AI Business Flywheel

About AI Business Flywheel

Your expertise is your greatest business asset. If it only exists in your head, it can't scale. AI Business Flywheel podcast shows founders how to capture, organise and operationalise their expertise using AI, creating systems that improve consistency, save time and build long-term business value. Your podcast hosts are Joe Bonington AI Architect, Educator and Creator of aibusinessflywheel.com and Duncan Isaksen-Loxton owner of sixfive.io (http://sixfive.io) Fractional CTO for small business owners.

Publisher

Duncan Isaksen-Loxton & Joe Bonington

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

6 Aug 2026

Latest episode

8 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

12 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   8 Oct 2026

   AI Hiring for Small Business: How to Spot Real Skills in the Age of AI

   AI is changing the hiring process. Resumes are cleaner, cover letters are more polished, and interview answers are stronger—but how can small business owners know if a candidate can actually do the work? In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe explain how AI is making traditional hiring signals less reliable and why businesses need a better way to verify skills, experience, judgment, and fit. You’ll learn why a polished resume should be treated as a starting point rather than proof, and how practical assessments, structured interviews, reference checks, and clear AI policies can help you make better hiring decisions. We also cover: • How AI is changing resumes, cover letters, and job applications • Why traditional hiring signals are becoming less reliable • How practical work samples can reveal real skills • How to evaluate a candidate’s judgment when they use AI • The importance of identity and reference checks • A practical AI-era hiring filter for small businesses Using AI during a job application does not automatically make a candidate dishonest. In fact, some of the strongest candidates may know how to use AI extremely well. The real question is whether they understand the work, can think critically, challenge AI-generated answers, and make good decisions. For small businesses, hiring is no longer just about finding an impressive resume. It is about building a process that can separate polish from proof and identify people who can genuinely deliver results. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 00:58 - 04:29 Why AI Is Making Hiring Harder 04:30 - 10:30 How AI Is Being Used in Recruitment 10:31 - 14:19 The Rise of Fake and AI-Generated Candidate Profiles 17:49 - 20:03 The Growing Candidate Identity Problem 30:00 - 34:59 Building a Better Interview Process 35:00 - 41:42 Should Candidates Be Allowed to Use AI? 41:43 - 44:04 AI-Era Hiring Filter: Start With Role Clarity 44:05 - 46:05 Proof Over Polish: Verify Candidate Claims 48:45 - 52:19 Identity and Reference Checks 52:20 - 55:31 Protect Your Business With Access Controls 55:32 - 57:29 How Small Businesses Should Hire in the AI Era 57:30 - 58:30 Final Takeaways & Outro Resources Learn more about SixFive: https://sixfive.io (https://sixfive.io) Take the free AI Business Flywheel diagnostic: https://aibusinessflywheel.com (https://aibusinessflywheel.com) Subscribe for practical conversations about using technology and AI to help global small businesses work more efficiently, make better decisions, and grow without adding more hours to the week. Watch More Episodes YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

2. 

   24 Sept 2026

   Will AI Kill Humanity? AI Risks, Ethics, and What Business Owners Need to Know

   AI is becoming more powerful, but the biggest risk for small businesses may not be what AI could do someday. It may be how businesses are using it right now. In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe discuss AI safety, ethics, privacy, governance, and the responsibility business owners have when introducing AI into their operations. They explore concerns raised by leading AI researchers, the risks of giving AI access to sensitive business data, AI hallucinations, employee use of unsanctioned tools, human oversight, and why businesses need clear rules around how AI is used. The goal is not to avoid AI. It is to use it responsibly, safely, and with the right level of human control. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 01:18 Will AI Kill Humanity? 03:42 Why AI Ethics Matter for Small Businesses 06:25 Comparing AI Risk to Nuclear Weapons 09:48 When AI Takes Actions You Did Not Ask For 13:10 What AI Leaders Say About Existential Risk 17:05 The Race to Build More Powerful AI 20:42 Why Businesses Should Not Ignore AI 23:36 What Small Business Owners Can Actually Control 26:21 Protecting Customer and Business Data 29:44 The Risks of Employee AI Use 33:18 Connecting AI to Email, CRM, Files, and Calendars 37:06 Why Human Oversight Is Essential 40:32 AI Hallucinations and Checking Your Sources 43:51 Using NotebookLM for Trusted Research 47:09 Assigning AI Responsibility Across Your Team 50:43 Building Clear AI Rules and Guardrails 53:25 Practical AI Ethics Questions for Business Owners 56:38 Should Customers Know When AI Is Being Used? 59:12 Responsible AI Adoption for Small Business Subscribe for practical conversations about using AI as a force multiplier for small businesses. Watch More Episodes YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

3. 

   17 Sept 2026

   AI Chatbots for Small Business: How to Improve Customer Support Without Losing Trust

   AI chatbots can improve customer service, save time, and help small businesses respond faster—but a bad chatbot can quickly damage trust. In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe discuss how businesses can build AI chatbots that actually support customers instead of creating more frustration. They cover AI knowledge bases, brand voice, chatbot guardrails, human escalation, customer feedback, omnichannel support, and continuous improvement so your AI can deliver a better customer experience. The goal is not to replace people. It is to use AI where it works best while knowing when a human needs to step in. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 01:20 Why AI Chatbots Are Your Digital Front Door 03:00 When AI Customer Support Goes Wrong 06:15 How Bad Chatbots Damage Customer Trust 09:10 Why AI Needs Accurate Business Knowledge 12:25 Training AI on Your Brand Voice 16:10 Creating the Right Chatbot Personality 19:25 AI Support vs Human Customer Service 23:00 Why Chatbots Need Continuous Improvement 25:35 Capturing Knowledge From the Founder 29:15 Building an AI Knowledge Base 32:10 Setting Chatbot Guardrails and Boundaries 35:25 Can AI Chatbots Make Sales? 38:25 Learning From Customer Conversations 41:05 Using Sentiment and Feedback to Improve AI 43:45 Website Chat, Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp 47:20 Why You Need to Keep Testing Your AI Systems 49:35 The 10-Question Customer Service Audit 52:00 What You Need Before Launching a Chatbot 54:30 When AI Should Escalate to a Human 56:20 Why AI Transparency Matters 58:00 Final Takeaway: Bad AI Feels Like Bad Service Subscribe for practical conversations about using AI as a force multiplier for small businesses. Watch More Episodes YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

4. 

   10 Sept 2026

   AI Can Do the Work, But Who Is Responsible When It Goes Wrong?

   AI can draft emails, reply to customers, recommend products, and run entire workflows. But when something goes wrong, who is actually responsible? In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe discuss why AI can support the work but can never own the final outcome. As AI tools become more human-sounding and increasingly capable of acting independently, small business owners need to understand where automation should end and human responsibility should begin. They explore the risks of giving AI too much access, allowing it to make decisions without approval, and treating it like an employee rather than a tool. They also discuss data security, AI agents in finance, vendor lock-in, human oversight, and how to build practical AI systems without losing control of your business. The conversation also covers: Why people naturally treat AI like a real person The danger of giving AI too much control Why customer-facing content should always be reviewed How AI agents could affect banking and financial markets The importance of protecting customer and business data Why businesses should control where their information lives How to avoid becoming locked into one AI platform How to use AI for email, CRM, research, and routine tasks How to decide what AI can and cannot do Why every AI workflow needs a clear owner How to prepare for mistakes before they happen Why AI should strengthen your business—not run it unchecked AI can save time and help your business move faster. But the more control you give it, the more important it becomes to set clear limits, review its work, and remain responsible for the final result. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 01:08 Why AI Feels Like a Real Person 03:35 Giving AI a Name and Personality 07:50 What AI Should Never Be Allowed to Decide 10:12 AI Does Not Have Ethics—It Has Rules 12:28 What Happens When AI Acts Without Approval 21:42 AI Agents in Banking and Financial Markets 25:36 How Small Businesses Can Use AI Responsibly 28:10 Using AI to Organize Emails and Routine Work 33:18 Protecting Your IP and Controlling Data Access 36:22 Why Your Systems Should Be Independent of One AI Tool 39:05 Avoiding AI Vendor Lock-In and Shiny-Tool Syndrome 41:48 Where Human Approval Belongs in an AI Workflow 44:02 What Should Always Be Reviewed by a Person 46:16 Why AI Should Never Write Your Legal Documents Alone 48:05 Protecting Customer Trust and Your Business Reputation 50:10 Questions to Ask Before Automating a Process 52:18 Final Takeaway: AI Can Work, But It Cannot Be Responsible Subscribe for practical conversations about using AI as a force multiplier for small businesses—without giving up control of your decisions, data, or customer relationships. Watch More Episodes Watch more episodes of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast and discover practical ways to use technology and AI in your small business: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel) Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw) Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

5. 

   3 Sept 2026

   Using AI but Seeing No Results? How to Build AI Systems That Actually Work

   Using AI is not the same as creating real business impact. In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe explain why many small businesses are experimenting with AI but still dealing with slow workflows, inconsistent follow-ups, scattered information, and owner bottlenecks. They discuss how to move beyond basic prompting and build AI workflows, business knowledge systems, automations, and repeatable processes that improve efficiency, decision-making, customer experience, and growth. The goal is not AI adoption. It is measurable business results. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 01:16 Why Businesses Use AI but See Little Impact 03:05 Experimenting With AI vs Building AI Systems 05:31 The Copy-and-Paste AI Problem 07:17 Building an AI-Powered Email Workflow 10:06 Why Small Businesses Have an AI Advantage 14:57 Stop Chasing the Latest AI Tools 17:36 Build Your AI Alignment Suite 22:18 Using AI Connectors Safely 29:35 Where Small Businesses Get AI Wrong 32:13 How to Measure Real AI Business Impact 34:31 The 5-Step AI Workflow Framework 37:04 Using AI to Create Better Sales Proposals 45:32 Building an AI Workspace in Google Drive 51:45 Google AI Workflows for Meetings 55:28 AI Adoption Is Not the Goal Subscribe for practical conversations about using AI as a force multiplier for small businesses. Watch More Episodes YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

6. 

   27 Aug 2026

   Will AI Replace Jobs? What Small Businesses Should Automate First

   AI is not replacing entire jobs overnight—it is removing the repetitive tasks that quietly consume time. In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe discuss how small businesses can use AI to automate admin, drafting, follow-ups, reporting, research, and other predictable work while keeping human judgment and decision-making in the loop. They also cover how to identify which tasks should be automated, AI-assisted, systemized, or removed completely, and why strong SOPs, brand context, and knowledge bases help AI produce better results. The goal is not simply to replace people. It is to increase capacity, reduce busy work, and give founders and teams more time for higher-value work. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 2:56 - 3:24 What Work Will AI Make Disappear First? 5:20 - 6:00 What McKinsey, BCG & Microsoft Say About AI and Jobs 6:06 - 6:49 Human-in-the-Loop: Why Judgment Still Matters 9:28 - 9:55 Stop Thinking in Job Titles—Think in Tasks 10:30 - 11:16 How to Find the Right Tasks to Automate 13:29 - 13:52 A Real Marketing Workflow You Can Automate 18:43 - 19:03 When the Founder Becomes the Bottleneck 21:10 - 22:12 Why AI Needs Your Business Context 27:36 - 29:22 Your AI Task Audit & Final Takeaway Subscribe for practical conversations about using AI as a force multiplier for small businesses. Watch More Episodes YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

7. 

   20 Aug 2026

   What Happens When AI Goes Down? How to Keep Your Business Running Without AI

   What happens to your business when the AI tools you rely on suddenly stop working? In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe explore the growing risk of AI dependency and why small businesses need systems that can continue operating even when tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or Copilot become unavailable. They discuss the difference between using AI as leverage and allowing AI to become a single point of failure inside your business. From maintaining human-readable SOPs to creating backup workflows, switching between AI models, and protecting critical business information, this episode breaks down how to build AI-supported systems without losing the ability to work without them. The conversation also covers: The difference between AI leverage and AI dependency Why AI outages should be part of your business continuity planning The hidden risk of AI producing confidently incorrect information Why employees should still understand how to complete important tasks without AI How to switch between ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and other AI platforms Why SOPs and business processes should remain human-readable How to structure files and workflows outside individual AI platforms Why AI should improve an existing process rather than become the process How deterministic workflows can make AI systems more reliable Why human judgment is still necessary in AI automation How context windows can affect AI performance Why important AI-generated information should be exported and stored The risks of relying entirely on cloud storage Why businesses need backup copies of critical files How to create a practical AI downtime and fallback plan The goal is not to stop using AI. The goal is to make sure AI gives your business leverage without becoming a single point of failure. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 00:41 - 1:19 What Happens When AI Goes Down? 1:22 - 1:59 AI Going Down Isn't the Biggest Risk 2:01 - 3:01 AI Dependency vs. AI Leverage 4:54 - 5:20 Keep Your SOPs Outside the LLM 5:23 - 5:43 Markdown and JSON Explained 6:45 - 7:23 Building an AI-Supported Content Workflow 7:33 - 7:44 AI Should Sit on Top of a Working Business 7:57 - 8:36 Case Study: AI-Supported Client Reporting 11:15 - 12:18 Deterministic vs. Non-Deterministic Work 13:54 - 14:17 Prove the Process With Humans First 15:03 - 15:43 Download and Centralize Your AI Outputs 16:04 - 17:03 Google Drive Can Also Be a Single Point of Failure 18:37 - 18:52 Cloud Backup Should Include More Than Google Drive 19:40 - 20:02 Employee Offboarding Can Accidentally Delete Business Files 20:57 - 21:16 Audit How Much Your Business Depends on AI 22:34 - 23:06 Final AI Business Continuity Checklist 23:06 - 23:24 Final Takeaway: AI Should Be Leverage, Not a Single Point of Failure Watch More Episodes Watch more episodes of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast and discover practical ways to use technology and AI in your small business: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

8. 

   13 Aug 2026

   AI Search Is Changing SEO: How Small Businesses Can Get Recommended by ChatGPT & Google AI

   AI search is changing how customers discover, evaluate, and choose small businesses. In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe explore what happens when customers stop relying solely on traditional Google results and begin asking platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI for business recommendations. They examine why AI-referred customers may have stronger buying intent, how reviews and case studies influence AI recommendations, and why businesses need clear, accurate, and trustworthy information across their websites and online platforms. The conversation also covers: How AI search differs from traditional SEO Why experience, expertise, authority, and trust still matter Whether businesses should remove or update outdated content How AI-generated answers are reducing website clicks Why real reviews and customer proof are becoming more valuable How small businesses can use AI for administration, marketing, and decision-making Why social media alone is not enough How to turn your website into a trusted source of information for AI Practical steps for checking whether AI platforms recommend your business The key question is no longer simply, “Are we ranking?” Small businesses must now ask, “Are we clear and trustworthy enough to be recommended?” Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction to the AI Business Flywheel Podcast 00:50 - 1:06 How AI Search Is Changing Customer Discovery 1:06 - 1:38 Google Search Is Moving Beyond the “10 Blue Links” 1:40 - 2:49 AI-Referred Customers Convert and Spend More 3:24 - 4:27 E-E-A-T Still Matters in AI Search 4:37 - 5:09Should You Delete Old or Stale Website Content? 5:09 - 5:33 Update Valuable Old Content Instead of Removing It 8:41 - 9:17 How Do You Know AI Is Recommending Your Business? 9:18 - 10:14 42% of Australian SMEs Are Already Using AI 12:09 - 12:48 Use AI to Spend More Time on What You’re Good At 13:20 - 13:54 Teach AI About Your Business Before Asking for Advice 13:56 - 14:33 AI Marketing Only Works When Your Business Is Clear 15:36 - 16:17 Create Expert Content That AI Can Trust and Cite 16:56 - 17:07 Is Posting on Social Media Enough? 17:14 - 17:36 The 7-11-4 Rule for Building Trust 18:35 - 18:52 Your Website Still Matters More Than Social Media 18:53 - 19:14 Repurpose Social Media Content Onto Your Website 19:17 - 19:46 Email Marketing and Owned Communities Still Matter 19:47 - 20:22 Turn Short-Term Attention Into an Owned Audience 21:14 - 21:30 Your Website Is Now Your Business’s Source of Truth 21:30 - 21:57 Test What AI Recommends in Your Industry 22:00 - 22:14 Study the Competitors AI Is Recommending 22:27 - 22:38 Build a System for Reviews and Video Testimonials 22:51 - 23:01 Next Episode: What Happens When AI Is Unavailable? 23:01 - 23:09 Like, Subscribe, and Closing Watch More Episodes Watch more episodes of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast and discover practical ways to use technology and AI in your small business: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

9. 

   13 Aug 2026

   How to Train AI to Think and Write Like You—Without Generic Outputs | AI Business Flow

   Why does AI still sound generic, even when you give it a detailed prompt? In this episode of the AI Business Flow Podcast, Duncan and Joe explain why better prompting alone is not enough. AI is trained on information from millions of people, but it has not automatically learned how you think, communicate, make decisions, or run your business. You’ll learn how to create a personalized AI context system using documents such as: Think Like Me: Your identity, personality, decision-making process, and worldview Write Like Me: Your natural writing style, tone, language, and communication patterns Founder’s Compass: Your business values, goals, purpose, and vision Understand My Business: Your services, customers, operations, and current business information Duncan and Joe also discuss how personality assessments such as Myers-Briggs, DISC, Enneagram, and the Big Five can improve your AI context, why personal and business information should be kept in separate documents, and how to organize these resources using Google Drive. They also explain how these documents can be used with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, custom GPTs, Gems, Google Workspace, and advanced AI workflows to produce more relevant and personalized results. The key lesson: Don’t just give AI another prompt. Teach it how you think, write, and make decisions. Timestamps 00:00 – Introduction to the AI Business Flow Podcast 00:41 - 1:43 Why AI Doesn’t Sound or Think Like You 1:47 - 2:32 Better Prompts Still Produce Generic AI 2:33 - 2:50 Your AI Needs to Know Who You Are 2:51 - 3:29 Clean Before You Connect AI 3:36 - 3:47 How Do You Teach AI to Think Like You? 4:01 - 5:17 Creating a “Think Like Me” Document 5:18 - 6:01 The Founder’s Compass 6:20 - 7:29 The Think Like Me Interview Process 7:29 - 8:37 Personality Tests That Help AI Understand You 8:37 - 9:38 How Often Should You Update Your AI Profile? 9:39 - 10:25 Identity Changes Slower Than Your Business 10:25 - 11:16 Keep Business Data Out of the Think Like Me Document 11:20 - 11:54 How You Make Decisions Is Bigger Than Business 11:57 - 12:50 What Does the Think Like Me Document Actually Do? 12:51 - 13:43 Which AI Documents Should You Use for Content? 13:44 - 14:28 Why You Shouldn’t Put Everything Into One AI Document 14:30 - 15:19 How to Organize Your AI Knowledge Documents 15:20 - 16:10 Using Google Drive and Gemini as an AI Knowledge System 16:13 - 16:57 ChatGPT, Claude, Connectors, and Advanced AI Workflows 17:06 - 17:35 Let AI Choose the Context It Needs 17:35 - 18:07 When You Learn Something, Teach Your AI 18:10 - 18:39 Don’t Let Your AI Documents Become Stale 18:44 - 18:54 Episode Takeaway: AI Doesn’t Know You Until You Teach It 18:54 - 19:10 Next Episode: What Should You Automate First? 19:10 - 19:20 Like, Subscribe, and Closing Watch More Episodes Watch more episodes of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast and discover practical ways to use technology and AI in your small business: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

10. 

    13 Aug 2026

    AI Automation for Small Business: Fix Your Systems Before Adding More Tools

    Are AI tools actually saving your business time - or creating even more chaos? In this episode of the AI Small Business Podcast, Duncan and Joe break down “shiny tool syndrome” and explain why small businesses should not rush to automate messy, unstable processes. You’ll learn how to organize your business information, create a reliable single source of truth, and build practical AI systems without purchasing every new tool that appears online. The discussion covers Google Workspace, Google Drive, ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Notion, Obsidian, Markdown files, APIs, data privacy, and human-in-the-loop automation. Duncan shares a real-world reporting workflow that reduced a process estimated to take four hours per client to approximately ten minutes by connecting business data, reusable templates, and AI. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction to the AI Small Business Podcast 00:43 - 1:20 Shiny Tool Syndrome in AI 1:21 - 2:10 The AI Tools Distracting the Hosts 2:21 - 2:56 Why Businesses Automate Too Early 2:57 - 4:19 Keep a Human in the Loop First 4:33 - 5:13 AI Promises vs. Business Reality 5:28 - 5:57 Messy Data Creates Messy AI Results 6:01 7:25 Organize Google Workspace Before Adding AI 7:25 - 7:55 Use as Few Systems as Possible 7:59 - 8:58 Don't Build Your Business Around One AI Tool 9:46 - 10:14 The Problem With Multiple Sources of Truth 10:52 - 12:29 Build a Library of Current Business Context 12:57 - 14:00 TXT, DOCX, PDF, and Markdown Explained 14:14 - 14:58 Why Markdown Is Useful for AI 15:16 - 15:47 Use Google Docs, Then Export for AI 15:54 - 16:55 Google Drive as the Single Source of Truth 18:02 - 18:41 More AI Tools Can Multiply Chaos 18:49 - 19:13 Businesses Blame the AI Tool Instead of the System 19:33 - 10:21 Tool Sprawl Creates Security and Offboarding Problems 10:24 - 20:50 The Loudest AI Tool Isn't Always the Best 21:03 - 22:16 Comparing LLMs Against Each Other 22:31 - 23:17 AI Models Have Different Behaviors and Biases 23:34 - 24:06 Know What You're Automating Before Choosing the Tool 24:08 - 25:04 Choose AI Based on Your Existing Environment 25:11 - 25:57 AI Still Requires Time to Learn 25:58 - 27:09 Case Study: Automating Client Reporting 27:22 - 27:59 Building the Automated Reporting Workflow 28:18 - 28:44 What Is an API? 28:45 - 29:05 From Four Hours to About Ten Minutes 29:06 - 29:22 Using Historical AI Data to Build Case Studies 29:30 - 30:31 Reusable AI Documents and Lego Blocks 30:36 - 31:16 Stabilize One Automation Before Adding More 31:39 - 32:06 AI Experts Help Businesses Collapse Time 32:12 - 32:30 Clean Your Inbox, Files, CRM, and Workflows First 32:35 - 33:13 Small Businesses Plan to Keep Investing in AI 33:20 - 33:47 What to Check Before Expanding Your AI Stack 33:56 - 34:29 Automate One Workflow at a Time 34:32 - 34:37 Final Takeaway: Clean the Process Before Automating 34:37 - 34:59 Next Episode: Why AI Still Doesn't Sound Like You Watch More Episodes Watch more episodes of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast and discover practical ways to use technology and AI in your small business: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

11. 

    13 Aug 2026

    Small Business AI: How to Get Better Results Beyond ChatGPT Prompts

    Most small business owners have experimented with ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, or another AI tool—but experimenting with random prompts is not the same as successfully implementing AI in your business. In this episode of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast, Duncan and Joe explain why many businesses struggle to get consistent results from AI and what it takes to turn AI into a practical, repeatable business system. You’ll learn why AI needs context about your business, customers, processes, goals, communication style, and decision-making before it can consistently produce useful results. We also cover: • The difference between dabbling with AI and implementing it • Why random prompts create inconsistent outputs • How to align AI with your business and brand voice • Why onboarding AI is similar to onboarding a new employee • How ideal customer profiles improve AI-generated marketing • How AI can help document your standard operating procedures • Why the first AI-generated output is rarely the best one • How to iterate and stabilize an AI workflow • A real example of a business saving more than 20 hours per week AI is not a magic solution that will build your business for you. It is a tool that becomes more valuable when you give it the right information, structure, and direction. Chapters 00:00 Introduction 2:16 - 3:59 Why AI Gives You Random Results 4:02 - 4:27 Teaching AI About You and Your Business 4:32 - 6:26 Onboard AI Like a New Employee 6:27 - 7:23 The Documents AI Needs: SOPs and ICPs 7:27 - 8:18 Building a Complete Customer Avatar 8:19 - 9:12 Using AI to Create SOPs 9:13 - 9:59 Don't Obsess Over the Perfect Prompt 10:03 - 11:31 Iterate Until Your AI System Stabilizes 11:39 - 12:19 AI Is a Tool, Not a Magic Business Solution 12:20 - 13:26 Case Study: Saving 20+ Hours a Week With AI 13:27 - 14:22 The Upfront Thinking AI Requires 14:23 - 14:33 Turning Your Thinking Into Reusable Assets 14:34 - 15:47 Where to Start With AI Resources Learn more about SixFive: https://sixfive.io (https://sixfive.io) Take the free AI Business Flywheel diagnostic: https://aibusinessflywheel.com (https://aibusinessflywheel.com) The diagnostic will help you understand where your business currently stands, identify the documents and systems you need, and determine your next steps for implementing AI more effectively. Subscribe for practical conversations about using technology and AI to help global small businesses work more efficiently, make better decisions, and grow without adding more hours to the week. Watch More Episodes Watch more episodes of the AI Business Flywheel Podcast and discover practical ways to use technology and AI in your small business: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel (https://www.youtube.com/@AIBusinessFlywheel)Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw (https://open.spotify.com/show/033YpGz5XxhMLPLTx5H1pw)Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ai-business-flywheel/id6791598888)

12. 

    6 Aug 2026

    Teaser

    The AI Business Flywheel Podcast is launching August 13th at 3 pm Sydney and 6 am London, with four full episodes for you to binge and watch. We'll be talking about how to leverage the power of AI in small businesses.

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Spotify

5.0 / 5

2 ratings

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