WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Brittany Naylor felt burnt out after a career in the financial technology (fintech) industry.
“The uncertainty of the pandemic has really, really hurt a lot of jobs, especially in the technology sector,” she explained. “You know, there were mass hirings and then mass layoffs, and I’ve been involved in a lot of that.”
She described a never-ending cycle of job interviews last fall, and said it even affected her physical health.
“I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I’m literally going to die,'” she told Denver7.
So Naylor decided to turn his passion project into a small business. She opened Makeshift Crafts in Westminster in May and told Denver7 it was her dream since she was 17 years old.
We are more than just a craft supplies store. Naylor calls it a “safe haven” for the community to come together and spend time making crafts. We frequently host events such as movie nights and “non-perfectionism” workshops.
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“Arts and creativity really support mental health,” Naylor said. “It’s just amazing to see the worry and stress go off the faces of people sitting here.”
A woman from Philadelphia Morgan who attended the workshop expressed her appreciation for the environment inside the store.
“This summer I had the opportunity to go to summer camp,” she explained. “And my younger daughter has autism, so summer camp with people who don’t really understand diversity can be difficult sometimes. And both girls came, and it was like their favorite summer camp ever. We live 30 minutes away, so every day was like a trek. But they love coming here.”
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Utilization of AI
Naylor says she needs to find ways to make sure staff are available when customers are in the store to create a friendly atmosphere.
One way Naylor does that is by using technology and artificial intelligence to handle some of the work behind the scenes.
“There’s no question that that’s what we have to do to grow our business without losing our minds,” she said with a laugh.
Naylor says she and her staff frequently use tools like Shopify and Trello to analyze sales data, deliver personalized email campaigns, and host workshops.
“At other companies, I would have a dedicated data analyst who would give me that information,” Naylor said after asking the AI for product sales data and receiving it seconds later. “Alternatively, you can run a report and try to figure it out yourself, but that would probably take a few days for me personally.”
Naylor estimates that the combined cost of about 15 tools is about $500 per month, but they can save countless staff hours and companies thousands of dollars in payroll.
“We need good people in our stores here to handle our customers,” Naylor explained. “And you don’t have to pay people to do things the right way. Or you don’t have to do that. A lot of small business thinking is, whether this is your 50th time here or your first time here, I want the experience to be really, really good for everyone.”
growth trend
Naylor is not alone.
A survey conducted earlier this year by the National Federation of Independent Business found that nearly 25% of small business owners are leveraging AI in their business.
The U.S. Small Business Administration also shared some of the potential benefits and risks of AI for small businesses.
“Especially for small business owners, [AI] Sam Jay, a professor at Metropolitan State University and an AI expert, told Denver7, “It’s a really, really valuable asset to uncover trends that we wouldn’t have thought of. Machines are great at recognizing those trends because they can take all that data from a 30,000-foot perspective and provide that insight.” It may be a little too close to see. ”
Jay also said that generative AI now provides the ability to extract things like data in an Excel spreadsheet and explain it conversationally.
“Before, you had to understand 0s and 1s and code and things like that to make an application do what I’m talking about,” he explained. “Right now, all I have to do is use human language…Ideally, it spits out the exact instructions for me to follow to build the app and bring the product to market. [to answer] “What are my blind spots?”
Jay predicts that more and more small business owners will continue to adopt this technology to help grow their businesses or even start outright.
Denver7 asked Naylor if he was worried about relying too much on AI tools to handle the job in case they fail or are no longer an option in the future for some reason.
“So far, we haven’t been burned by technology,” she replied. “I’m not too worried. I know that at the end of the day, my business is not based on technology. It’s based on people, people, community, and the connections we’re building here.”
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