AI for Business: A Free Practical Course for Canadian Small-Business Owners
In seven short lessons you put AI to work on a few real tasks in your own business, under one page of written ground rules, and finish with the plain arithmetic that shows whether each one was worth keeping.
- Count your week and pick the three repeated tasks that are safest and most worthwhile to hand to AI first, with a dated baseline to measure against.
- Write a one-page staff AI policy with a never-enter list, a named privacy contact and a short table of approved tools.
- Build a one-page facts sheet, then use it for saved customer replies, review responses and an FAQ you can stand behind.
- Turn one real job into a week of posts, an email and ad lines, and check them against Canada's advertising and anti-spam rules.
- Draft quotes, payment reminders and written procedures with AI while a calculator and a named person check every figure.
- Decide with your own missed-call numbers whether an AI receptionist deserves a trial, then score every AI use as keep, fix or drop.
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What is in the 7 lessons
Find the Hours: Which Tasks Are Worth Handing to AI
Rank your business's repeated tasks by hours and dollars, choose the three that are safest and most worthwhile to hand to AI first, and record the baseline numbers you will measure against in Lesson 7.Set the Ground Rules: Staff AI Policy, Privacy and Approved Tools
Write a one-page staff AI policy with a named privacy contact, a never-enter list and a short table of approved tools, each checked against eight privacy and cost questions.Answer Customers Faster: Replies, Reviews and FAQs
Build a one-page business facts sheet and use it to produce saved replies, a review response and an FAQ that are accurate enough to send after a quick check.Marketing Content and Ads That Stay Within the Rules
Turn one real job or product into a week of posts, an email and ad variations, check every claim against your facts, and make sure your email and text marketing meets Canada's anti-spam law.Paperwork: Quotes, Invoices, Books and Staff Documents
Produce a clear quote from rough job notes with every figure re-checked, set up polite payment reminders, and turn one task you do from memory into a written procedure someone else can follow.AI Receptionists and Chat Agents: Decide, Brief, Compare
Decide with your own call and cost numbers whether an AI phone or chat agent is worth a trial, write the one-page brief it must follow, and compare providers on cost, control and privacy.Did It Pay Off? The Scorecard and Your Next 90 Days
Compare your results with your Lesson 1 baseline, work out what each AI use saved or cost, and decide what to keep, fix or drop over the next 90 days.Who this course is for
- Owners and managers of small Canadian businesses: trades, clinics, salons, restaurants, retail and online shops, and professional services.
- People who can already use an AI chat assistant and want practical uses for it, not another introduction.
- Anyone short on time who needs lessons that fit on a phone between jobs.
- Owners who want more enquiries answered and less admin without putting customer trust at risk.
Common questions
Is it really free?
Yes. All seven lessons are free, with no payment details asked for. The course is published by Nova Toronto, a Toronto studio that sells AI set-up services, and the final lesson says so plainly. You are never required to buy anything.
Do I need to pay for any AI tool?
No. The exercises can be done on the free plan of an AI assistant you already use, and none of them asks you to enter customer personal information. Lesson 2 explains why a business account is the safer choice for regular business work and shows you how to work out whether a paid plan would earn its cost. That decision stays with you.
How long does it take?
Each lesson is about 15 minutes to read, with an exercise of roughly 10 to 15 minutes. A few exercises have follow-up steps to finish later in the week, such as getting staff to initial a policy or checking a provider's pricing page. You can go at your own pace.
Will you spam me?
No. You will get this course by email and occasional practical tips from Nova Toronto. You can stop the emails at any time by replying STOP or by emailing novatoronto.ca@gmail.com.
Do I need technical skills or a computer?
No technical skills are needed, only the ability to use an AI chat assistant and write a clear prompt. If that is new to you, start with the free AI for Beginners course at novatoronto.com/ai-course/. Most exercises work on a phone with a note and a calculator. One or two optional set-up steps, such as turning on Gmail templates, need a computer.
Start lesson 1 today
In seven short lessons you will put AI to work on a few real tasks in your own business, under one page of written ground rules, building a playbook of customer replies, marketing, quotes and staff documents as you go, and you will finish with the plain arithmetic that shows in hours and dollars whether each one was worth keeping.
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