Be Careful What You Automate: AI for a Simpler Business
Make better decisions about AI and automation
AI can help a small business save time, reduce repetitive work, and improve access to information. It can also automate a broken process, introduce new errors, and add another disconnected tool for employees to manage.
This hands-on small-business AI workshop helps owners distinguish between work that should be:
Eliminated
Simplified
Better connected
Automated
Supported by AI
Preserved as human work
Participants examine an area of their business and use a practical Should I Automate This? framework to evaluate what technology can improve—and what needs to be addressed first.
This workshop is for business owners considering AI, automation, or new software but who don't want to waste money solving the wrong problem.
Who the series is for
The Simpler Business Series is designed for:
Small-business owners
Founders of growing companies
Leadership teams
Family-owned businesses
Professional and community-service firms
Construction and home-service businesses
Cleaning and facilities-service companies
Accounting and legal practices
Business owners adding employees or locations
Owners planning for expansion, succession or an eventual sale
The sessions are especially valuable when the business is successful but increasingly difficult to operate.
Signs your business may have outgrown the way it works
This series may be useful if:
Employees repeatedly ask the owner the same questions
Important processes are not documented
Work is coordinated through texts, memory, or scattered spreadsheets
The same information is entered into multiple systems
Managers spend too much time checking status
The business has added software without reducing work
Employees are unclear about who owns decisions
Customer experience depends on which employee handles the work
The founder cannot step away without disruption
Growth is creating more complexity than capacity
You do not need to know which problem you have before attending. Identifying the real problem is part of the work.
What makes this workshop different?
This is not a generic lecture on productivity or a list of AI tools.
ENID Studio workshops help participants examine how work actually happens inside their business: how people make decisions, exchange information, use technology, serve customers, and compensate when something does not work as intended.
Each session introduces practical concepts and structured activities, but participants work with examples from their own businesses. The goal is to leave with a more accurate understanding of the problem and a useful next step.
About the facilitator
Jess Lowry is the founder of ENID Studio, a Human Systems Design consultancy that helps growing businesses improve how people, technology, workflows, and business requirements work together.
She has more than 20 years of experience in organizational research, service design, technology implementation, professional training and workshop facilitation. She has led hundreds of strategy sessions, innovation workshops, and collaborative problem-solving programs for small businesses, startups, government organizations, and global enterprises.
Her experience includes coaching Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Innovation Teams in creative facilitation and design thinking, leading two General Assembly UX Design bootcamps and facilitating strategic workshops with Experian and its partners on the future of protecting personal identity data.
Jess’s approach is grounded in a simple principle:
Before investing in technology or automation, understand the work and the people it supports.
Bring the Simpler Business Series to your organization
The series can also be offered privately for:
Chambers of commerce
Professional associations
Small-business development programs
Coworking communities
Economic-development organizations
Leadership teams
Franchise and business-owner networks
Educational and community organizations
Sessions are available virtually and by invitation in other locations.
Not sure which business problem you have?
A business may appear to have a technology problem when the underlying issue is unclear ownership. It may appear to be a staffing problem when employees compensate for a broken workflow. It may appear to need automation when information simply needs to move reliably between existing systems.
An ENID Studio Human Systems Design Assessment examines how work happens across your business and identifies what should be:
Preserved
Eliminated
Simplified
Redesigned
Better connected
Documented
Transferred
Automated
Not sure how complex your operations have become? Try our FREE assessment
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to attend all three workshops?
No. Each workshop stands on its own. Business owners can attend the session most relevant to their current challenge or complete the full series.
Are these technical AI classes?
No. The AI workshop is designed for business owners and decision-makers. It focuses on identifying appropriate uses of AI and automation rather than teaching programming or promoting specific software.
Is this series only for technology companies?
No. The workshops are designed for growing businesses across construction, professional services, cleaning and facilities services, accounting, legal services, community services, hospitality and other sectors.
Can I bring a member of my team?
Yes. Owners may benefit from attending with a manager or employee who understands day-to-day operations.
Can ENID Studio deliver a private workshop for my business?
Yes. Each session can be adapted to your organization, leadership team, or professional community.
Will I be expected to share confidential business information?
No. Participants decide what they are comfortable discussing. You can complete activities without disclosing sensitive financial, customer, or employee information.
What will I leave with?
Each workshop includes a practical tool or working artifact connected to the topic. Depending on the session, this may include an automation decision worksheet, a founder-dependency map, or an operational growth assessment.
Make your growing business easier to run
You have already built something people value. The next step is making sure your business can support where you want it to go.