Running a small business means wearing every hat: marketer, accountant, HR manager, customer service rep, and operations lead, often all before lunch. ChatGPT cannot replace you, but it can be the fastest, cheapest assistant you have ever hired, if you know how to ask it the right questions.

The prompts below are organized by the five areas where business owners spend the most time. Each one is ready to copy and customize with your own details. Just replace the bracketed sections with your specific information.

Marketing (Prompts 1-5)

Marketing is where most small business owners feel the biggest gap between what they need to do and what they have time to learn. These prompts handle the most common marketing tasks.

Prompt #1
Write a Google Business Profile Post
Write a Google Business Profile post for [your business type] in [your city]. We are promoting [specific offer/event]. Keep it under 300 characters, include a call to action, and make it feel local and personal, not corporate.
Google Business posts are one of the most underused free marketing tools. This prompt ensures your post actually sounds like a local business, not a chain.
Prompt #2
Create a Month of Social Media Ideas
You are a social media strategist for small businesses. Create a 4-week social media content calendar for a [business type] that posts 3 times per week on [platforms]. Mix educational tips, behind-the-scenes content, customer stories, and promotional posts. Include the post type, a brief caption idea, and a suggested hashtag set for each.
Planning content in batches saves hours compared to coming up with ideas day by day. This gives you a full month in one prompt.
Prompt #3
Write an Email Newsletter
Write a short email newsletter for [your business]. Subject line options: give me 3. Body should announce [your news/offer], include a personal anecdote to keep it human, and end with a clear CTA. Our audience is [describe customers]. Keep it under 200 words, casual but professional.
Short, personal newsletters outperform long ones. This prompt forces brevity and personality.
Prompt #4
Generate Customer Testimonial Questions
I run a [business type] and want to collect better testimonials from happy customers. Write 8 specific questions I can send via email that will prompt detailed, story-based responses rather than generic "great service" answers. Make the questions conversational and easy to answer.
Most businesses ask "how was your experience?" and get one-word answers. Better questions produce testimonials that actually sell.
Prompt #5
Analyze a Competitor's Strategy
I run a [your business type] in [location]. My main competitor is [competitor name/description]. Based on what a typical business like theirs would do, suggest 5 things they're probably doing well that I should learn from, and 3 gaps they might have that I could fill. Focus on actionable local marketing tactics.
You cannot paste a competitor's website into ChatGPT, but it can reason about common strategies in your industry and find opportunities you may be missing.

Customer Service (Prompts 6-10)

Responding to customers quickly and professionally builds loyalty. These prompts help you craft responses that keep customers happy without spending 20 minutes on every email.

Prompt #6
Respond to a Negative Review
Write a public response to this negative review of my [business type]: "[paste review]". Acknowledge their frustration, briefly explain what may have happened without being defensive, offer to make it right, and invite them to contact me directly. Keep it under 100 words and genuinely empathetic.
Public review responses are marketing. Future customers read them to judge how you handle problems.
Prompt #7
Create FAQ Responses
I run a [business type]. Our top 5 customer questions are: [list them]. Write friendly, concise answers for each that I can save as templates. Each answer should be under 3 sentences and include a next step (link, phone number, or action). Tone: helpful and warm.
Template answers let you respond to common questions in seconds instead of minutes, while still sounding personal.
Prompt #8
Handle a Refund Request
Write a response to a customer requesting a refund for [product/service]. Our policy is [your policy]. The customer's situation is [describe it]. I want to follow the policy but also keep the customer relationship. Suggest a response that feels fair and empathetic.
Prompt #9
Follow Up After a Purchase
Write a follow-up email sent 3 days after a customer purchases [product/service] from my [business type]. Thank them, ask if they have questions, include one helpful tip for getting the most from their purchase, and gently invite a review. Keep it under 120 words.
Prompt #10
Write a Service Outage/Delay Notice
Write a brief customer notice about [describe the issue: shipping delay, service outage, etc.]. Be transparent about what happened and when it will be resolved. Include an apology and how to reach us with questions. Tone: honest and reassuring, not overly apologetic.

Build Custom Prompts for Your Business

Try our free Prompt Builder — build your perfect prompt in 3 steps. Pick your category, answer a few questions, and get a ready-to-use prompt.

Open Prompt Builder

Operations (Prompts 11-15)

Operations tasks are repetitive and time-consuming. Let AI handle the first draft so you can focus on the decisions that actually need your brain.

Prompt #11
Create a Standard Operating Procedure
Write a step-by-step SOP for [specific process, e.g., "opening the store each morning" or "processing an online order"]. Assume the reader is a new employee with no prior experience. Include a checklist format with estimated time for each step.
Prompt #12
Draft a Vendor Negotiation Email
Write an email to my supplier requesting a price reduction on [product]. We've been ordering [quantity] per month for [duration]. I want to negotiate a [X]% discount or better payment terms. Be professional and firm but maintain the relationship. Reference our loyalty as leverage.
Prompt #13
Plan a Team Meeting Agenda
Create a 30-minute weekly team meeting agenda for a small [business type] team of [number] people. Include: quick wins shout-out (2 min), key metrics review (5 min), main discussion topic: [topic] (15 min), action items and owners (5 min), open floor (3 min). Format as a clean template I can reuse.
Prompt #14
Summarize a Long Document
Summarize this [contract/lease/policy document] into plain English. Highlight the 5 most important points I need to understand as a business owner, flag any unusual clauses or potential risks, and list my key obligations with deadlines. Here's the text: [paste document]
Prompt #15
Write a Business Process Improvement Plan
I run a [business type] and [describe pain point, e.g., "fulfilling orders takes too long" or "customer appointments are frequently double-booked"]. Walk me through a simple process improvement analysis: what's likely causing this, 3 practical solutions ranked by ease of implementation, and what to measure to know if it's working.

Hiring (Prompts 16-20)

Hiring is expensive and stressful for small businesses. These prompts help you attract the right candidates and make better decisions without an HR department.

Prompt #16
Write a Job Listing
Write a job listing for a [role] at my [business type] in [location]. Must-have skills: [list them]. Nice-to-haves: [list them]. Pay range: [range]. Make it sound like a real human wrote it, not HR software. Emphasize what makes working here different from a large company. Keep it under 300 words.
Prompt #17
Create Interview Questions
Generate 8 interview questions for a [role] at a small [business type]. Include a mix of behavioral, situational, and skill-based questions. Avoid generic questions like "tell me about yourself." Focus on questions that reveal how someone handles [key trait: autonomy, customer interaction, multitasking, etc.]. Include what a strong answer looks like for each.
Prompt #18
Write an Offer Letter
Draft a simple offer letter for [candidate name] for the [role] at [company name]. Start date: [date]. Salary: [amount]. Key benefits: [list them]. Include a warm welcome paragraph and next steps. Keep it professional but friendly, appropriate for a small business.
Prompt #19
Create an Onboarding Checklist
Create a first-week onboarding checklist for a new [role] at a small [business type]. Organize it by day (Day 1-5). Include paperwork, tool setup, team introductions, training priorities, and first small win assignments. Assume we don't have a formal HR process.
Prompt #20
Write a Rejection Email
Write a kind rejection email to a job candidate who interviewed for [role] but wasn't selected. Acknowledge something specific they did well in the interview, explain we went with someone whose experience was a closer match, and genuinely wish them well. Keep it under 100 words. Do not sound like a template.

Finance (Prompts 21-25)

You do not need a CFO to make better financial decisions. These prompts help you think through the money side of your business more clearly.

Prompt #21
Explain a Financial Concept Simply
Explain [financial concept, e.g., "profit margin vs. markup" or "cash flow vs. profit"] in plain English as if I'm a small business owner with no accounting background. Use a real-world example from a [business type] to illustrate. Keep it under 200 words.
Prompt #22
Create a Pricing Strategy
Help me think through pricing for my [product/service]. My costs are approximately [amount]. Competitors charge [range]. My target customers are [describe them] and they value [what they care about]. Suggest 3 pricing strategies with pros and cons for each, and recommend which one fits my situation best.
Prompt #23
Draft an Invoice Payment Reminder
Write a friendly but firm payment reminder email for invoice #[number], now [X] days overdue, for [amount]. This is a client I want to keep. Remind them of the outstanding balance, offer to help if there's an issue, and include our payment methods. Professional but not threatening.
Prompt #24
Plan for a Slow Season
I run a [business type] and our slow season is [months]. Revenue typically drops [X]%. Help me create a plan to prepare: what expenses to reduce, revenue ideas specific to my industry for the slow months, and how much cash reserve I should aim to have before it starts. Be specific and practical.
Prompt #25
Decide Whether to Hire or Outsource
I need help with [task/role] for my [business type]. It currently takes about [hours] per week. Help me compare the cost and trade-offs of hiring a part-time employee versus outsourcing to a freelancer or agency. Consider my budget of [amount/month], the need for consistency, and the learning curve involved.

How to Get the Most from These Prompts

These prompts are starting points, not scripts carved in stone. Here are three tips to make them work even better for your specific business:

  • Fill in every bracket. The more specific your details, the more useful the output. "A bakery in Portland" gives better results than "a small business."
  • Iterate. If the first result is close but not perfect, tell ChatGPT what to change. "Make it more casual" or "add a section about returns" is all you need.
  • Save your best prompts. When a prompt gives you a great result, save it somewhere you can find it again. Building a personal prompt library will save you hours over time.

AI will not replace the judgment, relationships, and passion that make your small business special. But it can handle the time-consuming tasks that keep you from focusing on what matters most: your customers and your craft.