Practical AI for small businesses.

I find the hours your team loses to re‑typing and searching, show you what they cost, and build the fix.

Book a free call Run your own numbers

Independent and vendor-neutral, with no platform to push. Based in Middle Tennessee, working with small teams across the US.

    The three drains I find most often, for a small team at $45 an hour. Yours will differ; the meter below uses your numbers.

    What is busywork costing you?

    Two steps. It's the same math I use on every free call, and the tape prints as you go.

    Step 1Check what your team does by hand

    Hours are a typical weekly total for a small team. We'll use your real numbers on the call.

      Step 2

      $45 / hour

      Wages plus taxes and overhead. If these are your own hours as the owner, slide right.

      Bring this tape to the call

      What I build most.

      Every business is different, but these four come up again and again. Pick one to see what's in it.

      One phase at a time.

      You never sign up for the whole road. Each phase stands alone, and you decide if the next is worth it.

      Evaluate.

      I study how your company actually runs.

      Phase 1 is not a questionnaire and not a sales call. I work alongside your team and watch the work happen.

      • An assessment every employee fills out, in their own words
      • Walkthroughs with the people who carry the load
      • An audit of every tool, subscription and spreadsheet
      • Where company data is going into tools you don't control

      You get The PlanWhat to build, what to cut, and what each decision is worth, with the math shown.

      Engineer.

      I connect what you have and build what's missing.

      In Phase 2, your existing tools get wired around one accurate source of truth. Whatever isn't earning its cost gets cut.

      • Data entered once, not three times
      • Custom tools where nothing on the market fits
      • AI that drafts, with people who approve
      • Numbers the owner can read in one minute

      You get working systemsLive in your business and measured against the plan.

      Equip.

      I train your team until it's theirs.

      Phase 3 is hands-on training on your real workflows, a discipline I learned over years of teaching at Apple.

      • Training sessions on the tools you'll actually use
      • Written documentation for every system
      • A clean handoff you can run without me
      • Ongoing support only if you want it

      Priced on what the build deliveredYou're never obligated to continue to this phase.

      An AI consultant who'll tell you not to buy AI.

      I'm vendor-neutral, with no platform to push. Most of what's being sold won't pay for itself. Here's how I sort it.

      Usually worth it

      • Connecting systems so data is typed once
      • Turning a fragile spreadsheet into a real tool
      • Instant replies to after-hours leads
      • A morning summary so owners stop hunting
      • Pre-filling repetitive forms and paperwork

      Usually skip it

      • Five overlapping AI subscriptions nobody opens
      • “Autonomous agents” with no human checkpoint
      • Chatbots that guess instead of knowing your business
      • Tools bought because a webinar said so
      • Anything where the math loses to the monthly bill
      Preston Earnest, smiling, in a dark shirt
      Preston Earnest

      A teacher who builds. A builder who's run a business.

      I spent years at Apple teaching people to make technology work for them. Now I build with AI every day, which is how I can tell you what's real and what's a demo.

      I also run a video production company and hold a Tennessee real estate license. When I say a tool saves your office manager four hours a week, I know what that week looks like.

      Taught
      Technology at Apple, for years
      Shipped
      iOS apps and local AI tools for audio and video
      Built
      Internal systems for a national media company
      Also runs
      A video production company
      Licensed
      Real estate, Tennessee

      See what I've builtWorkshops for real estate teams

      Questions owners ask first.

      Is the free call a sales pitch?

      No. You leave with your three biggest time drains, a dollar figure on each, and an honest verdict on whether AI fixes them. If it doesn't, I'll say so and tell you what to do instead.

      We're not a tech company. Is this for us?

      That's exactly who it's for: installers, service businesses, offices where the owner still does admin at 9pm. If your team uses email, a phone and a spreadsheet, there's usually something worth connecting.

      Do I have to commit to all three phases?

      Never. Each phase is its own agreement. You see the plan before anything is built, and the last phase is priced on what the build actually delivered.

      Will this replace my people?

      The goal is the opposite. The team you have gets back the hours they spend re-typing and searching, so growth doesn't require the next hire. People stay in charge of every decision that touches money or customers.

      What happens to our data?

      Part of every evaluation is finding where company and customer information already goes into tools you don't control. What I build keeps data in accounts you own, with clear rules about what AI can see.

      What if you're wrong about the savings?

      Every projection comes with its inputs, so you can check it and change anything you disagree with. I round down on purpose, and the phase structure means you're never far out on a limb.

      Thirty minutes. No pitch.

      Free, no contract. Here's how the half hour goes.

      1. Your business, in your wordsWhat you sell, who does what, where you want to grow.
      2. Hunt the drainsWhere the same information gets typed twice.
      3. Put dollars on itYour top three, priced together, conservatively.
      4. The honest verdictAI fixes these, or it doesn't. Numbers in your inbox the same day.

        Your meter tape is attached below. Edit anything.

        Add your name so I know who to reply to.
        That email doesn't look right. Check for a typo.

        Goes straight to me. I reply personally within one business day with times.

        Got it. Thank you.

        I read every one of these myself and I'll reply with times for your call. Talk soon. Preston