How Small Businesses Actually Start an AI Journey

Weekly Blitz | March 16, 2026 | Special Audible Edition Guests: Brian Beck + Colin Stauffer

wo central Indiana consultants walk Jason through what AI adoption really looks like on the ground for SMBs. No theory. No pitch decks. Just what's working, what's blowing up, and what most businesses still refuse to deal with.

🔑 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗧𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘀:Colin's BLOP framework: start with boring, low-risk, accessible tasks before touching anything customer-facingThe dirty data problem: pointing AI at 15 years of unorganized SharePoint files and accidentally exposing employee SSNsThe productivity paradox: AI is causing go-getters to take on more work, not less, and burnout risk is realClaude vs. ChatGPT vs. Copilot: which tool wins for SMBs, and why ChatGPT's sycophancy is a business problemAI orchestration as a hidden skill: why you can't run Opus 4.6 on everything without burning your budget

💡 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲:Most SMBs are skipping the basics and pointing AI at messy data they don't understand, and the consultants cleaning up that mess have more work than they can handle.

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗸Senior Consultant at Proxurve Solutions | Cybersecurity and AI consulting for SMBs in central Indiana | 30+ years in IT🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbeck73/🌐 https://proxurve.com/

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘂𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿Managing Partner, BiG Impact Group | Fractional CAIO | Public Sector Practice | AI fluency for mid-market organizations🔗 https://www.linkedin.com/in/colin-stauffer-77411345/🌐 https://bigintel.ai/

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻I build AI-native organizations for companies that can't afford enterprise consulting timelines. Real implementation: LLM workflows, semantic data architecture, agentic automation, and the change management to make it stick.📧 jason@mycitizen.ai

𝗔𝗚𝗜 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹'𝘀 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀: Preparing students for their future, not our past.𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗹𝘆 𝗕𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘇: AI news every Monday. 30-45 minutes.𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗕𝘆𝘁𝗲𝘀: Data literacy for business owners.𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝗯𝗲: Deep conversations with people building the future.

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𝗝𝗼𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗽𝗮𝗱Learn to implement AI without a PhD or coding background. Monthly live training, industry-specific workshops (SMBs, educators, data design), and a community of practitioners who've figured it out. First session free.🚀 https://www.skool.com/signup?ref=025b0ccdd6374664a2aab5df527ab2f5

𝗡𝗼-𝗖𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗖𝗔𝗜𝗢 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿Practical LLM applications for non-technical professionals. No hype, no fluff, just what's working in real businesses.📰 https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/the-no-code-caio-newsletter-7399599285849346048

𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 𝗝𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀MindStudio → Automate your workflows → https://get.mindstudio.ai/q7n7u5cttkdqâ𝗥𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲.𝗳𝗺 → Turn one recording into a week's worth of content → https://riverside.sjv.io/e1xyBrâWispr Flow → Dictate anything, anywhere → https://ref.wisprflow.ai/jason-padgettâ

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