MINNESOTA AI CONSULTING / JOHN RICE
Practical AI.
For Minnesota
businesses.
A clear plan, a team that knows how to use AI, and a first project you can evaluate. I help Minnesota owners and service teams work out where to start and put the useful parts into practice.
Free 30-minute remote conversation. Start with a question; no technical brief required.
MINNESOTA NATIVE / 15 YEARS IN SOFTWARE
Local roots.
Useful work comes first.
My path took me from Minnesota to Santa Monica College in Los Angeles and back home. Today I build software, help teams apply AI, and share the methods behind the work. For an agency or service business, the starting point is a task people already recognize: a client update, an inquiry, or an answer buried in team documents.
Read my story01 / AI help at the stage you need
Get clear. Get the team ready.
Get one useful thing working.
AI readiness & roadmap
Review your current work and tools. Prioritize the opportunities, team questions, and requirements for a useful first project.
Explore this engagementPractical AI training
Learn through representative tasks. Practice giving instructions, checking sources, and knowing when a person needs to take over.
Explore this engagementWorkflow implementation
Build a contained pilot with agreed sources and human review. Evaluate the complete job and hand it over with clear ownership.
Explore this engagementAfter a first project, scoped adoption support can help the team improve instructions, review results, and choose what to do next.
Explore adoption supportSCOPED PAID ENGAGEMENT / AI READINESS ASSESSMENT
A useful roadmap
starts with your work.
An AI readiness assessment should make the next decision easier. We agree on the tasks and tools to review, the people involved, and the outputs before work begins. The free first conversation helps establish fit; the assessment is a separate engagement.
Read how to choose a first projectWHAT WE SCOPE TOGETHER
- The current picture. Recurring tasks, tools already in use, team experience, source owners, and access requirements.
- A practical comparison. Task frequency, information quality, review effort, prerequisites, and which options warrant a first test.
- The next-step brief. A selected task, output, owner, reviewer, dependencies, and criteria for evaluating the complete job.
Implementation and ongoing support are scoped separately. Start with a general description; private documents are not needed for the introductory call.
CONSULTING IN PRACTICE / PROJECT STUDY
Designed & prototypedFrom scattered information
to a useful next step.
An internal AI assistant for a marketing agency: meeting commitments, connected performance data, and status drafts a person can review.
Explore the projectTHE WORKFLOW
- 01
Find the commitment.
What was agreed, who owns it, and what is still missing.
- 02
Keep the source close.
Give the reviewer a way back to the original information.
- 03
Prepare the next step.
A useful draft for a person to check and share.
02 / Minnesota AI field notes
Make a better decision.
Take something useful with you.
Choose your first AI project.
A practical way to select a task, define the reviewer, and measure whether the whole job improves.
Read the first-project guide TEAM TRAINING GUIDEPlan a useful team workshop.
Build a session around your team’s questions, a representative task, and review habits people can practice.
Read the workshop guide FREE ORGANIZER BRIEFBring the team’s work into the room.
Prepare the audience, permitted example, intended output, and follow-up plan before a training session.
Download the workshop briefBEFORE YOU HIRE AI HELP
Know what to ask.
Know what to scope.
What goes into an AI project quote?
Understand the work, integrations, review, and ongoing costs a proposal needs to cover.
Read the buyer guide CHOOSING HELPWhat should you ask before hiring?
Check the evidence, responsibilities, access, and handoff before choosing an AI consultant.
Read the buyer guide BUILD OR USE WHAT YOU HAVEDo you need a custom workflow?
Compare a clearer process, existing software, and a custom build around one representative task.
Read the buyer guideSTART WITH A FREE CONVERSATION
A business question.
A clearer next step.
We’ll discuss where you are with AI and which next step may be useful. Further training or implementation is scoped separately.
Book a free AI consultationIN THE 30-MINUTE CONVERSATION
- Where the business and team are with AI today.
- One recurring frustration, question, or possible first project.
- Options to consider and whether further help fits.
A general description is enough. No private documents are needed.
FOR BUSINESS GROUPS & LOCAL COMMUNITIES
A practical AI session
for your audience.
If you bring Minnesota business owners or teams together, we can discuss a session around their real questions. The proposed format uses a worked example, clear review steps, and a resource people can use afterward.
For a chamber, business association, or community group planning an AI workshop, we first agree on who the session serves and what participants should be able to practice.
- Audience roles, starting experience, and the question they want answered.
- One permitted example and an output participants can review.
- Format, timing, accessibility needs, materials, and follow-up.
- Session fee, host responsibilities, and any permitted promotion, agreed before a commitment.
03 / Independent local resources
Explore Minnesota’s business support.
These organizations publish their own support and training resources. They are independent resources to explore; listing them does not imply a partnership or endorsement.
Small Business Development Centers
Explore the statewide network’s business guidance and training resources.
Explore SBDC services REGIONAL BUSINESS SUPPORTFind your local SBDC
Use the official Minnesota directory to find the center serving your region.
Open the regional directory MINNESOTA CHAMBER FOUNDATIONProductivity and workforce training
Read the foundation’s work on productivity, AI adoption, and training needs.
Read the foundation’s discussionBEFORE WE TALK