← The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
The Goal Digger Podcast | Top Business and Marketing Podcast for Creatives, Entrepreneurs, and Women in Business
845: Why Every Small Business Needs AI to Thrive (and How to Start)
00:51:26
With Aprelle Duany and Jenna Kutcher
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- [00:02]
Aprel Duaney
I think AI gives you the ability to own your zone of genius and the tedious tasks that take away from you. Being able to shine and show up as fully as you want. You can automate those things. I think it also depends on your community and what you authentically want to provide.
- [00:21]
Jenna Kutcher
I'm Jenna Kutcher, your host of the Goal Digger podcast. I escaped the corporate world at the age of 23 with nothing more than a $300 camera from Craigslist and a dream. Now I'm running a seven figure online business that feels even better than it looks, all from my house in small town Minnesota with my family. Here, we value time as our currency. We mix the woo and the work and we are in the pursuit of building businesses that give us the freedom to live lives that we love. I've always loved turning big goals into reality and I'm here to help you do the same. This isn't just a peek behind the curtain. Come along with me and my guests as we tear the whole curtain down. Every week we tackle practical no fluff marketing strategies and host honest discussions on what works and what doesn't. Join me and my expert guests for actionable insights to help you grow your dream business with confidence. Pull up a seat and get ready to be challenged, inspired and empowered. This is the Gold Digger Podcast.
- [01:23]
Unknown Speaker
Imagine this.
- [01:24]
Jenna Kutcher
What if you could save hours of your time, cut out repetitive tasks and finally focus on what matters most in your business, all without having to hire a massive team?
- [01:34]
Unknown Speaker
I mean, that sounds like a dream, right?
- [01:35]
Jenna Kutcher
Well, the good news is, is it's not just a dream. The secret is already at your fingertips.
- [01:41]
Unknown Speaker
What am I talking about? AI.
- [01:43]
Jenna Kutcher
Today, we're diving into the world of artificial intelligence with someone who knows exactly.
- [01:48]
Unknown Speaker
How to make it work for entrepreneurs just like you.
- [01:50]
Jenna Kutcher
Aprel Duaney is an AI strategist, entrepreneur and advocate for sustainable business growth. Her journey spans corporate IT auditing, launching a luxury fashion brand in Africa, and now empowering small business to use AI to reclaim their time and freedom. Apparel's smart framework is revolutionizing how entrepreneurs think about workflows and efficiency, and today she is sharing it with us and spilling her secrets from the tools you.
- [02:17]
Unknown Speaker
Need to get started to the mindset.
- [02:18]
Jenna Kutcher
Shifts required to embrace AI. This episode is packed with actionable insights. If you've ever thought AI sounds amazing, but where do I even start? Or maybe you've dabbled with it, but you're not sure if you're using it to its full potential, this conversation is for you. Aprell will break it all down Sharing strategies, real world examples, and easy wins to implement today. So grab your notebook and get ready to unlock the power of AI in your business. April welcome to the Gold Digger podcast. Growing a business isn't for the faint of heart. It's a whole lot of everything. Building an audience, nurturing leads, managing channels, tracking metrics, and juggling all the moving pieces of your strategy. And let's not forget those late nights, long days and working weekends. Sound familiar? Sometimes it feels like you're wishing for just one thing to make it all a little bit easier. Well, meet Breeze, HubSpot's brand new collection of AI tools built specifically for marketers just like you. With Breeze, attracting the right audience, increasing leads and turning those leads into loyal customers just got faster and dare I say, easier than ever before. Imagine less stress and more success, more wins and fewer all nighters. With Breez, you're not just keeping up, you're staying ahead. And pretty soon your business is going.
- [03:37]
Unknown Speaker
To have a lot to celebrate.
- [03:38]
Jenna Kutcher
Check out breeze@HubSpot.com marketers to learn more. That's HubSpot.com marketers I'm so excited for.
- [03:48]
Unknown Speaker
This conversation today and I want to dive off the deep end first and.
- [03:52]
Jenna Kutcher
Ask a question that I think a.
- [03:53]
Unknown Speaker
Lot of people might be asking now. If someone isn't using AI in their business yet, give us a convincing argument of why they should consider it in 60 seconds or less.
- [04:05]
Aprel Duaney
Yes, this is my most favorite question to answer. Number one, if you're a business owner, you're already working hard. Do you want to work harder or do you want to work smarter? So if you like making things harder, ice skating uphill, you want to keep doing things the way you're doing it. If you are tired of being the Chief Everything Officer, it's time to start using AI. I think for business owners, especially for women, we like doing all the things because we think that there is some badge of honor at the end of the day and we're actually getting behind because we're not using the tools. You know, I wouldn't do long math with paper and pencil anymore. I'll use a calculator or I'll use Google sheets, you know. So AI is just a tool to help us to make our processes and make progress in our business faster. So if you're not using it, please start using it today, right now.
- [04:54]
Unknown Speaker
Okay, this conversation is going to be just so powerful and I have to quick fill people in on how we connected, but I run my LinkedIn and you had left a comment on a post and I curiously clicked over to your profile and I was like, oh, okay, we've got to bring this conversation on air. And one of the things that I noticed that you said and it just really stuck with me right away is you say you don't get what you deserve, you get what you design. Talk me through that thought, because I think that lays a beautiful foundation for where we're going to go in this conversation.
- [05:31]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, I think we have grown up with this concept where, you know, if I'm a good person, if I do all the things, I'm going to get the gold at the end of the tunnel. I'm going to get all the things that I want. And so for me, I was a stay at home mom for a very long time. And as I was transitioning back into work life, I was doing a lot of different things. I was doing all this stuff. It was very hard work and I wasn't getting any of the results. And so at the same time, I was in a PhD program and I was doing research on the differences between men and women in terms of entrepreneurship. And so the data doesn't lie. The data is showing how men are progressing very quickly using the tools that they need to use. And women, we're just, we're kind of like scraping along. We're trying to do it all, all on our own, and we're struggling. And so we have this idea that because I'm a good person, I deserve X, Y and Z. Whereas we're looking at other people who are successful and they're intentional about the success because they've designed it. You know, they're not just doing things for the sake of doing it. It's an intentional activity that they're doing. And so when I started having that aha moment, like I'm bur out, I'm overwhelmed and I'm working hard. I'm doing all the things I'm not getting what I deserve. You know, the wellness, the wealth, all the things that I wanted. I had to just be very responsible and be very intentional, like I have to design the outcome that I want. And so that was just a big pivotal moment for me. I was also just having a lot of stress and a lot of pressure. And I was like, this has to break somehow. And I was like, oh, actually I have a design background. And so if I designed it in the way that I know how to utilize design as a tool to create a system, then I started seeing a lot of shifts. So you don't get what you deserve. You get what you design, I love.
- [07:10]
Unknown Speaker
That for so many reasons. And I also just feel like if you don't sit down and intentionally envision or design your life, you don't even really know what you're moving towards. Right. Like, it's like a moving target. And I think so many of us feel that when it's like, we work all day and you end the day and you're like, what did I even get done? And so it's like, when you have that clarity, that actually moves you in the right direction and helps you make progress. So I love that. One thing that you said, and I. I think we have to go there, especially on the Gold Digger podcast, is that women are slower to adopt some of these things, these tools, these technologies. And one thing that I've noticed, and I'm curious if you've noticed this as well, is that I feel like, especially in female centric communities and spaces, AI almost has been demonized. Like, it's almost been looked at in a very negative light. And why is that? And why are we doing that? It's really fascinating to me.
- [08:09]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah. So, first of all, I feel that AI is a godsend for women. Okay. Because we need the help. We need to bridge the gaps. You know, even though there's a lot of male hands involved in the creation of AI, I feel like it's a tool meant for women now, why we're hesitant to use it if we think about the disparity in terms of stem. And so, like, when I started my college degree, I was in engineering. I was the only black person, and I was the only woman. And so even that already set a standard where, okay, this is going to be a lonely journey. I don't see a lot of women talking about math. I don't see a lot of women talking about science. And even in that space, I didn't see myself represented. And so now fast forward, however many years later, we're having those same dynamics in terms of women not getting involved in stem, not getting involved in science and math. And so it's already like, oh, science and math are scary. And now we have AI, which people don't even understand. It's like it's taking over the world. And so I think we have to bridge that gap and look at math and science again as tools and not something to be afraid of. I'm so lucky that both of my daughters love engineering and they love math, and so we use AI. We talk about it all the time. And so I feel they will be able to be ahead of the game. So that's one. We need to have more women in tech, just period. And I think as we have more women in tech and people that look like us are invited into the conversation, then it won't be something that's demonized, it'll be something that's just common because everyone is using technology. Secondly, I also want to say when I do talk with my clients, one of the challenges they have with incorporating AI is like, I'm not a tech person, I'm not an engineer. You know, I'm a designer. I like to draw, I like art. You know, I had to explain AI to my mom who has a bakery and I was just like, oh my God, what? And so I think the terminology that's also used when people are talking about AI, it's very engineer centric, you know, prompt engineering. It really is just communicating with the tools. If you've used Amazon, Alexa, if you've used any of those tools, you're already using AI. And so I do like to bridge the gap in terminology and let people know, hey, you're already using artificial intelligence in one way or the other, regardless of if you have a tech background, even if you're not a techie. You know, I feel like we're all techie. We just, we don't all have engineering degrees, right? You're using Amazon, you're not going to, you know, you wanted to know what you've ordered in the last, you know, five orders, right? You're not trying to go through the whole ecosystem of Amazon. So that's, that's techy, you know, so it's just really breaking down those barriers, I think in terminology and then also realizing that it is a tool. And then lastly, we live in a very fear driven society. And so it's kind of like, girl, oh my God. And I was like, oh, let's, we can't just continue to fall into fear as a default and then also want change because it's gonna keep you stuck, it's gonna keep you in a scarcity mindset. And for the people that are moving ahead very quickly, they're not afraid to break things. They're not afraid to, you know, dive in and say, okay, maybe I don't know everything, but I'm gonna use it to the best of my ability. And I think in women oriented communities, we need to have those conversations. We don't have to have it all figured out. We don't have to be fluent in everything artificial intelligence. But we do have to start tapping in to using the tools oh my.
- [11:37]
Unknown Speaker
Gosh, I couldn't agree more. And I think it's so interesting because it's like every time there's a shift or a change, like when Instagram dropped Instagram stories, everyone's grumbling. When the Facebook timeline came out decades ago, everyone, you know, and it's like that resistance. But I, I sense that women are slightly more resistant, especially when it comes to tech. And I believe that a lot of it comes from. And I think it's interesting when you're talking about STEM and science and math. Like, I think a lot of us have these deep seated beliefs that were either handed to us by someone else or something that was inner saying that we're not qualified for it, we're not good at it, we're never going to be successful in those areas. And I think that that often holds us back and it's just, just you don't see it as commonly in male dom.
- [12:22]
Jenna Kutcher
It feels like that.
- [12:23]
Unknown Speaker
And so that's why I'm really excited to just keep talking about this because I agree, I think that AI was created for women and today we're going to talk about some of the interesting ways we've been using it. Because now like ChatGPT is like a bestie in my life and it's like the place I want to go. And it's funny too because I'll, I'll notice areas in my business where I'm like, man, I wish AI could like sort my Apple photo so I could type in like a very, very specific thing that I need to find and it could find it for me. And so it's interesting too where you start to see more opportunities for it to add ease to our lives.
- [12:59]
Aprel Duaney
Exactly, yeah. And that's really what it's meant to do is that's really what it comes down to.
- [13:04]
Unknown Speaker
Okay, so what is one AI tool that you would argue that like every small business owner should be using right now and why?
- [13:12]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, so I, I'm reluctant on saying a specific tool because everyone is like in a different place in their business. But the one go to that I do always share is ChatGPT. So why I love ChatGPT is that I feel they're ahead of the game. They're always increasing their capabilities. They're, you know, allowing you to create your own custom GPTs and it's kind of the best all in one tool. So whether you're trying to create content, whether you're, you know, trying to create your, connect your graphics to Canva, it's kind of the Best all one tool. Now they do have that shift of it going from $20 to $200. And so depending on where you are as a business owner, that may, you know, be a deterrent. But even the free version is so powerful.
- [13:57]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah, I was literally using the free one up until like a couple weeks ago and I was like, okay, I should probably pay. I'm using this so much.
- [14:04]
Aprel Duaney
Exactly. It's amazing. So that would be the go to. Like, if you're just starting and you just need a go to tool, use ChatGPT. It also, it can help you in terms of understanding your V voice in your tone so you're not having to start from a blank sheet every single time. So that's been my go to. I use ChatGPT for free. And so when it's like, oh, you've reached your limit, I'm like, okay, do I really want to upgrade now or do it, you know. So, yeah, you can get a lot done for free. And even the conversation where people are like, oh, now it's more expensive. Like, we want to make millions of dollars from using these tools. I can pay 20amonth, you know, or even 200amonth, you know, so it's definitely worthwhile.
- [14:46]
Jenna Kutcher
I'm pretty sure that living in Minnesota means you kind of have to love winter. And honestly, winter is one of my favorite seasons. Cozy nights, fluffy socks, all the sweaters. But I could do without the dryness that it brings. My daughter has the driest hands of all time. I'm talking like painful, dry skin. And so every night after she's asleep, I sneak into a room with Osea's underia algae body butter and I lather her up.
- [15:11]
Aprel Duaney
Up.
- [15:11]
Jenna Kutcher
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- [16:19]
Unknown Speaker
Goal diggers.
- [16:20]
Jenna Kutcher
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- [17:38]
Unknown Speaker
Let's each give a couple examples of how we've used it. Maybe expected and unexpected because I was recently explaining chat GBT to mother in law and she edits newsletters for some organization she's in. And I was like oh you could totally bring in because people are sending her articles and they're not really proofread. And I was like okay, so here's what you do. And I was explaining it and I was like it can help you like your eyes will be the ultimate be all end all, but it can totally help assist you in sentence structure and all these things. So I was trying to explain it to her but then I was telling her some of the funny ways. So I'll give you a couple funny ways I've used it or just maybe, maybe unique. When we were doing Thanksgiving, Drew and I hosting and we were initially going to host there's going to be six adults and two kids. Well, it very quickly turned into like, 12 adults and like 10. And so we went on to chat GBT and we said, here are the things that we want to have for Thanksgiving dinner. These are the allergies we have. This is the order we want to serve them. Make a grocery list divided by section of the grocery store and include quantities necessary and. Oh, my gosh, Drew, my husband was like, he's never used it. He was blown away because he's like.
- [18:49]
Jenna Kutcher
Can you help me make a list?
- [18:50]
Unknown Speaker
And usually it's like yelling from the other room, like, butter, we need, you know, and it was, like, all organized and, like, very clear. And that was a unique way. And then what was awesome is after it was like, do you want me to give you recommended cooking times? And, like, a baking, like a schedule? Oh, my Lanta. So that was one way. Another way that I used it is that I've been meaning to and wanting to get more into weightlifting. And we're so fortunate. We have a gym in our house. We have all the equipment. And so I like, typed in, you know, I'm 36 years old. I'm a mom of two. This is where I'm at. This is what I'm comfortable with. These are some of my limits. This is the equipment I have. Can you help me create a weightlifting schedule that will take 20 minutes a day, three days a week, week that will go with my cardio? And it was. It was incredible, and it was amazing. Like, and one thing that I thought was interesting is, you know, some people would argue, well, there are trainers out there and this is what they study. And I agree, I 100 agree. But this was the method to get me started, to get me to a place to feel comfortable, to invest in the trainer. Right, Exactly. And it's like, just like, there's levels of everything. Where you could go on Google and do a workout for free, etc, there's levels of everything. And so it was just an interesting thought. And then another way that I've been using it in my business is that I have been doing a lot of carousel Instagram posts. And what I will do is I will type in the full story. So I will literally type in the entire story exactly as how I want it to be. And I'll say, help me split this up slide by slide to make a compelling story for my carousel. I want to start it with a hook. I want to end it with this call to action. Help me take this story and make it a great social media post. And so it's still my words and my story, which it could never come up with without me prompting it. But it allows me to do it in a way that's strategic, and it allows me to see the gaps in where my storytelling is.
- [20:49]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah. Yeah, those are awesome. I love that you're using it holistically throughout your day. You know, I think people are, like, isolating it just to work, but you can use it across your entire life. And so even for me, I've had an experience where I had to teach my mom how to use ChatGPT. And so she has a bakery, and she has, like, hundreds of millions of recipes and ideas. And so whenever she has to change something or whenever the cost of butter changes, like, anything, she has to now go back and find all of her, like, paper notes of recipes. I'm like, mom, this is so inefficient. Like, think about how much time you're wasting. Yes. So we literally cataloged her recipes just by taking a picture of them. So you can take a picture and say, please create this into a recipe. And so now she has a digital recipe book for all of her handwritten. I mean, if you were to go to her house, you see, like, recipes on the refrigerator, on, like, cabinets is everywhere. So coming up with a structure where she can find the information very easily. And she's like, oh, my gosh, I feel so. So grown up and so mature, and so, you know, it's, like, amazing. It also helps you to just be more cognate. So that's one way it is difficult teaching your. The older generation about using AI. So it took a lot of patience, but, you know, it was an amazing experience. We also, for Thanksgiving, went on a road trip. And so I hate driving. I literally hate driving. It's like, I'd rather walk than drive. And so we ended up driving from Florida to Virginia. And so it's a pretty. It's a pretty long drive. It took us about 13 hours to get there. And so I went to ChatGPT, and I'm like, I hate driving. But we waited to the last minute. Spirit Airlines, which is the only airline that goes direct to Virginia, went bankrupt the week before Thanksgiving. So I'm like, okay, I have to drive. You know, come up with a route for me where I don't feel overwhelmed. I could probably drive for maybe, like, two hours, and then I need to stop. And it gave me the most amazing roadmap, and it said, stop here at this gas station. I think I also put in I love Starbucks. It was like, Stop here at this exit, because there's a Starbucks right off of the side. You know, have these kinds of snacks for the girls. You have this kind of car, so you need to fill up. It was just more than I asked for. And so I was like, oh, okay, I can do this. I can do this. Road trip. Yes.
- [23:13]
Unknown Speaker
Oh my gosh.
- [23:14]
Aprel Duaney
So that was amazing. And then in business, I feel like it's the best first draft. And so for me, I love LinkedIn, but one of the challenges I had early on was like, what is my voice? What do I say? I'm a perfectionist. So I'm like over doing the drafts over and over again. And so I created a custom GPT that has my tone, you know, who I'm trying to reach. And so my first draft is through AI. And so even if it just, it starts with an idea, it starts with a mood that I'm in. It just helps me get from the blank page to posting in a much more seamless way where I don't feel like I'm taking too long. I'm like, not stressed out about it. So yeah, it's been helpful in so many different ways.
- [23:57]
Unknown Speaker
I mean, it's amazing because I think people's fear around it is that it's gonna like replace humans positions, etc. But what I would argue is that it will help the humans and the personalities shine.
- [24:13]
Aprel Duaney
Exactly.
- [24:13]
Unknown Speaker
In a better way if you leverage it correctly. And you know, it's interesting because me and my team, we've been having like conversations about like, okay, here's when it's appropriate to use it. Here's when I want it purely from the human. One of the things that I've been pushing against a little bit in the AI rise is like, I am personally writing my emails to my list and not using any AI. Like, and there's that differentiation where I think that it can cause people to like have concern or be maybe more like curious as to like, did that really come from a person or what? And so I think that it's almost a blessing in disguise because you can leverage it in so many ways to simplify, to help you articulate, et cetera. But it also is going to allow those people who want to speak from their heart, who want to just push against the AI culture to really shine because I think people will be craving deeper connection.
- [25:07]
Aprel Duaney
Exactly.
- [25:08]
Unknown Speaker
And so it's like, there's no better time than a time like this to embrace it, but also really like hone in on what your voice and your message is without it would you agree?
- [25:19]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, I completely agree. I think AI gives you the ability to own your zone of genius and the tedious tasks that take away from you being able to shine and show up as fully as you want. You can automate those things. Things. I think it also depends on your community and what you authentically want to provide. You know, so there's a lot of people moving to voice AI where they have chatbots that are calling people and they're like doing sales calls. For me, that doesn't feel authentic. It doesn't feel. That's not something that I would want to incorporate. And so you have to know how you best operate as a business owner and how does your audience want you to continue to show up. And I think that also dictates how you should use AI. I don't think there's, there's no one size fits all in terms of how you implement the tools.
- [26:04]
Unknown Speaker
Yeah. One thing that I think is interesting, that I feel like you just like sparked in my brain through this conversation is like in the difference between men and women. And I'm like, ChatGPT is so ugly. Like, like the page is not very designed, there's zero color, it's so black and white. And I was like, maybe like women are also just like not attracted to it because we're so used to looking at like beautiful visuals, things like that. I don't know, but if somebody were to, after listening to this conversation, download Chat GPT or go on to ChatGPT and they're staring at that cursor and thinking, like, what do I even put in? Like, where is a good starting place for somebody that's listening?
- [26:45]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, I think the best starting place is depending on what is the goal you're trying to achieve next. And so if you have a short term goal, like let's say for instance, you're just starting a business, so if you go to ChatGPT, you're like, hey, this is what I'm leaving and this is what I'm trying to move towards. I want to start a business. Help me to come up with a checklist, like, what are the top 10 things I need to know? Let's say you have been in business for a while and you're like, hey, I'm thinking of selling my business, you know, so help me figure out what are the steps that I need to take in order to achieve that. And so I think because ChatGPT is so expansive and everyone is in different places, places. One of the things I also love about ChatGPT and AI is it democratizes success. So what success looks like for me and what success looks like for you could be completely different things, but we can still use the same tool in order to figure out how to make that an actual reality in our lives. And so I would just say if you're ruminating on something, if there's a gap that you're experiencing, go to ChatGPT and just play around with it, you know, and be very smart about your prompting. You know, there's a lot of challenges in terms of people are like, I don't know how to prompt. It's just the way that you would communicate with your mother in law, with your sister, your brother. You know, just communicate with the tool and then, you know, leverage the responses to see, you know, if it's working, if that's the response that you want. And then you just keep tweaking it along the way. So it's really dependent on wherever you are. It's the one tool that meets you where you are.
- [28:14]
Jenna Kutcher
Well.
- [28:15]
Unknown Speaker
And what's interesting too is I feel like a lot of people will go in and give it one prompt and they'll see the initial feedback and they think that's it. And like, I will say that anything that comes from me that was leveraging AI, it probably had 10 back and forth of like, I don't like this, let's replace this with this or let's change the tone to do this and please include this. Or you know, and so what's interesting is that you literally, the better the prompts you give and the more guidance and direction you offer, the better the output is. And so I would argue or say, and maybe this is wrong, but like never take the first response. That is the CHAT GPT garbage that people talk about where it is just like this regurgitation with no personality. And one of the things that I think can also be incredibly helpful is if you're using it for say like frameworks or more strategies and things like that. And it's something that you're going to share with others. Ask it for places where you can interject your personal stories or experiences so that people are actually connected to you and not just like the information. Because we know how powerful storytelling is and ChatGPT will never be able to tell your stories.
- [29:30]
Aprel Duaney
Exactly.
- [29:31]
Unknown Speaker
And so I always will like look for opportunities of like, how can I add in my own experience? Or how can I add in a story here to really share why this matters is, is that an approach you.
- [29:41]
Jenna Kutcher
Would do as well?
- [29:42]
Aprel Duaney
I always use that approach the first response I get, I never accept it. It. My first response to the response is, maybe you didn't understand me clearly, so let's redo this. So I was expecting a 10 response from you, and this is a 5 because. Because of these reasons. And so please improve on your response so that we can get to this level 10. And so I do that back and forth. I do tweak it in terms of where it's off, I'll add the input, but I allow it to do the work because that's. It's meant to be a tool. And so the first response is always a five for me. I'm like, this is a number, this is a 5 response. And I'm looking for a 10. We're overachievers here. I need a 10.
- [30:22]
Unknown Speaker
I love that. Sometimes I'm like, is it getting mad at me? Because I'm always like, thank you, this is great. Like, I'm like thinking like, compliment sandwich. I like, seriously, it's just so funny. What do you think the biggest mistake you see with people when they're trying to, like, leverage it, say, to like, automate a workflow or to simplify a process in their own businesses?
- [30:45]
Aprel Duaney
I think the biggest mistake, especially when people are new to using AI, is that they're trying to use it as a magic wand. And so they're trying to automate something that they don't actually understand in their business, you know, and so they're like, how do I automate this workflow? And it's like, you actually don't know what you're trying to achieve through that workflow. You know, are you trying to onboard someone quicker? Are you trying to increase your leads? You know, increase. What does that mean? Is that five more people? Is that 10 more people? And so I see people trying to dive in to AI as a shortcut. When you still have to do the work, you still have to know what you want the outcome to be in order for it to be effective. And so that's the biggest thing that I see. And people like, oh, it doesn't work. I'm like, well, let's take a. Let's take a step back. Yeah, what were you trying to achieve? Exactly? And so it's only going to fuel what you've provided it. So if you haven't given it specific, tangible, this is the result that I'm looking for. It's not going to create it for you. You. It's a co worker, it's a co founder. Like you say it's a co Founder, it's not going to just give you the answer. You have to work with it and know what you want in advance.
- [31:50]
Unknown Speaker
Did you name your chat GPT? I was just, I was on a call with someone the other day and they're like, Chad. And I was like, who is Chad? And they're like, chatgpt? I was like, oh, Chad. Okay, got it. Did you name your, your chat GPT?
- [32:02]
Aprel Duaney
Yes, her name is Mary. Yes, I like, Mary is so helpful to me.
- [32:07]
Unknown Speaker
Yes, I love that. Okay, so you have a smart framework and I feel like now is the perfect time to kind of talk about that because I feel like that plays into what we were talking about in terms of like, you have to have that clarity in order to get the help and response you need. So can you walk us through what that framework is?
- [32:24]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, yeah. So I actually came up with the framework because I was continuously working harder, working harder. I was doing a lot of one to one coaching and I was just getting really exhausted, I was getting burnt out. My clients were getting really great results, but I felt like I was starting a new business every time because I didn't have a structure, I didn't have a system, I didn't have a strategy. And I was like, okay, this is actually ridiculous. And so what I did, I reverse engineered the experience I had with my favorite, my most successful client. And so I used a different tool which I actually will recommend to you. It's called NotebookLM.
- [32:57]
Unknown Speaker
Okay.
- [32:58]
Aprel Duaney
And so it was amazing. I downloaded all of the audio files from our zoom calls, put them into NotebookLM, and I said, what made this an amazing experience? You know, what were the things that I kept doing over and over again? What were the main problems that we achieved? So I literally used the data from my most successful client and reverse engineered it into the smart system. And so what I realized again, going back to what we were talking about before, is that we're so used to working hard, even when it doesn't produce the results that we want. I'm like, wow, if we could just work smarter and not harder. I say, oh, there's a. It kept coming to me, let's work smarter. Not harder. Smarter, not harder. And so basically the framework, it just mirrored the step by step process that I just naturally went through with all of my clients without knowing it at the time. And so for me, it starts with strategic clarity. What are we trying to achieve here? You know, who are you? What is the value that you can provide? And I think with a lot of different business strategies, we start with A product or we start with an idea, we completely eliminate ourselves. Although we have to run the business, we eliminate what we do best from the whole scenario. And then we wonder, why are we burned out? You know, so it starts with strategic clarity. You know, what are you trying to achieve? What are the valuable resources, the services? What can you actually achieve for someone else? That's where it starts. From there, we move on to your magnetic message. And so one of the challenges I find for people like, I don't know what to say. I don't know how to show up. I'm not finding my ideal client. And it always goes back to, you don't have a message. So you're basically in the sea of sameness with everyone else, and you're wondering why people are not attracted to you. And so in that M step of the smart, the magnetic message, it comes down to who's the one person you can help? What is the one problem you can achieve? What is the solution that you're going to use to achieve that? And what is their dream outcome? So a lot of times we're stopping at the solution, but we're wanting to have this aha moment and this amazing experience. We have to now push beyond that. What is the dream outcome for that person? And that becomes your message. Because when I'm talking about a dream outcome of someone who wants to work smarter and not harder, people are raising their hands like, oh, yeah, that's me. You know, I don't have to manipulate them. I don't have to, you know, try to coerce them. Like, they know I want to work smarter and not harder. You know, so that gives you also peace about your message and your tone and how you're showing up. In terms of social media, next step is the eight automated workflow. We cannot do things manually anymore. We need, like, very simple systems. We need very simple operations. And a lot of those factors now can be automated. I agree with you that we still have to bring our stories into our businesses because we do want to stand out, but we don't have to do it the way that we were doing it before. And so in that level, it's really the marketing, the sales and the operations. I like to talk about marketing from a perspective of how do I get my dream outcome message to as many people as possible? And sales is, how do I offer that person an opportunity to work with me to achieve that dream outcome? And so before marketing and sales can be very overwhelming for people, and they're like, I don't have a marketing degree. I don't know the right word, I don't know the platform that. But when you think about it like, I have a dream outcome that I want to help people achieve and I want to give you the opportunity to work with me to do that, then it's like, okay, we're friends. You know, I don't have to be stressed about. I want to help you and I want to help myself as a business owner. So that's now the third step. Art is the revenue roadmap. A lot of my clients have so many fragmented offers, they don't align. It's like they're not solving problems. I'm like, okay, we can't make money if we are not offering something of value. And so I help them to articulate what is your core premium. I also focus on premium because as women, we're leaving a lot of money on the table. So what is that core premium offer and how can we, like, if it's a thousand dollar digital course, what does one tenth of that look like? Maybe that's a self paced course. You know, how do you 100x that same core offer? How do you 1000 exit? Right? So it's like the same core offer, but then you're changing the math of it so that you can have a broader audience to offer it to. Last one T it stands for I just forget, sorry, traffic engine. And so what I found is that one, we're running our businesses in isolation and a lot of the pieces are very fragmented. And so you've done the okay, I know what I strategically can value, I know what my offer is, I know what my message is. And then it's like, okay, I've done, done all the work now. Why aren't people coming? Well, you still have to drive traffic to that opportunity to work with you. And so, you know, is that paid? Is it organic, is it a podcast? You know, what is it that now also aligns back with your strategic value? What works best for you? So there's just kind of this fluid and seamless cycle that you can just continue to go through. And then everything is just, just seamless. It just works together. And so that's kind of the, that's the five step, smart, smart process where you know you're working smarter, not harder. You're not leaving any money on the table, you're not over exerting yourself to be something that you're not. And I think that's, you know, the best place to be in.
- [38:22]
Jenna Kutcher
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- [39:15]
Unknown Speaker
Say Gusto is worth it.
- [39:17]
Jenna Kutcher
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- [40:54]
Unknown Speaker
Okay, I love this for so many reasons. And I feel like the biggest thing that I think of when I think of that is that, like, that clarity. And I think so many entrepreneurs are just lacking clarity and the confidence in like what they're doing and how they're doing it, where it's like, I could see any part of that process, somebody listening, being like, I don't have that clear or like I, you know, and so I think it's beautiful because it challenges each piece of it to get really crystal clear. And I mean, it's so aligned even in just the AI conversation where it's like the output is as good as the input, right? Like the output is going to match the input. The same thing with our businesses, like, if we do not have that clarity and if we cannot communicate that clarity, that's where we're getting lost. And I think that's why so many women are working so hard and they're like, I'm doing all the things and I'm not getting the results that I thought I would. So I think that is so brilliant. And I also love how you came up with that. That is genius. Because so many people are doing coaching or I remember too when I was doing like one on one consulting before I'd ever created my online course. And I realized like, there's a theme here, like everyone's asking the same things and that's how you create the framework. And so, so now being able to leverage AI tools to really look at conversations, like, that's really, really powerful. So I love that. I feel like so many people can take that and run with it. What do you think are like five areas of your business? And obviously every business is different, so it can be general, but five areas of a business that someone listening could just consider using AI in to simplify or streamline.
- [42:31]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, I mean, I would definitely start with marketing. I think that's one of the biggest challenges. Even if you have a subpar product that no one knows about, you're not going to make money. And so that's one of the challenges that we have as small business owners. We really need to do a better job of marketing. And so even if that's just using, you know, chatgpt to come up with your carousels or come up with content ideas, you come up with a whole content calendar based on one idea and, you know, one thing that you want to achieve. So marketing definitely is an easy start. I would also say from a customer service perspective, I see a lot of small business owners, they've invested a lot of time in creating content. They've created, you know, these massive websites and blogs and all these different things, but yet when you go to their website, it's very difficult to find information. And so having a very seamless, very easy chatbot on your website where people are able to engage with you without you having to invest that time, that's another great way to use AI, because you've already done the work, actually. Yeah, so you've already done the work. Allow AI to help you to offer that to your clients. And then that also gives them a sense like, okay, they're on top of things. You know, that gives them a foresight on how it would be to work with you. Admin. Like, even the most simplest onboarding process could save you so much time and so much energy. I work with coaches and consultants and. And the fact that they have to go from like a handwritten paper and then it's like, oh, where was that paper? Where were those notes? And it's like, no, do an onboarding process that will actually help you stay organized, you know, you know how to continue that relationship with the client. Data analysis, I think that's another big area. There's so much data that we're not using. If you look at your metrics on social media, if you just look at that data, it will tell you so much. You're wasting time figuring out, what should I post, what shouldn't I post. If you just go through the data, it's going to tell you what people like and what they don't like. So we're not using the data enough. And every single tool now has the ability for you to download data, whether it's in an Excel sheet or something like that. And then you can just simply upload that into ChatGPT and start querying it and find out where are the gaps. And then again, I would say kind of the workflow optimization, that for me is critical. And even when I'm thinking about my own. It's so funny. I'm really. I love posting content on LinkedIn. It's like my favorite thing. And so I would be posting, I'm like, consistent. And then someone would reach out to me and like, oh, I have a question about this. I'm like, oh, this is awesome. And then they'd be like, oh, I'd love to work with you. But that jump from like, oh, this is something amazing you wrote to how do I work with you? It was such a gap. It was like, oh, you know, but then I just said, hey, ChatGPT, I'm doing this consistently. People are taking note. I have a gap here. What is the best way for me to prepare myself? And so it gave me so many different ideas. And so just identifying where those bottlenecks are in your business, where you're leaving money on the table. Those would be kind of the five key areas all business owners really need to work on in order to grow.
- [45:37]
Unknown Speaker
I love that I'm thinking of so many different ways we've used it. Like, you know, for so many business owners, if you have like a workflow or even email templates, like load them in and ask them to make it better or more clear or ask it to answer questions better for you. I was just doing that with like our autoresponder when we were going to take a break and it was like, you know, make sure it's clear that they will not hear from us because we are not in the office. Like, you know, and, and just things like that I think is so powerful. I also love the data analysis. I know so many entrepreneurs are not very savvy or comfortable looking at like their profit and loss statements or QuickBooks or, you know, some of those, like accounting things that can be very overwhelming. And so what's amazing is like, you could literally load in some of your insights, like your financial insights from your business, and say, like, talk to me like I'm a third grader, right, and explain what this data is telling you about my current business. And that can really help you identify gaps and also do it before like tax time comes around and you realize you're not really making any money.
- [46:43]
Aprel Duaney
Exactly.
- [46:43]
Unknown Speaker
And I also love like the, the marketing plan. I know one of my friends, Donald Miller, oh, he's amazing. And he went into Chat GPT and he, he told Chat GPT who he was, how he serves, what his ideology is. And then he said, give me 5:52 questions. My ideal audience would ask about this topic and it spit out 52 questions. And so now each week he aims his content at answering that one question throughout the week. So it could be spread out over three different posts or things like that. And so if you're struggling with like, content that actually serves and doesn't just, you know, get likes and comments, like, I thought that was absolutely genius.
- [47:22]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah.
- [47:23]
Unknown Speaker
And then even to like helping answer emails, like a lot of times I'll get inquiries and they're just, just, they're beautiful and amazing and heartfelt and like, I personally do not have the time to personally respond to every single one. And so once it learns your tone and your heart, what you want to express, it can really help you speed up the auto reply or like, not the auto replies, but the replies that you're sharing with people as well. And then LinkedIn, where we. You and I met, you know, I will load in what I'm thinking about, post, posting, and then I'll be like, make this more appropriate for the LinkedIn audience. Or even the other day, I'd written this amazing post for Instagram, and then I was like, okay, this works really well for Instagram, but LinkedIn is a slightly different audience. Here's my post from Instagram, here's who I serve on Instagram. Help me transition this post to a LinkedIn audience. And it took that one piece of content and allowed me to use it on two different platforms. So, yeah, it was like, I hope that people's ideas are getting flowing from this conversation because there's just so many ways to.
- [48:25]
Aprel Duaney
You.
- [48:29]
Unknown Speaker
Okay, so what are you predicting, like, in this new year with AI? Like, what are some predictions or what are some things that we should be kind of watching for as the new year unfolds for us?
- [48:40]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, I mean, I love just the excitement that AI provides. I think there's a. There are a billion of us on this earth and on this planet. That means there could be a billion different business models, a billion different definitions of success. And instead of us having to figure it out in our own little cubicle like pen and paper, we can use AI to just take whatever dream you have and bring it to life. And it doesn't matter your background, it doesn't matter where your starting point is. AI is accessible for everyone. And I don't know that We've lived in a time where success is within everyone's reach. And for me, that's exciting because it also makes us more accountable to what we want to achieve. Achieve. Right. So you have to really dig in and say, what is it that I want? And then you use the tools, but it's. It's more than achievable. And for me, that's, you know, that's so exciting. It's so. It's so powerful.
- [49:29]
Unknown Speaker
Amazing. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Where can everybody find you, connect with you, learn more about you and work with you? Give me all the places.
- [49:38]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, so I actually have one place. LinkedIn is my happy place. So it's my beginning and ending of everything. So if you find me on LinkedIn a prontoaney on LinkedIn you will find you will be in been incorporated into my ecosystem of everything AI and helping women to work smarter, not harder.
- [49:55]
Unknown Speaker
Awesome. Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This was an amazing conversation.
- [50:00]
Aprel Duaney
Yeah, I've had such a great time and it's been such a pleasure. Thank you so much.
- [50:05]
Jenna Kutcher
I hope today you feel slightly less intimidated and a lot more excited to use AI as we navigate this brand new year. I think it's an amazing tool and I want to remind you it can never replace you, your voice and your story, but it can help simplify a lot of life's tasks. I am Absolutely loving ChatGPT and finding new ways to use it and I'm sure this is a conversation we will continue on as everything continues to grow, expand and change at lightning speed. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. I would absolutely love to hear what your favorite takeaway was.
- [50:44]
Unknown Speaker
If you have a moment, please leave.
- [50:45]
Jenna Kutcher
Us a review or hop onto social and let us know. And if you know someone who could benefit from this episode, please just take a quick second and share it with a friend. They will thank you forever and ever. Amen.
- [50:58]
Unknown Speaker
Until next time, Gold Diggers, Keep on.
- [51:00]
Jenna Kutcher
Digging your biggest goals. Thanks for pulling up a seat for another episode of the Gold Digger Podcast. I hope today's episode fueled you with inspiration, gave you information that you can turn into action, and realigned you with your true north in life and business. If you've enjoyed today's episode, head on over to gold digger podcast.com for today's show notes, discount codes for our sponsors, freebies to fuel your results, and so much more. And if you haven't yet, make sure you're subscribed so that you never miss a future show. We'll see you next time, Gold Diggers.