Make your business life easier with AI: a practical workshop with Selda Seyfi
By Martin Newenham
A practical, hands-on AI workshop for Surrey business owners, hosted by Link Up Guildford and delivered by Selda Seyfi from Quantum Lane AI.
AI has moved fast. A few years ago, tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot were novelties. Now they’re part of how businesses write, plan, research and communicate every day.
If you run a growing business, on your own or with a small team, that’s good news. The jobs that fill your week, the admin, the first drafts of emails, the long documents to summarise, the blank page when a post is due, can all get help from tools that are more capable and more affordable than most people realise.
The owners who get the most from AI are the ones who take a little time to learn what these tools are good at, and how to ask for what they need. That’s what this workshop is for.
Over three hours, including coffee on arrival and networking at the end, you’ll get a calm, jargon-free introduction to what AI is, what it can’t do, and how it fits into the way you already work. You won’t need any technical knowledge, and there’s no pressure to become an expert overnight. You’ll leave more confident, with two or three ideas you can put into practice in your own business within the week.
“Lots of people have typed a few questions into ChatGPT and stopped there, because nobody’s shown them what else it can do. So we’ll keep the theory short and get you using AI on real tasks from your own business. You’ll leave knowing which tool to open, how to ask it for what you want, and at least one job in your business you can start using it on straight away.”
Selda Seyfi, Quantum Lane AI
This workshop was first run for Mole Valley Chamber of Commerce at Fetcham Park House in October 2026.
“The room had complete beginners alongside regular users, and Selda pitched it perfectly for both. People left with practical ideas they could put to work straight away, and the buzz during the networking afterwards said it all. Highly recommended for any business that wants to use AI with confidence.”
Richard Excell, President, Mole Valley Chamber of Commerce
What the session covers
The workshop is built around doing, with very little sitting and listening. You’ll get a plain English look at the main AI tools, see the difference a well-written request makes, and learn a simple, repeatable way to get better results from any of them. Then you’ll put it to work on real tasks from your own business.
We’ll also cover the questions people are often too polite to ask: data privacy, why AI sometimes gets things confidently wrong, and what’s sensible to share.You’ll go home with a free guide, Your First 7 Days with AI, and the option to book a short one-to-one chat about AI in your own business.
By the end, you will
- Understand what today’s AI tools can and can’t do, without the hype or the fear
- Know a simple, repeatable way to write prompts that get useful results
- Have found two or three practical AI opportunities in your own business
- Feel ready to try something new within the next seven days
Who it’s for
Owners of established, growing businesses. You’ve got clients, you’ve got momentum, and now you want the business to run with less of your time. Consultants, coaches, agencies and service businesses, on your own or with a small team.
Whether you’ve never opened an AI tool or you use one now and then without knowing why it works, the pace is set for you.
Your workshop leader
Selda Seyfi of Quantum Lane AI has spent over twenty years in management consulting, helping global businesses with their strategy, their operations and new ideas. She’s a certified consultant at one of the world’s largest AI development communities, and she writes Maximize Your Minutes, a weekly AI and productivity newsletter with 2,600+ subscribers. She’s been quoted in Fast Company.
Selda’s view is simple: your business comes first, and AI comes second. Every idea in this workshop has to solve a real problem in a real business.
Tickets are £35, including coffee, the Your First 7 Days with AI guide and the option of a one-to-one with Selda. Places are limited to 20 so everyone gets hands-on time, so early booking is recommended.
FAQs
How much does it cost? £35 per person, booked through Eventbrite. That includes coffee on arrival, the take-home guide and networking at the end.
Do I need any technical knowledge or experience with AI? No. This workshop is for beginners and occasional users. If you’ve never opened an AI tool, you’ll be looked after. If you already use one, you’ll still come away with new ideas.
What should I bring? A laptop or tablet is useful for the hands-on work, though a phone will do. Come with a real task or two from your own business in mind, because that’s what you’ll work on.
Will I need to pay for any AI tools? No. The session uses the free versions of the main AI tools, so there’s nothing extra to buy, during the workshop or afterwards.
Is this a sales pitch for AI software? No. The focus is practical: what these tools can do and how to use them well. At the end there’s an optional, no-pressure chance to say if you’d like more AI support.
