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.