Independent AI consulting · for small business owners

Most AI advice is hype. I'll help you find what's real.

No demos. No 200-slide decks. No vendor commissions. I sit with your business, find where AI actually earns its keep, and tell you the truth — even when the truth is "don't yet."

Book a free 15-min fit call See what it costs ↑ fifteen minutes, you do the talking
Sound familiar?

You don't need another tool. You need to know which one is worth it.

Every week there's a new "AI will change everything" headline, a cousin who swears by some app, a vendor with a demo that looks like magic and a price that doesn't. Meanwhile you've got a business to run.

The hype is exhausting

Everyone's selling transformation. Nobody's asking what your actual day looks like.

The tools all look the same

Every demo is impressive. None tell you what breaks when it hits your real process.

You can't afford a wrong bet

A tool you pay for and nobody opens. A month spent training the team on the wrong thing.

A better way

Find the cause. See the effect.

I start with discovery, not software. I learn how your business actually works: where the bottleneck really is, what's been tried, what "fixed" would feel like. Then I tell you, plainly, where AI helps and where it's a distraction.

  • Discovery-first. I map the business before I name a single tool
  • Tool-agnostic. I get nothing if you buy a tool. So I'll tell you the truth
  • Plainspoken. Opportunities ranked by what they return vs. what they cost
  • One person. Years of figuring out how real operations work, pointed at yours
Walk through an engagement →
THE CAUSE THE EFFECT
The work · pick your tempo

Five ways in. Real prices, no "contact us."

A $49 read, a $900 session and verdict, a focused opinion, the full plan, or the plan plus a pilot. Start wherever fits.

Start small

The Riff
$49
outside-in written read · 3 days
A researched first look at where AI fits your business — and where it doesn't yet.
See The Riff →
The Soundcheck
$900
90-min session + written verdict
A real opinion before you commit. Should you do anything at all?
See The Soundcheck →
The Single
$2,500
1–2 weeks
Not sure where to start? A real opinion, no big commitment.
  • Focused discovery
  • Outside-in look at your ops + industry
  • A short Brief — 3–5 AI opportunities ranked
  • One 60-min walkthrough
Start here
★ The complete plan
The EP
$4,500
3–4 weeks
Best when you want the full plan.
  • Everything in The Single
  • Extended discovery — team conversations
  • Full competitive + tech-stack research
  • Stress-tested use cases
  • A sequenced roadmap
  • 90-min walkthrough
Book the EP
The LP
$8,500
5–6 weeks
Best when you want momentum, not just a plan.
  • Everything in The EP
  • I build one pilot from the roadmap
  • Working + handed off the day it's done
  • 30-day check-in
Build with me

Bigger than an LP? Let's scope it. Custom engagements start where the LP leaves off.

Who's behind it
Cory — founder of Common Cause

I came to AI from a classroom, not a server room.

That's the whole edge, honestly. Teaching is mostly listening. Figuring out what someone actually needs versus what they walked in asking for. I do the same thing with businesses. I'm not an AI evangelist. I'm a person who's genuinely curious about how your shop runs, and stubborn about telling you the truth.

I named it Common Cause because the good work happens with you, not to you. Find the cause, see the effect. That's it.

— Cory
No pitch, I promise

Tell me what's slowing you down. I'll tell you if I can help.

Fifteen minutes, free, no slides. If we're a fit, we'll talk next steps. If we're not, I'll point you somewhere better.

Book a free 15-min fit call