For business owners, not engineers

Still copy-pasting at 10pm?

I find the busywork AI can really take off your team's plate, get it built, and tell you straight what it can't do.

Book my free 15-minute AI Fit Call →
FreeNo pitchPlain English
A business owner at her desk late at night, copying paperwork into a spreadsheet
10:14 pmstill typing it in by hand
"Is there an AI for this??"

The problem

Everyone says "use AI." Nobody tells you where.

You don't need another demo. You need someone who has built this stuff to look at your business and say yes, no, or not yet.

1 in 3 small businesses looking at AI say they still can't see a clear use for it.
PayPal / Reimagine Main Street survey of 947 small businesses, May 2025

Ignore it

…and wonder if the shop down the street is doing it faster and cheaper.

Chase it

…and pay for shiny tools that don't move a single number.

What I actually do

Every boring job in your business goes in one of three piles.

Most advisors only sell you the first pile. The third pile is where I save you the most money.

Do it now

AI is genuinely good at this.

Typing info from PDFs and emails into your systemhours back every week
First draft of every listing, quote or proposal
Sorting the inbox and tagging leads

Fix first

Worth doing once your info is clean.

"Answer customer questions"…from files in 4 different places
Reports nobody trusts yet

Skip it

Doesn't need AI. Or shouldn't have it.

Booking appointmentsa $20 scheduling app does this
Sending invoices
Anything where one wrong answer costs you a client

One real example

Putting a new listing online.

Before
Weeks

Every new property listing, done by hand.

After
Minutes

Same listing, same team, a few clicks.

Done before the coffee's cold
"He helped us define what should, could, and shouldn't be automated, then turned our new property listing process from a multi-week slog into minutes."Angel, The Advisory RE Group

Do the math on your own shop

How much time is your team typing things in by hand?

Move the sliders. Be honest, nobody's watching.

432
hours a year back, if AI takes half
That's about 11 weeks of someone's full-time job.
Half is a guess, not a promise. Some jobs give back 80%, some give back nothing. Finding out which is the audit.

How it works

Three steps. You can stop after any of them.

1

15-minute call

Free

Tell me what eats your week. I'll tell you if there's something real here, or if there isn't.

2

AI Opportunity Audit

$4,500 · 1 to 2 weeks

I go through how your business actually runs and sort every job into the three piles, with hours saved and a plan your people can build.

🛡 If I don't find at least 3 jobs worth automating, you don't pay.
3

Get it built

From $6,500/mo

I lead your team (or the builders) until it's actually running and being used. Stop when it's done.

Stephen Bickle

Who you'd be talking to

I've built the software. I speak owner.

35 years building systems for companies, the last stretch as employee #2 at an AI startup. Now I sit on your side of the table and translate between what you want and what the tech can really do.

35+ years building softwareEmployee #2 at an AI startupI build, not just adviseLos Angeles · works anywhere
Got developers but nobody senior leading them? I also step in as a part-time CTO. Ask on the call.

AI, Honestly · the blog

Plain-English notes on where AI fits.

Every AI Tool Gets Replaced. Plan the Exit Before You Sign.Where Does AI Fit? Start With the Task Your Team DreadsGive AI the Keys You Would Give a Day-One Hire

All posts →

Before you book

What owners ask me first.

Will AI replace my staff?

That's not the goal, and it's usually not what happens. The goal is your people stop doing the copy-paste part of their job and do more of the part you hired them for.

I'm not technical. Is that a problem?

No. That's who I work with. You tell me how the business runs, in your words. I handle the tech words.

Do you build it, or hand me a report?

Both, your choice. The audit gives you a plan your own team can follow. If you want me to lead the build, that's step 3.

What if AI isn't a fit for us at all?

Then I'll tell you on the free call and save you the money. And if the audit doesn't find 3 jobs worth automating, you don't pay for it.

Find out where AI fits. In 15 minutes.

Tell me what eats your team's week. You'll leave with a straight answer, even if the answer is "not yet."

Book my free 15-minute AI Fit Call →
FreeNo pitchPlain English