I’m tired of hearing everyone rave about how amazing AI is without offering actual, actionable examples that make sense for real business owners. Sure, they tell you AI can save time, boost productivity, and help you stay competitive. But how? They never actually tell you how to use it in your day-to-day operations.
So today, let’s break down real AI strategies you can implement right now—no fluff, no jargon, just results. This edition is meant for you to follow along and revisit multiple times. We’re also running a 48 hour promotion for lifetime access to a private community to learn how you can implement AI in your business NOW.
📌 Here's what we're covering today (We Made This Visual Using AI)
🧠 Prompting 101: Theory (Simplified for Business Owners)
Think of AI like a hyper-intelligent intern with infinite potential—but zero context.
Generative AI tools (like ChatGPT or Custom GPTs) are basically text prediction engines. They don’t know what you want. They guess based on how well you tell them. Garbage in = garbage out.
If you want powerful, useful results? You’ve got to learn how to prompt with precision. Like talking to a great contractor—you need to describe what you want, how you want it built, and what it should look like when it’s done.
The key to great prompting is treating your AI like a new employee:
EX: You're a copywriter with 15 years of experience. Write a promotional email for a 10% off sale. The business is a local coffee shop in Seattle. Keep it friendly and under 100 words. Include a clear call-to-action.
Now let’s give 2 real-world business use cases they can follow along with.
📝 Prompt Example #1: Turn Messy Notes Into a Tactical Plan
Prompt: Act as a highly organized Chief of Staff for a growing small business. Below is a messy brain dump of unstructured notes from a 45-minute internal meeting. I need you to: (1) extract all clear action items, (2) assign them to relevant roles (e.g., marketing, ops, sales), (3) identify dependencies or blockers, and (4) format it as a table with the columns: Task, Assigned To, Deadline (if mentioned), and Notes. Keep the tone professional and ready for a project management tool. Here are the raw notes: [paste notes]
✅ Why it works:
Uses a real-world business role with planning skills
Clearly structured table output
Anticipates ambiguity (e.g., missing deadlines)
Perfectly practical for SMBs with small teams
📄 Prompt Example #2: Analyze a Long Document for Key Business Insights
Prompt: You are a small business operations consultant and compliance analyst. Below is a long document (such as a client contract, vendor agreement, or internal policy document). Read the full text and summarize the 5 most critical insights or risks a business owner should be aware of. Focus on legal obligations, financial exposure, and operational requirements. Provide your answer in a bullet list, and use plain English so non-lawyers and non-finance folks can understand. End with a quick red/yellow/green risk rating for the overall document. [paste document]
✅ Why it works:
Assigns a dual-role expert (operations + compliance)
Tells AI what to prioritize (legal, financial, ops)
Gives format AND tone instructions
Bonus: risk rating adds strategic value
🛠️ STEP-BY-STEP: TRAINING YOUR CUSTOM GPT
Here’s how to make it actually useful to your workflow:
Step 1: Gather Your Documents
✅ Choose internal docs like:
Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
Onboarding guides
Research whitepapers
Publicly available reports related to your niche
Save them as PDFs, Word Docs, or clean .txt files.
Step 2: Use the “Custom Instructions” Field
Head to ScholarGPT (or similar model) → click Customize GPT → and in the “Knowledge” section, upload your documents or paste critical text.
🧠 Pro Tip: Start with a single document or topic to keep responses focused and accurate.
Step 3: Guide It With Smart Prompts
Once your docs are uploaded, test prompts like:
“You are a professional copywriter specializing in client onboarding and brand voice consistency.
I’m sharing our onboarding SOP document. Based on its content, write a human-sounding but professional welcome email for new clients.
Here's what the email should include:
A warm, genuine welcome – Make the reader feel excited and reassured about starting with us.
What to expect next – Clearly explain what steps the client will go through as outlined in the SOP (e.g., meetings, deliverables, timelines).
How to get support – Include how/when they can reach out and who their point of contact is.
Tone: Friendly, approachable, and clear—but still polished and professional. Avoid corporate jargon.
Call to Action: End with a simple CTA (like booking a kickoff call or reviewing a shared resource).
Keep the email concise, skimmable, and easy to personalize later. Assume the reader is a busy small business owner.””
Step 4: Fine-Tune as You Go
Not getting good results? Update your docs, give better examples, or tweak the prompt.
These GPTs learn how you prompt. The clearer you are, the more accurate and on-brand your results will be.
🚨 Like what you’re reading? Join our private community and learn how to use AI to scale your productivity CLICK HERE
🤖 CUSTOM GPTS YOU SHOULD BE USING (RIGHT NOW)
Custom GPTs are like hiring a specialist—one that actually listens, works fast, and doesn’t charge by the hour.
Today, I’m showing you 3 niche GPTs that small business owners, lawyers, and researchers should be using to save time and make smarter decisions.
Built to help you outline and framework legal content without sounding like a robot. From client contracts to disclaimers for your e-commerce store, this GPT helps you generate legally sound content in seconds (note: still not a substitute for legal counsel - best for LAWYERS looking to save time).
Try This Prompt:
“Act as an experienced legal writing assistant and help me draft a clear, professional, and friendly website disclaimer for my small handmade jewelry business client.
Please include the following sections:
Delivery & Shipping: Set realistic expectations for shipping timelines (including delays, international shipping notes, and handmade production time).
Product Variations: Explain that each item is handmade and may have slight variations in size, color, or appearance compared to product photos.
Liability & Damages: State that the business is not liable for misuse, allergic reactions, or lost packages after shipping confirmation.
General Legal Disclaimer: Include a brief section stating this is not a substitute for legal advice.
The tone should be friendly, warm, and reassuring—while still being clear and protective from a legal standpoint.”
Perfect for anyone analyzing academic or technical reports. Upload long papers and get summaries, insights, and even presentation-ready bullet points.
Try This Prompt:
“Act as a research analyst with 15 years of experience translating complex scientific studies into plain English for non-experts.
I’m uploading a research paper on climate change’s impact on farming. Please summarize the paper in a clear, concise, and engaging way that a high school student or busy professional could understand.
Your summary should include:
Key Stats & Data Points – Highlight the most important numbers and trends (e.g., yield loss percentages, temperature shifts, regional comparisons).
Main Findings – Clearly explain the study’s major conclusions about how climate change is affecting agriculture (including both threats and possible adaptations).
Real-World Implications – Summarize what these findings mean for farmers, food supply chains, and policy makers.
Tone: Use plain English, but remain accurate and professional. Avoid jargon, and keep paragraphs short and scannable.
If the paper includes technical language or math-heavy sections, briefly explain them in simple terms.”
🧾 CREATE STUNNING VISUALS FROM TEXT (NO DESIGNER NEEDED)
If you’ve ever spent way too long trying to make a presentation, pitch deck, or LinkedIn graphic look decent… this one's for you.
🧠 Tool: Napkin AI A simple text-to-visual AI tool that turns your ideas, notes, or bullet points into sleek, professional graphics in seconds.
Try This Prompt:
“You are a senior business consultant and risk analyst.
I’m uploading a business proposal. I need you to analyze it thoroughly and provide a clear, structured response.
Please include:
Key Goals & Strategic Objectives – Summarize the main outcomes this proposal is aiming for.
Actionable Next Steps – List specific steps I should take to move this forward, organized in logical order.
Potential Risks & Red Flags – Identify any operational, legal, or financial risks.
Sections Requiring Expert Review – Flag anything that should be reviewed by a lawyer, accountant, or industry specialist.
Tone: Be direct, professional, and easy to follow—like you’re briefing an executive team.
If anything is unclear, highlight that too. Your response should help me go from proposal to execution with clarity and confidence.”
💡 PRO TIP
Custom GPTs are trained with specific instructions to make them more specialized. Think of them as AI interns who already get your workflow.
Use them to delegate the boring stuff, so you can stay focused on growing your business. BUT ALWAYS, ALWAYS check the output.
✅ Wrapping It Up: Don’t Just Read—Start Using AI Like a Pro
We just gave you real, actionable AI strategies you can use today—not someday. Whether you’re rewriting messy notes, analyzing documents, or building niche GPTs, you now know how to actually leverage AI to save time and make smarter decisions.
But here’s the truth: This is just the beginning.
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Let’s stop talking about AI and start winning with it.
See you inside. —Cole Slay Solutions And Strategies
