A new TD Bank survey just dropped and the contrast is wild. 85% of small business owners expect revenue to grow through the end of the year. But 97% say they feel unprepared in at least one area of their business. And what tops the unprepared list? Technology and AI. 40% say AI adoption is where they feel shakiest. Here is the twist: 99% of them are already USING AI. So it is not about starting. It is about using it on purpose instead of just vibes. Confidence without a plan is hope with better branding. If you are in the 40%, you do not have to stay there. Join me in AI in Wonderland and let's talk about your gap. No judgment, just a plan.

I just wrapped a live workshop called 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁, and the whole point of it was to stop people from doing what most of us do first: jumping straight into a tool before we know what we actually need it to do. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙥 𝙬𝙖𝙡𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙗𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝘼𝙄 𝙖𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝟰𝟱 𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙪𝙩𝙚𝙨, but not by picking a platform. By writing a reusable role brief first. Before any tool gets touched, you get clear on the recurring job you want handled, what goes in, what should come out, and what success actually looks like. Skip that step, and you get generic results and a loop of re-prompting that never quite lands. To make that concrete, I built an 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 inside the session. Eight questions, answered live, and it produces a role brief you can hand straight to any AI. Then I walk through an 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁, pasting that brief into a fresh chat, asking for a first task, and showing how to redirect it when the first attempt isn't quite right, instead of starting over. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀, the 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿 and the 𝗔𝗜 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗤𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲, 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗔𝗜 𝗣𝗮𝘁𝗵𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗛𝘂𝗯. If you're 40 or over, running your own thing, and tired of AI feeling like one more moving target instead of something that actually works for you, this is a good place to start. AI Pathways Hub https://www.skool.com/ai-pathways-hub-4782/about

CLASSIFIEDS own @Des Dreckett is running a free live talk on how AI has changed making, producing, editing and marketing video, and how to start using it. I think it's worth your time if you make content. It's 30 minutes, then 30 minutes of live Q&A. Here's the reason he's doing it. A lot of creators use AI to write scripts and ideas, but very few have connected it to the tools they work in and given it real work. A UK survey of 1,000 small business owners this summer found that only about 5% regularly use AI tools that carry out tasks across their other tools. Meanwhile, most people still make video the way they did in 2022: a face-to-cam recording, their own B-roll, a long edit, captions, export. That works, but it takes a lot of hours, and that's where the gap is opening up. What Des will cover How most creators make video today, and what it costs in time. He'll use his own old workflow as the example. A short history of how each era of video making removed one barrier, and which barrier is left now. Making: going from a script to a finished clip, including generated B-roll, native audio and keeping a character consistent between shots. Producing and editing: what used to need a camera, a studio or a crew, and what editing looks like now, with a real before and after. Marketing: turning one video into shorts, a YouTube cut and posts, and testing what works instead of guessing. Where AI still looks like AI: hands, text, drift on longer shots, lip-sync, skin that's too smooth. He'll also cover where AI tools still fail on whole jobs. Des isn't telling anyone to drop their camera or chase every new tool. He's showing what's possible now and being straight about what isn't. Who it's for: creators, editors and one-person businesses who already make content. Who it isn't for: anyone looking for UGC avatars, AI influencers or an AI agency. When: UK: Monday 19 October, 8 pm (BST) / 19:00 GMT New York: Monday 19 October, 3 pm Sydney: Tuesday 20 October, 6 am

If you missed some or all of today's masterclass for newish Skool community owners, have no fear, the replay is here! Even if you aren't newish but you are struggling to get traction and figure out which pathway is best for you, there is value to be found here. And...don't miss out because tomorrow (Thursday) in the Build Lab, I'm doing another masterclass about attracting new members and growing your audience. There are four main ways of growing your audience and number 4 is talked about very little yet it is the one thing that completely turned my business around! I hope to see you there. Oh, and after you watch the replay, let me know what you thought or if you have any questions. 😉

There is a ton of goodness happening this week both inside and outside of the community. Check out the video below for all the details and check out the calendar for SOME of the details! 😉