How I Use AI to Run a Consulting Business Solo

People ask me regularly how I run a consulting business as one person. The honest answer is: with AI handling about 40% of the work that previously would have required a team, or that I simply would not have been able to do alone.

Here is the actual workflow, without the PR.

Client research and preparation

Before every client engagement, I do a structured research process that used to take three to four hours and now takes about forty-five minutes. AI helps me synthesize public information about the client's industry, recent developments, competitive landscape, and any publicly available information about their specific situation. I review, edit, and annotate the synthesis rather than creating it from scratch.

The time saved is real. But the more significant change is coverage — I can now do thorough preparation for every client interaction, rather than cutting corners on smaller engagements.

Proposal writing

Proposals used to be my highest-time, lowest-leverage activity. The thinking required for a good proposal is genuinely high-value and irreplaceable. The writing of it, however, is largely an exercise in structured communication — something AI handles well.

My current process: I produce a structured brief of the engagement (problem, approach, deliverables, timeline, investment) in bullet point form. AI generates a first draft of the full proposal. I revise extensively — usually changing 40-60% of the language — to bring it to my voice, specific to the client, and honest about what I actually believe. The process still requires significant time and judgment. It no longer requires the full writing labor.

Content creation

My newsletter, this blog, and my social content are where I have been most intentional about the human-AI boundary. AI helps with research synthesis, structural outline, and occasional draft passages. Everything that goes out under my name has been substantially rewritten by me, because the thinking is the product — not the output.

If I were to publish largely AI-generated content, I would be building an audience for a voice that is not mine. Whatever efficiency gains that produced would come at the cost of the thing I am actually building.

Operations

Scheduling, invoicing, follow-up, administrative documentation — these are fully automated in my workflow. The AI does not need my judgment here. It needs my initial setup and occasional review. I spend roughly two hours per week on administrative work that used to consume ten.

The net effect of all of this is not that I work less. It is that I work differently — with more of my time on the activities that actually require me, and less on the activities that require someone.