how to future-proof yourself
“Some people don’t like change, but you need to embrace change if the alternative is disaster.”
AI will disrupt the job market unlike anything in the past. We are living through a historical time that will forever change how we work.
And most people are sleep-walking through this shift.
The people who are using AI are not nearly using it to its full capacity. And the majority of people don’t even use AI at all.
This is a huge missed opportunity.
The AI disruption isn't unique in the sense there have been major industry disruptions in the past.
Throughout history, there have been plenty of opportunities to capitalize on job markets disrupted by new inventions. Those who saw it coming could position themselves favorably as the shift happened.
For example, the introduction of the printing press was a historical event that disrupted an entire industry. This led to a significant decline in scribes and copyists, as books could now be mass-produced more efficiently.
While most people worried about losing their jobs, an Italian humanist and scholar, Aldus Manutius, founded the Aldine Press in Venice in 1494-1495.
He capitalized on the printing press by publishing high-quality books of Greek and Latin classics. He also introduced the concept of a small compact book format known as a “pocket book“.
Many people like Aldus are found throughout history. And they were all handsomely rewarded for their foresight and quick implementation.
Today with the AI disruption we can take advantage of the coming shift just like Aldus did in the past.
Weare currently facing the biggest market disruption in human history. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
So how do we capitalize on the AI automation disruption?
First, become AI literate by working with AI daily. Experiment to become familiar with how it works and how you can use it in your business.
Consider using no-code automation tools like Zapier. It allows you to set up automation workflows that have the potential to save you hours of manual labor per week.
Once you're familiar with AI and automation separately, the next step is to combine them.
Introduce AI into your automation workflows. For example, AI can automatically create reply drafts to incoming business emails.
You can provide AI with your business data and information. And when AI understands your business, it can provide accurate, thoughtful replies to email queries in seconds.
Review the reply drafts as needed, make any necessary tweaks before hitting send.
This is just one example of many.
Some other processes you can automate are:
Lead generation.
Content management and scheduling
Repurposing of content
Daily routine tasks
Basic admin tasks
Analyzing markets and trends.
When you have the power to create a system that works seamlessly with your business, you reduce the need for hiring a personal assistant or VA.
This will drastically cut expenses as you don’t need to pay a salary.
What previously required a team can now be accomplished by a single individual.
This is especially empowering for solopreneurs who can now do more in less time.
Understanding AI and automation is a crucial step towards building a future-proof skill stack.
Next we need to focus on the human-centric aspects. Here, building an authentic personal brand will play a big role.
A strong personal brand will give you a huge advantage as more of the job market moves online.
A personal brand allows you to quickly showcase your skills and personality to potential clients or employers.
I personally believe having a personal brand will be the norm in the future. By building it now, you will have a major head start before most people catch on to the power of personal branding.
By building it now, you'll have an engaged audience that will provide you with with all kinds of opportunities in the future. It will also provide social proof of your work ethics and shows that you can provide valuable services to your target audience on a big scale.
The creator economy is still a new economy. But it’s already valued at $156 billion. Goldman Sachs expects 10-20% annual growth and projects a value of $525 billion by 2030.
This is huge!
This also means it's about to get a lot noisier.
This is where having well-developed uniquely human skills will set you apart. As the AI revolution advances, more people will rely more and more on AI for their work.
Combining technical expertise with human-centric skills such as empathy and creativity will set you apart.
Why is this important?
Empathy is highly valued because it leads to a better customer experience, which in turn can boost sales. Additionally, those who can creatively leverage AI and automation gain a competitive advantage by crafting custom solutions for businesses and individuals.
Now is a crucial time to learn these skills to get ahead.
It’s my hope that you’ve been inspired and start building a future-proof brand and skill set.
If you have any questions, my DMs are always open over at X (@thenicsilver).
Until next time,
Nic
Practical Applications:
Think about which parts of your business can be automated with AI.
Create 1 automation using the no-code tool Zapier (register for a free account at zapier.com)
