AI tools for small businesses - how to use them instantly, without stress and without an IT department
16.09.2025. / Employee education

AI is no longer reserved for IT departments and large companies. Today, it is used by everyone who wants to work easier and smarter. If you also want to see how AI can help you, register for the workshop that will be held in Zadar on October 15th. You can work on real examples and solutions that you can apply immediately. The number of places is limited - register on time!

For the past two years we have constantly been hearing about artificial intelligence. ChatGPT has "exploded", various tools are popping up everywhere, and the internet is full of bombastic headlines about the AI revolution. But if you are the owner of a small company, have a trade, or you work in a team of a few people, you are probably wondering: “And what does that really mean for my business?”

The answer is very simple: AI can save you time, energy, and nerves. And not on some “abstract” level but through concrete tasks you do every week.
In this blog we will explain:

  • which tools you can use today (for free or for little money),
  • how they specifically help small teams and entrepreneurs,
  • and how to use them wisely without losing half a day on "playing around."

At the end you will also find an invitation to a practical workshop in Zadar without presentations, without lecturing, just concrete work.

You don’t need to know programming to use AI

AI tools are no longer reserved for developers. Today they are used by hair salon owners, apartment managers, small producers, people who sell through social networks, craftsmen who don’t employ a single marketer.

One of the best examples: ChatGPT.
If you have a free account (chat.openai.com), right now you can:

  • Write an email that sounds professional, even if you are tired and uninspired.
  • Prepare text for an Instagram post that is relaxed, clear, and action-oriented.
  • Create a mini content plan for the upcoming week.
  • Polish an offer or a product/service description so that it looks like it was written by someone from an agency.

It is enough to write a simple instruction, such as:
“Write for me as if you are addressing clients who are hearing about my massage studio for the first time. I want to sound professional but approachable.”
In a second you have a finished text. Of course, it will need a bit of editing, but that is already half the work done.

Note: the free version of ChatGPT uses the GPT-4o model, which is quite sufficient for most things. But if you want to get more serious, the paid version (20 USD/month) gives access to GPT-5, which provides more precise and smarter answers, better understands context, and can even analyze images, documents, and websites.

“I don’t have time for AI.” – that is exactly why you need it

Small entrepreneurs often don’t have the luxury of delegating. They write content themselves, answer messages, keep the books, arrange meetings, update the website. And yes, all of that has to look professional as if a group of experts had worked on it, because the audience compares you with the big players.

Here AI helps not as a replacement for you, but as an extension of your hands and your head. Here are a few real-life examples:

1. Social media posts

Problem: you know what you offer, but you don’t know how to say it in a new way every day.
Solution: ChatGPT + Canva (free version).

  • In ChatGPT you type: "Write 5 Instagram posts for a small family apartment in Zadar, which accommodates couples and wants to emphasize peace, nature, and proximity to the beach. Posts go out only on weekdays and each post has an accompanying Story. The audience I’m targeting lives in large EU cities and loves to travel throughout the year. I want them to recognize my apartment as the ideal place for couples going on a ‘city break’."
  • Then in Canva (canva.com) you put those texts into ready-made templates. Canva now also offers the "Magic Write" option that can suggest slogans, descriptions, and even write for you.

2. Answering inquiries

If you keep receiving the same questions via Facebook, Instagram, or email, create yourself an “answer base” with the help of AI.
You type the question into ChatGPT ("How to explain to a client that check-in at the apartment starts at 2 p.m.?") and you get several polite, clear answers that you can later copy when needed.

3. Writing offers or texts for the web

If you have a product or service that you need to explain, AI can help make it sound structured, clear, and with a better call to action.

Are you writing text for the web? Ask it:
“Help me write a title and subtitle for a page that offers packaging services for small food producers in Croatia.”

Additional bonus: ChatGPT can also translate text into foreign languages for you (if, for example, you have foreign customers).
Note: For simple translations it is quite sufficient, but for more complex and longer texts you should definitely seek the services of a professional proofreader or translator who will create a translation in the spirit of the language.

 

AI is not a big deal, you just need to start smart

When we mention AI at a meeting with small entrepreneurs, we often hear very similar sentences:

  • “I don’t have time to learn that.”
  • “It’s too complicated for me.”
  • “That’s for IT people and these new kids, not for me.”

And we understand why. Because if you haven’t had any contact with that world until now, everything can sound like just another one of those things you “should do,” but never manage to get around to.

But what we always emphasize is that AI is not something you have to master in one day. You don’t have to be an expert, or know English perfectly, or understand “prompt engineering.” You don’t even need to know exactly what prompt means. It’s enough to know how to ask a simple question as if you were asking a colleague:

  • “Can you help me create a Facebook post for this week?”
  • “How do I write a message to a client who is late with payment without sounding too harsh?”
  • “I’m having a barbecue this weekend - can you make me a shopping list for 10 people?”

You can already ask ChatGPT such questions today and you will get useful suggestions.

AI is not here to “take your job” or to confuse you. It is here to make easier what you are already doing, but with less effort.

If you know how to use WhatsApp, you will know ChatGPT.

If you have ever made a presentation in PowerPoint, Canva will feel natural to you and very quickly you will think it is a hundred times better than PowerPoint.

If you have ever written a message to a client, then you already know 80% of what you need to use AI.

Instead of looking at AI as a new subject in school that you have to learn, try to see it as a new assistant in the office. It’s not always perfect, but it will handle boring tasks when you don’t have time. And if it makes a mistake, it’s no big deal, you are still the boss and you still decide what can go “public” and what cannot.

So don’t wait for the “perfect moment.” Try it today:
→ Open chat.openai.com.
→ Register (free).
→ Ask one concrete question that has been on your mind these days.
You might be surprised at how ready you already are.

Workshop in Zadar: AI for small businesses, but without “big” words

If you really want to learn how to use these tools with your own example, come to our workshop:

  • Business Incubator Zadar
  • October 15, 2025
  • Early registration until September 20 - price 250 EUR (for an additional team member another -10%)

What we do at the workshop:

  • We show how to use AI tools with examples from your everyday life
  • We write posts, replies, and offers together in real time.
  • We explain the difference between the free and paid versions of the tools.
  • We set up the basics for a system that saves you time every week.

This is not a workshop for technicians, designers, or programmers. This is a workshop for owners of small businesses who want to work less and achieve more.

 

AI is not the “future,” it is already here

If you have been waiting for the “right moment” to get acquainted with AI - here it is! You no longer need to look for time, resources, and people. It is enough to know where you lose time every day, and we will show you how to take it back smartly.

Applications for the workshop (that will be held in Croatian) are ongoing, and the number of places is limited.

Register below (or send us an email).

If you are not sure whether the workshop is for you, feel free to contact us, we will talk and honestly tell you whether it can help you.