Amazon, AI and local media at 617 Day small business summit - Cambridge Day

Small business owners at a recent AI summit said something that stopped me cold. "We're not against AI. We just don't know which problem to solve first." That hit. Because that's exactly where most

Small business owners at a recent AI summit said something that stopped me cold.

"We're not against AI. We just don't know which problem to solve first."

That hit. Because that's exactly where most business owners are stuck — not resistant, just lost. You're smart enough to know AI matters. You've probably already paid for something that collects dust. That $200/month tool your team quietly stopped using wasn't a failure of judgment. It was a failure of sequencing.

Here's what the panelists got right: the small businesses winning with AI didn't go big first. They picked one repetitive task — a daily headache — and replaced it with a single AI tool. One problem. One solution. One win.

That's the whole game in year one.

Your action this week: Write down the three tasks your team does every single day that feel like busywork. Answering the same customer questions. Formatting reports. Scheduling. Pick the most painful one. That's your starting point — not a platform, not a strategy, just one task.

No new systems. No learning curve. Just one thing that works.

What's the one repetitive task in your business you'd eliminate tomorrow if you could?

#SmallBusiness #AIStrategy #BusinessOwners #AIImplementation

Original Source

Speakers were optimists about how small businesses can navigate business ... Bluesky. The AI on Main Street panel at the second annual 617 Day Small ...