Free ยท San Diego County
The honest room for San Diego owners figuring out AI.
The San Diego AI Guild is a free AI group for San Diego business owners who feel behind on AI and are tired of being sold to. We show each other which tools are worth paying for, at their real price, and we build the fix for a local business live, while you watch. Nobody sells in the room. Not even me.
Where it came from
A buddy of mine was paying for four AI tools and using none of them.
He’s a contractor. Good at what he does. He signed up for four AI subscriptions because everybody said he had to, and he never opened a single one. He’s not stupid. Nobody showed him.
Every week there’s a new tool and a new guru, and nobody tells you what it costs, what it actually saves, or the exact words to type. I’m a photographer and videographer, not a tech guy. AI runs most of my back office now, and owners kept asking me what I use, what it costs and whether it works. So I made a room where we show each other. Honestly. Prices included.
Free means free
What you get when you join.
The Tool List
Every AI tool we’ve looked at, ranked S to C, with its real price next to it. No affiliate links, ever. Prices re-checked every quarter. If it didn’t save us time, it’s not on the list.
A starter stack for your kind of business
The two or three tools worth paying for in your trade. Not twelve. The rest is noise.
A seat at Guild Night
Once a month, a room of owners picks one member’s real problem and builds the fix live, start to finish. You leave with one thing working, not a notebook full of notes.
Neighbors
Owners in your own county figuring out the same thing you are. Trades, dental, salons, real estate, restaurants, lawyers and CPAs, photographers.
House rules
Five rules. We keep all of them.
- It’s free. Nothing to buy.
- Nobody sells in the room.
- A real price next to every tool.
- Fewer tools, not more. If you’re paying for four tools, cancel three.
- Nobody gets made to feel dumb. If you didn’t get it, that’s on whoever explained it.
Built live
Don’t tell me. Show me.
One member brings a real problem from their business: the quotes that eat every Sunday, the leads that sit too long, the inbox that never ends. The room picks one. Then we build the fix live on a big screen, with the actual tool, the exact words typed in and what it costs, while everybody watches it go from “how would I even” to working.
Then everybody goes home. That’s on purpose. A Guild Night ends at a decent hour, because the whole point of AI is getting you home.
Next Guild Night: announced in the group.
Brand new, said plainly
The first fifty are founding members.
The Guild is brand new, and I’d rather tell you that than fake it. There are no member success stories on this page yet, because the first ones haven’t happened. When they do, they’ll show up here with a name, their screen and a written yes. The first fifty owners who join are the founding members. You’re in the room from the start, while it’s small, and you help shape what it becomes.
Who runs it
An everyday guy with a camera and a laptop.
Me, Eddie Flores. I’ve spent 15+ years behind the camera in San Diego, and I’m not a tech guy. I’ve logged 500+ hours, measured, building my own AI system, so I’ve already made most of the expensive mistakes. You get to skip them. That’s the whole reason the room exists.
Is this you?
You’ll fit right in if…
- You own a business in San Diego County and you feel behind on AI.
- You’ve tried ChatGPT once or twice and it didn’t stick.
- You’re paying for tools you don’t use, or you’re scared to pay for any.
- You’d rather watch something get built than sit through another webinar.
- You want your evenings back.
Build AI systems for a living? There’s a seat for you too, on The Bench, our list of local builders. Same rule applies: you don’t sell in the room.
Questions people ask before they join.
Is it really free?
Yes. Nothing to buy, no upsell in the room. The Guild doesn’t make money. Some owners later hire me for AI training or a build, outside the room, on their own time. That’s it.
Do I need to be technical?
No. That’s the whole point. If you can run a business, you can learn this. Nobody in the room is going to make you feel slow.
Is this a class I have to keep up with?
No. No homework, no modules, no falling behind. It’s a room. Come when you can, take what helps, skip what doesn’t.
Where do you meet?
In person in San Diego County, plus the online group for everything in between. Each Guild Night’s place is posted in the group.
What does a Guild Night cost?
Nothing. Same as the rest of it.
How do I get The Tool List?
Join the group. It’s pinned at the top.
Come see it
How long have you been putting AI off?
Be honest. Then join the group, grab The Tool List, and come to a Guild Night when you’re ready. Just come watch one.