Ernest Clayton Hursh

Author, The Owner Trap Series · Brookfield, Connecticut

Owner. Operator. The guy who's actually run the businesses this book is written for.

In His Own Words

Ernest Clayton Hursh has spent his career at the intersection of small-business ownership and the technology that changes how businesses run. He has owned and operated small businesses across several industries — including a grocery store, a publishing company, and a consulting practice.

Alongside that ownership experience, he cofounded an insurance technology company and has led sales and marketing teams across retail, software, and publishing, in roles from product manager to VP of Sales and Marketing — responsible for more than $1 billion USD in revenue over his career.

One framing runs through this entire book: AI is not a cost center. It is a cash flow tool.

— Ernest Clayton Hursh, The Owner Trap

The Owner Trap is Book One of a planned series, with industry-specific editions — Real Estate, HVAC and Trades, Medical and Dental Practices, Insurance Agencies, Retail, Restaurants, and Professional Services — to follow. He publishes under Clayton Hursh Press, an imprint of Clayton Hursh Group, LLC, based in Danbury, Connecticut.

Small businesses owned and operated directly — grocery, publishing, and consulting

$1B+

In revenue across sales and marketing leadership roles, from product manager to VP

Insurance technology company cofounded, bridging traditional operations and software

Read the system he built from the inside

The Owner Trap draws on ownership experience, not just theory — get the book that started it.

Explore the Book