AI Business Consulting
Where your business meets what AI can do.
I help businesses, from local shops to enterprise teams, find where AI can actually help. Strategy, training, and hands-on workflow builds, scoped to that overlap.
30 days left to claim 1 of 3 founding spots. The first Audit is free.
Not ready to talk yet? Get the free AI Readiness Checklist instead.
About
Built by someone who ships.
I'm Joan Escamilla, founder of Common Ground. I've spent three years shipping production software, including work on a healthcare platform that handles sensitive patient data under real compliance requirements. As the company's first dedicated frontend and UI/UX developer, I built the automation, compliance tooling, and design infrastructure that let engineering teams move faster, including a component system I later presented company-wide that's become the standard for onboarding new engineers. I've also taught programming to students of every level, from kids to working professionals.
Common Ground applies that same discipline to your business: a clear read on where AI helps, a plan you can execute, and someone who can build the first piece himself if you want that too.
"I don't trust a fix until I know why it works."
~50%
Faster routine scripting after building an internal conventions agent
40–50 hrs → secs
Manual client-import process replaced with MCP server automation
30%
Average student skill improvement across years of 1:1 programming instruction
3 days
To rebuild a legacy frontend into the design system now used company-wide
The Offer
The AI Leverage Audit.
A fixed-scope, two-week engagement that turns "we should probably use AI somewhere" into a ranked, ready-to-execute plan.
What's included
- A working session on your actual workflows, tools, and data
- A written roadmap ranking the 3 highest-leverage AI opportunities by effort vs. impact
- One opportunity scoped in enough detail that any developer, including me, could build it
- A 30-minute walkthrough call to go through it together, in plain language
This is the same audit process I run as the AI engineer for a live healthcare platform, currently working directly with AWS on scaling and integration for an active product launch.
3 Founding Spots
The first 3 AI Leverage Audits are free. In exchange, I ask for a testimonial and permission to reference the results.
Claim a founding spotLimited to my first 3 clients, or the next 30 days (through September 8, 2026), whichever comes first. After that, the Audit is $2,500, guaranteed: if it doesn't surface an opportunity worth more than its cost (a few hours back each week, or a few hundred dollars a month in tools you don't need), you don't pay.
What Happens Next
From booking a call to holding a roadmap.
No mystery about what you're signing up for.
Who I Help
Built for the owner who does it all.
I work one-on-one with solo owners and creators first. Startups and enterprise teams are welcome too.
Solo Owners & Creators
Buy back your time.
You're the marketer, the ops person, and the one posting content, all at once. I work one-on-one with owners like this to find where a few hours of AI-assisted work buys back a week of yours.
First case
A growing TikTok creator handling her business herself. We reviewed her analytics, identified the KPIs that actually mattered, and used them to find her best posting times and improve her SEO. From there, we identified opportunities to improve components like her thumbnails, wrote branding guidelines, improved how she handles collaboration communications, and set a roadmap for monetization.
569 → 650
Followers gained from the posting-time and SEO work alone. The engagement also covered thumbnails, branding, and monetization.
Sound like your business? This is the fastest way to find out.
Startups & Founders
Shipped agents and full infrastructure in days. Startups get that same speed.
Enterprise & Established Teams
Currently the AI engineer for a live healthcare platform, working with AWS on scaling for an active product launch.
Beyond the Audit
Other ways to work together.
Already know what you need? These are the engagements the Audit usually leads to.
Workflow Automation & Agent Builds
Scoped agents and scripts that eliminate one specific manual task: data entry, lookups, report generation.
Best for teams with a specific bottleneck costing time or money
Built an internal conventions agent that cut routine scripting time by ~50%, and an MCP server that replaced a 40–50 hour manual import process with a seconds-long lookup.
Dashboards & Reporting Tools
Turning scattered or raw data into a dashboard your team actually opens, built around the decisions you need to make.
Best for teams sitting on data they don't have time to make sense of
Built dashboards visualizing city planning data and reusable components that cut integration time on future builds.
AI Training & Workshops
Hands-on sessions that leave your team actually using the tools.
Best for organizations rolling out AI tools company-wide
Anthropic-certified in Teaching AI Fluency; ~30% avg. skill improvement across years of 1:1 instruction.
Approach
The same four steps, every time.
Insight only matters if it turns into a path. This is how one becomes the other.
Discover
Understand the business, the data, and what success actually looks like.
Diagnose
Separate where AI creates real leverage from where it's just noise.
Roadmap
A prioritized, sequenced plan tied to outcomes.
Act
Train the team, build the deliverable, or hand off the plan. Your call.
I keep my client list small. On purpose.
- Conversation before contractEvery engagement starts with understanding the problem before I propose the fix.
- Honest about fitIf I'm not the right fit, I'll say so. Wrong-fit engagements waste your budget and my attention.
- Small caseload, real attentionYou get the person who did the diagnosis, every time.
FAQ
Questions worth answering before you book.
What happens after the first 3 founding spots are filled?
The Audit becomes a paid engagement at $2,500, with the same guarantee attached. Everything else about the offer stays the same.
Is my data safe with you?
I spent three years as the subject-matter expert on a healthcare platform handling some of the most sensitive patient data there is. Whatever you share stays between us, and I'm happy to sign an NDA before we start if that helps.
Do I need a technical team for this to work?
No. The Audit and the roadmap are written in plain language for a business owner. If a recommendation needs a developer to build, I'll say so, and I can be that developer if you want.
Is this remote or in-person?
Remote. The working session and the walkthrough call both happen over video, wherever you are.
What if the Audit doesn't find anything worth pursuing?
That's what the guarantee is for. If it doesn't surface an opportunity worth more than its cost, you don't pay.
How much time do I need to put in?
About an hour total: the working session up front and the walkthrough call at the end. I do the work in between.
What do I actually walk away with?
A written roadmap ranking the three highest-leverage AI opportunities for your business, plus one of them scoped in enough detail that any developer could build it.
Get in touch
Book a call.
Pick a time that works. We'll talk through your business on the call, no form required first.
Book a callPrefer to write first?
Send a quick note and I'll reply directly myself.