"My goal is to help thousands of small business owners, just like me, succeed."

-Kris E.

I've spent decades building businesses, solving problems, and adapting to new challenges. Everything I create at LKC Backroom Studio is designed to make that journey a little easier for the next business owner.

Whether it's a practical AI tool, a guided system, or a simple framework, my goal is always the same: to help you spend less time feeling stuck and more time making meaningful progress.

I Didn't Set Out to Build AI Tools

I set out to build a business that fit the life I wanted to live.

Over the years I've been a professional copywriter, content strategist, consultant, business owner, and lifelong problem solver. Like many small business owners, I've had to learn new skills, reinvent my business more than once, and make countless decisions without a roadmap.

That experience taught me something important.

The biggest obstacles in business usually aren't a lack of ideas.

They're uncertainty, overwhelm, and trying to solve everything at once.

I Didn't Want Anything to Do With AI

When ChatGPT first appeared, I wasn't impressed.

In fact, I fought it tooth and nail.

Like many professional copywriters, I worried about what it meant for my career and whether it would replace the work I'd spent decades learning to do.

When Julie first suggested I give it a chance, I wasn't interested.

Then something unexpected happened.

The more I experimented, the more I realized AI wasn't replacing my experience.

It was amplifying it.

Instead of treating AI as a shortcut, I started treating it like a business assistant. It helped me organize ideas, explore possibilities, improve workflows, and build better systems, while I remained responsible for the thinking and the decisions.

That changed everything.

Today, I design human-led AI tools that help small business owners use AI the same way: not as a replacement for experience, but as a practical business assistant that helps them solve problems, strengthen their businesses, and move forward with confidence.

I Chose to Learn Before I Built

When I realized AI could become a practical business assistant instead of a replacement for human expertise, I didn't stop at experimentation.

I invested in learning.

I completed professional certifications in:

- AI Workplace Proficiency

- Generative AI

- GPT Engineering

- Advanced Prompt Engineering

Those courses helped me better understand both the capabilities and the limitations of AI.

Just as importantly, they reinforced something I had already begun to discover through experience.

The best results don't come from handing your work to AI.

They come from combining human judgment with thoughtfully designed AI systems.

That philosophy continues to guide every tool I build.

Building Differently

When I was 18, a car accident left me with chronic back, hip, and neck pain that eventually made traditional work increasingly difficult.

Instead of working longer hours, I had to work differently.

I learned to build systems that reduced unnecessary work, created repeatable processes, and helped me focus my energy where it mattered most.

Those lessons continue to shape everything I create.

The tools I build aren't designed to make business more complicated.

They're designed to reduce friction, simplify decision-making, and help business owners make steady, thoughtful progress.

What You'll Find Here

LKC Backroom Studio is home to a growing collection of human-led AI tools and systems designed to help you:

- Think through challenges

- Build better systems

- Improve your marketing

- Create stronger offers

- Organize your work

- Solve problems with confidence

- Make meaningful progress

Every tool is built to solve a specific challenge while supporting a larger goal:

Helping small business owners spend less time feeling overwhelmed and more time building the businesses they want.

My Philosophy

Business growth doesn't happen because you discover one perfect strategy.

It happens because you consistently make thoughtful decisions, improve your systems, and keep moving forward.

That's why you'll find practical guidance instead of hype.

Thoughtful conversations instead of shortcuts.

Human-led AI instead of automation for automation's sake.

Sustainable progress instead of chasing every new trend.

Welcome to the Backroom. I'm glad you're here.

I hope something you find here helps make your business journey a little easier.

I'm heading back to my cave to create. I'll leave the light on for you.

Strategic thinking. Scrappy evolution.