Stop Asking AI to Think for You – Do This Instead

You have dreamed about starting your small business and eventually quitting your full-time job, dedicating your whole life to your small business. Well, it was my dream once too, and finally it became reality. For that, you need to work as a professional—not treat it as a side hustle or something you do when you are bored. So to be a professional, you need to know which tools to use, to have those tools, and to use them right. AI is one of them.

You've probably already seen many people defending AI and others saying it's bad. So let's see what is really good and what is really bad about AI.

1. Bad: Asking AI to think of a good small business for you. You must know what YOU want. Just remember, it should be your thought, your dream. Do you ask your friends what you should do when you have free time, or what career to choose? Of course not. So why would you ask AI?

Good: Tell AI what small business you really want and ask if it can find a list of marketplaces. Remember—don't tell AI to find the right one for you. Tell it to give you the list, then you check all the components and see which one suits you well. For example, if you want to sell handmade things, don't ask, "Where can I sell handmade things?" because AI will just say, "Try Etsy," and you will fail—maybe Etsy Payments isn't available in your country. Instant fail, and you'll feel bad. Instead, tell AI to find different marketplaces for you. Also find them on Google yourself, or watch YouTube—many people share useful information. Then you'll have a list of many places, not just Etsy. Check each one's website and choose the one that suits your style and your opportunities (payment gateways available in your country, restrictions, requirements, etc.).

2. Bad: Let's say you already have a handmade product. You ask AI to write a long introduction using a lot of nouns and adjectives to describe it. It can write many sentences, but they will be useless for SEO and will sound fake.

Good: Instead, write the product description using keywords and SEO, and ask AI to check the grammar and to make it sound like natural English if English is not your first language.

3. Bad: Ask AI to make random pictures to make your Pinterest pin that redirects to your website product look beautiful. If they look like AI, most people will not click on them.

Good: Remember that pins should trigger positive emotions, and random AI pictures just annoy people and make them scroll down. Make normal titles that create curiosity in people, and most of the time you don't need an AI picture.

So that's it. Don't let AI lead you. Use AI as a tool—as your worker that does its small part of the job in your small business world. Remember, it is not the decision-maker. It is just a button in your small business toolkit.

🫧My Journey Running Two Small Businesses: ESL Teaching and an Online Store