Like many small enterprise homeowners, I spent a variety of time in 2023 contemplating how I wished to combine synthetic intelligence into my content material company, iHartContent.
At first, my intuition was to hitch “Workforce No AI” and to disregard it altogether. As a author, the worry of instruments like ChatGPT is completely comprehensible. In spite of everything, it will possibly spit out a complete weblog publish in mere moments. It’s pure to fret about being changed.
However as I watched this rising know-how proceed to evolve—and started to see the various methods founders in different industries have been starting to make use of it—I made a decision to as an alternative take a “maintain your pals shut and your enemies nearer” method. I wished to study every thing I might about AI to assist me perceive if it was actually going to trigger the existential disaster I imagined.
Over time, I spotted that the reply isn’t any: AI isn’t a menace to me. A minimum of not anytime quickly. For one, the standard of content material creation simply isn’t there but. These instruments require human enter and finesse to get helpful outcomes. Something that persons are doing with AI isn’t a lot AI-created as it’s AI-assisted.
That’s after I began to totally grasp the chance in AI: Studying to work nicely with these instruments could possibly be a boon to my enterprise, and I might even use them to serve my shoppers in a approach that allowed me to be a extra precious associate (as an alternative of changing me).
This method to integrating AI helped my company obtain our first multi-six-figure milestone in 2023. It’s change into so precious that I’ve launched a brand new line of enterprise to assist others learn to work alongside AI. And none of this may have occurred if I had continued to shun it.
For different enterprise homeowners who’re feeling hesitant about integrating AI, listed here are 3 ways I’ve used it this yr to develop my enterprise, and the way I plan to proceed evolving these approaches into 2024.
I’m utilizing AI to open up time to work on my enterprise as an alternative of in my enterprise
My company, like so many companies, has at all times confronted the “cobbler’s kids haven’t any sneakers” downside: Whereas we’re on high of our shoppers’ advertising, content material, and social media wants, our channels used to get virtually no consideration.
As soon as we began utilizing AI to clear operational bottlenecks and streamline the content material creation course of, I used to be in a position to ship the identical excessive stage of service for our shoppers whereas additionally having time to spend by myself enterprise growth.
For instance, we began utilizing ChatGPT to batch matter brainstorming, help us in outlining, and do preliminary rounds of content material edits for our shoppers. It’s vital to notice that we at all times cleared the usage of AI instruments with our shoppers forward of time and didn’t use them for any shoppers who have been towards it. Nonetheless, most individuals have been snug with our considerate use of this know-how, and these new processes have been quickly saving me about eight hours per week, minimal.
That’s a complete workday freed up for duties like constructing out our personal on-line presence, consumer acquisition, and discovering new methods to develop my enterprise as an alternative of solely serving our current shoppers.
In 2024, we’re going to search for extra methods to streamline processes and to coach our prospects on tips on how to do a few of this themselves. Which may really feel like precisely what I used to be afraid of—educating my shoppers to make use of AI in order that they don’t want me—however I see it as a method to construct extra worth. As an illustration, if our shoppers can simply write on-brand communications that’s not included of their bundle with us, it makes all of their content material look extra unified and, subsequently, extra profitable.
Educating them additionally exhibits the work that we put into utilizing AI, in order that they don’t really feel like they need to be capable of pay us much less simply because we’re integrating these instruments. It’s nonetheless a really human course of that requires particular experience, and we needs to be paid nicely for bringing that to the desk.
On high of opening up time to work on my enterprise, AI has helped me execute enterprise growth duties.
Early on, we used it in apparent methods, prefer to assist our model copywriting or utilizing it to assist us map out three to 6 month content material calendars for ourselves and our shoppers.
Because the yr went on, nevertheless, we began utilizing it extra for higher-level duties, from monetary planning and projections to technique growth to diving deep into our personal branding and messaging. I believe that is the true superpower of chat-based AI brokers: Utilizing them as thought companions for enterprise technique.
As an illustration, once we have been struggling to fulfill our monetary aim for 1 / 4, I outlined what we have been aiming for and every thing we have been doing to realize it in ChatGPT, and requested what extra approaches we might contemplate.
Over the course of an extended brainstorming chat, we got here up with some ways that finally helped us not solely hit our aim, however exceed it. A number of the ways included figuring out methods to raised leverage the distinctive strengths and abilities of my current crew, methods for altering the pricing construction of our service choices, extra “low-hanging fruit” alternatives for top worth add-on providers, and even concepts for slicing bills.
There’s limitless prospects for tactics you need to use AI to strategize round your enterprise, and since you need to use pure language with it, you’ll be able to simply have a dialog such as you would possibly with a crew member. It’s gotten to the purpose the place anytime I encounter a difficulty I don’t know tips on how to method, my first response is to go to ChatGPT to assist information my pondering.
I’m utilizing AI to educate me via setting our firm imaginative and prescient
A couple of months in the past, I used to be feeling actually caught with the enterprise: Not motivated or fulfilled with the work we have been doing. However I couldn’t actually put a finger on why that was or exactly how I wished to pivot or enhance.
One night time, in desperation, I turned to ChatGPT and gave it the position of a enterprise coach, explaining my state of affairs and asking it to offer me thought-provoking inquiries to resolve my rut. By means of the course of an hours-long dialog, we acquired to the purpose the place I recognized that I felt the work we have been doing was not contributing to the world in a optimistic approach.
We weren’t inflicting hurt—we have been already very selective about our shoppers—however wished to boost the voices of people that have been actively making the world a greater place.
With this aim in thoughts, ChatGPT then helped me define a plan for gently offboarding some shoppers who weren’t as aligned and shifting our messaging to draw this new viewers. Due to this work, we’ve taken on 4 new shoppers within the final month alone who our crew is so excited to work with and who’ve a message that the world desperately wants to listen to.
Certain, I might have executed this work with out ChatGPT. However the course of was so fast in comparison with if I’d been muddling via it by myself. AI can by no means totally exchange the deeply human perception you would possibly achieve from working with a model coach or enterprise coach, however it will possibly assist get you unstuck. Within the span of just some months, I’ve gone from feeling out of alignment to extraordinarily enthusiastic about the way forward for the corporate. In 2024, I need to proceed in search of alternatives to place AI in that teaching position and let it ask me the deep questions that can make my work extra significant.
Right here’s what I now consider about AI: It’s not going to switch you, however the companies which can be utilizing it will exchange you as a result of they’re going to be shifting a lot quicker. I’m not saying this to create worry however to encourage different enterprise homeowners that now’s the time to step into this area. You don’t should change into an professional, however it is best to take a detailed take a look at how it may be leveraged in your enterprise. I believe you’ll be amazed on the methods it will possibly transfer you ahead.
