My (Hilarious) Journey in Building an AI Bot: Life Happens Edition

You’d think someone obsessed with operational efficiency would crush building an AI bot, right?

Spoiler alert: life had other plans. ???? (Side note: My mom’s fine after the car accident chaos.)

Here’s how it all started.?

I decided to take a week “OFF” (which, as a business owner, really just means tackling the pile of things you’ve been ignoring) to focus on two projects:

1?? Build a lead-gen AI bot to help business owners pinpoint operational inefficiencies they can act on immediately, and. 2?? Automate a back-end workflow to reduce the manual steps leading to a smoother less labour intensive process..

Simple enough, right? Spoiler: nope!

Step 1: Dream Big, Start Small (or so I thought)

I set out to create a tool that wasn’t just useful but also fun. A bot that could take business metrics and spit out actionable insights like, “Hey, your gross margin is flirting with disaster,” or, “Congratulations, you’ve achieved operational nirvana!” (Yes, I do know a few owners in that last category!)

My goal was simple: help business owners pinpoint the key drivers of their success so they can focus on what truly matters. As Nic said: "The roadmap you provided allows me to focus on what’s truly important to achieve our valuation goals." This became the foundation of everything I wanted the AI bot to deliver—clarity, direction, and actionable insights.

The first thing I knew … I had absolutely no idea how to build a bot. I’m not a coder—far from it. But I learn fast, and I really wanted to give this a try. I’ve always been drawn to problem-solving. So, naturally, I dove in headfirst, armed with determination, Google, YouTube andt a sprinkle of naivety.

Step 2: Life Said, “Hold My Coffee”

Before I could dive in, life showed up. My mom was hit in a car accident, and suddenly my week off became a whirlwind of helping her navigate insurance, repairs, and all the chaos that comes with it. By the time I sat down to work on my AI bot, more than half the week was gone. Classic.

This is why we build automations, isn’t it? So when life throws us curveballs, the business doesn’t fall apart.

Step 3: The Website Rabbit Hole

When I finally got back to the bot, I realized my website needed an overhaul to make any of this work. Yay for unexpected detours! Here’s where I refined my limited knowledge and create better landing pages, hook up CRMs, and—this is the highlight—add a popup. ??

I know, for marketers, this is “welcome to 2010.” For me, it was a major victory. Now I had a system to capture emails, because let’s be real, lead-gen starts with emails.

My goal?

Overdeliver on value so people wouldn’t begrudgingly give their email—they’d want to.

Step 4: Fun with Calculators (and Color Coding!)

The next step was adding calculators to help business owners visualize their margins and recurring revenue and many more important items.. Of course, I couldn’t stop there. I color-coded them:

• Green = You’re crushing it.
• Yellow = Room for improvement.
• Red = Yikes.

Nine calculators later, I was ecstatic. Was it perfect? No. But seeing a business owner’s eyes light up when they realize, “Oh, that’s where my margin is slipping!” makes it all worth it!

Step 5: Barometer Magic

I also added the Business Barometer, a tool that tells you exactly where to focus. One client took this and turned a six-figure business into a seven-figure powerhouse. Seeing that transformation is why I do this.

The Takeaway

Building what I wanted wasn’t the smooth, quick process I imagined. But it reminded me of something Brian from Elevated Advisors said: "We are now a well-oiled machine that runs effectively with the right people in the right seats knowing what they need to do to be successful."

Want to see how it turned out? Head over HERE and tell me what you think. Is it helpful?

Is it fun? Or does it scream “rookie coder vibes”?

Stay tuned - I’ll keep the storytelling coming as we dive into the larger AI automation attempts….

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As a CEO or business owner of a $3M+ company, are you:

?? Looking to streamline operations for smoother scaling? ?? Frustrated with profit leak, bottlenecks & constant firefighting in your business? ? Interested in a fresh perspective on maximizing your business value?

DM me—I’d be happy to share one clear solution to any operational or efficiency challenge you’re facing right now. Let’s connect and discuss how to drive impactful results.

Visit our website to learn more: www.scalinggrp.com/