Your first AI pilot, scoped for a small business.
A pilot is a 90-day trial on one job that eats your week: set up in the tools you already use, and checked at 30, 60 and 90 days. No software to buy, no year-long project, and a clear answer about whether it was worth it.
How it works
Three steps, in plain English.
You can stop after any of them.
A free 30-minute call
Thirty minutes on the phone. You describe the work that eats your week. You leave knowing whether AI helps here, and what it would take.
One pilot, fixed scope
We pick a single job, agree what good looks like before starting, and build it into the tools you already use. Fixed price, agreed up front.
Checked at 30, 60, 90 days
We measure the same number we agreed at the start: hours saved, jobs quoted, calls answered. If it isn't working by day 90, we stop and say so.
You don't need to be technical.
Kevin does the building, inside the email, calendar and accounting software you already run. There is no new system for you or your team to learn.
What you'll need to do
- Spend 30 minutes on the phone describing the job that eats your week.
- Agree the one number that will show whether it worked.
- Approve anything before it goes out to a customer.
- Look at the results with Kevin at day 30, 60 and 90.
Pilot ideas
Start with the job that keeps you at the desk.
Starting points, not a menu you have to pick from. Most owners arrive with the job already in mind: the one that keeps them at the desk after everyone else has gone home.
Work that comes in
Missed calls and inquiries
Answer the common questions, take the details, and hand you a tidy message with what the customer actually wants.
- After-hours inquiries captured
- Details in one place, not five notebooks
- You call back knowing the job
Quotes and follow-ups
Turn your job notes or a phone call into a first-draft quote, and chase the ones that have gone quiet.
- Draft quote from your own pricing
- Follow-ups that go out on time
- You approve before anything sends
Scheduling and reminders
Fill your calendar, confirm the day before, and cut the no-shows that cost you a slot.
- Booking without the back-and-forth
- Reminders customers actually read
- Gaps filled from the waiting list
Work that piles up
Invoices and receipts
Sorted, matched and ready for your bookkeeper instead of a shoebox in March.
The same ten emails
Drafted in your words, for the questions you answer every week. You still hit send.
Listings and stock
Product descriptions and updates written once, kept current across the places you sell.
Where it usually starts
Trades and field work
Quoting, scheduling and the calls you miss while you are up a ladder. The pilot usually starts with whichever of those costs you the most jobs.
Small professional firms
Intake, document drafting and the weekly report nobody wants to write. Anything regulated stays under a human sign-off.
Kevin Owens
Founder
Four-time Chief Product Officer. Los Angeles.
Who runs it
One person who calls you back.
Smart Biz AI Hub is Kevin Owens. He spends his working life building AI products for larger companies, and this is where the same thinking gets scoped down to a size a small business can actually use.
That means you deal with him, not an account manager. It also means there is a limit on how many pilots run at once, and he will say when yours is better handled by the software you already pay for.
Kevin's full background, most of it with larger companies: kevinowens.com/about
Why it works
What makes this different.
You get one person, not an agency
The person who scopes the pilot is the person who builds it and tells you whether it worked.
Your tools, not a new platform
Pilots are built into the email, calendar and accounting software you already run. Nothing here asks you to migrate your business.
A number agreed before we start
Hours back, jobs quoted, calls answered: one measure, chosen up front, checked at 30, 60 and 90 days.
Permission to stop
If the pilot has not earned its keep by day 90, we stop and say so, and you are not signed up to anything further.
Questions
What owners ask first.
What is an AI pilot for a small business?
A 90-day trial on one job that eats your week, automated inside the tools you already use. A single number is agreed before work starts (hours saved, jobs quoted, calls answered) and checked at 30, 60 and 90 days.
Who is it for?
Businesses with 5 to 50 people, most often trades and field work, and small professional firms. Typical starting points are missed calls and inquiries, quotes and follow-ups, scheduling, invoices and receipts, and the same emails answered every week.
Do I need to buy new software?
No. Pilots are built into the email, calendar and accounting software you already run. Nothing here asks you to migrate your business.
Do I need to be technical?
No. Kevin does the building, inside the email, calendar and accounting software you already run. Your part is a 30-minute call to describe the job, agreeing the one number that will show whether it worked, approving anything before it goes to a customer, and the check-ins at day 30, 60 and 90.
What does the first call cost?
Nothing. It is a free 30-minute phone call. You describe the work that eats your week and leave knowing whether AI helps there and what it would take. If you go ahead, the pilot is a fixed price agreed up front.
What happens if the pilot does not work?
If it has not earned its keep by day 90, we stop and say so. You get a straight answer and you are not signed up to anything further.
Who does the work?
Kevin Owens, a four-time Chief Product Officer who builds AI products for larger companies. The person who scopes the pilot is the person who builds it and tells you whether it worked.
Get in touch
What would you hand over first? Start there.
Bring the job you would happily never do again. Thirty minutes, no charge, and an honest answer about whether AI is the right tool for it. Kevin replies within one business day.