Find the places AI actually pays off.
Everyone's telling you to "use AI." You're busy running the thing. In one working session, I'll find the 3–5 places AI will save your team the most time — and hand you a plan to capture them. No hype. No 40-tab rabbit hole.
One session. A clear plan. Zero jargon.
The Deliverables
- 60–90 minute working session, 1:1 with Michael
- A written AI Opportunity Report — your top 3–5 highest-ROI use cases, ranked by time saved × ease
- Per use case: the tool, rough setup effort, and expected payoff
- A prioritized 90-day roadmap — what to do first, second, third
- One quick win you can implement immediately
What We Look At
- The workflows eating your team's time
- The tools you already pay for (and what they're missing)
- Repetitive content, data entry, and busywork
- Where a small custom tool beats another subscription
- What's realistic for your team to actually run
Who It's For
- Small businesses and founder-led teams
- Nonprofits and local organizations
- Chambers, municipalities, and civic orgs
- Roughly 5–50 people
- Anyone who knows AI matters but not where to start
What capturing an opportunity looks like.
These started as exactly the kind of use case an audit surfaces — then I built them. The report shows you the opportunity; if you want it built, I build it.
Meeting-minutes tool
A recording or rough transcript becomes polished, house-style minutes in minutes. Built so a non-technical volunteer can do in five minutes what used to eat a whole evening — no code, no learning curve.
No 765 Line, Inc.Cardvark
I got tired of paying $60/year for a business-card scanner, so I built my own. Scans straight to vCard/CSV, does exactly what I need, and costs nothing to run. Own your software instead of renting it.
rise-above.net/productsAutomated newsletters
Raw source material — saved articles, council agendas — turned into something people actually open and read. Powers Rise Above's weekly and the Viroqua Public Record's plain-English council recaps.
Rise Above · Viroqua Public RecordYou bring your business. I bring the questions. You leave with a plan you can act on — not a pile of browser tabs.
100% credited toward any build. If you decide to have me implement what the audit finds, your $650 comes right off the top.
Starts with a short call to confirm fit and scope; then I invoice the $650 flat fee. You'll receive a proper invoice and receipt — the audit qualifies as technical assistance or professional development under most grant and organizational budgets.
I build the same systems I recommend.
Twenty years operating — Trek, Specialized, QBP, Bird, Ride with GPS, and founder-led regional businesses — and L3 MindStudio certified. I'm not a consultant handing you a deck. I find overlooked information and turn it into something useful: apps, newsletters, dashboards, workflows. So when the audit points at an opportunity, it's coming from someone who's actually built the thing before. Less hype. More working systems.
Common questions.
What if I don't know where AI fits in my business?
That's exactly the point. You don't come with answers — I map your actual workflows and find the spots. Most people know what's eating their time; they just haven't had someone to turn it into a plan.
How is this different from a Strategy Session?
The Audit is broad — it scans your whole operation for AI opportunities and gives you a roadmap. A Strategy Session ($350) is deep on one specific question you already have. Start with the Audit if you're asking "where do we even begin with AI?"
Do you build the solutions too?
Yes — that's the whole idea. If you want what the audit finds actually built, I build it, and your $650 is credited toward the work. The audit is a standalone deliverable, not a bait-and-switch. You get real value either way.
Can I expense this or bill it to a grant?
Yes. You'll receive a proper invoice and receipt. The audit qualifies as technical assistance or professional development under most grant and organizational budgets.
What do I need to prepare?
Nothing. Come as you are. I do the prep and bring the questions — you just talk me through how your team actually works.
Ready to find where AI pays off?
One session. A written plan. The 3–5 highest-ROI moves for your team — and someone who can build them.