Getting Started with AI for a Small Business in Catford: Begin with One Dull Task

The first task decides everything

People get stuck because they try to answer “how should AI change my business?” That question has no end. A better one is “what do I do the same way most days that I wish I did not have to?”

Write down three candidates. For each, note where it starts (an email, a message, a form), what you do, and what the finished job looks like. The one with the clearest start and finish is your first.

A restaurant owner’s list

This directory lists 7 Indian restaurants and takeaways (counted 10 October 2026). Say the owner of one writes down:

1. Replying to table-booking messages in the evening.
2. Telling people how to order for a party of twelve.
3. Putting last week’s takings and bookings into one summary on Monday.

The first is urgent but fiddly. The second repeats and has a fixed answer. The third is dull and weekly. Any of them could be first; the second is the safest, because the answer is already known and nothing goes wrong if a person checks it.

What you can do yourself

You can try a general AI assistant for drafting replies and summaries. Keep a person checking everything it produces, and do not paste in customers’ private details without thinking about where they go. Our separate piece on using ChatGPT around the business covers that route, and AI agents for small businesses explains the more automatic route.

When to ask for help

If the job should run on its own each time a message arrives, someone has to connect it to your email, diary or WhatsApp. That is the part many owners would rather not do.

Dean Keating does that part. His website describes AI agents built and installed in the tools you already use, then training and support. He starts with the single task that would make the most difference. The steps are a free call, an audit, the build and install, then training and support, and you leave the free call with a plan you can use with or without him.

It is not a course, not phone answering and not a chatbot product.

Cost and place

No price list is published; the cost is given after the free call, with no obligation. He is based in Horndean, Hampshire, and works with Catford and south-east London businesses remotely, though his website says he can visit businesses in Hampshire or nearby. Compare other providers before deciding.

For local context see the Indian restaurants and takeaways listed here.

Contact

Call or WhatsApp Dean Keating on 07418 627304, or email dean@deankeating.com. See the Dean Keating profile on Catford.co. Websites: ai-agent.deankeating.com and deankeating.com.

About this guide

Catford.co is published by Dean Keating, who also runs the service described here. He is based in Horndean, Hampshire, not in Catford, and works with Catford and south-east London businesses remotely. If you want someone in the room, say so on the first call and look at Catford-based providers too. This guide recommends our own service, so compare it with other providers before you decide.