web01.fireside.fm Thu, 28 May 2026 18:08:59 -0500 Fireside (https://fireside.fm) CX without the BS - Episodes Tagged with “Ai Mistake Small Business” https://cswithoutthebs.fireside.fm/tags/ai%20mistake%20small%20business Thu, 28 May 2026 15:30:00 -0400 Most CX podcasts are built for Fortune 500 buyers with seven-figure budgets and dedicated transformation teams... This one isn't. CX Without the BS is for the technology advisors, IT leaders, and business owners working in the trenches of SMB and mid-market companies - the "forgotten 5000" who get pitched enterprise solutions they can't afford and ignored by vendors who don't think they're worth the support call. Host Brian Nichols brings real practitioner perspective from the unified communications and contact center space. No guru theater. No vendor hype. No recycled LinkedIn thought leadership dressed up as expertise. Just the actual conversations advisors and buyers need to be having... about why CX deployments fail, where vendors quietly cut corners, which product categories are oversold, and what questions you should be asking before you sign a three-year contract. Each episode pulls from real customer scenarios, market situations, and the framework laid out in Brian's book, The CX Compass. Some episodes are solo deep dives. Others bring in practitioners, advisors, and operators who can break down the mechanics of what actually works - and what's quietly broken behind the demo. If you're tired of buzzword bingo and ready for the version of CX nobody's willing to say out loud... you're in the right place. Subscribe, share it with an advisor or buyer who needs it, and let's cut through the noise together. en-us episodic Honest takes on customer experience and UCaaS for the SMB and mid-market buyers enterprise vendors forgot... hosted by Brian Nichols. Brian Nichols Most CX podcasts are built for Fortune 500 buyers with seven-figure budgets and dedicated transformation teams... This one isn't. CX Without the BS is for the technology advisors, IT leaders, and business owners working in the trenches of SMB and mid-market companies - the "forgotten 5000" who get pitched enterprise solutions they can't afford and ignored by vendors who don't think they're worth the support call. Host Brian Nichols brings real practitioner perspective from the unified communications and contact center space. No guru theater. No vendor hype. No recycled LinkedIn thought leadership dressed up as expertise. Just the actual conversations advisors and buyers need to be having... about why CX deployments fail, where vendors quietly cut corners, which product categories are oversold, and what questions you should be asking before you sign a three-year contract. Each episode pulls from real customer scenarios, market situations, and the framework laid out in Brian's book, The CX Compass. Some episodes are solo deep dives. Others bring in practitioners, advisors, and operators who can break down the mechanics of what actually works - and what's quietly broken behind the demo. If you're tired of buzzword bingo and ready for the version of CX nobody's willing to say out loud... you're in the right place. Subscribe, share it with an advisor or buyer who needs it, and let's cut through the noise together. yes CX podcast, customer experience, UCaaS, CCaaS, contact center, unified communications, technology advisors, channel partners, TSD, SMB technology, mid-market IT, vendor evaluation, CX strategy, customer service technology, Brian Nichols, CX Compass, business communications, cloud communications, customer engagement, sales enablement, B2B technology buying, IT decision makers, Telarus, agent experience, omnichannel Brian Nichols brian@briannicholsconsulting.com The AI Mistakes Quietly Destroying Small Businesses in 2026 https://cswithoutthebs.fireside.fm/ai-mistakes-destroying-smb-2026 2618ecf6-69bd-4ee7-a72a-6d460e68015f Thu, 28 May 2026 15:30:00 -0400 Brian Nichols full Brian Nichols Danny Reeves did everything right, and AI still made his print shop disappear in three Tuesdays. This episode breaks down the AI mistake quietly killing small businesses, featuring Dr. Tami Patzer and Keith Erwood, plus the five questions every owner needs to answer this week. 19:44 no <p>There's an AI mistake quietly killing small businesses right now - and most owners don't find out until it's too late. Danny Reeves made it. 23 years running a print shop. Website, SEO, MSP, insurance, the whole compliance package. He did everything the experts told him to. And AI still made his business disappear in three Tuesdays. This is the mistake, why it's invisible, and exactly how to make sure you're not making it too.</p> <p>Here's the mistake: treating AI like it's optional. Like it's a productivity toy you'll get to eventually. While you're ignoring it, your future customers stopped Googling and started asking ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini - and AI has no idea your business exists. That's only half of it. The other half will gut you.</p> <p>This episode of CX Without the BS brings in two experts from completely different worlds. Dr. Tamara "Tami" Patzer breaks down AI suggestibility, the new gatekeeper economy, and identity collision - why AI can't find you, or worse, recommends someone else with your name. Keith Erwood breaks down business continuity and why cash flow, not the attack itself, is what actually kills small businesses.</p> <p>Then comes the part that'll mess with your head: the AI mistake and the cyber attack aren't two problems. They're the same threat exploiting the same blind spot. The businesses going invisible to AI are the exact ones attackers hunt down. Brian Nichols connects it and lays out the five questions every owner, IT director, and advisor needs to answer THIS WEEK - before they're the next Danny.</p> <p>CX Without the BS is the no-nonsense show for the people actually building, buying, and selling customer experience and unified communications in the real world. Subscribe for episodes that cut through vendor hype and tell you what's actually happening. Built for technology advisors, IT directors, SMB owners, and channel partners tired of the BS.</p> <p>Chapters:<br> 00:00 The Empty Order Log<br> 01:00 Two Problems Nobody Connects<br> 02:10 Who Was Danny Reeves?<br> 03:40 Why His Phone Stopped Ringing<br> 04:45 AI Is the New Gatekeeper (Dr. Tami Patzer)<br> 06:35 Identity Collision: AI's Wrong Version of You<br> 07:45 2 O'Clock: The Ransomware Hits<br> 09:15 The Real Disaster: Phones Down<br> 09:50 "It Won't Happen to Me" (Keith Erwood)<br> 11:40 Cash Flow Is the Killer<br> 12:50 The Twist: Two Threats Are One<br> 14:25 The 5 Questions That Could've Saved Danny<br> 16:15 What To Do This Week<br> 16:55 What Happened to Danny<br> 18:05 The Biggest BS: AI Isn't Magic </p> AI mistake,AI mistake small business,AI killing small businesses,AI small business,AI threats,AI gatekeeping,AI suggestibility,small business cybersecurity,ransomware small business,business continuity,SMB,customer experience,CX,unified communications,UCaaS,cyber attack,AI invisibility,AI search,IT director,technology advisor,channel partner,MSP,insurance gaps,cash flow crisis,2026 business threats,AI tool not magic,small business survival There's an AI mistake quietly killing small businesses right now - and most owners don't find out until it's too late. Danny Reeves made it. 23 years running a print shop. Website, SEO, MSP, insurance, the whole compliance package. He did everything the experts told him to. And AI still made his business disappear in three Tuesdays. This is the mistake, why it's invisible, and exactly how to make sure you're not making it too.

Here's the mistake: treating AI like it's optional. Like it's a productivity toy you'll get to eventually. While you're ignoring it, your future customers stopped Googling and started asking ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini - and AI has no idea your business exists. That's only half of it. The other half will gut you.

This episode of CX Without the BS brings in two experts from completely different worlds. Dr. Tamara "Tami" Patzer breaks down AI suggestibility, the new gatekeeper economy, and identity collision - why AI can't find you, or worse, recommends someone else with your name. Keith Erwood breaks down business continuity and why cash flow, not the attack itself, is what actually kills small businesses.

Then comes the part that'll mess with your head: the AI mistake and the cyber attack aren't two problems. They're the same threat exploiting the same blind spot. The businesses going invisible to AI are the exact ones attackers hunt down. Brian Nichols connects it and lays out the five questions every owner, IT director, and advisor needs to answer THIS WEEK - before they're the next Danny.

CX Without the BS is the no-nonsense show for the people actually building, buying, and selling customer experience and unified communications in the real world. Subscribe for episodes that cut through vendor hype and tell you what's actually happening. Built for technology advisors, IT directors, SMB owners, and channel partners tired of the BS.

Chapters:
00:00 The Empty Order Log
01:00 Two Problems Nobody Connects
02:10 Who Was Danny Reeves?
03:40 Why His Phone Stopped Ringing
04:45 AI Is the New Gatekeeper (Dr. Tami Patzer)
06:35 Identity Collision: AI's Wrong Version of You
07:45 2 O'Clock: The Ransomware Hits
09:15 The Real Disaster: Phones Down
09:50 "It Won't Happen to Me" (Keith Erwood)
11:40 Cash Flow Is the Killer
12:50 The Twist: Two Threats Are One
14:25 The 5 Questions That Could've Saved Danny
16:15 What To Do This Week
16:55 What Happened to Danny
18:05 The Biggest BS: AI Isn't Magic

]]> There's an AI mistake quietly killing small businesses right now - and most owners don't find out until it's too late. Danny Reeves made it. 23 years running a print shop. Website, SEO, MSP, insurance, the whole compliance package. He did everything the experts told him to. And AI still made his business disappear in three Tuesdays. This is the mistake, why it's invisible, and exactly how to make sure you're not making it too.

Here's the mistake: treating AI like it's optional. Like it's a productivity toy you'll get to eventually. While you're ignoring it, your future customers stopped Googling and started asking ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini - and AI has no idea your business exists. That's only half of it. The other half will gut you.

This episode of CX Without the BS brings in two experts from completely different worlds. Dr. Tamara "Tami" Patzer breaks down AI suggestibility, the new gatekeeper economy, and identity collision - why AI can't find you, or worse, recommends someone else with your name. Keith Erwood breaks down business continuity and why cash flow, not the attack itself, is what actually kills small businesses.

Then comes the part that'll mess with your head: the AI mistake and the cyber attack aren't two problems. They're the same threat exploiting the same blind spot. The businesses going invisible to AI are the exact ones attackers hunt down. Brian Nichols connects it and lays out the five questions every owner, IT director, and advisor needs to answer THIS WEEK - before they're the next Danny.

CX Without the BS is the no-nonsense show for the people actually building, buying, and selling customer experience and unified communications in the real world. Subscribe for episodes that cut through vendor hype and tell you what's actually happening. Built for technology advisors, IT directors, SMB owners, and channel partners tired of the BS.

Chapters:
00:00 The Empty Order Log
01:00 Two Problems Nobody Connects
02:10 Who Was Danny Reeves?
03:40 Why His Phone Stopped Ringing
04:45 AI Is the New Gatekeeper (Dr. Tami Patzer)
06:35 Identity Collision: AI's Wrong Version of You
07:45 2 O'Clock: The Ransomware Hits
09:15 The Real Disaster: Phones Down
09:50 "It Won't Happen to Me" (Keith Erwood)
11:40 Cash Flow Is the Killer
12:50 The Twist: Two Threats Are One
14:25 The 5 Questions That Could've Saved Danny
16:15 What To Do This Week
16:55 What Happened to Danny
18:05 The Biggest BS: AI Isn't Magic

]]>