Speaker 1: 0:22

Let me say it plain If you're not using AI in your business, you're already behind. Not next year, not someday now, because in 2025, ai isn't just a trend. It's the new employee, the new strategy and the new money and businesses who get it they're winning. And the new money and businesses who get it they're winning. Everyone else, they're watching it all slip away. I went from barely making 2k a month to hitting 20 consistently all because I let AI do 80% of the work for me.

Speaker 1: 1:00

This is not just Kindle talk, and today we're diving deeper than we ever have. This isn't about hype. This is survival. This is the raw, unfiltered truth about how AI is flipping the business world on its head and how to make sure your hustle doesn't get left behind. So let's talk facts.

Speaker 1: 1:24

In 2025, ai is running businesses literally from one person side hustles to full scale brands. People are cutting costs, growing faster and building smarter because of a simple truth AI doesn't sleep, it doesn't get tired, it doesn't make excuses and it can scale. If you're still doing everything manually, like your emails, your content, your customer support, even your ideas, you're already 10 steps behind someone who isn't, 10 steps behind someone who isn't. So here's what's happening right now, for instance, candle business owners are using ChatGPT to write product descriptions, emails and even creating sent storylines. And those virtual assistants they're replaced by AI bots that can handle your DMs 24-7. And the content creators they're using AI to schedule, design, caption and repurpose in minutes, not days. Also, the Etsy sellers they're generating SEO, optimized product listings using AI tools and coaches. They're training AI to be many versions of themselves by answering FAQs and helping clients at scale. So let me break it down. This isn't about having a 10 person team anymore. Me break it down. This isn't about having a 10 person team anymore. It's about building a smart team. And AI is your first hire. So over 60% of entrepreneurs in 2025 say that AI impacted their revenue and have said it saved their business from failing.

Speaker 1: 3:24

And this isn't just tech bros in Silicon Valley. This is you, the single mom with a dream, the side hustlers tied of the nine to five, the burnt out business owner with a pile of to do's and no backup. So let me ask you this Are you going to adapt or are you going to get left behind? All right, so everybody loves a good story, right? So let's get real. Everybody loves a good success story, correct. But behind every one of those viral AI posts is a choice Adapt or die. So let me, um.

Speaker 1: 4:05

Let me tell you about this guy I met. His name is Marcus Uh. He has a t-shirt brand Um, and he was running uh ads the old school way. He was spending the money doing the guesswork, just getting burnt out Right. Then he discovered AI AI add copy generators. In one weekend he tested 15 variations of headlines, images and targeting using AI. That Monday. The following Monday when we talk, his conversion rate tripled. Monday when we talk, his conversion rate tripled. Okay, now he's running a five figure a month brand. No team, no agency, just him and a stack of smart tools.

Speaker 1: 4:57

I also talked to a young lady named Janelle. She's a candle maker out in Atlanta running booths at a pop-ups, doing everything herself. Right, she was tired about ready to quit, but she found an AI-powered email campaign and chatbot. Now her website has a 24-7 chatbot that answers questions, upsells bundles and books restocks. She's making money in her sleep, literally. This is a quote from Janelle. I thought tech wasn't for me. Turns out, it saved me from quitting the thing I loved. That's awesome, right, but not everyone is winning.

Speaker 1: 5:43

I also talked to Derek and he was very candid. He ran a creative agency and he didn't want to deal with AI. He didn't want to learn AI. He said it was just a fad, but he did have a couple of his clients that left him to go with a company that delivered faster, cheaper and better, and they were using the AI tools. Of course. Last I heard, his business slowed down and I'm not sure if he's still in business to this day, but this is the brutal truth. Ai isn't here to help you later. It's here to replace what you refuse to evolve around now. Okay, it's like. It's like the blockbuster watching Netflix happen in real time and doing nothing about it. You're either the one adapting or the one explaining why you didn't.

Speaker 1: 6:41

So, up next, I'm giving you the real playbook. Okay, no theory, no fluff. Step by step, how to AI proof your hustle. So let's build your future, all right, and not and not bury your dreams, right? So let's talk power, because you can win in this AI driven world and you don't need to be a tech genius to do it. All right, you don't? So here's a step-by-step playbook to AI proof your hustle, okay. So first ask yourself what tasks are draining, draining your time but don't need you to do them. Is it emails, social posts, replies? Is it the product descriptions? Is it the client follow-ups? If you are repeating it more than twice, it can be automated or AI assisted. Okay, you don't need 20 tools, you need the right three.

Speaker 1: 7:49

Okay, so we're going to start with the start with this power trio. You got your chat GPT. That's. That will help you with writing ideas. It can help you with customer replies, captions, even email sequences. Ok, you got your Canva AI. You know that. That creates templates, designs and and quick visuals for promos. You also have your Notion AI. This is to help with business planning, content calendar and system building. So with those three, use them for 30 days, every single day you'll cut your workload in half and double your output.

Speaker 1: 8:37

Okay, so just automate in one area. Choose one. It could be your email marketing. It could be your social media posts or your customer service. With the customer service, you can add the AI chatbot to your website. You can let AI do your social media posts, hashtags and images and image ideas, and with your emailing, you can have AI write and schedule your email campaigns for you, okay, okay. This one can save you 10 hours a week, okay, if you use the deadly trio, the powerful trio I just gave you. So. So this right here is next level, though Okay A mini ebook generated and outlined by AI, An AI written digital guide, journal or planner, or an AI powered coaching quiz or onboarding system.

Speaker 1: 9:47

If you have those employees, even a, you can create a how-to course on how you use AI in your business. So just start small, but sell smart, okay. So what you want to do is you want to test it out, you want to twerk it and you want to repeat it? Okay. So don't get stuck in perfection. Just test it, tweak it. Let AI help you learn faster. Okay.

Speaker 1: 10:13

The goal isn't to look busy, it's actually to move smarter. Okay, I'll repeat that one the goal isn't to look busy, it's to move smarter. Every one of us has the same 24 hours, but now we have AI, and that means some people are doing. We have AI, and that means some people are doing what some people are doing in one hour and what it used to take for 10, they're doing it in one hour, okay. So so the real question is what are you going to do with the extra nine hours? That's the real question. All right. So if everything we've talked about so far feels big buckle up, all right, because we're not even in the final form of this AI wave. We're in better.

Speaker 1: 11:00

And what's coming next? It's not just going to change your business, it's going to change you. Okay, you got to get used to the change when you're in business for yourself. Okay, and doing that hustle work. So here's a glimpse of what. What's ahead and how to stay ahead of it. Okay, you got your AI agent that will replace the virtual teams.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Think about, think, think about beyond simple tools and AI agent. They are multitasking bots that can manage your whole calendar, launch your products, run your ads and even negotiate deals. Imagine that You'll train them once they can learn your voice, your values and your business style. Okay, that's an AI agent. Imagine having a second. You run in operations 24, seven. Ok, then you have your voice driven brands. They will take over.

Speaker 1: 12:00

With tools like 11 labs, you'll be able to create podcasts like this one. Do explainer videos, train, training content, train, uh, training content. All using a clone version of yourself or an AI generated avatar. No cameras, no studio, just scale. So you have to worry about it's just scaling right. Um, also, you won't just sell more, you will sell smarter.

Speaker 1: 12:31

What about the wearables? Okay, the AI wearables. We're talking about the smart glasses, the rings, the earbuds that can give you live feedback, real-time data and even customer insights as you speak. This is in the future. Okay, apple's doing it now. Amazon is testing it In a small business world. You better doing it now. Amazon is testing it in a small business world. You better believe it's next. Ok, with the Web three and decentralized, decentralized AI tools, merging Soon, you'll be able to build a team, launch a brand and make money without touching a bank, an office or having employees.

Speaker 1: 13:19

So let's think global, automated and always on. So how do you win in this new world? Let me just tell you you stay curious, you stay flexible and you don't wait for permission to pivot. You don't need to go viral, you just need to go forward. All right, if everything we've talked about so far feels big and something you can adapt to, uh, these are things that's happening now and you implement them, like I said, for 30 days, uh, every day. And if you can have those changes and you see those changes, you're in the right. You're on the right path. All right, for sure.

Speaker 1: 14:07

So here's the truth Nobody wants to talk about. Ai won't make you successful, but it will expose every excuse you've been hiding behind. Can't keep up. There's a tool for that. Don't have time. You could do it now. Overwhelm You're not. You're not alone, but you have to stay. You don't have to stay stuck. Ok, because the gap isn't between you and the rich entrepreneurs that's not what it's about. It's between the ones who are adapting and the ones who are resisting. That's where we at with it now.

Speaker 1: 14:43

Okay, so I'll leave you with this, just one quote. You can write it on a mirror. Keep it on a sticky note on your fridge, on a mirror. Keep it on a sticky note on your fridge. The future won't wait for your comfort zone, but it will reward your evolution. You don't need a million followers. You don't need a million decisions to keep showing up smarter. Start now, start messy, start automated. Just start.

Speaker 1: 15:12

So if this episode lit a fire under you, can you please do a favor for me and share it? Tag someone who needs to hear this wake up call and if you're ready to get your time, energy and revenue back, I will upload this checklist of 10 AI tools that'll run your business while you sleep. You can grab it at wwwnotjustcandletalkmecom and I'll put the link in the show notes. So this is the future and if you're either building it or getting buried by it, you're not alone. Just remember that.

Speaker 1: 15:56

So I just want to touch on this episode because, like I said, this is this is the, this is it right, we were in it right, and we have to adapt and we have to move forward and we have to get, we have to move smart with all the smart tools. That's out, okay. So I just want to do an episode like this, attach this to another episode I did about AI before and I'm going to keep going with this. I'm going to do several of these episodes and try to be as informative as I can. So, again, if you like this episode and the one I did before on AI, please follow me, uh, share it with someone who is a little neglectful uh, not neglectful, but a little uh, resistant to, uh, adapting and, and you know, just let them hear the information, because I'm going to do another one of these, like I said. So, thanks for listening, as always, and I will see you on the next episode. Thank you, bye.