. The quote email
“You write for a [type of business] in [town]. A customer asked for a quote for [job]. Write a short email: one line of thanks, the price of [amount], what is included, what is not, and one clear next step. Plain English, under 120 words, friendly but not chatty.”
2. The bad review reply
“Here is a review a customer left: [paste]. Write three possible replies, each under 80 words: one apologetic, one factual, one warm. Do not admit fault we have not confirmed, do not offer money, and keep it in the voice of a small local business owner.”
3. The week of social posts
“Here is what happened in my business this week: [three bullets]. Turn it into three posts for [platform], each under 60 words, plain language, no hashtags except one local one. Each post must be useful on its own, not a teaser.”
Which tool for which job
- Writing and thinking: ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. All have free plans. Start here.
- Already on Google Workspace or Microsoft 365: Gemini or Copilot, inside the apps you pay for already
- Social graphics: Canva
- Missed calls: an AI receptionist, but only if you actually miss calls
- Receipts and books: QuickBooks Online or Xero, plus Dext for receipts
- Meeting notes: Otter.ai
- Connecting your apps: Zapier
The full kit explains when each one is worth paying for. More detail in our guide to AI tools for small business.
Your first 30 minutes
- 0 to 5: open a free assistant and teach it your voice with the voice prompt in the kit.
- 5 to 20: take the task that ate the most time last week and run the matching prompt on a real example, not a test.
- 20 to 30: save the prompt that worked, and book 15 minutes next week to run it again.
Who this is for
Owners of small businesses: salons, trades, shops, agencies, offices. If you have ten spare minutes and no interest in learning AI properly, this is built for you. If you want the theory, this is not it.
Get the kit and the weekly email
One AI tool or workflow a week, in plain English. Unsubscribe any time.