Forty years of operating, in plain English.
Patrick Albert talks to rooms full of business owners the way he'd talk to one across a desk: what actually works, what it costs, and what to skip. No slides full of buzzwords. In person or virtual, keynote to workshop to podcast.
Four talks. Each one adjusts to the room.
Every talk runs as a 30 to 45 minute keynote, a 60 to 90 minute working session with a worksheet, or a panel or podcast conversation. Tell us the audience and the time slot and Pat builds it to fit.
AI That Earns Its Keep
Where AI actually fits in a small business, and where it doesn't. Built from the book of the same name and from Thinglet's own companies, not from a vendor deck.
- The five places AI pays for itself in the first month
- The three places it quietly costs more than it saves
- A one-page audit the audience fills in during the talk
Your Marketing Department, Without Hiring One
How a small business runs the five-stage growth engine every month with no marketing staff: get found, get trusted, get the lead, get the customer, get them back.
- What a marketing department does that a "social media person" doesn't
- The 8 percent question: how much to spend and where it goes
- Why response time beats ad budget
Getting Found by AI
Customers are starting to ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google's AI for recommendations instead of scrolling results. What gets a small business named in that answer, and what gets it skipped.
- What AI assistants actually read on your website
- The structured-data fixes that take an afternoon
- Why reviews and plain-English pages beat keyword stuffing
Kids, Creativity and AI Storytelling
From the author of the Baysinger Adventures and the Sotelos books. How kids can use AI as a creative partner without letting it do the thinking, told through the making of real middle-grade novels.
- Hands-on: the room helps build a story live
- Where AI helps a young writer and where it gets in the way
- Take-home guide for parents and teachers
Built in the trenches. Focused on the future.
Patrick Albert has been building on the internet since 1999 and running businesses for longer than that. He served in the U.S. Navy, spent twenty years in hospitality from the floor to ownership, has a licensed real estate background, and founded Thinglet in 2011 along with the IT company and web shop that sit beside it. He's met a payroll, worked a Saturday night rush, shipped software and published a shelf of books, so when he talks about what works for a small business he's describing his own Tuesday.
He speaks regularly for the Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce on AI and emerging technology, and takes chamber, association, conference, school and podcast bookings across the country.
Quick facts for your program
- Founder, Thinglet Marketing and Thinglet A.I. (2011)
- Founder, Palm Desert Geeks, Coachella Valley IT since 2005
- Author, The Small Business Owner's AI Playbook (2nd ed.) and The Implementation Files series
- Author, The Baysinger Adventures and The Sotelos middle-grade series
- U.S. Navy veteran
- Two decades of hospitality ownership
- Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce member and speaker
- Based in Palm Desert, California. Travels nationwide, virtual anywhere
Short bio for programs: Patrick Albert is a U.S. Navy veteran, 40-year business operator and author who has been building on the internet since 1999. He founded Thinglet Marketing in 2011 and writes the plain-English books on AI for small business, including The Small Business Owner's AI Playbook and The Implementation Files.
Tell us about the event.
A few details and Pat will reply personally, usually within one business day, with availability and any fee for travel. Chamber and nonprofit rates are available; podcast appearances are free.
Want the talk in book form first?
The Implementation Files and the AI Playbook cover the same ground Pat speaks on, with the worksheets included.
See the books