Find the busywork that's quietly costing you hours every week.
I'm Michael Shields, a Kansas City AI operator. In a focused $999 AI Tools Assessment I map where repetitive work is draining your team, then hand you a short, decision-ready plan of practical, off-the-shelf AI tools that actually save time — no custom software required.
Backed by a simple promise: if I can't identify at least five hours a week of realistic reclaimable time, I refund the assessment fee in full.
The problem
You know time is leaking. You just can't see exactly where.
Most small businesses don't need an “AI transformation.” They need someone to look closely at how the work actually gets done and point out the few places a simple tool would give hours back.
The same tasks, every single week
Quotes, invoices, scheduling, follow-ups, data entry, copy-and-paste between apps. Necessary work that eats hours you'd rather spend on customers and growth.
Too many AI tools, no clear signal
New tools launch daily and every one promises to change your life. It's hard to tell what's genuinely useful for a business like yours versus hype and wasted subscriptions.
No idea where AI would actually help
You suspect AI could save time somewhere — but which task, which tool, and is it even worth the setup? Guessing wrong costs money and momentum.
What you get
A short, decision-ready report you can act on right away.
The AI Tools Assessment ends in a clear document — not a sales deck. Everything is specific to your business and written so you can move without needing a technical background.
Discovery of how your work really flows
A structured look at your day-to-day operations to surface the repetitive, time-consuming tasks worth targeting first.
Workflow analysis
I break down the highest-drain processes step by step to pinpoint exactly where time disappears and where a tool can realistically help.
Practical tool & workflow recommendations
Three to seven useful, off-the-shelf AI tools or workflows matched to your actual business — when that many genuinely fit. Every recommendation earns its place; there is no filler.
Priority matrix
Each opportunity plotted by effort versus time saved, so it's obvious what to do first and what can wait.
Quick wins
The low-effort, high-payoff changes you could put in place almost immediately — the fastest path to getting hours back.
A 4-day quick-start plan
A simple, sequenced plan for standing up your first improvements in days, not months — designed to fit around running your business.
Plain-English ROI rationale
A straightforward time-savings estimate for each recommendation so you can weigh the payoff yourself — grounded in your real tasks, not vague promises.
How it works
Four straightforward steps.
Light on your time, heavy on clarity. Most of the work happens on my side.
45-minute discovery call
We talk through how your business runs and where the repetitive, draining work lives. No prep required — just come as you are.
AI-assisted analysis & research
Between calls I dig into your workflows and research the current tools that genuinely fit your tasks, using AI to move faster and cover more ground.
A simple, decision-ready report
You get a clear write-up: prioritized opportunities, recommended tools, quick wins, a 4-day quick-start plan, and the time-savings rationale behind each pick.
30-minute review call
We walk through the findings together, answer questions, and prioritize what to tackle first so you leave with a concrete next step.
Pricing
One flat fee. No surprises.
AI Tools Assessment
Everything in the assessment, start to finish, for a single fixed price. You'll know the cost up front and exactly what you receive.
- Discovery + review calls
- Full workflow analysis
- Prioritized tool recommendations
- Priority matrix & quick wins
- 4-day quick-start plan
- Plain-English ROI rationale
Find the time, or it's free.
If the assessment can't identify at least five hours per week of realistic, reclaimable time across your workflows, I'll refund the $999 assessment fee in full.
To be clear and honest: this guarantee is about the opportunity I identify — the hours you could realistically reclaim by adopting the recommendations. It is not a guarantee of results you'll realize, since that depends on which changes you choose to put in place.
After the assessment
The report stands on its own. Support is there if you want it.
The $999 assessment is complete in itself — many owners take the plan and run with it. If you'd rather not implement alone, help is available as a separate, optional step.
Hands-on implementation help
Prefer to have someone in the trenches setting up tools and rewiring workflows with you? We can scope that separately once we both know what the assessment surfaced — priced to the specific work, never assumed in advance.
That could mean simplifying a broken process, building a focused automation, creating an internal knowledge system, or setting up a custom AI workflow for your team.
AI Concierge — ongoing support
For businesses that want a steady hand as AI keeps changing, an AI Concierge is available as an ongoing support option: a go-to person to keep your tools working, adopt what's genuinely new, and keep finding time to reclaim. It's offered as an option — not a requirement — and we'd only set it up if it clearly fits.
There's no obligation to continue beyond the assessment. Any next step is your call, scoped and priced transparently when the time comes.
Why Michael
A practical operator, not an “AI transformation” consultant.
I'm Michael Shields, based in Kansas City. I don't come from a big-firm consulting background — I come from building and running real small businesses and putting AI to work inside them.
That's the whole point of this assessment. I look at your work the way I look at my own: hunting for the repetitive tasks that quietly cost hours, then matching them to tools that are genuinely worth the effort. No jargon, no hype, no pushing custom software you don't need.
Those Damn Shirts
An e-commerce brand I've designed, marketed, and shipped from Kansas City — real orders, real operations, real busywork.
BandBoost
Hands-on product and operations work in the music space — the kind of scrappy building that teaches you where time actually goes.
Country Jam
Involvement in live events, where logistics and repetitive coordination make the cost of wasted hours impossible to ignore.
AI in daily use
I deploy AI assistants and workflow automations in my own businesses — so my recommendations come from what I actually run, not slideware.
FAQ
Questions, answered plainly.
Who is the assessment a good fit for?
Owner-led businesses and small teams who feel buried in repetitive work and suspect AI could help, but don't want to gamble time and money guessing which tools are worth it. The sweet spot is roughly 2–20 employees and $500K–$5M in annual revenue, though fit depends more on your workflows than a hard cutoff.
What kinds of tools do you recommend?
Practical, off-the-shelf AI tools that already exist and are proven — matched to your specific workflows. The goal is useful and adoptable, not novel. I stay tool-agnostic and recommend what fits your business, not whatever I happen to like.
Do I need custom software built?
No. The assessment is deliberately about getting value from tools you can adopt without a development project. If custom software ever came up, it would be a clearly separate, optional conversation — never assumed or required.
How is my information kept private?
What we discuss stays confidential and is used only to prepare your assessment. I don't share your business details or sell your information. If you'd like a written confidentiality agreement in place first, just ask.
How long does it take?
It's designed to be fast and light on your time: a discovery call, focused analysis on my side, your report, and a review call. The included quick-start plan is sequenced to stand up your first improvements in about four days once you decide to move.
What if I want help implementing?
That's available as a separate, optional step, scoped and priced to the specific work after we see what the assessment surfaces. There's also an ongoing AI Concierge support option if you'd like a steady hand over time. Neither is required — the report stands on its own.
How does the guarantee work?
The $999 fee is paid up front. If the completed assessment can't identify at least five hours per week of realistic, reclaimable time across your workflows, I refund that fee in full. The promise is about the opportunity I identify — the hours you could reclaim by adopting the recommendations — not guaranteed realized results, which depend on the changes you choose to make.
Get started
Tell me where your time is going.
Book a short discovery call below — pick a time that works and we'll talk through where your most repetitive work is eating your week.
Prefer email? Reach me directly at
michael@michaelshields.ai