AI consulting and automation for small businesses in Charlotte, NC. Hand the repetitive work to AI. Keep the part only you can do.
You know which tasks eat up your day. We research how AI could help and recommend solutions tailored to your business. If you want help putting them to work, we can handle implementation and train your team.
The first conversation is free. If we agree there's a fit, the $999 assessment gives you researched solutions and a clear plan for putting them to work.
Examples
What AI workflow automation could do for you.
Six examples of small-business workflow automation, from email follow-ups to bookkeeping. Your assessment identifies which solutions fit your business.
HVAC & plumbing
Quote follow-ups, ready to send
~3 hrs back / week
Today
A tech sends a quote. Nobody follows up unless the owner remembers on a Sunday night. By then, the customer may have moved on.
What we build
Any quote with no reply gets a friendly nudge on day two and day six, written in your voice, queued for one-click approval each morning.
What it takes
Your quoting tool and email. About 12 hours of our time, then an hour of training for the office manager.
HOA & property management
A resident inbox that sorts itself
~6 hrs back / week
Today
Eighty emails a day, all in one inbox: maintenance, dues, violations, and questions you've answered a hundred times.
What we build
Every incoming email gets tagged by type, routed to the right person, and the routine ones arrive with a reply already drafted for review.
What it takes
Your shared inbox. About 20 hours of our time, including a week of watching it run in the background before anyone relies on it.
Any business with vendors
Vendor bills entered for you
~4 hrs back / week
Today
Vendor bills arrive by email and photo. Someone has to enter each one into QuickBooks and choose the right account.
What we build
The automation reads each bill, matches it to the vendor, and assigns an account from your chart of accounts. You review the entry before it's posted.
What it takes
QuickBooks and your bills inbox. About 15 hours of our time. This is where our accounting background earns its keep.
Trades & field services
Estimates from a voice note
~3 hrs back / week
Today
You walk the job, scribble notes, and write up the estimate at the kitchen table after dinner. Some never get written.
What we build
You record a voice memo in the truck. It comes back as a formatted estimate in your template, with your line items and pricing, ready to send.
What it takes
Your phone and your estimate template. About 14 hours of our time.
Gyms & studios
Keep up with renewals and lapsed members
~2 hrs back / week
Today
Memberships expire, and lapsed members never hear from you because nobody has time to pull the list.
What we build
A weekly list of expiring and lapsed members, each with a short personal message drafted from their history, and a log of who came back.
What it takes
Your membership software export and email or text tool. About 10 hours of our time.
Every owner
Automate the prep for month-end
~5 hrs back / month
Today
Closing the books means a checklist in someone's head, a dozen reconciliations, and a surprise every quarter.
What we build
The automation pulls and compares reconciliation data, flags anything unusual for review, and prepares a one-page owner summary.
What it takes
QuickBooks and your bank exports. About 18 hours of our time. Built by someone who has closed books for a living.
Hours are estimates for a typical business of this kind. You'll get numbers specific to your shop in the assessment report.
Live demo
A financial dashboard, built from a small business's own books.
Watch the short tour, then click around a working sample: the cash outlook, ratios explained in plain English, and what gets checked before a number reaches you.
Try the live demoHow it works
Start with a conversation. Then you decide.
First, we listen to what's slowing your business down. If we think we can help, we discuss the $999 assessment and agree on the work before research begins. Implementation is a separate choice.
We start with a call
You walk us through the problems and manual tasks taking up your time. This conversation is free. If we don't think AI can help, we'll tell you.
We find the solutions
Once you agree to the assessment, we research your specific problems and the tools and systems that could solve them. We turn that work into recommendations for your business.
We explain the plan
At a second meeting, we walk through the report, explain the recommendations, and answer your questions. This is usually about a week later, depending on scope.
Build
Want us to put the solutions to work? We quote implementation and team training as a package. You agree on the price before we build and test the setup.
Handed over
Training is included with implementation. We show your team how to use the setup and hand over the accounts and documentation.
Optional monthly technical support helps keep the system working and identifies improvements as AI tools change.
Built in the tools you already use
If you choose implementation, we handle the technical setup in your own accounts and show your team how to use it.
Pricing
$999 for a clear plan to automate your business's repetitive work.
You shouldn't have to spend your evenings figuring out which AI tools could solve your problems. We do that research for your business and explain what we recommend, why it fits, and how it would work.
The assessment covers the research, your tailored report, and a meeting to walk through the solutions.
The $999 assessment includes
- Research focused on the problems you and your team face
- Recommended automation projects, ranked by priority
- Estimated hours saved and the value of that time, using your numbers
- Recommended tools and an explanation of how the setup works
- A walkthrough of the recommendations and the full report to keep
If you decide to build
- A custom quote for implementation and team training
- Implementation, tested on your real work, plus team training and documentation you own
- Optional monthly technical support and advice on improvements
Booking the first conversation is free. If you choose the $999 assessment, we agree before research begins and invoice before presenting the solutions. Implementation with team training is a separate, custom-quoted package; monthly technical support is optional.
Do the math
How much is the repetitive work costing you?
Start with one task you'd like off your plate.
This calculation assumes a 70% reduction in time spent on the task. Your assessment will include estimates based on your actual work.
Annual cost of time spent
Estimated hours saved per year
Why us
What's different about two people who show up.
In a 2026 survey of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses participants, 76% reported using AI, but only 14% had fully integrated it into their core operations. We help you put AI to work in your business.
We know where to look.
AI tools change quickly. We use our knowledge of the available tools to research your problems and recommend systems that fit how your business works.
We do the build, too.
If you choose implementation, the same people who researched your solutions handle the setup, test it on your work, and train your team.
Numbers people.
Our backgrounds are in finance, consulting, and process improvement. We look at how work moves through your business, where it slows down, and what it takes to get it done. Then we put numbers to the time automation can save.
Your accounts. Your automation.
We build in accounts you own and hand over the documentation. You keep control of the setup whether or not you choose ongoing support.
Source: Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses survey, 2026. Survey of 1,256 program participants; 14% reported fully integrating AI into core operations.
Who we are
We've spent our careers working through these same processes.
Adam Barry
Co-founderAdam combines expertise in finance and credit with hands-on experience implementing AI agents and automated workflows. He helps small businesses put AI to work where it saves time and makes financial sense.
LinkedInBrenden Hennessy
Co-founderBrenden started in consulting, advising large companies on risk and finance. He now works in process improvement, finding slow, manual work and fixing it.
The name is a promise about pace. We're not here for a quick win and a disappearing act. We're here for the long run.
Is this you?
Who we work best with.
We work with owners whose teams spend hours on the same tasks every week. You don't need to know which AI tool you need. The first conversation is where we explore whether it could help.
A good fit if
- You own and run a business with fewer than thirty people
- Someone on your team does the same task every day or every week
- The work lives in email, spreadsheets, QuickBooks, or a scheduling app
- You're within driving distance of Charlotte
Probably not a fit if
- The manual work is rare, or different every single time
- You need custom software or a mobile app built from scratch
- You want an AI strategy for a two-hundred-person company
- You already know what to build and only need a software subscription
Articles
Practical answers before you hire anyone.
Plain-language guides to the questions owners ask us most. See all articles.
Is ChatGPT safe for business?
Personal versus business plans for ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot and Gemini, plus a one-page AI policy you can copy.
What an AI consultant costs a small business
What firms publish, the software costs underneath, and when you don't need a consultant at all.
24 tasks a small business can automate with AI
Specific tasks by industry, with estimated hours saved, what stays human, and how to pick the first one.
AI readiness checklist for small businesses
15 questions about your work, data, tools, people and rules. Tick what's true and see where you stand.
Questions
Questions about AI consulting for your business.
What does the $999 AI assessment include?
We research the manual work and business problems you describe, recommend suitable tools and systems, and explain how the solutions would work. You receive a tailored report with priorities and estimated savings, plus a meeting to walk through it. See what's included in the assessment.
Is the first conversation free?
Yes. We listen to your problems and discuss whether AI could help. Booking does not commit you to the $999 assessment. If there is a fit, we agree on the paid work before research begins. Book a free first conversation.
What if I don't think my business needs AI?
Start with the work that takes up your time. We'll talk through whether AI could help with those specific tasks. The first conversation is free, and if we don't see a fit at that stage, we'll say so.
What tools do you actually use?
The recommendation depends on your problem and the tools you already use. It could involve Claude, email, spreadsheets, QuickBooks, or your scheduling software. The assessment explains the recommended system; setup is included if you choose implementation.
What happens to my data?
We set up the automation in accounts you own and explain what information each tool receives before anything is switched on. We don't keep copies of your customer or financial data, and we'll sign a confidentiality agreement before the assessment if you'd like one.
How much will the build cost?
Implementation and team training are quoted together based on the recommended work. We explain the price before you decide, so you can weigh the cost against the expected benefit. Buying the assessment doesn't commit you to implementation.
Do you meet in person in Charlotte?
Yes. We're based in Charlotte, and we're happy to meet at your business instead of on a video call, both for the first conversation and the report walkthrough. We work with businesses across Charlotte and nearby towns like Matthews, Huntersville, Davidson and Fort Mill.
Isn't this just ChatGPT?
You're paying for us to investigate your specific problems, know where to look, and use our AI knowledge to recommend suitable tools and systems. We bring those findings together in a tailored report and explain the solutions to you.
Where we work
AI consulting for Charlotte and nearby communities.
Don't see your town? Ask us. We may still be able to help.
Start here
Tell us what eats your week. We'll tell you if we can fix it.
Book a free first conversation with Adam and Brenden. We'll hear what's slowing you down and discuss whether the $999 assessment makes sense for your business. Pick a time below, or ask a question first. We reply within one business day.We reply within one business day.
- marathonconsultingai@gmail.com
- Phone or text
Based in Charlotte, NC. We work with businesses across the metro.
Times are shown in your time zone. You'll get a calendar invite when you book. This first conversation is free; booking does not commit you to the paid assessment.