AI + automation · Wilmington, NC

AI and automation for small businesses in Wilmington, NC

300+ automated workflows · Based in Wilmington, NC

If you are looking for AI and automation help for a small business in Wilmington, NC, that is what I do. I am Erin Cronin, and I connect the tools you already pay for so they talk to each other and nothing gets entered twice.

What I build in automation

  • Lead capture that lands every inquiry in your CRM, tagged and followed up, whether or not you are at your desk.
  • Booking, payment and onboarding wired together, so a new client gets the welcome email, the forms and the calendar link without you sending any of it.
  • Follow-up and nurture sequences in ActiveCampaign, Kit or HubSpot, written to sound like you.
  • Zapier and Make automations between the tools that do not talk to each other on their own.
  • AI where it actually saves time: Claude and ChatGPT set up for drafting, summarizing and sorting, inside the work you already do.
  • Written documentation for every build, so your team can run it without me.

Not everything here is a big build. Some of it is one time and done, some is worth me sticking around for, and plenty of it is an afternoon of work. I'll tell you which one you actually need.

One person, not an agency

I am a one-person operations practice, not a team of account managers. You talk to the person who builds the thing. I have built 300+ automated workflows and 300+ Zapier integrations across 150+ platforms, including a single Zapier workflow with 58 steps and multiple branches.

Most of what I build is less dramatic than that. It is the email that goes out the second someone fills in your form, the invoice that sends itself when the job is marked done, the reminder nobody has to remember.

Local, and in person if you want it

I work with clients anywhere in the US online. If your business is in New Hanover, Brunswick or Pender County, I can also come to you and do it on site, at your desk, on your screen.

Being able to sit down next to you and look at your actual screen changes how fast this goes. You show me how a lead comes in today, and I can usually point at where it leaks within the hour.

Where to start

If you are not sure what is leaking, the free 5-Minute Ops Quiz gives you a score and points at your weakest spot. If you want AI specifically, the AI Power Hour is $197: one hour, your screen, and you leave with something set up and working.

If you can feel time and money slipping but cannot point at where, the Operations Audit is $597. I go through your business the way a customer would and hand you a prioritized fix list, yours to keep whether you hire me or not.

What it costs after that

Ongoing work runs on a flat monthly retainer with no timesheet. The Systems Retainer is $1,500 a month and covers one build a month, tested and live, plus a weekly call. The Partner Retainer is $2,500 a month for businesses where I am effectively the operations department. A brand new system built from scratch, like a full CRM, is scoped and priced in writing as its own project.

Every price, on one page

Something I built

Every booking lived in her head. Nothing was written down.

A venue owner had no process for inquiries, tours or bookings. I built a pipeline from first inquiry to signed contract, with self-scheduled tours so prospects book themselves and nothing double-books, and every prospect visible to the whole team.

0

Missed or forgotten inquiries after launch

5+

Manual hours a week eliminated

300+

Automated workflows built

See the rest of the work

Quick answers

Straight answers about automation

Who does AI and automation for small businesses in Wilmington, NC?

I do. I am Erin Cronin of The Coastal Collaborative, based in Wilmington. I connect the tools a small business already uses, CRM, email, calendar and payments, and add AI where it saves real time. Remote anywhere in the US, in person in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties.

How much does business automation cost?

With me, the AI Power Hour is $197 and the Operations Audit is $597. Ongoing work is a flat retainer, $1,500 or $2,500 a month, with no hour count. A from-scratch system is quoted in writing first. Every price is on the pricing page.

Which tools do you work in?

Zapier, Make, ActiveCampaign, Kit, HubSpot, GoHighLevel, Asana, Kajabi, Google Workspace, Slack, Stripe, Claude and ChatGPT, among others. If you already pay for something, I build in that before suggesting anything new.

Do you build websites too?

Yes, but not here. Websites and getting found on Google and ChatGPT live at my sister brand, Get Coastal Built, at getcoastalbuilt.com. This side is operations, automation and AI.

What should I automate first?

Whatever you do by hand every single week that follows the same steps every time. For most small businesses that is the path from a new inquiry to a booked call: the form, the reply, the reminder and the follow-up. It is usually the cheapest fix with the fastest payoff.

I am not technical. Is that a problem?

No, because you are not the one building it. You tell me how the work moves today, I build it, and you get written instructions in plain words for running it.

Ready when you are

Want it handled?

Twenty minutes, no pitch. If someone else is a better fit, I'll tell you and point you to them.

Tell me where it leaks