AI Automation for entrepreneurs: Waiting is becoming more expensive

I write a lot about entrepreneurship, leadership, strategy and personal choices. But besides my work as an executive coach, I am also a partner at WeMindd, an agency that has evolved from a traditional advertising agency into an AI-native solutions partner. For me, that is not a separate technical detour, but an extension of how I look at entrepreneurship. AI forces entrepreneurs to rethink their business model, processes, costs, people and future.

In that role, less than a year ago, I created a budget proposal for a fantastic project. A potential client wanted to redesign his website and processes with the help of AI.

Automated quotes with a product configurator and automated invoicing flows would save him at least one and possibly two FTEs. I spent hours understanding his business model and weighing the right available tools to arrive at the right architecture. After a few days, the big plan was there.

But it came with a significant price tag. And with all the remaining uncertainties, a serious contingency amount had to be added as well, because AI can do a lot, but when you use AI in business processes, you also have to calculate several safeguards to prevent AI from going off track. The solution was good, the cost versus FTE saving was positive and the payback period was no more than a year. Still, partly because he was working on a possible acquisition of his company, he ultimately decided not to go ahead.

Why AI Automation Is Different Now Than It Was a Year Ago

This week, while searching our server, I came across the proposal again and I could not resist opening it. The plan was still solid, the solution was logical and yes, the price I presented at the end was still substantial. But what was so remarkable is that AI has taken such a leap forward that we could now offer the same system, and probably even more, for a fraction of the price.

Not because we suddenly understand AI much better, but because the functionality of the available AI platforms has become so much richer. The architecture I proposed a year earlier consisted of seven different tools and platforms that all had to work together. Today, that would probably be reduced to only two. No vulnerable integrations, no complicated fallback scenarios and no separate content and calculation check agents constantly needed to keep everything within the lines.

None of that.

And that makes you think.

What Does Waiting With AI Automation Cost?

If you can now add that much efficiency to a company for a fraction of the budget you needed a year ago, where will we be a year from now? At the same time, it also makes me wonder how it is possible that people around me, people I actually think highly of, are still writing invoices with carbon paper, so they do not have to write the invoice twice.

These are people who have heard of ChatGPT, but dismiss it as a hype and say they are not ready for it yet. Maybe that is understandable if you only see AI as a chatbot that can write a little text. But once you see what AI automation can mean for entrepreneurs in quotes, invoices, customer follow-up, administration and reporting, it becomes a completely different story.

The contrast is becoming so large at the moment that I wonder what kind of disruption this will create in society. Not only because AI can take over a lot of work, but especially because the difference between entrepreneurs who use AI and entrepreneurs who keep waiting can suddenly become very visible.

Entrepreneurs Should Not Make the Same Mistake With AI as They Did With the Internet

When the internet emerged, I remember how many companies also thought it was a hype. Around the year 2000, there were plenty of entrepreneurs who did not want to join the internet hype because, in their own minds, they were above it. They had stores, brands, customers, staff and history. Why would they worry about webshops?

Today, we all know how far behind many of those entrepreneurs fell. Many companies that took the internet seriously too late no longer exist, or have been completely overtaken by parties that did embrace online sales, data, speed and automation. Only a few managed to catch up. The rest were overtaken by entrepreneurs who did understand that a technological shift does not disappear because some people call it a hype.

The internet took roughly twenty years to become mature. If you look at AI, we are already, after only a few years, at a stage where it is practically usable for most entrepreneurs. Not perfect, not 100% without risk and certainly not without the need to think carefully, but usable enough to fundamentally redesign internal and customer processes. Still, there are entrepreneurs who continue to look at it with suspicion.

Which Business Processes Can You Automate With AI?

A practical example is a real estate agent I know. Everything, and I really mean everything, is still done manually by him and his four colleagues. Uploading photos, entering property data in two places, creating and sending invoices and, not to forget, calling to ask whether payment can finally be made. Reports are created in Excel after all the quarterly data has first been entered manually. And then we have not even talked about all the administrative work surrounding the purchase or sale of a house.

All the paperwork involved is searched for on the server one piece at a time, printed and often still filled in by hand. Everyone is busy, everyone works hard and probably nobody feels there is any time left. But if you look honestly, a large part of that busyness is not in customer value, advice or sales. It is in routine, repetition, searching, copying, pasting, checking, chasing and entering the same information again.

With a bit of automation and AI, work that is now being done by five people could easily be done by a maximum of two people. That does not mean I am saying three people should be put out on the street. On the contrary. It creates time to really be there for the client. More viewings, more personal contact, faster responses, better follow-up and more time for exceptions. Because everything that is routine and standard can increasingly be done faster, better and more carefully by AI.

AI for Real Estate Agents and SMEs

Especially with real estate agents, service providers and other SME businesses, you often see that an enormous amount of time disappears into processes that were once logical, but have now mainly become slow. A photo is uploaded in multiple places. A client detail is entered twice. An invoice is created manually. A report is put together by cutting and pasting. A document is searched for, opened, printed, filled in and saved again.

That may feel like normal work, but it is often exactly the type of work where AI automation can add value. Not because everything suddenly happens magically by itself, but because routine and standard processes can be organised much more intelligently. And if you do that well, it is not only about lower costs, but also about more speed, fewer mistakes and more room for real customer contact.

For entrepreneurs, that may be the most important thought. AI automation is not only about saving money. It is also about running a better business. Responding faster. Following up better. Having more time for sales, strategy and customers. Losing less energy on work that, in reality, nobody should still be doing manually.

Why Waiting Another Year Is Also a Risk

Now I almost hope that I do not have to create a proposal for that real estate agent too, that he says yes to it and that, a year from now, I once again discover that we can build the same thing with our team for a fraction of the price. Because that is how fast things are moving at the moment. But then again, waiting another year is not really an option for this type of entrepreneur either.

There are competitors who are almost certainly already working hard on this. And then, a year from now, you may not be surprised because AI has become cheaper, but because your competitor responds faster, has less administration, follows up with clients better, sends quotes faster, processes invoices automatically and therefore has much more room for sales and personal contact.

That, to me, is the real tension of this moment. Waiting can seem financially sensible because AI will certainly become cheaper and better. But strategically, waiting can become expensive because others are already learning, building, testing and improving their processes. By the time you finally start, you may not only have a technological disadvantage, but very likely a commercial disadvantage as well.

When Should Entrepreneurs Start With AI?

Entrepreneurs should not wait until AI is perfect. That moment will probably never come. The question is not whether AI can do everything, but where AI is already good enough today to remove time, costs and frustration from your business.

So do not start with the question of which AI tool you should use or what you can have built. Start with your own company. Where is duplicate work being done? Where is data entered multiple times? Where do errors occur? Where is money being left on the table? Where are customers waiting too long? Where are people doing work that nobody would really miss if it were automated tomorrow?

That is where AI automation for entrepreneurs starts.

Not with hype. Not with toys. Not with a chatbot that writes a nice little text. But with the simple question: which customer or business processes could be smarter, faster and more careful?

AI Automation Is No Longer Something for the Future

AI is no longer a hype. Too much is happening for that. And of course, you should not blindly chase every new tool. Of course, you need to think about reliability, control, privacy, security, data and human responsibility. But pretending AI is not yet relevant for ordinary entrepreneurs is, in my view, just as dangerous as once thinking the internet would simply blow over.

So the question is not whether AI will ever become interesting. The question is where AI is already reliable, affordable and practical enough today to add real value to your business.

Because waiting can sometimes be wise.

But with AI, waiting is becoming more expensive for entrepreneurs right now.

Frequently Asked Questions About AI Automation for Entrepreneurs

What is AI automation for entrepreneurs?

AI automation for entrepreneurs means using artificial intelligence to make business processes faster, smarter or cheaper. Think of creating quotes, processing invoices, checking administration, answering customer questions, preparing reports or automatically processing data.

Which business processes can you automate with AI?

Common processes include quotes, invoicing, administration, reporting, customer follow-up, document processing, planning, intake forms and standard communication. The biggest gains are often found in places where there is currently a lot of duplicate work, manual data entry or checking.

Is AI automation suitable for SME businesses?

Yes, AI automation can be especially interesting for SME businesses, because they often still do a lot of manual process work. It does not always have to be a large AI project. Often, the first gains come from simple processes that cost a lot of time every week.

What does AI automation cost for a business?

The cost depends on the process, the existing systems, the amount of custom work and the risks that need to be covered. What is clear, however, is that many AI solutions have become cheaper and easier in a short period of time, because platforms now offer more functionality as standard.

Is waiting with AI a wise choice?

Waiting can seem logical because AI will probably become even cheaper and better. But waiting also has costs. Competitors who start earlier build experience, improve their processes and can respond to customers faster. That is why starting small is often wiser than doing nothing at all.

Can AI replace staff?

AI can mainly take over routine work, administrative work and standard processes. That does not automatically mean people become unnecessary. In many companies, it actually creates room for employees to do more of the work where they really add value, such as customer contact, sales, advice and solving exceptions.

How do you start with AI automation as an entrepreneur?

Do not start with a tool, but with your process. Look at where time is being lost, where errors occur, where data is entered twice and where customers have to wait too long. That is usually where the first opportunity lies to use AI in a practical way.