What would you do with more time back in your week? Matt Shepard of Shepard Consulting joins Kevin Dandino to discuss practical AI automation, reducing repetitive business tasks, and creating more room for life outside of work.

Matt shares how running construction and real estate businesses led him to build automation into his own operations. Now, he helps other small-business owners identify their biggest time drains and develop solutions around the way their businesses actually work.

The conversation explores starting with a manageable task, refining AI workflows, and building custom software when off-the-shelf tools don’t meet a business’s needs. Matt also explains his approach to working within a client’s budget and breaking larger projects into practical phases.

Beyond technology, Matt offers a valuable lesson for business owners: document your processes. Writing down the steps that currently live in your head can make training, delegation, automation, and an eventual business handoff easier to approach.

Whether you’re curious about AI or simply tired of spending your evenings catching up on administrative work, this conversation offers a grounded place to start.

• Getting started with AI: Identifying a simple, repetitive task to tackle first.
• Setting expectations: Matt’s employee-training analogy for giving AI clear instructions and refining results.
• Custom business software: A construction asset-tracking example built around a client’s specific needs.
• Budget-conscious implementation: Prioritizing useful improvements and building in phases.
• Documenting processes: Turning individual knowledge into repeatable business systems.
• Work-life balance: Making time for family and life beyond the business.

Explore Matt’s work and contact him through Shepard Consulting. Discuss the tasks consuming your time and what you’d like to improve.

Behind the Small Business is sponsored by Centennial State Insurance Agency. For personal or business insurance questions and a free quote, call 303-838-0554 or visit Centennial State Insurance Agency.

Proudly serving Colorado, Arizona, Nebraska, Kansas & Utah. Follow Behind the Small Business for more conversations with business owners about their experiences, lessons, and the work behind their businesses.