Set Up Your AI Stack in Under 30 Minutes

You don't need a dozen SaaS subscriptions to run a modern small business. You need three tools that cover the work you're currently doing manually (or not doing at all): managing leads, getting found online, and creating content.

Here's how to set up all three in a single 30-minute session.

The stack

| Tool | Job it does | Cost | |------|------------|------| | HubSpot | CRM + follow-up automation | Free tier | | Semrush | SEO + keyword research | Free trial / paid plans | | Jasper | AI content drafting | Free trial / paid plans |

Each one handles a different piece of the puzzle. Together, they give you a system: leads come in, you follow up automatically, you show up in search results, and you publish content without spending hours writing.

Minutes 1–10: HubSpot CRM

Go to hubspot.com and sign up for the free CRM. Use your business email.
Skip the onboarding tour — you can explore later.
Create a deal pipeline with four stages: New Lead, Estimate Sent, Booked, Completed.
Add 3–5 current leads as test deals. Include names, phone numbers, and rough job values.
Set up one automation: when a new contact is created, send a welcome email.

You now have a working CRM. It's not fancy, but it's functional — and it'll catch leads that were falling through before.

Minutes 10–20: Semrush

Go to semrush.com and start a free trial.
Run a site audit on your website. This takes a couple minutes to process — it'll show you technical SEO issues.
Open the Keyword Magic Tool. Type in your main service + your city (e.g., "collision repair Dallas").
Save the top 10 keywords by volume that match what you actually offer.
Run an Organic Research report on your top local competitor. See what they rank for.

You now know what keywords to target and what your competitor is doing. That's more SEO intelligence than most small businesses ever get.

Minutes 20–30: Jasper

Go to jasper.ai and create an account.
Set up your brand voice. Paste 2–3 paragraphs from your website or a past email. Jasper will learn your tone.
Open the Blog Post template. Enter your top keyword from the Semrush session as the topic.
Generate a first draft. Read through it, fix anything inaccurate, add your own knowledge.
Save the draft. You can polish and publish it later.

You now have an AI writing assistant that sounds like your business, not a robot.

What you have after 30 minutes

A CRM tracking your leads with basic automation
A keyword list and competitor analysis for your local market
A draft blog post targeting a real search term

None of this is perfect. The CRM needs more contacts. The keyword list needs refining. The blog post needs editing. But you've gone from "I should probably look into this AI stuff" to "I have a working system" in half an hour.

What to do next

Over the next week, build on this foundation:

Day 2: Add all your current leads and open estimates to HubSpot.
Day 3: Fix the top 3 issues from your Semrush site audit.
Day 4: Polish and publish your Jasper blog post.
Day 5: Set up a follow-up email sequence in HubSpot for new leads.
Day 6: Research 5 more keywords in Semrush.
Day 7: Draft your second blog post with Jasper.

By the end of the week, you'll have a real system running — not just tools you signed up for and forgot about.

The honest take

These tools won't transform your business overnight. What they will do is automate the boring stuff (follow-up emails, keyword research, first drafts) so you can focus on the work that actually makes money.

The biggest risk isn't picking the wrong tool. It's signing up and never setting them up. That's why we say: start simple, start now, and build as you go.

See detailed breakdowns of each tool on our recommended stack page.