Solopreneurs, or those who start and run their own businesses, range from part-time freelancers slowly growing their passion projects to full-time professionals such as photographers, handicraft sellers, and private chefs. Ranging from small business owners.
Sole proprietorships face a unique set of challenges as small business owners. As you can imagine, limited time and resources are paramount. Without employees to take on some of the work, the sole proprietorship manages products and inventory, builds a strong online presence, develops sales and marketing strategies, and curates social media posts. Then you have to draft and send him an email newsletter. And before noon!
But as generative AI systems like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard become more widely available, sole proprietorships won’t have to wear all those hats alone.
If you’re a sole proprietor, here are five ways you can use generative AI as your first (albeit artificial) employee.
1. Upskill, upskill, upskill
You are one person and you cannot be an expert in everything your business needs. But you can learn. Generative AI systems have access to millions of resources that can be used to fill gaps in current skill sets.
For example, an electrician may have a sixth sense for wiring ceiling fans, but may not be a skilled marketer. He can use AI for content creation such as ad text, social media posts, responding to customer inquiries, and building social girlfriend content. calendar, etc. Or, a graphic designer could use her AI to conduct market research and gather insights on industry trends to identify new opportunities and make more informed business decisions. increase.
Think AI like a business partner. Use it to save time, increase efficiency and gain a competitive edge for your business.
Related: The Right Way to Write Blog Posts with AI
2. Brainstorm new ideas
Not sure what domain name is best for your new business? Or do you have an email subject line but want something a little more catchy? Use AI to brainstorm and explore ideas. Here are some fun things to do with AI to brainstorm and get the juices flowing.
- Business ideas that make use of hobbies
- business name
- Hashtags in social media contests or campaigns
- email subject
- Analyze multiple customer reviews to highlight key areas to focus on
- Alternative high-quality logos for brands
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3. Acquiring new customers
As a small business owner, we understand that helping potential new customers find you is key to growing your business. You need multiple marketing layers, including advertising, social media, and strategic copywriting for your website. GoDaddy recently created the Small Business Generative AI Prompt Library, designed to help you use our generative AI platform for exactly this purpose. Use AI to identify the best SEO keywords for your website, generate engaging social ads, write compelling product descriptions, and create social posts that resonate vertically with specific customers. prompts are provided to help you
Before using AI, establish clear guidelines for the type of content you want your model to generate. This includes everything from tone of voice to vocabulary to length and even specific topics to avoid. Choose from GoDaddy’s prompts or create your own and use very specific questions to guide the AI’s responses. More specific prompts return more relevant and on-topic content.
4. Maintain existing customer base
New customer acquisition cost 5x to 10x more than selling to current customersGenerative AI can also be used to drive repeat customers as another very cost-effective way to grow your business. You can use AI to:
- Quickly create responses to customer reviews
- Draft personalized and automated thank you emails to send when products are delivered
- Create promotional emails with a specific subject line, tone and target audience
As a sole proprietorship, consider using generative AI to provide 24/7 customer support. For example, AI can be incorporated into an automated chatbot on her website to help handle common customer inquiries such as shipping information, returns and refunds. This saves time for both you and your customers and improves the overall experience.
Using AI at every stage of your business can help you, whether you’re brainstorming a business name or creating a social content calendar for the next month. Having his built-in second “hand” available 24/7 allows him to work more efficiently and ultimately drive his success as a solo entrepreneur. However, like most new innovations, there are guidelines on how to use it safely. Below are some tips for using AI that we recommend.
Do not enter personal or proprietary information into AI. As a general rule, only share content with AI that you don’t mind others seeing. Do not enter your customer’s personal or contact information into AI. Also, keep proprietary information and secret recipes off the platform.
Using a human editor: AI is smart, but it can share inaccurate or biased information, so it should be used as a first draft, not a final draft. I also don’t know if the answer was generated using another company’s intellectual property. This can pose risks. Regularly review AI-generated content to ensure it meets brand guidelines and business needs, and to help identify potential biases and inaccuracies.
Always fact-check for accuracy. AI systems are constantly learning and pulling information from content across the web. However, some AI systems were built using digital content up to a certain date, so they have limited knowledge and cannot answer questions about current events.
Related: Generative AI Small Business Essential Guide