AI Uses For Solopreneurs
Hello All,
Like it or not, you’re probably getting inundated with AI-related content. Unlike the time before the internet (for those of you that remember) catching up on news meant actively reading a newspaper or turning on your TV or radio. Now, with our near constant access to emails, social media, and online news, it can be hard to escape.
According to this article, the global AI market is currently at $196 billion., This is expected to increase to $1.8 trillion by 2030. 83% of companies claim that AI is a top priority.
Many of us are reaping the benefits of AI without potentially even realizing it: from streaming services and shopping, that suggest shows/items to you based on your preferences to more comprehensive medical diagnoses and automated customer service (although arguably this has become increasingly frustrating), .
There are also a multitude of ways in which small businesses, especially solopreneurs can utilize AI with minimal investment:
I recently activated the meeting summary option in Zoom and was impressed with how well it did this. I could not have written it better myself and it would have taken me a lot longer.
I also use ChatGPT regularly to come up with ideas, content titles, outlines, excel formulas and sometimes just to ask it if something I have written makes sense or advice about my business.
QuickBooks Online uses it to recognize transactions (imperfectly) and create rules which I have found to be useful.
Microsoft office and Google suite will autocomplete your sentences. You can also use their dictation tools which I have found to be surprisingly accurate
My video editing software has an add on that helps to remove the hesitations (the numerous ums and uhs that I am prone to using) and generate transcriptions of the video.
Powerpoint has both a ChatGPT and Copilot add on where it can automatically generate a slide presentation (although I found this to be a bit too generic for it to be useful for my purposes) .
Canva, ChatGPT and MidJourney can create images from descriptions (although for some reason words in the images I have tried to generate are often inexplicably misspelled)
Although I have not used this , there are apps that can generate videos from written content (this is actually a bit disturbing as apparently you can give it a sample of your voice which it can then use to create the video. )
There are numerous other applications that I have looked at but at a certain point the cost outweighs the benefits. Also, many of the tools , as you can see from above, are glitchy and will often take more time to get the result you want than simply doing the task the old fashioned way.
For now, my approach to AI is to treat it as an assistant. I ask it to do something and then use the output as a starting point which often helps me save time and reduce some of the tedium of mundane tasks. However, if you have (or are building) a brand, I think it is important to use your own voice (literally and figuratively) as, now more than ever, this is what distinguishes you from a machine.
Business Survey
Thank you to everyone who completed my survey last time!!
For those of you, who haven’t, I would massively appreciate if you could complete it. It will help me create better, more relevant content for you and therefore it is to your benefit :) :) .
Take me to survey
From the Blog
Why and How to Transition from a Sole Proprietorship to a Corporation
When starting your new business, often it makes sense to choose the simplest structure which is the sole proprietorship. This allows you to test the viability of your business idea and to see if the
Essentials for Starting Your Sole Proprietorship
According to Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), the definition of a sole proprietorship is as follows:
A sole proprietorship is an unincorporated business that is owned by one individual. It is the simplest
Accounting, Tax and QBO Tutorials :
Most Recent:
Check out my channel for other QBO, accounting and tax tutorials
If you find the videos useful and would like to support my channel, please subscribe.
If you would have a request for a video please leave a comment or email me directly at ronika@montrealfinancial.ca
Articles of Interest
How Solopreneurs can use AI in their businesses: Some practical tips and recommendations on using AI in your business, especially for marketing
Automatic Tax Filing Pilot : Apparently 500,000 Canadians were invited in July to file their 2023 tax returns by phone, online or by mail . The program is to help low-income Canadians who have never filed a tax return or who have a gap in their filing history.
Motivational Ideas and Quotes from James Clear including this
“If you’d like to get better at saying no, try this:
Keep a list of things you say no to. Whenever you ignore a distraction or turn down an opportunity, add it to the list. As the list grows, you begin to feel a sense of accomplishment for your ability to say no and remain focused on what matters.
Turn each no into an achievement.”
Get up to $2,400 to grow your business online: An initiative from the Government of Canada to help with the costs related to adopting digital technologies. Deadline to apply is September 24th.
How I Can Help
Just a reminder, in case you haven’t already, to complete my business survey to help me keep my content relevant. Thank you!
My goal is to simplify finance, accounting and tax for small business owners, minimize the stress that comes from uncertainty and help improve confidence through financial literacy.
Educational Resources
Books for Canadian small businesses (Get 15% of by using code “special”)
Personalized Consultations
For those of you who would like personalized guidance about your situation, I provide one one one consultations. For more details, and to book a consultation, check out my services page.
Note that I no longer provide ongoing accounting or tax preparation services.
Reviews/Feedback
For anyone who has purchased my books through Amazon, a review would be greatly appreciated.
I would love to hear your comments on my current blog posts, topic ideas for new blogs, book feedback or anything else that you want to talk to me about. You can use my feedback form or email me directly at ronika@montrealfinancial.ca.
Finally, if you think anyone would benefit from this newsletter, you can send them to my subscribe link.
Have a great weekend!
Ronika
