Diary of an AI Consultant
This is not a textbook. It is not written by a Silicon Valley engineer. This is my story — written by a man who spent 35 years installing floors, lost his business in a pandemic, went back to school at 64, and somehow ended up as an AI consultant.
"If you are a small business owner — in any industry, at any stage — this was written for you. Not because I have all the answers, but because I have walked the road you are standing at the beginning of."
The Conversation That Started Everything
A while back I was out on the golf course with some buddies of mine. These were not just regular guys — business owners running companies doing a million dollars and up. Men who had built serious operations, managed real teams, and made decisions that most people never have to make.
Then somebody brought up AI. You would have thought someone suggested the world was ending.
These were sharp men. Battle-tested men. Men who had survived recessions and negotiated million-dollar contracts. And they were genuinely scared. Not curious. Not skeptical. Scared.
I sat there listening and I thought: this is exactly the problem. These men had built million-dollar companies in the real world. And they were about to get left behind — not because AI was actually coming for them, but because nobody had ever taken the time to explain what it actually is.
I am not smarter than those guys. I am not more technical. The only difference between me and them was that I decided to find out. That conversation is the reason I do what I do.
My Journey
The Flooring Years
I knew sub-floors, adhesives, hardwood, tile, transitions, and the particular satisfaction of watching a worn-out room become something beautiful. I built a brick-and-mortar shop. I brought my two daughters into the business — they would sell the jobs and I would install them. It was a family operation, and it worked.
The Part I Don't Skip
Before the flooring shop, before any of it, I was an addict and an alcoholic. I went to prison more than once. Recovery taught me things no MBA program teaches. It taught me that you can rebuild from zero. It taught me that your past does not dictate your future.
The Shop Closes
The pandemic did not ask permission. It shut down the country and it took my flooring shop with it. I kept the doors open longer than I should have, pouring money into overhead and hoping the tide would turn. Eventually I made the decision that every stubborn self-employed person dreads: I let it go.
Back to School
I am sitting in a digital marketing course. The room is full of people in their twenties. They toss around terms like CTR, ROAS, funnel metrics. I have a notebook. A paper notebook. And a pen. I felt like a man from a different era trying to learn a different language. But I was not going to let embarrassment stop me.
AI Consultant
I now build AI systems for businesses operating in industries I never imagined. The tool was simpler than I expected. What it could do was bigger than I imagined. I stopped being intimidated and started paying attention.
What I Know Now
The lessons that only come from doing it.
Start before you're ready
There is no perfect time. Every week you wait is a week your competitor might not be waiting.
AI amplifies what you already have
If you have strong business instincts, AI makes them faster. It multiplies your existing strengths.
Your experience is more valuable than you think
Younger people might understand the technology better. I understand the business. Both matter.
You don't have to understand it
I do not fully understand how the engine in my truck works. I understand how to drive it. AI is the same.
The Ability to Adapt Is the Most Valuable Skill
I am 66 years old. I have rebuilt my life from the bottom more than once. AI is the current test of adaptability. The people who lean into it — who stay curious, who stay humble enough to be a beginner again — those people are going to be okay.
"I was not supposed to be here. Not after everything. But I kept choosing to move forward instead of backward."
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