Marisa Shadrick :
Business as usual is gone. The rules that used to scale solo business owners no longer work. It’s no longer a question of whether or not you’re ready to use AI. AI is here and probably inside the tools you use every day. But you just don’t know it. In this episode, we’re going to talk about why an AI first mindset is your path to scalable success. Stay tuned.

Speaker B :
Got the solo business blues wearing too many hats. Stay tuned. An episode that understands where you’re at, from burnout to breakthrough. We’ll rewrite your story with AI strategy. Let’s amplify your authority.

Marisa Shadrick :
Hello. Hello, everyone. Marisa Shadrick here, AI marketing consultant and certified copywriter. And I’m truly grateful to be here today sharing this podcast with you, and I’m honored that you’re listening. So today we’re going to talk more about AI and kind of look to see what has transpired so far and looking ahead to the future. And we’re going to look at why we should have an AI first mindset. Now, as I mentioned earlier, business as usual is gone. The rules that used to scale solo business owners no longer work.

Marisa Shadrick :
Things have changed. You’ve seen it, you felt it, and AI is here. And you’re probably using tools right now that use some aspect of AI, but you might not even know it. The only question now isn’t will you use it, is how will you use it? Now let’s take a look at why the old playbook doesn’t work anymore. Now, any of you that have been online for any amount of time have seen things change. People are a little bit less trusting about downloading a free resource or buying a course. People are a little bit more skeptical. So the new currency is trust.

Marisa Shadrick :
And we’ve seen that putting AI aside, we. We realize that the market is changing and trust is the new currency. So everything that we try to do online is to develop that trust so people will come back and hear more or read more and eventually download a resource, be part of our community, receive emails and so forth, bring them into our funnels. But trust is hard to acquire, right? So we need trust, we need clarity as far as what we’re going to offer them, where they are, as far as the buyer journey. And we need that human connection. But we can’t do it if we’re buried in tasks. And this is where AI comes in and can be very helpful. Volume tactics no longer work.

Marisa Shadrick :
Posting more for organic traffic, doing more, being on every social platform, it’s just simply exhausting. And visibility has Diminished, so has engagement. But AI provides an option. And I want you to hear me because many people are a little resistant about AI. Ignoring AI today is like ignoring email in the 1990s. Remember Hotmail? Or the movie you got mail? Yeah. We think back and we think, wow, that was a long time ago. But that was the beginning of something different, something that we thought at the time, why would I need that? How would I use that? And yet email is a form of communication that we use every day.

Marisa Shadrick :
So adopting the AI first mindset isn’t really about adopting another tool. Because AI is so different. The reasoning models are really becoming a thinking or business partner. We give it roles and treat it like an assistant, a strategist, an editor, a researcher, so we can get the best output. An AI first mindset means asking, how can AI simplify or accelerate something that I’m doing today or something that I do weekly? Or letting AI handle volume so you can focus on value. All of these things are important and AI is allowing us to do this more and more. It’s changing constantly. I mean, not even on a monthly basis, almost on a weekly basis.

Marisa Shadrick :
The rapid growth is phenomenal. It just blows my mind how quickly things are changing. But here are some practical ways that solo business owners use AI already. If you’re using any of these tools, you’re using AI because it’s integrated. For example Zoom, they did a lot of updates with meeting summaries and smart recording highlights. Canva, which many people use to create images, it now has the magic features and it has a lot of AI image generation qualities in it. So Canva has integrated AI. Descript is another one that uses AI features in order to give you the quality and the output that it provides.

Marisa Shadrick :
Grammarly has also integrated more AI features. Google, Workspace, Docs sheets all have integrated some component of AI. Even email service providers have integrated some form of AI. Subject line optimizers, automated customer journey suggestions, predictive send times based on behavior, where you put up a campaign and it decides the best time to send out that particular email for various people. So that is all AI. Otter AI is another one for meeting transcripts, action items, searchable summaries, and Fathom is another. Many of these tools have already integrated AI and had for many years had a component of it. And now we have chat GBT that came out not that long ago really when you think about it.

Marisa Shadrick :
But look how many ways it has helped solo business owners in writing email newsletters and blogs and articles and drafts and social media, summarizing meeting notes and doing research, drafting podcast show notes, titles, descriptions, creating lead magnets and even a course, writing bios and web pages. It has done so much for us. And then when we combine Chat GBT with other tools like Gamma, that creates PowerPoint slides and perplexity, that does even greater research and has other features. You combine that with Chat GBT and you’ve got something really powerful notion. AI is another one that I use and I integrate with Chat gbt. There’s so many of these tools that have become powerhouses in the things that we do from day to day. But why does this matter? You might be thinking, do I really need AI? I’m doing okay. Well, maybe you are, and that’s great.

Marisa Shadrick :
But I know in order to stay relevant and to provide the best value to our customers, we need to begin to integrate AI not only for prospecting, not only for selling, but also for retention. Waiting makes the gap wider and the learning curve steeper. You’ll come to a place where you’ll be overwhelmed. You won’t know what to use and how to streamline all of your workflows and the tasks that you have to do because they’re going to be so many options. There are options already, but here’s the good news. You don’t need a lot of tools. You only need a few, maybe even one to get started. But everyone embraces new ideas at a different rate.

Marisa Shadrick :
Innovators are the risk takers, always exploring first. And many of you have probably seen innovators create YouTube videos from the very, very beginning. They embraced it and they started shooting videos and talking about it right away. Then you had the early adopters. Those are socially influenced and quick to act. They begin to pave the way. They’re not necessarily innovators, but they see the writing on the wall and they adopt early. And then you have the early majority.

Marisa Shadrick :
They might be cautious, but they’re curious. They move forward because they see the potential and the benefits. Then there’s the late majority, the skeptical, the slower to shift, the ones that need a little bit more reassurance that this is worth their time. And then finally, you have the laggards, those that are resistant to change, moving only when the shift becomes unavoidable. And they have to like those that resisted emails and finally got a Gmail account because they realized they needed it for a lot of different things, not only in business or personal life. The early majority, which is the middle group, they’re forging something new. They’re updating their offers, their messaging, their deliverables they’re gaining confidence not just in using AI, but in imagining what’s possible for the future. But those in the late majority are feeling the heat.

Marisa Shadrick :
Soon they’re going to find themselves grouped with the laggards, those standing and waiting until they feel, and perhaps really are behind. This isn’t just a cautionary tale. It’s what we’re witnessing in real time, industry after industry. The longer laggards wait, the more likely they’ll be rebuilding from the ashes, lost and behind. But you don’t need to move fast if you want to get on board with AI. You just need to move, that’s all. Let me go over three essential things that solopreneurs need, those who are a company of one. In order to stay competitive and resilient and relevant, solopreneurs need first, hard skills.

Marisa Shadrick :
These are your expert skills. This is based on your experience. This is what you do and what you teach, how you coach, consult, anything based on your knowledge, your credentials or technical experience. We all need those hard skills, but we also need the soft skills. These are the things that govern how you interact with people and how you lead and adapt. You need the emotional intelligence, empathy, active listening, conflict resolution, decision making, leadership, adaptability, clear communication. But the third, in my opinion, is now we need an AI first mindset that is a multiplier. Not just knowing that they exist, but how to think with AI.

Marisa Shadrick :
Knowing when to ask AI for help, knowing how to frame questions for meaningful responses. Learning how to use AI to extend, not replace, your creativity and your expertise. When you combine all three, you begin to work as if you had a team of five, six, seven employees. But in reality, you have five, six or seven AI helpers helping you accomplish the goals that you have for your business. Let me encourage you with this final thought. AI is already here. Your only job is to learn to use it well. To decide I’m going to have an AI first mindset.

Marisa Shadrick :
Business as usual is over. Business with AI is the new normal and your future advantage. I want you to be able to leverage your time and use these tools in a way that’s going to help you scale. It’s going to help you provide more value to your clients because you’ll be able to produce very specific content for them. Even bonuses of offers can be created. You can begin to write books using AI. You can begin to market differently using AI. You can begin to see that the future can be so much better and bigger opportunities because of AI.

Marisa Shadrick :
It’s no longer a threat. It is something that we can use to be able to serve others well. If you enjoyed this podcast, I would love for you to leave a review and a five star rating. And until next time, take care.