5 questions before you buy AI

Don't spend another euro on AI until you've answered five questions.

I ask every owner I work with these before we talk about a single tool. Most owners skip straight to the tools, and three months later they're paying for subscriptions while nothing in the business has changed.

One: what should the business look like in twelve months?

Two: what is an hour of your time actually worth?

Three: where does work sit waiting on you?

Four: which jobs happen every week, with the same steps every time?

Five: who on your team is already using AI, and what for?

Put the answers on one page and read them together. Your first job for AI usually jumps out. It's the one that repeats every week, waits on you, and eats more of your time than it's worth.

Question two is the one owners rush, and it does the most work. If your hour is worth €100 and a weekly report eats three of them, that one job costs you over €15,000 a year. Now you know exactly what a tool has to save before you buy it.

Question five matters more than it looks. Someone on your team is probably already using AI for something, and their workaround is often the fastest place to start.

You don't need to learn AI before you begin. You need one problem in your business that's worth solving with it.

Block out thirty minutes this week, answer the five questions on one page, and circle the job that shows up in more than one answer.