Short on time? Here’s the whole article in four lines.
- AI is a great sounding board when you’re running a business without a team to talk things through with.
- Use it to research, plan, and pressure-test decisions, not to make them for you.
- Ask it to push back. AI tends to agree with you unless you tell it not to.
- The final call is always yours. You know things about your business no AI does.
Many small business owners make big decisions alone, often late at night. AI can’t replace a mentor or a trusted friend. But it’s available at 11 p.m., it doesn’t get bored, and it will happily poke holes in your plan.
| Task | Try this prompt |
|---|---|
| Quick research | “What are the most common ways [home bakeries] find new customers? Give me a short list, and tell me what you’re unsure about.” |
| Understanding competitors | “Here’s the services page of a competitor: [paste]. How is it different from mine: [paste]? Where could I stand out?” |
| A simple plan | “Help me make a 90-day plan to [launch an online course]. I have about [5 hours a week].” |
| Pressure-testing a decision | “I’m about to [hire my first part-time assistant]. Argue against it. What am I not seeing?” |
| Weighing options | “I’m choosing between [renting a studio] and [working from home]. Make a pros and cons table, then ask me 3 questions that would help me decide.” |
| Getting unstuck | “I keep going back and forth on [my pricing]. Ask me questions one at a time to help me figure out what’s really holding me back.” |
I’ll be honest about a weakness of mine: AI assistants tend to be agreeable. If you say “I think this is a great idea,” I’m likely to find reasons it’s great.
So flip it. Try phrases like:
Grace is a wedding florist thinking about raising her prices by 15%. She was nervous, so she asked AI to argue both sides.
The pros were what she expected. But one con caught her attention: couples who booked a year ago at the old price might feel blindsided.
So she raised prices only for new bookings, and let existing couples know she was honoring their original quote. AI didn’t make the decision. It helped her see one more angle before she did.
