Safe-start checklist: an AI staff without unnecessary risk

Practicum for Volume 2, Chapter 5, "Small Business: AI as an Affordable Staff." Version: 2026-07. Time: 10-15 minutes. This follows the Small-Business Agent Staff Map. Once you choose one function, use this worksheet to start without breaking the business.

The entry point stays cheap and reversible when you begin with one pain point tied to money and keep a person in the loop. Use these five steps.

Step 1. Name one pain point tied to money

Do not write "implement AI." Name a specific problem that costs money or time every week.

Pain point: ________________ | Weekly cost in hours or money: ________________

Step 2. Check whether you have outsourced it before

Work you have already given to a contractor is often a good candidate. You have described it as a service, so it is easier to hand to an agent.

Outsourced before? yes / no | If yes, what exactly: ________________

Step 3. Choose assistant or autopilot

Assistant: AI prepares the work; a person decides and sends it. Use this whenever an error has a meaningful cost.
Autopilot: AI acts on its own. Use it only for cheap, reversible, testable routine work.
My choice for this function: ________________

Step 4. Set the control points

Before launch, write down what the agent does not do without you.

Does not touch: ________________ (money / contracts / customer messages, for example)
Escalates to a person when: ________________
How I check the result: ________________

Step 5. Set a time limit

Do not let "setting up AI" consume a month.

Time allowed for the test: ____ (for example, 2 weeks)
Signal that it works, or that I should stop: ________________

Output

One function, one mode (assistant or autopilot), clear control points, and a test period. This is not a "digitized business." It is an honest first step.

Set function priorities with the Small-Business Agent Staff Map.
Add tests, logs, and warning signals with the Resilient Automation Checklist.
Follow the full route in the Volume 2 Workbook.

Version: 2026-07. Warning: one pain point, one control loop, and an honest deadline. Do not try to automate everything.