Services

AI consulting for your small business.

Chico-based AI consulting, staff training, tool selection, and secure workflow implementation for contractors, restaurants, salons, retailers, professional offices, nonprofits, and small teams. Serving the North Valley, with remote consulting available beyond the region.

AI overview
Staff training
Secure rollout

Not sure where to start?

Pick the situation that sounds closest

No perfect category needed. This is just a softer way to find the most useful first conversation.

I want to understand where AI fits before we roll it outStart with: AI Security Overview for OwnersView My owners or employees need practical AI trainingStart with: AI Safety Training for Owners & StaffView We want help implementing our first approved AI toolsStart with: Secure AI Adoption StarterView Staff need better computer, email, and AI-use habitsStart with: Everyday Computer, Email & AI Security TrainingView We already have a specific vendor, automation, or AI workflowStart with: Advanced Vendor & AI Tool Risk ReviewView I want ongoing help each month instead of one-time adviceStart with: Monthly Owner AdvisoryView

Core packages

AI consulting, training, and adoption services

These are the most practical first projects for owners and small teams: understand AI, train staff, roll out approved tools carefully, improve everyday security habits, and keep questions moving with monthly guidance.

AI Security Overview for Owners

$750–$1,500

Give business owners a clear, calm, and technically grounded starting point before AI spreads through staff workflows, customer data, or vendor tools.

A good fit forOwners, partners, and managers who know AI matters but want a guided plan before asking employees to use it or paying for new tools.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Owner-ready AI opportunity and risk summary
Safe / caution / do-not-use AI workflow list
Sensitive-data handling notes
30-day AI adoption action plan
Recommended training, setup, or advanced follow-up

What we cover

Current AI use and likely shadow AI
Sensitive business and customer data boundaries
Roles, workflows, and tasks that may benefit from AI
Common AI mistakes, hallucinations, privacy issues, and verification needs
Practical first controls before staff rollout

In practice

Deciding whether staff can use AI for email drafts, notes, proposals, or customer replies
Understanding what should not be pasted into AI tools
Creating a safe first-step plan before buying a company AI account

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one leadership group and up to three common workflows
Best before buying AI tools, asking staff to use AI, or connecting AI to customer data
Hands-on setup, policy drafting, or staff training can be added after the overview

Boundaries

Does not monitor employees or inspect private staff activity
Does not provide legal advice or certify compliance
Does not include technical implementation unless scoped separately

Talk about this service

AI Safety Training for Owners & Staff

$900–$2,500

Help owners and employees use AI productively while understanding privacy, accuracy, customer-data, and workflow risks that are easy to miss.

A good fit forSmall teams using AI assistants, office AI features, meeting tools, document tools, chatbots, or built-in automation without shared rules.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

AI usage and risk summary
Business-specific AI do/don't examples
Training deck or staff handout
Manager rollout notes
Short live or remote training session

What we cover

Allowed, restricted, and off-limits AI use
Sensitive data, customer information, and confidential business details
Prompting safely without oversharing
AI hallucinations, source checking, and human approval points
Role-specific examples for admin, sales, service, operations, or document work

In practice

Training staff not to paste private client notes or internal documents into the wrong AI tool
Showing employees how to use AI for drafts while still verifying facts and tone
Giving managers language for enforcing AI rules without slowing everyone down

Typical scope

Typical scope covers up to 10 staff, one focused training session, and one revision pass
Training is tailored to owner, admin, sales, customer-service, document, or operations workflows
Larger teams, regulated data, or multi-session rollouts are scoped separately

Boundaries

Does not monitor employee AI use
Does not replace internal management, HR, or legal review
Policy language should be revisited as tools and workflows change

Talk about this service

Secure AI Adoption Starter

$1,500–$4,500

Help a business choose, configure, document, and introduce its first approved AI tools without leaving data handling or staff habits to chance.

A good fit forBusinesses that are not using AI yet, or are using it informally and want a safer company-approved approach.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Approved AI tool and workflow plan
Account and permission setup guidance
Starter prompt/workflow templates
Acceptable-use rules
Owner and staff handoff session

What we cover

AI tool selection and business fit
Account setup, permissions, and admin ownership
Data boundaries and workflow rules
Starter prompts, templates, and review steps
Training and handoff for owners or a small team

In practice

Rolling out a company-approved AI assistant for admin or document work
Creating reusable prompt templates for estimates, summaries, or customer-service drafts
Setting rules before AI is used with meeting notes, customer details, or internal documents

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one team, one approved AI platform, and one or two starting workflows
Designed for safe rollout, not a broad automation rebuild
Integrations, custom apps, customer-data workflows, or long-term support are scoped separately

Boundaries

Does not guarantee AI output quality or business results
Does not include managed IT administration or 24/7 support
Paid AI subscriptions, vendor fees, and legal review are not included

Talk about this service

Everyday Computer, Email & AI Security Training

$900–$2,500

Give owners and employees practical security habits for email, files, passwords, MFA, devices, browsers, and AI tools.

A good fit forLocal businesses that want employees to recognize risky emails, handle files carefully, use AI safely, and avoid weak login habits.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Live or remote staff training session
Simple staff checklist
Email and AI-use examples
Owner follow-up notes
Recommended next steps for account or device cleanup

What we cover

Email, phishing, attachments, links, invoices, and payment-change scams
Password manager and MFA basics
Computer, browser, download, and file-sharing habits
Safe use of AI tools during normal office work
What to do when something feels suspicious

In practice

Walking through realistic phishing and business email compromise scenarios
Explaining why MFA, recovery codes, and password managers matter
Teaching staff when to stop, verify, and ask before using AI or clicking through

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one short session for a small team and a practical handout
Examples are adjusted for the business's actual tools and common staff mistakes
Hands-on account cleanup, device support, or managed IT work is scoped separately

Boundaries

Does not replace managed IT, endpoint management, or employee monitoring
Does not include incident response unless separately agreed
Training reduces risk but cannot prevent every mistake or attack

Talk about this service

Monthly AI & Security Advisory

Light: $750/month / Standard: $1,500/month / Priority: $2,500/month

Provide recurring AI, staff-training, vendor, account-security, and workflow guidance without hiring full-time security staff.

A good fit forBusinesses that need recurring guidance after an AI overview, staff training, secure rollout, or everyday security training session.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Monthly advisory call
Limited async support
Policy and training updates
Vendor/tool review guidance
Roadmap tracking
Quarterly priority refresh for standard and priority plans

What we cover

Monthly advisory call
AI tool, staff, and workflow questions
Policy and training updates
Vendor and account-security guidance
Roadmap tracking
Priority planning for follow-up projects

In practice

Reviewing a new AI feature before staff use
Updating AI-use rules after a workflow changes
Checking progress on training, MFA, email, or tool-risk follow-ups
Getting a steady place to bring questions before small issues spread

Typical scope

Light: one short monthly call and limited async questions
Standard: roughly 2 hours/month for AI, staff, vendor, policy, or roadmap guidance
Priority: roughly 4 hours/month with faster response expectations defined in writing

Boundaries

Emergency incident response is not included unless separately agreed
Implementation work beyond light guidance is scoped separately
Response time and support level are defined in writing

Talk about this service

Specialized services

Advanced services for higher-risk tools, accounts, and workflows

These are useful after the first AI or training work, or when the business already knows a specific account, customer-data workflow, vendor decision, document package, or AI build needs deeper review.

Advanced Website, Email & Account Security

$900–$2,500

Improve the safety of the public-facing accounts and tools that local businesses depend on for leads, bookings, reviews, payments, and customer communication.

A good fit forBusinesses ready to harden a domain, website, business listing profiles, social pages, payment or checkout tools, booking software, email, or customer communication tools.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Provider and account-access map
Domain and email security recommendations
Customer-account security checklist
Owner handoff notes for approved changes

What we cover

Domain registrar and DNS security
SPF/DKIM/DMARC and email authentication guidance
Website security headers and hosting basics
Business listing, social, and review-account access
Booking, payment, customer-list, and shared admin-account safeguards

In practice

Reducing the chance of email spoofing with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC guidance
Reviewing who can administer business listings or booking platforms
Cleaning up shared owner, manager, and staff access patterns

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one primary domain, one email provider, and core public business accounts
Approved DNS/email changes are staged carefully because they can affect deliverability
Extra domains, brands, complex migrations, or cleanup projects are scoped separately

Boundaries

DNS and email changes are made only with approval and appropriate authority
Changes can affect email delivery and should be staged carefully
This work reduces common risk but does not guarantee deliverability or security

Talk about this service

Advanced Customer Tools & Automation Review

$1,500–$4,000

Review customer-facing tools so leads, bookings, forms, reminders, AI features, and follow-up messages do not create avoidable data or access risk.

A good fit forBusinesses with booking, forms, customer lists, reminders, CRM tools, follow-up automations, or AI features that touch customer information.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Workflow and data-flow map
Risk-ranked findings
Vendor and access recommendations
Implementation roadmap
Plain-English owner handoff notes

What we cover

Lead, booking, intake, and follow-up data flows
Customer information and permission boundaries
SMS/email automation and opt-in risks
Staff access, owner access, and vendor settings
Dashboard, handoff, and documentation needs

In practice

Reviewing missed-call text-back and quote follow-up automations
Checking booking or intake forms before sensitive customer details are collected
Mapping which staff and vendors can access customer-list or scheduler data

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one customer workflow and up to two connected tools or vendors
Best used before adding more automation, campaign logic, AI features, or customer-data collection
Hands-on implementation, copywriting, campaign setup, or legal review is scoped separately

Boundaries

Does not replace legal review of SMS, email, or regulated-data obligations
Does not include unauthorized testing of vendor systems
Implementation work is scoped separately when needed

Talk about this service

Advanced Vendor & AI Tool Risk Review

$900–$2,500

Help a business decide whether a vendor, AI tool, payment tool, customer-list tool, payroll system, booking tool, or automation platform is appropriate for its work and data.

A good fit forOwners and managers comparing AI tools, meeting assistants, online vendors, booking platforms, payroll systems, customer-list tools, payment tools, or automation platforms.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Vendor comparison notes
Risk summary
Questions to ask vendors
Recommended safeguards
Go/no-go guidance

What we cover

Intended workflow and data use
Vendor security and privacy documentation
Retention, training, and data-sharing claims
Admin controls and user permissions
Practical safeguards and decision criteria

In practice

Comparing two AI meeting-note platforms
Reviewing whether a scheduler or customer-list tool is appropriate for customer intake
Preparing questions to ask before buying payroll, payment, or automation software

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one vendor or a focused comparison of two similar vendors
Depends on available vendor documentation, settings, and responses
Legal, procurement, or compliance certification review is outside the scope

Boundaries

Depends on available vendor documentation and responses
Does not provide legal, procurement, or compliance certification advice
Does not include testing vendor systems without written authorization

Talk about this service

Advanced Secure AI Workflow Prototype

Prototype: $5,000–$15,000+ / Small production tool: quote after scope

Design and build a focused AI-enabled workflow that supports a real business task without a heavyweight platform.

A good fit forBusinesses with a focused workflow that could benefit from a lightweight AI assistant, intake helper, report generator, internal workflow prototype, or secure prompt system.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Scope and requirements notes
Secure workflow design
Prototype build
Testing and handoff documentation

What we cover

Workflow requirements and user roles
Sensitive data boundaries
Secure design and maintainability
Prototype build
Testing, documentation, and handoff

In practice

AI-assisted report generator
Intake triage helper
Secure prompt/workflow templates
Small dashboard or automation
Prototype business tool

Typical scope

Prototype scope should stay narrow, with one primary workflow and limited integrations
Production data, secrets, hosting, and ongoing support are not included until explicitly scoped
Small production tools are quoted after requirements, deployment, and maintenance expectations are clear

Boundaries

Final pricing depends on complexity, integrations, deployment, and support needs
Hosting, long-term maintenance, and urgent support are scoped separately
Production data and secrets are not handled until data handling is explicitly scoped

Talk about this service

Password Manager + MFA Rollout

$750–$2,000

Help a small team adopt stronger login practices without creating owner or staff confusion.

A good fit forSmall teams with shared accounts, inconsistent MFA, weak password practices, or no clear offboarding process.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Rollout checklist
Account priority list
Staff handout
Recovery and offboarding notes

What we cover

Password manager selection guidance
MFA rollout planning
Owner, manager, and staff account separation
Basic offboarding checklist
Recovery-code handling guidance

In practice

Moving away from shared passwords
Helping staff enroll MFA on critical business accounts
Creating a simple account offboarding checklist

Typical scope

Typical scope covers a small team and the highest-priority business accounts first
Password values, recovery codes, and secrets stay with the client
Larger identity-management projects or managed IT operations are scoped separately

Boundaries

Does not store or collect business passwords
Does not replace identity-management or managed IT services
Changes are made only with appropriate owner authorization

Talk about this service

Open-Source Security & Exposure Review

$400–$1,500

Use lawful, non-invasive, open-source methods to help a business understand what information may be publicly exposed.

A good fit forOrganizations that want to understand public exposure without authorizing intrusive scans, exploitation, or credential testing.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Exposure summary
Risk-ranked observations
Cleanup recommendations

What we cover

Public website review
Public domain/DNS observations
Publicly visible business information
Public code/configuration exposure where applicable
Public AI/data exposure risks

In practice

Reviewing public website and domain signals
Checking for obvious public configuration or code exposure
Summarizing public business information that could create operational risk

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one business, its main domains, and clearly identified public profiles
Findings are based on lawful public-source observations only
Cleanup implementation is scoped separately when needed

Boundaries

No unauthorized scanning
No exploitation
No credential attacks
No intrusive red teaming
No testing third-party systems without written authorization

Talk about this service

LLM Application & Workflow Threat Modeling

$1,500–$5,000+

Review planned or existing AI workflows and identify likely misuse, data leakage, prompt injection, access-control, logging, and vendor risks.

A good fit forTeams designing, approving, or revising an AI-enabled workflow that can read, transform, summarize, route, or act on business information.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Threat model
Abuse-case list
Risk-ranked findings
Control recommendations
Secure design notes

What we cover

Data flows and trust boundaries
User roles and access controls
Prompt injection and untrusted content risks
Logging, retention, and vendor dependencies
Output review and human approval points

In practice

Reviewing an internal document assistant before staff use
Threat modeling an AI intake triage workflow
Identifying where a model or automation should not be allowed to take action

Typical scope

Typical scope covers one AI workflow, application, or automation design
Implementation testing, code review, and remediation are separate unless explicitly included
Best for planned or active AI workflows with meaningful data, vendor, or permission risk

Boundaries

This is not unauthorized testing
Any testing must be scoped, documented, and limited to systems the client owns or is authorized to assess
Implementation testing and code review are separate scopes unless explicitly included

Talk about this service

Security Documentation & Client-Ready Policies

$350–$1,500 per document package

Create practical documentation that helps small organizations explain and follow their AI, security, and data-handling expectations.

A good fit forSmall organizations that need AI acceptable-use policies, onboarding checklists, incident checklists, data-handling guidance, or client-ready security documents.

Deliverables, scope & boundaries

What you receive

Editable policy or checklist package
Plain-English summary
Implementation notes
Review cadence recommendation

What we cover

Document purpose and audience
Current practices and workflow fit
Plain-English policy language
Review and revision support
Editable final handoff

In practice

AI acceptable-use policy
Password and MFA policy
Incident response checklist
Data handling guide
Vendor review checklist
Employee onboarding security checklist

Typical scope

Typical package covers one policy/checklist family and one revision pass
Client, insurer, or vendor-specific questionnaires may require separate scope
Documents are practical business guidance, not legal advice or compliance certification

Boundaries

Does not provide legal advice
Does not certify compliance with a specific framework
Documents should be reviewed as tools, vendors, and workflows change

Talk about this service

Monthly support is available after the first project

Many businesses benefit from a small recurring advisory relationship: a monthly call, AI and staff questions, policy updates, roadmap tracking, and light implementation guidance. It is a practical way to keep AI and security decisions moving without hiring full-time security staff.

View Monthly Advisory

Security limitations are part of the scope

No unauthorized testing, credential attacks, exploitation, intrusive red teaming, or testing of third-party systems occurs without written authorization. Open-source exposure review is limited, lawful, and non-invasive.

YOUR NEXT CHAPTER

Need help choosing the right service?

Start with the AI question, training need, or staff habit in front of you. A clear first scope keeps the work useful without pretending the details are simple.

Let’s talk Explore services