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MEDB workshop introduces small businesses, nonprofits to AI tools

A half-day workshop hosted Friday by Maui Economic Development Board brought together a handful of small business owners and nonprofit leaders who hoped to grow their organizations with AI.

The workshop was presented by Marc Rix, an international adviser, speaker, consultant and trainer. According to MEDB, Rix has guided some of the world's largest organizations through major technology shifts, and he helps businesses put AI to work in practical, human-first ways.

"My goal was simple," Rix said in a news release. "Help Maui's business leaders separate AI myth from fact and apply AI in their organizations for fast, measurable results. Watching the room evolve from curious to confident to building real, working solutions before lunch proves that you can noticeably raise the tide on AI fluency on Maui in the right setting."

Rix said business leaders are being buried in AI noise, hype and misinformation. The interactive workshop was intended to help small businesses succeed with AI on their own terms.

Participants were asked to come prepared with a problem to solve. Rix then helped them build three "super skills," identify quick-win opportunities for AI in their businesses and develop a working AI solution they could take back to work that day.

"This workshop was not about AI hype, tooling or engineering," Rix said. "It was about building business leaders' AI intuition with practical, 80/20, people-first guidance. Attendees can now apply that intuition to implement quick-win AI solutions that get them significant time back to focus on the work that matters most."

Wayne Wong, director of the Hawaii Small Business Development Center on Maui, took part in the event.

"The workshop struck an unusually effective balance: enough AI understanding to build confidence, enough hands-on practice to make it tangible, and a strong connection to the everyday realities of running a small business," Wong said.

For more information about Rix, visit www.marcrix.ai. For updates on future workshops, meetings and events conducted by MEDB, visit www.medb.org.