Running a one-man shop with an AI back office
By Mike Yeager, The Upholstery Shop, Erie CO
I run an upholstery shop in Erie. Most days it's me, a staple gun and a pile of fabric. The work itself takes real hands and real time. The problem was everything around the work: texts, emails, quotes, follow-ups, bookkeeping, posting, reminders. That stuff was eating my evenings.
So I started handing it to AI. Not one magic app — a set of assistants that each handle a piece of the back office, with one that keeps the rest organized and checks in with me. Here's what that looks like and what I've learned.
What the AI handles
First response. When someone texts or emails asking about a chair, they get a quick, friendly reply asking for photos and measurements. Customers don't wait half a day because I was under a sofa.
Drafting. Follow-ups, reminders, pickup notices, thank-you notes. The AI drafts them in my voice. Routine ones go out; anything new gets my eyes first.
Keeping track. A running checklist of what needs me, what's in progress, and what's done. I look at one sheet instead of digging through five inboxes.
Research and outreach. Finding designers and businesses that might need upholstery, and drafting short intro emails at a slow, sane pace — a couple a day, not spam.
Watching the numbers. Flagging odd charges or a tight week so I'm not surprised.
What stays human
This part matters most. I set a few hard rules:
Prices, quotes and complaints come to me. Every piece is different and every unhappy customer deserves the owner.
Money doesn't move without me. The AI can tell me what's going on. It can't pay or change anything.
Nothing new gets sent or posted without approval. Routine messages I've already OK'd can go. New stuff waits.
Business and personal stay separate. Different tools, different access.
The AI is a back office, not a boss. It handles the busywork so I can do the part customers are actually paying for.
What I got wrong at first
Too many tools, too fast. I spun up more assistants than I needed and spent time managing them. Fewer, clearer jobs work better.
Not writing things down. The AI only knows the rules you give it. Once I wrote clear rules — what it can send, what it has to ask about — it got a lot more useful.
Watching the cost. These tools aren't free. Running things on a tight schedule instead of around the clock keeps it reasonable.
Trusting drafts blindly. Early on I'd skim and approve. Now I actually read anything that's new. It takes a minute and catches mistakes.
What it's done for the shop
I answer people faster. Fewer leads slip through the cracks. I'm not doing paperwork at 10 PM. And I can spend my energy on the work and on growing the shop instead of on my inbox. It hasn't replaced anyone — it's let one guy run like a small team.
If you want to try it
You don't need to be technical. Start small:
Pick your most annoying repetitive task. For me it was answering "how much to redo my chair?" texts.
Write down how you'd handle it. Your tone, what info you need, what you never say.
Let the AI draft, you approve. Do that for a couple weeks before letting anything go out on its own.
Keep a single list. One place for what needs you.
Set hard lines. Money, pricing and complaints stay with you.
Small trade businesses are the ones who can benefit most from this stuff, and we're the last ones anybody's building it for. If you run a shop and want to compare notes, reach out — happy to talk.
— Mike
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