Entrepreneurs are being told to adopt artificial intelligence before many have a reliable way to decide what the tools should do, what must remain under human review, or whether the investment produced a return. TerDawn DeBoe, a Forbes contributor and founder of the Institute of Business AI, is launching a three-day Build Your AI Team Challenge from November 4 through November 6. As a part of the challenge, she will show small business owners how to build supervised AI roles, recover operating capacity, and measure whether the technology paid for itself.
The Challenge grew from her own return to business. After taking time away to grieve her grandson, she chose not to reopen her former digital marketing agency. She built a different company around a small human team that supervises named AI roles. It was designed as a new operating model rather than as a downsized version of her former agency. She describes the design as a "tiny team": a small human core supervising AI-supported roles while retaining responsibility for judgment and approval.
"Small-business owners do not need another list of tools," DeBoe said. "They need to know what work should move, who remains responsible for the outcome, and what number will prove the system earned its place." During the Challenge, participants will map the work that is keeping the founder overloaded, assign clear responsibilities to AI-supported roles, establish human approval points, and create a first implementation plan. They will also learn when a workflow should be fixed, scaled, or stopped because the cost, review burden, or risk outweighs the result.
As a Forbes contributor, she appeared as the AI expert in six episodes of Forbes' Leadership Lessons video series. She founded the Institute of Business AI and created its CPD-accredited Certified AI ROI Consultant program., and is the author of ROI with AI. She is also the creator of STEAD, ROI2, and The Return Method, which connect AI decisions to financial return, operating performance, and human intention. DeBoe was named the 2026 PBH Tech of the Year and received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Shontel M. Brown.
One graduate of her Institute reported $997,415 in combined first-year economic value from AI: $297,415 in documented savings plus at least $700,000 in avoided annual staffing cost. The graduate described the cost-avoidance estimate as conservative. The result reflects the discipline DeBoe teaches: separate documented savings from cost avoidance, account for implementation and review, and show the calculation behind the headline.
Her Build Your AI Team Challenge runs live online from November 4 through November 6 and is open to small-business owners nationwide. Participation tiers are $97, $397, and $997. To learn more, visit the official web site at https://aiagent.instituteofbusinessai.org
About
Based in Cleveland, Ohio, TerDawn DeBoe is a respected AI ROI strategist, the author of ROI with AI, and the founder of the Institute of Business AI. Forbes selected her as its AI business expert for six episodes of Leadership Lessons. She created STEAD, ROP, The Return Method, and the Institute's CPD-accredited Certified AI ROI Consultant program to help businesses connect AI use to measurable financial value, operating performance, and human intention. She has also been named the 2026 PBH Tech of the Year and received a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition from Congresswoman Shontel M. Brown.
For press interviews, documentation requests, or a live Al ROI demonstration, contact Tameshia Weaver at info@instituteofbusinessai.org or 216-758-7077.