"That's impossible" (and why you should ignore whoever says it)

TL;DR

• I presented an AI automation project
• They told me: “impossible”, “OCRs don’t work”, “too generic”
• Months later, the same person contacted me: “I want to implement AI in my business”
• Takeaway: those who say “impossible” are usually the ones who don’t know how

---

Some time ago I presented a digital transformation project. Invoice automation with OCR, real-time dashboards, AI workflows. A realistic, phased plan with a budget.

The response:

“OCRs don’t work. This is impossible. It’s too generic.”

They told me the only “decent” OCR they’d seen cost €3,000 from a consulting firm.

I explained that the problem wasn’t using a generic OCR, but creating specific templates per document type. That you didn’t need 500 examples, 80 was enough.

They argued. They weren’t convinced.

Months later

I receive a message from the same person:

“Hey, can we meet? I want to implement AI in my business.”

The one who told me it was impossible now wants me to explain how to do it.

The pattern repeats

This isn’t an isolated anecdote. It’s the pattern of every SME that “wants AI”:

1. They don’t know what they want
2. They think it’s magic
3. They expect to pay little
4. They want immediate results

“I want AI in my business” can mean:

• I want a chatbot on the website → Small project
• I want AI to do my accounting → Impossible (for now)
• I want to look modern → Doesn’t know what they want
• I want to automate X process → Real value here

The job isn’t “implement AI”. The job is translating “I want AI” into “what you actually need is X”.

What AI can actually do for your business

If you have an SME and you’re thinking about “implementing AI”, here’s the truth:

Does work:

• Automating invoice and delivery note entry
• Automatically classifying emails and tickets
• Generating draft responses to customers
• Extracting data from PDF documents
• Creating automatic reports from data you already have

Doesn’t work (yet):

• “Have AI run my business”
• Replacing employees who make complex decisions
• Magic without previous data
• Implementation in an afternoon

The lesson

When someone tells you “that’s impossible”, what they’re really saying is “I don’t know how to do it”.

It’s not the same thing.

Those who build the future don’t ask permission from those who don’t understand the present.

---

Have an SME and want to know what AI can do for you? Let’s talk.