Blog

Posts on running, auditing, and improving small businesses.

One a month. Plain language, specific examples, no hype.

• Do I have to send my data to OpenAI to use AI?

  July 12, 2026

  No. Open-weight models now run well on hardware most offices already own, and for a lot of everyday work they are good enough. Here is how to tell which of your work needs a frontier model and which should never leave the building.

• Five questions every small business should ask about their software, IT, and AI spend

  June 26, 2026

  Five diagnostic questions every small business should ask about their software, IT, and AI spend. Doubles as a downloadable PDF you can take to your next strategy meeting.

• ChatGPT vs Claude vs Gemini for a small business in 2026

  June 6, 2026

  A direct comparison of ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini for a small business in 2026. What each is best at, where they fail, and how to pick the one that fits your work.

• What does an AI audit actually look like?

  June 4, 2026

  A walk-through of what happens during our $375 paid AI audit, what the written report covers, and when an audit is the right starting point versus jumping into implementation.

• What does AI consulting cost for a small business?

  June 2, 2026

  A direct read on what AI consulting actually costs for a one-to-fifty-person business in 2026, with real numbers, what drives them up or down, and how to budget for it.

• How to tell if AI is the right answer for your business

  May 31, 2026

  A short diagnostic for owner-operators trying to figure out whether AI actually fits their operation, with the three patterns that work and the four that don't.

• How small businesses in Portland are actually using AI in 2026

  May 29, 2026

  A grounded read on what small Portland businesses are doing with AI right now, what's working, what isn't, and what to start with if you haven't yet.

• What a small consulting practice can do that a big firm can't

  May 25, 2026

  I run a small consulting practice for owner-operators who need real analysis on a real timeline, not a twelve-week engagement with a rotating team.