Épisodes

  • My AI Agent Found $4,200 I Didn't Know I Was Losing

    My AI Agent Found $4,200 I Didn't Know I Was Losing
    Oct 8 2026
    My AI agent just found me $4,200 a year in payroll fees that I didn't know I could negotiate. Now, mind you, that $4,200 is from one vendor. And honestly, I wasn't even looking for that. I was looking at something completely different. So if I'm here to tell you that I'm surprised about something, I'm happy that I just found $4,200. Let me explain what's going on.Welcome to Fix My Business, the show that helps you fix your business. I'm your host, Scott Todd. I have built multiple seven-figure businesses after leaving my Fortune 300 VP job. And today I want to walk you through two of the experiments that I've been running on this channel. And I'll kind of give you some updates because I can't stand when people run experiments or they tell you something they never get back to you. So here we go. Experiment number one.I talked about it in last week's episode, and it was using AI to do my bookkeeping. And I told you at the time that I was running parallel systems, my CPA versus AI. Which one was gonna battle it out? And essentially I'm happy to report to you that the September run, if you will, was smooth for well, both of them. I mean, the CPA did what the CPA does.And the AI does did what the AI did. Now, here's the difference. My C EPA has years and years of experience with knowing how to code my transactions. And so the rules are built in. Whereas AI needed help more frequently with coding the transactions. But here's the thing. Every day, Monday through Friday at 8 a.m. or thereabout, I would get an a message from myAI bookkeeper who would say, Hey, here's yesterday's transactions. How should I code them? And in the beginning, I needed to give a little bit more, but by the end of the month, it was really doing a great job of suggesting what the coding should be. So it became less and less of like, hey, code it over here versus just scanning it and saying you're good to go. And then it started to pick up on some.Scott Todd (02:29.698)well-established rules like, hey, when we get revenue into the bank account, well, then that's just revenue. when we have certain expenses like payroll, boom, it just hit the payroll. When we paid our VAs, it knew their names and it hit them as well. And it just started even not even recommending anything to me. It just did it. And so at the end of the month, when I compared the revenue and expenses from the CPA and the AI, what happened wasThe revenue and the expenses aligned. It matched as you would expect that it would. Okay. Now, there were some transactions that were coded differently. The CPH coded them one way, the AI coded the other. And I don't really believe that that is a deal breaker. And the reason it's not a deal breaker is because it's not necessarily that the coding has to be exact and precise. So when I say coding, what I mean is.That if I spent the money on software, that it's coded software, or if I spent the money on travel, that it's coded travel. It helps a great deal, especially if you're comparing year over year, or you're comparing different transactions, or you're looking at different categories. That's important. But at the end of the day, the most important part is that the revenue and the expenses total the exact amount, right, of profit, right? That's what we're looking for. Now, here are some of the differences though.First of all, the AI agent got me my financial statements much faster than the CPA did. In fact, I had the financial statements on the first day of the month from the AI. And it was well after that that I got them from the CPA. So the human involvement of looking at it faster to me was through the AI. Clearly, the lower cost option is the AI. The AI, I don't really know what it cost me.Because I'm just on a subscription and it's using like my grok bot subscription for 200 bucks a month. And clearly that was just some fraction of it, but way less than what I spend with my CPA. But the one clear difference that I found was the thing that kind of surprised me the most. And that was the fact that my AI agent began suggesting to me cost savings.Scott Todd (04:54.796)Now, some of them I just dismissed. Like, yeah, no, it's good. I'm I'm okay with this subscription, but it began to look at my subscriptions. And then it brought to my attention something that I was really surprised about. And here's what it was. I pay my payroll company. I have multiple businesses, so they each have their, they each have a payroll account with this company. And I pay them a fee every time we run payroll.So I think on one company it was like $140 a month. And the other was a hundred, I'm sorry, $140 per pay period times 26 pay periods. And on the other company, it's like 106 times 26. That was what we were paying. And the AI looked at that and said, Hey, I think you have a cost savings here. And I was like, What do you mean? And they said, it said, Hey, there is a lower tier plan.that you're avail that you qualify for if you're not using these other ...
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    17 min
  • I'm Testing an AI Bookkeeper Against My CPA. Here's the Setup.

    I'm Testing an AI Bookkeeper Against My CPA. Here's the Setup.
    Oct 1 2026

    For the month of September, Scott has been running an AI bookkeeping agent in parallel with his existing accounting system and team. Nothing has been cut over. At month end, he's comparing both sets of financials.

    The setup, in five steps:

    Bank feed. BankSync.io (~$7/month) pulls daily transactions from connected accounts via Plaid.

    Daily ingest. At 8am, Stu — Scott's bookkeeping agent — grabs the prior day's transactions, filters out anything already processed, and ingests what's new.

    The queue. New charges wait to be categorized. Nothing posts automatically.

    Human confirmation. Stu proposes a category and the rule it believes applies. Scott confirms or corrects. Only then does it post to the ledger.

    Portability backup. The ledger copies to Dropbox, so the books can move to whatever agent platform comes next.

    The rule: The agent doesn't spend money and doesn't post anything unconfirmed.

    A second test inside the test: Grok recently released a Grok Finance plugin with read-only bank access — also via Plaid. Scott is comparing it against BankSync to see if both produce the same result, since Grok Finance is free.

    On the CPA question: The accounting team isn't going away. The CPA still oversees the work. The question is whether the low-level coding work can move, freeing people for higher-value work.

    Currently running three companies through the system. More advanced land-investing accounting is being tested separately — Accounting for Land Investors students should watch their class LMS.

    Before you try this: Vet any repo you connect to your financial data. Check the maintainer, the update history, and what the code does with your information.

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    12 min
  • Another New AI Agent Dropped. Here's the One Thing It's Actually Good At

    Another New AI Agent Dropped. Here's the One Thing It's Actually Good At
    Sep 22 2026

    Meta released a new AI agent framework called Muse. There will probably be another one next week, and another the week after. If you try to rebuild your business around every new agent, you'll get whiplash and never get traction.

    Scott's approach: Don't chase them. Learn what each one is good at, and use it for that.

    What Muse does well: It's tightly integrated with Facebook and Instagram. Scott gave it a link to a Chipley, Florida property on Landmodo (0.66 acres, owner financed, $200 down, $229/month). Muse pulled the photos and details, drafted a Facebook Marketplace listing, and asked for approval before posting.

    What Muse doesn't do: It's a single "God mode" agent. You can't build multi-agent workflows the way you can with Grokbot or Hermes.

    The bigger opportunity: Connect Facebook Messenger, then have Muse check for new messages every 30 minutes during business hours and auto-reply with your next step, like a link to your website.

    Coming up: Scott plans to have his Grokbot agents hand new listings to Muse automatically, and he'll map that workflow out on a future episode.

    The takeaway: Check out Muse if you sell on Facebook Marketplace. But don't build your whole business on it.

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    13 min
  • I Was Frustrated. Turns Out I Was in the Wrong Seat

    I Was Frustrated. Turns Out I Was in the Wrong Seat
    Sep 17 2026

    Dan Sullivan told Scott that in fifty years of working with entrepreneurs, he'd never seen someone with the wrong business. What he saw over and over was someone in the wrong seat, doing the wrong job.

    What if being stuck isn't a business problem?

    Scott took two assessments — Kolbe and Working Genius. Neither is a sponsor. He's just a customer.

    Kolbe (Scott is 7-3-7-3): High Fact Finder. Low Follow Thru. High Quick Start. Low Implementor. Translation: wired to research and start things, then hand them off. Not wired to finish them.

    The reframe: When you don't know this about yourself, you beat yourself up for being who you are. When you do know it, you stop trying to rewire yourself and start filling the gaps — with people, or with AI.

    Working Genius (Scott is Invention + Discernment): Shows where you fit in a workflow. Six geniuses. Two are your strong suit. Scott's missing piece: Tenacity. Which is exactly what Kolbe said too.

    The team application: Scott ran assessments across his team. Suddenly he could see who was in the right spot and who was underutilized. (Callback to Episode 75 — talented people in the wrong positions.)

    The Training Council: Scott's IT training department is run by two people. Their assessments showed they were missing Wonder and Discernment. So Scott built a five-person training council to cover every genius area — pulling in his head of IT for Wonder and himself for Discernment.

    The swap: Scott found someone in marketing with the same profile as him. Now when Scott travels or speaks, that person covers Discernment. The business doesn't stop.

    The warning: Assessments aren't a personality horoscope and they aren't an excuse. "I don't do paperwork because it's my weakness" doesn't cut it. These are diagnostics for workflow design.

    The cost: About $80 per person for both. Start with Working Genius (~$25) — it gives you a visual map of where people fit.

    Coming soon: Scott's team is building their own assessment. Still in R&D. Listeners get a gift when it's ready.

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    16 min
  • Meet My AI Team: 18 Agents Running My Business

    Meet My AI Team: 18 Agents Running My Business
    Sep 10 2026

    Last week: 9 use cases for AI agents. This week: the actual Grokbot agents Scott runs, by name and role.

    The principle: Each agent does one thing. One specialized task. Over and over.

    The agents: Simon (chief of staff), Lois Lane (daily brief), Lloyd (email manager), Sue (paralegal), Reed (researcher), Avi (video summarizer), Curtis (bridge to Hermes data), Pat (payroll), Walter (scheduling), Cindy (speaking/PR packages), Bob (developer), Tess (UI review), Stu (shadow bookkeeping), Chuck (IT), Vanessa (graphic designer), Ada (address changes), Pip (Python scripts), Drew (month-end close).

    Highlights:

    Lloyd filters junk email 5-6x/day, archives "got it" replies, surfaces urgent items

    Sue fills PDFs, reviews contracts, prepared entity conversion documents

    Curtis has the "secret handshake" with Hermes for internal data access

    Vanessa is A/B testing thumbnails against a human designer—and winning

    Stu is running shadow books alongside the CPA

    Workflow design: Scott is mapping his businesses from scratch—"If I were to design this today with AI built in, how would it look?"

    The book: Think First, Then Automate. September 2027. With the publisher now.

    The closer: "The winners won't be companies with the most AI agents. They'll be the ones who build the team to be most effective with AI and humans."

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    21 min
  • 9 Ways I'm Using AI Agents Across My Businesses

    9 Ways I'm Using AI Agents Across My Businesses
    Sep 1 2026

    Scott and his team are using AI agents across multiple businesses. Here are the nine use cases:

    1. Data Analysis: AI agents pull data from multiple sources, calculate metrics, identify trends. Most small businesses don't have data analysts. Now they can.

    2. Revenue/Financial Analyst: Daily revenue calculations, transaction reconciliation, refund trend analysis, investment return evaluation. Paired with a human who reviews daily.

    3. Business Operations Assistant: Reduces operational load. Example: finishing a studio recording kicks off file downloads, editor notifications, and workflow—all triggered by telling the agent "this is done."

    4. Billing Investigations: AI reviews billing records and catches human errors. Found thousands of dollars in improper billing. Revenue recovery.

    5. Automation Builder: Builds internal tools and scripts. Example: studio background auto-switches based on what Scott is recording.

    6. Automation Supervisor: Daily 6 PM review of all automations. If something broke and didn't self-correct, the supervisor investigates, fixes it, and reruns it. Prompt: "You work for a self-improving organization. When something fails, it is your job to fix it."

    7. Research/Due Diligence: Market research, property due diligence, historical records. "You'd be amazed at how much due diligence can be done by AI."

    8. Customer Support (Tier 1): Drafts responses within defined rules. 90% confidence threshold—below that, escalate to a human. Never sends without review.

    9. Customer Analysis: Before any call or email, the agent examines the full customer picture—email history, billing, meeting notes, last human touchpoint. Enables deeper conversations.

    The $80K story: An employee left. Management said: "Give us $20K for AI tools and we can augment her work." It's happening.

    The principle: Every use case pairs AI with a human. "It's never the AI running rampant. It's a true partnership."

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    17 min
  • I've Tested 4 AI Platforms in 8 Months. Here's What I Learned.

    I've Tested 4 AI Platforms in 8 Months. Here's What I Learned.
    Aug 25 2026

    2026 is the year of AI agents. Scott started with OpenClaw in January. Moved to Hermes months later. Then Buzz. Now Grokbot. Four platforms in eight months.

    The problem: Every new framework creates friction. If you're building business processes around one agent and a new one appears tomorrow, you feel like you have to start over.

    The book: Scott's upcoming book, Think First, Then Automate, is about exactly this. Slow down. Think about the thinking. Document before you automate.

    The solution: Documentation portability. Scott keeps all company systems, processes, and decision history in markdown files in Dropbox. When a new agent framework appears, he gives it access to the folder. It's not starting from zero.

    The Lewis story: Scott's first boss, Lewis, drilled documentation into his head. "Mr. Todd, where's the documentation?" Scott hated it then. He understands now—documentation is what makes everything portable.

    The Grokbot caveat: Grokbot is easy to start with, but it's more contained within its own environment. Other frameworks let you bring your own models and your own files.

    The feeling: "Over the weekend I was feeling overwhelmed. Which one do I choose?" You're not being left behind if you're experimenting. But if your head is in the sand, you might have a problem.

    The principle: Build processes first that are automatable. Document them. Store them portably. Then when the next framework comes, you're ready.

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    9 min
  • Is Business Really Slow—Or Do You Just Not Know What Good Looks Like?

    Is Business Really Slow—Or Do You Just Not Know What Good Looks Like?
    Aug 18 2026

    Last week, Scott had two back-to-back calls. Two sellers. Same market. Same product. Same economy. Completely different results.

    Seller A: "It's slow. The economy. Infrastructure costs doubled. People are scared." Views were flat. Leads weren't converting. Copy was thin—same thing repeated over and over.

    Seller B: Same county. Same headwinds. Scott introduced them to the DREAMS framework in March. They applied it. Views exploded. Leads exploded. 4x growth in three months.

    The diagnosis: Seller A blamed the economy. Seller B changed the ads. The economy was the same for both.

    The real problem: If you've never experienced the highs, you don't know when you're in the lows. You accept bad as normal. Then you blame things you can't control.

    The market is always talking to you. Views without leads means you're not connecting. The market isn't the problem—your message is.

    Clickable and convertible: Two steps. Are people clicking? (Views.) Are they converting? (Leads.) If you're getting views but no leads, change the message.

    The controllable reframe: You can't control the economy. But you can control your ads, your copy, your delivery, your close.

    The challenge: Where in your business are you giving things a pass? Where are you blaming something you can't control? Pull it back in. What can you do differently this week?

    Got a business question? Ask Scott here: scotttodd.net/ask
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    13 min