Could your tools be doing more for you?

Curious about AI? Paying for software you barely use? Or just unsure whether there’s an easier way to do things?

Get a clearer idea of what you need, which tools are worth paying for and where AI could help with the work that takes up your day. I’m Shaun, and I help small businesses and charities in Rotherham, Sheffield and beyond work through those decisions.

Let’s talk it through
An illustration of Shaun with a tablet
Shaun had an amazing ability to make things simple and clear for me to understand and avoided tech jargon
Chris KnightKairos Coaching

Let’s put your tools
on the table.

Tell me what you’re working with and which bit is getting on your nerves. You don’t need to know the technical name for it. A description of what happens now is much more useful.

Before you add another subscription...

Find out whether you can get more from what you already pay for. I can review how you use your tools, look for useful features you haven’t tried and check for overlapping subscriptions, so you can decide what’s worth keeping before spending more.

Illustrative example

Two tools with similar features. Could the booking feature you already have be enough?

Show me the bit you keep repeating.

Perhaps you’re copying an enquiry into a spreadsheet, then writing yourself a reminder to reply. The useful change would be entering it once and having a clear way to see who needs a response. That means less retyping for you and makes it easier to keep customers informed. I can help you work out what would need to change in your setup.

Illustrative example

The same enquiry, copied into several places.

Give it a small job first.

Perhaps writing up your notes is eating into the time you need for other work. AI could give you a first draft of a checklist, ready for you to check against the original. I can help you try that on a small task and compare the effort, including checking and corrections. You’ll have a better basis for deciding whether it deserves a place in your working day.

The original workshop notes list three tasks: confirm the room, ask about dietary needs, and send joining details. The AI draft lists only confirming the room and sending joining details. Comparing them reveals the missing dietary-needs task.

Illustrative example

The AI draft looks tidy, but it has missed a task. Compare it with the original notes.

Start with what you need.

Sometimes my advice
is to start smaller.

A client once came to me wanting a website with a client area, downloadable resources and plenty more besides. They were still getting the business going. I advised them to start with something that suited their budget and add the rest when the business needed it.

An unusual sales pitch from someone who could build the bigger version, I realise. But I wanted them to spend their money when it would help.

Keep the subscription,
or have something built?

Sometimes the software you already pay for does the job well. Sometimes you’re working around its limits every day. I can help you compare the options, including whether a tool built for your business would make sense.

That means looking at what you’d own, what you’d still pay to run it and who would look after it. You can weigh that up before committing to a build.

Explore apps & business systems
An illustrated plan and checklist

Know what to do next,
and why.

Whether you’re a sole trader or a growing business, it follows the same three steps.

  1. We start with a free 30-minute conversation about where you’re at, what’s getting in the way and what you’d like to be easier.
  2. If it’s worth going further, I’ll look properly at what you have: your tools, your subscriptions and how the work actually gets done, alongside what you need. I’ll agree the scope and price with you before I start.
  3. You get recommendations you can act on: what to keep, what to change and what to add, including where AI or new technology would help. I’ll explain the reasons, the likely costs and anything that still needs checking, so the decision is yours to make.

You might decide to use a feature you already have, test an AI tool on one task or get help connecting two systems. Advice can be the whole job. If you’d like me to build or connect something afterwards, I can quote for that separately.

Tell me what’s
doing your head in.

Tell me what’s getting in the way, even if you’re not sure how to explain it. You don’t need to know the answer before getting in touch, and the first 30-minute chat is free.

Let’s talk it through

I’m based in Rotherham and work with people in Sheffield and beyond.