AI for Small Business: What a Summer Intern Taught Brad Noll's Team
Entrepreneurship · From Student of the Game
AI for Small Business: What a Summer Intern Taught Brad Noll's Team
Brad Noll jokes that he cannot watch a commercial anymore without hearing the word AI. It has become the biggest buzzword around. So for this episode of Student of the Game, he brought in someone who is actually studying it.
Michael Doerffler is a Homestead High School graduate from southwest Fort Wayne and a student at the University of South Florida, where he is pursuing a newer degree in AI and business analytics that combines data science, computer science, and business. He is also the Noll Team's first intern from USF. The episode follows Brad's conversation with Tiffany Ham about the team's internship program, and Michael is a real example of what that program looks like.
AI and Machine Learning in Plain Terms
Michael keeps the definitions simple. AI is when computers are trained to think and respond the way humans do. "It's almost like giving it a software, a brain," he says. Machine learning is a part of AI where computers learn from the data they are given. Instead of being told exactly what to do every time, the computer finds patterns and gets better with more data.
Brad points out that ChatGPT has become to AI what Kleenex is to tissues: a brand name people use for the whole category. Google, Netflix, and many other companies have their own versions. Michael also uses tools like Perplexity, which shows the sources behind its answers, and an app that analyzes his skin and suggests a routine.
Brad, who calls himself analytical by nature, shares a few favorite lines about data. W. Edwards Deming said, in God we trust, all others must bring data. Peter Drucker is known for the idea that you cannot manage what you do not measure. Michael adds a story from his other internship at Three Rivers, where a coworker built a baseball prediction model good enough that the Fort Wayne TinCaps invited him into their box to help make calls during a game.
“But then there's the version that I believe in, which is AI is going to become a tool that upgrades our jobs instead of replacing them.”
Michael Doerffler
Three Projects That Moved the Needle
Brad believes small hinges swing big doors, and Michael's summer projects proved it. The first was the team's client satisfaction surveys. Michael uploaded hundreds of survey files and testimonials and used prompts to pull out patterns: which words kept showing up in positive reviews and what small issues appeared in the less positive ones.
It took real work. The AI kept starting its analysis before he finished uploading, a bit like a toddler who will not wait. Michael eventually analyzed the surveys in batches and then combined the results. Brad plans to go over those findings with agents as part of their coaching.
The second project was an agent dashboard. The team had data on every agent but no single view of the whole team. Michael did not use AI to build the dashboard itself. He used it to teach himself Power BI, then connected the team's spreadsheets and built a branded scorecard. It shows connections, closings, and volume, and helps Brad see where each agent needs coaching. The third project looks at the team's standard operating procedures, including ways to automate steps in Trello so no one has to move a card by hand.
Upgrading Jobs Instead of Replacing Them
Many people associate efficiency with losing jobs. Michael sees two possible paths. In one, everything becomes automated and the human part of business fades. "But then there's the version that I believe in, which is AI is going to become a tool that upgrades our jobs instead of replacing them," he says. It takes away the repetitive work and frees people to do what humans are meant to do.
Brad asks him to repeat that list, calling it the fundamentals: critical thinking, strategy, building relationships, and connecting deeply with others. "I mean, that's a mic drop moment right there," Brad says.
Michael is also surprised by how AI can help with self-reflection. Based on past conversations, he asks questions like what it thinks he values or where it sees contradictions in his behavior. Brad tried a similar prompt asking for the most likely outcome of his next 12 months. Then he shares a lesson from his mentor about salt. Sodium and chlorine are harmful on their own, but together they make something precious. To Brad, that is thinking and doing. AI can help with the thinking, but nothing happens unless you act on it.
How Should a Small Business Start Using AI?
Michael's advice is to start small. Do not try to use AI for everything at once. Pick one task you do often and treat AI like a collaborator. "The more context you give it is the more helpful it becomes," he says. Brad's framing is that AI is your new personal assistant. Here are some of the ideas Michael has been sending the team in his regular AI tips:
- Draft follow-up messages that sound personal, not robotic, while still saving time.
- Write listing descriptions that match a client's personality or lifestyle.
- Generate pros and cons for a pricing strategy based on market comps.
- Build checklists to boost daily productivity.
- Brainstorm social captions and client appreciation notes.
- Before a client meeting, share their questionnaire answers and ask what questions they are likely asking themselves.
Why Experience Still Matters
Brad is not worried that clients have the same tools he does. He tells the story of a cousin, a pediatric specialist, who once had a patient ask a question he could not answer on the spot. He had the patient search it while he searched it too, then explained that his training and years of experience let him know what to do with the answer. Brad says the same holds for any business owner. Clients will use AI alongside you, so your experience has to show in the results.
Michael also names the downside. If you let AI do all the work, you can limit your own critical thinking and problem solving. Used well, he says, it pushes you to think outside your own head.
His biggest surprise from the internship was how much impact he could make by being curious. He thought the survey project was just a list of random words, until he saw the team put it to use. Brad closes where he always does. AI is everywhere, he says, but use it to improve your relationships, because in the game of life, relationships win. Michael sends his flowers to his mom, who helped connect him with the internship in the first place.
▶ Listen to the full episode
AI & Business Strategy with Intern Michael Doerffler, on Student of the Game.
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