Tag Archives: ROI

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How Much Is Too Much to Pay for AI?

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You were so proud of yourself (deservedly so) and excited to get started. You did your homework—assessed needs, researched options, demonstrated strategic thinking and believed that if you incorporate artificial technology powered software into your business processes, you’d enable your organization to take a leap forward and achieve important wins. So you brought in AI powered tools that can be expected to implement your goals. But unfortunately, there was a glitch—you would soon realize that your understanding of operating costs was incomplete. What?? You expected to pay some sort of a premium for enhanced services; it’s just that you were under the impression that soon after AI tech capabilities were optimized, the return on investment would overtake user expenses. But uh, oh—you’ve been running AI-powered software for nearly a year and ROI has not yet caught up. What’s going on?

A survey from KPMG finds that many business owners are taken aback by their AI operating expenses and that is especially true for enterprise companies that decided to employ a usage-based pricing model. The accounting firm interviewed 2,145 executives around the world and one-third reported that they had a limited understanding of the real-time price of employing a usage costs pricing model. Freelancers and small business owners are singing the same song. Like the pacesetters who lead enterprise companies, many Freelance business owners intended to save money over the long term by deploying AI instead of paying for hired help, whether W-2 full-time or 1099NEC out-sourced talent. The assumption was that AI can do the job at a lower cost than staff members. But a new report has issued the sobering warning that such as expectation is not necessarily accurate.  AI technology was supposed to make human labor almost obsolete but the reality is, AI enhancement is often more expensive than the humans it was meant to replace. 

Artificial intelligence has become an essential business tool. Yet, with dozens of AI platforms available in the market, understanding AI software pricing models, and also determining the right solutions for your company, is now recognized as a tall order. Whether your business entity is a Freelance one-person entity whose leader must watch every dollar, or you are the Chief Financial Officer of a prominent global or national enterprise company that has you managing substantial budgets, the cost of AI software can range from a free tier plan for small entities to six-figure annual pricing contracts that serve multi-nationals. The business leader’s challenge is to balance the AI-powered solutions that will support desired growth strategies with an affordable price (as you define it). But then again, isn’t that the story of all business expenses?

So when you’re thinking about an AI-powered chatbot, customer relations management platform, content creation and/or virtual assistant, it is imperative that you reach a crystal clear understanding of which systems you must have in place before bringing in AI tools, as well as a very good estimate of the monthly operating costs you’ll likely incur. You also need to obtain a credible expectation for the ROI that will accrue to your monthly or quarterly Income Statement, in terms of enhanced productivity, operational efficiencies, repeat business, or value of your customer list.

To help you get your arms around the real-time costs of operating AI, I turned to AI sales and automation agency The Crunch to view a sampling of typical pricing plans. Moreover, be ready for hidden expenses that might affect total ownership costs—implementation and integration fees can add 20-30% to initial costs. Training costs and ongoing maintenance expenses must also be factored in.

AI pricing plans 

  • Subscription-based pricing is the most popular option. Costs are predictable and regular service updates are guaranteed. Monthly or annual fees are typically $10 to $500+ per user.
  • Usage-based pricing costs are based on how your business consumes your AI services. Like water and electricity consumption in residential or commercial dwellings are tracked and priced, you are billed for the processing hours or data volume that requires AI power. While this offers flexibility for variable workloads, costs can escalate quickly during peak usage periods. Also, you don’t know what you’ve spent util you see the monthly statement, so you’re vulnerable to sticker shock.
  • Freemium models provide basic features at no cost, but premium services are accessible only from behind the paywall. These payment options work well for testing and small-scale projects but will require that you pay as usage grows.
  • Enterprise licensing offers custom pricing for large organizations, typically including dedicated support, enhanced security and unlimited users. These contracts usually start at $50,000 annually.

Budgeting AI services for your needs

  • Define how you’ll deploy AI. To access AI software while on a budget, list your must-have features and match them to the cheapest pricing tier that provides them. You might have more control over costs by choosing usage-based pricing if your demand is low or spiky and intermittent. Start with a freemium tier and upgrade when your activity volume makes it wise to do so. Start by identifying the specific problems you want AI to solve. Is your goal to automate customer service processes, generate various types of marketing content, analyze data whose conclusions will be the foundation of strategies, or enhance productivity? Clear objectives discourage overspending on unnecessary features. Document must-have features versus nice-to-have capabilities. This distinction helps you evaluate whether premium pricing will deliver corresponding value.
  • Calculate total cost of ownership. Look beyond monthly subscription fees and remember to calculate implementation costs, training expenses, integration requirements and the potential to rack up usage overages. A seemingly affordable AI software price can balloon when factoring in these additional expenses. For example, a $50 monthly tool requiring $5,000 in custom integration may cost more over two years than a $200 monthly solution with native integrations.
  • Start with free trials and Freemium plans. Most AI platforms offer trial periods or free tiers. Test multiple solutions before committing. Evaluate user experience, integration ease, output quality and customer support responsiveness during trials. Consider functionality, ease of use, integration capabilities, support quality, and total cost.
  • Potential scalability. Choose platforms that grow with your business. Switching AI tools later often involves a migration cost, maybe also retraining and, at minimum, workflow and productivity disruption. Investigate to the best of your ability whether pricing reasonably reflects any usage increases. However, some platforms offer volume discounts or flexible plans that accommodate growth without dramatic price increases.
  • Evaluate ROI potential. Calculate your expected ROI. If an AI tool saves 10 hours weekly at a $50 hourly rate, it justifies $2,000 monthly in value. Compare this against the actual cost to determine ROI. According to McKinsey’s 2026 AI Impact Study, businesses implementing AI tools see average productivity gains of 25-40%, with payback periods typically under 12 months for well-chosen solutions.
  • Invest in AI training. Allocate budget and time for comprehensive team training. Most vendors offer onboarding resources, webinars and documentation—use them.
  • Monitor AI usage and ROI. Establish relevant KPIs before AI implementation. Based on your deployment of AI, document metrics before AI and then monthly or quarterly readings to validate the ROI that is received once AI processes are in motion.
  • Track actual usage against projections. Are you actively using AI tools you’re paying for? Is your AI tools delivering the expected productivity gains? Underutilized features waste money; regular monitoring identifies any underperforming investments before you spend more money than you should.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Royalty free digital illustration

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Content Gets Competitive

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Freelance friend, you are a working professional who knows the environment in which you work. You know all too well that the B2B marketplace continues to become more saturated and, as one would expect, more competitive, as the years go by. B2B buying decision-makers, who are your prospects, have also become more demanding. The 2026 B2B Global Pulse Survey by McKinsey found that today’s buyers expect …consistent information and immediate access to expertise. When those expectations are not met, research shows, they move on.

In order to reach the planned revenue target, Freelance professionals, as well as small business owners and other marketers, must keep up with the growing expectations of prospective customers and get smarter about the strategies devised to promote and explain the case for using your product or service. As you do, keep in mind that your prospects have begun to consult B2B influencers to guide their buyer’s journey, as posts in this diary have recently indicated. The influencers are perceived to be both highly knowledgeable and independent. That’s a trend that will no doubt inspire you to create more authoritative content. Memorable and impactful will be your guiding stars.

B2B brands are investing more in editorial excellences, in-depth guides, and contributions from subject matter experts to provide real value.

Thought leader level content

Buyers want substantive proof of the business case that supports your service or product; enthusiastically delivered promises are not enough. Buyers are in search of informational marketing resources that ensure they’ll be able to make informed decisions when evaluating potential purchases. As a result, expectations continue to rise, making it more difficult for Freelancers to stand out as a professional who has a solution that has the potential to solve the problem or facilitate reaching the goal. Measurable outcomes and Return on Investment are prioritized, making case studies, industry reports, and original research the drivers of engagement and trust in your marketing content. Letting the quality of your supporting data confer to you thought leader style expertise is now a must-do for B2B Freelancers, because your prospects are being seduced by influencers. However, the research you quote is most likely to have been sponsored by a well-respected marketing research platform. As long as the data refers to the point you’re making, you’ll be taken as credible.

Interactive

Here’s the blistering truth—B2B buyers don’t want to talk with salespeople, as confirmed in a 2025 sales survey conducted by the business and technology research platform Gartner; 67% of B2B buyers indicated that they prefer a rep‑free experience. They’re up to here aggravated by avalanches of cold -calling mass marketing emails. Prospects on a buyer’s journey do like the opportunity to evaluate products or services anonymously by using digital tools before they engage with a vendor. Interactive explainer videos that include embedded clickable hotspots that adapt to the prospect’s learning path are a favorite resource, as are webinars that facilitate live chat and interactive infographics.

As the buyer’s journey heats up, prospects are happy to speak with a vendor (maybe you!), to confirm the self-guided research and discuss negotiable matters, such as the possibility of customization and price. To help reel in your sale, Gartner recommends the following:

  • Provide content that demonstrates your brand understands the pain points, goals, priorities, concerns and questions that prospective buyers need to make the right decision—
  • Help buyers quantify the benefits of your product or service for their organization (e.g., including solution performance data and other details). Consider creating free DIY interactive digital tools, such as interactive images, infographics, or surveys, that will help you present a memorable user experience for prospects who are on a self-guided buyer’s journey.
  • Help prospects feel confident and in control of the purchase decision (e.g., by providing a choice of tailored recommendations based on prospect input).
  • Encourage prospects to advance step by step as appropriate through their buyer’s journey by including compelling calls-to-action.

Brand storytelling

Humanizing your organization by inviting customers and prospects to get to know you is the reason to develop a brand narrative. Sharing customer success stories, divulging your motivation to become a founder and other mission-driven details can make your brand feel more relatable and relevant to current and prospective customers. Sharing relevant backstory details about your company—starting with what inspired you to launch your entity—can have enormous benefits for your business, including capturing consumers’ attention and helping you truly connect with customers. Ultimately, a strong customer relationship can help drive growth and increase sales. Brand storytelling is a marketing strategy that involves using authentic narratives to connect with your audience and build genuine emotional connections. It’s more than just promoting what you sell — it’s a way to share your values, purpose and background in a way that resonates and sticks. A company’s brand story should include certain key factors: 

  • Company mission statement: Your company mission and vision statements must be included in the telling of your brand story. You want people to support and feel connected to your company and what it stands for; not just the products or services you sell, but for your values. Ensure your company’s vision and mission statements are visibly accessible on your company website. 
  • Specifics: Include customer testimonials to verify how highly customers think of your brand. All-purpose, generic statements such “many people love our products” are just empty platitudes. Your storytelling will ring true when you mention a customer’s (first) name and describe their review in specific terms, such as, “This product saved me money and made my life easier.”
  • Simple and meaningful language: Potential customers should be able to easily read and understand your brand story in all its forms. Don’t exclude your audience by using words or phrases that are buzzwords or jargon that may not be understood and therefore will not resonate or show your authenticity. Instead, use meaningful language designed to evoke emotion and build brand intimacy.

Redesign/ reuse

Marketing experts call this “recycle-repurpose,” but I think redesign – reuse illustrates the task better. You might like to think of content creation like a traditional Sunday dinner that many American households probably still adhere to. When I was growing up, most American mothers would put a roast of some sort into the oven, peel potatoes or cook macaroni or rice, trim the spinach, shell the peas, or whatever and if energy allowed, or if guests were expected later in the afternoon, a cake or another dessert would be baked—from scratch. The kitchen would have a hunger-inducing aroma!

Like content creation, a big, traditional Sunday dinner is expensive to produce in terms of creativity, time and money. To maximize ROI, my mom cooked extra food on Sundays so that leftovers would be available for our Monday night supper. The Sunday dinner strategy can also be used to maximize the ROI of the marketing content that you create. For example, take a look at at the case studies you’ve developed. It’s almost certain that some clever editing will give you two or three sentences that can be dropped into your next newsletter or email marketing letter or become a social media post on its own. Effective repurposing of your long form content. Meaningful quotes that were first heard in a podcast, webinar, or panel that you participated in can be included in a video that gives an overview of one of those appearances. Recognize that your content is a valuable resource is an important aspect of your marketing strategy that is worthy of repackaging and is an enabler of the consistent publishing that prospects expect.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: © Breya Jones. Bridge tournament in Louisville, KY (2024)

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On Considering a Business Partnership

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It’s often said that two heads are better than one. If you’d like to achieve an important goal or solve a problem that’s disturbing your life, help may materialize as a friend who suggests a solution that overcomes the obstacle. Now if the advice you need concerns a business venture, your answer could be found in the person of a business partner who’s willing to join you in the venture and bring resources that help jumpstart the success you envision.

Freelance professionals and other business owners may reap significant benefits from a partnership; a wisely chosen business partner will bring resources to your company that, depending on the products and/or services sold, can position the entity to take on big budget, high profile projects, introduce more clients, expand the products or services the company provides and/or improve access to capital that enables the business to scale and expand.

Partnership planning

Forrester, a global market research company with headquarters in London, UK and Cambridge, MA, in 2019 conducted a study that revealed companies worldwide use business partnerships to “drive competitive advantage.” Results indicated that 77% of companies view partnerships as “central to their business strategies and initiatives.” Those encouraging results could apply to your company, too, if you set things up right.

Because a partnership is a long-term, game-changing strategy, it’s essential that you discuss the idea with your accountant and business attorney before making any moves. There are different types of partnerships you can create, any of which might benefit your company. If the possibility of a partnership comes to mind, consider your vision for the business. Where is it now, in terms of profitability, number of clients and shrewd competitors? What do you want the business to look like in five years and what are you willing to do and spend to make it happen?

The insights and recommendations of your advisers, who are familiar with company finances and other important factors, will help you decide the type of partnership that has the greatest potential to fulfill your business goals. Involve whoever appears to be a strong candidate to join you in meetings with your advisers to talk specifics. It will make sense to ask your business attorney to draft a written partnership agreement for the new entity, whether or not your state requires that such a document must be filed with your Secretary of State or Attorney General.

Below are two standard partnership formats; the specifics of your choice will be included in the agreement, as will the ownership percentage of each partner. Keep in mind that partner contributions to the business may take various forms. Capital contributions can be made as cash, property, equipment, or intellectual property. The value of each partner’s contribution will impact the percentage of his/her ownership stake.

  • General partnership: where two or more individuals own and manage the business. GPs share equal responsibility and decision-making rights for the business, will receive the agreed-upon share of profits generated and will incur the agreed-upon liability for losses and debts. The liabilities, contributions and responsibilities of partners are typically equal unless stated otherwise. Profits and losses are shared equally, unless stated otherwise.
  • Limited partnership: limits the amount of financial liability for partners who join the entity as an investment opportunity. While there must be at least one general partner, there may be several limited partners, whose function is to bring additional operating capital to the entity. LPs receive profits and are also responsible for debts or losses, in accordance with the size of their contribution. They are not involved in the day-to-day management of the business, nor do they have decision-making power. LPs, often called “silent partners,” serve solely as investors in the business, with the funds they contribute being the extent of their liability.

The partner dance: who zigs, who zags

The person(s) you invite into your business is/are determined by the role the partnership will play in the company. Do you want a co-worker to help you operate the business and also add money and/or other resources? Or do you want more money to invest in the entity while you remain at the helm, developing and executing goals and strategies designed to advance business goals? As noted, you’ll begin by discussing your vision with advisers.

Once it’s decided whether a GP or LP arrangement is applicable, you’ll consider appropriate candidates to approach. In their 2015 book Rocket Fuel, authors Gino Wickman and Mark Winters stress the importance of having both a visionary and integrator — two different people — in order to successfully scale companies. The authors say, “When these two people share their natural talents and innate skill sets, they have the power to reach new heights for virtually any company or organization.”

Restaurants, in particular, typically follow an alternative partnership model, known as “front of the house” and “back of the house.” The front of the house partner is the extrovert who takes on customer-facing responsibilities—greeting customers, acting as the public face of the operation and talking to restaurant viewers and media representatives and, based on those functions, oversees marketing and brand management, for example. The back of the house partner oversees kitchen prep and clean-up, inventory management, accounting/finance and operations functions. Note that the format recommended by Wickman and Winters, as well as the restaurant model, are actually operating agreements and are used by GPs and not LPs.

Your partnership operating agreement should be committed to writing, so that the responsibilities of each partner, accompanied by job descriptions that clearly assign the related tasks, are spelled out. Below are questions that will help aspiring partners get to know one another better and perhaps anticipate how the new team will function, for example, when developing goals, implementing strategies and making decisions.

  • What motivates an aspiring partner?
    It’s only natural to begin the conversation by explaining your reasons for seeking a partner. However, you may learn more by listening to the candidate discuss his/her preferences, expectations, perceived strengths and weaknesses and needs—you want to avoid making assumptions about others’ goals and intentions. Furthermore, make sure you’re on the same page about issues like work ethic, business growth or expansion, willingness to take on risk (see below) and spending money.
  • How will you handle risk?
    Risk is present in all business ventures and we all have our way of approaching risk in its various guises. Partnerships will have a greater chance to succeed if those involved share a similar attitude toward risk. It may be possible to limit the possibility of taking on excessive risk in the partnership agreement, but it’s best to know if one partner is primarily risk-averse or a gambler and consider those characteristics when choosing the partner(s).
  • Agree on performance evaluations (KPIs)
    Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs create or join partnerships that don’t deliver. Quantifying expectations that will define success upfront gives partners the ability to objectively assess and track business performance. If the needle isn’t moving, partners can then decide on a course correction. It may be useful to include in the partnership agreement required performance assessments that make renewal of the partnership contingent upon achieving certain KPI milestones.

Characteristics of the right partner

Partnerships, like all relationships, are primarily built on trust. With that in mind, below are practical considerations to help you recognize a potential partner. Obviously, you want to partner with someone who is honest, committed, works hard and smart and is easy to get along with. Characteristics and conditions that you may want to look for as you consider a potential partner include:

  1. Trustworthy

As noted, trust is the foundation of the partnership. If you can’t trust your partner, nothing else will matter. The challenge lies in trying to assess trustworthiness when you don’t have a pre-existing relationship. Evaluating trustworthiness often comes down to the feeling you get when interviewing a prospective partner and examining his/her business track record. You’ll need to have several conversations with any potential partner — discussing experiences, beliefs, vision, background and other situational factors.

You may as well want to have conversations with people who know the candidate personally and professionally. Be sensitive to the way other people talk about your prospective partner—do they seem to feel positive and enthusiastic, or do they seem guarded or even indifferent?

A candidate’s business track record will also tell a story. Scrutinize candidate resumes and evaluate the financial performance of businesses they’ve owned or worked for in the previously. Were these companies and/or departments better off when the candidate left? Were there any questionable decisions that act as red flags?

2. Compatible

You’ll spend a lot of time with your business partner. You don’t have to be best friends, but you’ll need to forge a good working relationship, enabled to identify and prioritize goals and get things done. There must be a healthy dynamic that allows you to function as a team for the betterment of the business. Evaluating potential compatibility often comes down to a gut feeling.

3. Complementary skills

While compatibility is important, you don’t want to bring on a business partner who has an identical skill set. This won’t move the needle much for your business. Ideally, you find someone who has complementary skills. For example, if you’re good at innovation and product development, you might want a founder who has more experience with sales and marketing. Think back of the house, front of the house and also visionary and integrator.

4. The right network

Networking is a huge part of launching and growing a business. A venture in its early stages especially is highly dependent on a robust network of relationships to get the word out about the new venture. Even as the business grows, a healthy network will open doors for new opportunities.

Many will say that the network should be large, but I recommend quality over quantity. Having relationships with a select number of influential professional and/or personal contacts who will advocate for you and recommend or refer you to potentially good opportunities, as I see it, is much more effective than an extensive network that’s filled with people who cannot or will not make a phone call on your behalf or anything else to further your cause.

Apply this principle to your search for a partner. On your qualifications list should be the quality, or if you prefer the quantity, of his/her network. A partnership should give you/the business instant access to new, beneficial relationships . Between your network and theirs, you should notice an instant increase in revenue potential.

5. Problem-solving skills

As you know, running a business is all about recognizing, solving and, ideally, avoiding problems. That points to the need to find a resourceful and responsible person who has enough business operating experience to have become a skilled problem-solver. As you interview candidates, ask each one to describe a couple of business problems that s/he has faced and how (or if!) the issue was resolved.

It is very instructive to grasp how a partner is likely to respond when there’s a problem to confront. Did your candidate ignore the problem, hoping that over time the issue would resolve on its own, or did s/he quickly jump in to fix things, perhaps before understanding the root cause and whether an effective response could be made by your team, or if it would be wiser to rally the support of fellow business owners?

Depending on the situation, either response could be appropriate. Getting a sense of the Emotional Intelligence, judgment and strategic thinking style of a prospective partner will give you a strong indication of that person’s suitability to become a good partner for you.

Thanks for reading,

Kim

Image: Diane Arbus, ©The Estate of Diane Arbus LLC. Cathleen and Colleen Wade at age seven (Roselle, NJ 1967)