Let's talk truth, not pitch.
The chamber breakfast. The small business association. The podcast where somebody actually wants to know how this stuff works. I talk about AI, digital strategy, and the practical realities of running a business — for people who need the thing to work, not the people selling the hype.
The business happens after
The most valuable thing in any room is rarely the pitch — it's what comes before it and what comes after. Why relationships still beat tactics, how to build a room people actually want to be in, and why the follow-up matters more than the close. Drawn from seven years of running one of Lansing's best-loved networking events and a career built almost entirely on people who came back.
AI for people with a business to run
Past the headlines and the doom. What artificial intelligence actually means for a small or mid-sized business right now — what's real, what's noise, what's worth your time this quarter, and what to safely ignore. From someone working inside an AI company every day who still has to explain it in plain English to people who don't have time for the hype.
Understand the business before you solve it
Most consultants show up with the answer. The good ones show up with questions. A talk about the discipline of actually understanding a business — the people, the pressures, the thing they haven't said yet — before recommending a single solution. Built on twenty years of learning that the diagnosis matters more than the prescription, and a psychology background that started it all.
My room
I'm at my best in front of practitioners and operators — business owners, association members, the people doing the actual work. Chamber breakfasts. Small business groups. Industry associations. Podcasts about real-world business and technology.
Not my room
I'm not the right fit for a coastal tech conference debating the framework of the week, and I'd rather be honest about that than waste your slot. If your audience wants substance over posturing and plain talk over jargon, that's exactly my room.
Explaining the work in plain terms, when it counted.
I've spent a fair amount of time explaining this work to audiences who needed it in plain terms. I was a regular panelist on Michigan Business Rap, a Michigan business radio program.
It's dated now — the branding's from a previous chapter — but the point stands: when national networks needed someone to explain this clearly on camera, I was who they called.
Wow! Such an awesome experience working with Ash at nimblefish. I've been indecisive for years about building my website and now I know why — I hadn't met Ash yet. Ash was so agreeable and invaluable in helping me clarify my message and offerings. He worked with me as the architect and designer of my site but just as importantly as a business consultant. I really cannot say enough good things about my experience.
In person preferred — I'll travel for the right room. Remote works when it makes sense. I tailor every talk to the actual audience: tell me who's going to be in the seats and what you want them walking out thinking, and we'll build it from there.
The simplest way to start is a real conversation.
Tell me about your event, your audience, and what you're hoping for.
Books through nimblefish, where my calendar lives. Press / media — bio, headshots, topics, and media history available on request.