Generative AI: An Asset for Solo Entrepreneurs

AI at the Service of Solo Entrepreneurs

Katherine Pomerantz, founder of Money Storyteller, and Danielle Nazinitsky, founder of Decode Real Estate, shared how generative AI has helped them make their first hires and grow their small businesses.

For solo business founders, making a first hire can be risky and time-consuming. AI has enabled the capture of a founder's expertise in a workflow that has made a new hire more effective. A real estate entrepreneur was able to add a contractor after enhancing her business's visibility on AI platforms.

During her nine years as a financial strategist, Katherine Pomerantz often considered hiring a business manager as her first employee. However, she delayed this decision, stating that she struggled to distill her expertise and client communications into standard operating procedures that her new hire could follow.

"Being able to turn it into a step-by-step workflow for someone else, I just don't think that way," said Pomerantz, owner of Money Storyteller, which offers tax and financial services for small businesses.

Her perspective changed when she began using generative AI. Pomerantz and Nazinitsky told Business Insider that this technology has helped them make effective hires and, consequently, grow their businesses.

AI to Streamline Hiring Processes

Pomerantz started using ChatGPT for her business about a year ago. Quickly, she came to view this AI platform as a "secondary brain," using the technology to streamline administrative and organizational tasks.

ChatGPT helped her break down her strategic thinking into daily processes. Pomerantz fed the model with recordings of client calls, emails, brainstorming sessions, and other materials, which helped her identify patterns in her workflow. Soon, she had procedures that others could follow.

Last year, Pomerantz hired two employees: an administrator in the United States and an accountant in the Philippines. She stated that they help her accomplish twice as much work as she did as a solo operator.

"We have more clients and meet all deadlines well in advance," she added.

In addition to establishing standard operating procedures, Pomerantz uses ChatGPT to create documents detailing her decision-making. Now, when a client sends an email with a question — for example, whether to use a Roth IRA — Pomerantz's administrator can ask the AI to provide a detailed overview of when Pomerantz would recommend a particular financial strategy.

Ultimately, Pomerantz will discuss key decisions with the client, but using AI and her administrator to organize information in advance allows her to save time while providing quick and thorough responses. "We want them to feel like they're getting much more of my time than they actually are," she said.

Lead Generation Through AI Referrals

Danielle Nazinitsky, owner of the real estate shop Decode Real Estate in New York, has also found generative AI useful for growing her business and recruiting new employees.

She told Business Insider that ChatGPT has acted as "a referral engine" for her services. From incoming leads, Nazinitsky discovered that some prospects found her name through ChatGPT. To capitalize on this momentum and direct clients to her brand, she hired a GEO company to enhance Decode's brand recognition.

She learned that to strengthen her position in GEO results, she needed to publish more branded blog articles and encourage her clients to leave reviews on Google. Nazinitsky has used AI in part to help bolster her content.

She stated that partly due to her GEO-related growth, she had the resources to hire a second broker six months ago. Like most real estate agencies, her second broker is a contractor rather than a full-time employee.

In addition to using AI to market her business, Nazinitsky emphasized that it is equally important to learn when she should not use AI. She pays professional contractors to write press releases, manage branding, and oversee client transactions.

"When I spend money on a true expert, I get a much better result," she said, adding that she spends less time redoing work or managing costly mistakes than if she outsourced that very specific work to generative AI. "As a solopreneur, your time is your most valuable asset," Nazinitsky concluded.