An Ode To The Luddites

Send us Fan MailAI is everywhere, but the shed industry doesn’t get points for being first. Cord Koch goes solo for a candid, ground-level take on why slow adoption can be smart, especially when the hype cycle is louder than the results. If you’ve felt pressure to bolt an AI “solution” onto shed sales, customer service, or marketing just because everyone else is doing it, this is your permission to pause and think.We unpack the stats that should make any portable building business owner stop and re-check the math: widespread AI implementation across US organizations, but a much smaller share reporting real bottom-line impact. Cord connects that to what many of us see daily in shed leads and conversions: customers still want clarity, speed, and a real person who can listen, ask the right questions, and make a judgment call. That’s where automated voice agents and generic chatbot flows can backfire, especially for first-time buyers who are still deciding whether to trust you.From there, we get practical about what large language models are actually good for in the shed industry: brainstorming campaign ideas, drafting and editing website copy, organizing messy thoughts into clean structure, summarizing information, and speeding up back-office work. We also get honest about the limits, including “strategy slop,” shallow advice that sounds polished, and the reality that AI is only as accurate as the data it can learn from. If shed standards, craftsmanship details, RTO explanations, and product differentiation aren’t well documented, AI tends to remix the same generic content.If you want to grow with modern tools without losing the human edge that closes deals, hit play, then share this with a shed owner or sales manager who needs it. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us where you’re using AI successfully and where you refuse to use it. What belongs with a human every time?For more information or to know more about the Shed Geek Podcast visit us at our website.Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter?  Sign up on our website: shedgeek.comFollow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or YouTube at the handle @shedgeekpodcast.To be a guest on the Shed Geek Podcast visit our website and fill out the "Contact Us" form.To suggest show topics or ask questions you want answered email us at [email protected] episodes Sponsors:Studio Sponsor: Shed ProIFABIdentigrowSolar BlasterCardinal ManufacturingVelocity 360