Let's start the AI Startup Journey

Author

CJ Z
August 21, 2023

Hi Fellas,

Guess what? We are talking about our first Startup today. I didn't have to think alot about this, because we need to build a solid foundation for a startup.

So what can be the strong base of a digital startup? That is your PERSONAL BRAND.

I know it's a vague word. Let me simplify this for you.

Building a personal brand has been a proven business strategy for ages. In ancient Greece, thought leaders like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, and Marcus Aurelius got super famous for their wisdom. Huge crowds used to come to hear them talk.

A Greek Philosopher addressing his audience.

They didn't have social media, websites, or even books as we know them. Yet, their 'personal brands' were so strong that their teachings and philosophies are still studied and admired today.

A strong personal brand is the foundation for any entrepreneur's success. It allows you to attract an audience, demonstrate expertise, and build trust.

The first word in the phrase, “personal brand” is “personal.” Now add an “ity” to it, drop the “brand” and that’s what it really means. That’s the secret.

Adam Richie

The Business of Being You:

Think of your favorite solo entrepreneurs of today. Like GaryVee, Naval, MrBeast, Justin Welsh and even Elon Musk,.. what do they have in common? A strong personality on any 1 social media platform.

I know they have huge audiences and we can't relate with them. So let me share the latest example with you.

You remember Alex Hormozi, the guy with a beard and acquisition.com hat ‘Alex Hormozi.‘ He launched his second book '100M Leads' and this book will perform 100x better than his first book '100M Offers'

Alex Hormozi

How? He built a solid personal brand on social media in last 2 years. He cracked the short-form videos and he is all over the internet for last 2 years.

The lifetime sales of 100M Offers book is 430,000 and 100M Leads already crossed 200,000 copies in just 2 days of launch.

That’s the power of a Personal Brand.

You need even more arguments? Let me share my numbers (just to inspire you to take action.)

I made $14,000 in last 30 days with just an audience of 13,900 on Twitter.

I rejoined Twitter after a 2 months break. This is my first month in AI as a content creator. I gained 9000+ followers in this 30-day period.

I am sharing this to show you how open the field is for you. It’s like a blue ocean right now in the AI field.

Build a strong personal brand. I know guys that are sharing actionable knowledge about AI on Twitter and they are crossing 5000 followers in just 45 to 60 days.

So, start now. Build your Twitter Brand.

Here’s the Twitter Brand Foundation:

  1. Create your professional Twitter Profile if you don’t have 1 already.

  2. Add clean looking cover (It is important)

  3. Add a strong profile picture (Add some uniqueness)

  4. Write a simple but inspiring bio.

  5. Start writing long-form tweets ONLY.

    Twitter is awarding impressions to long-form tweets only. i write 1 post only and I cross 100k impressions on average every day.

In the beginning, you should write 2-3 posts. Volume is key in the beginning.

Once you build your first startup “The Personal Brand.“

What’s the second step?

Monetizing Your Personal Brand - The Golden Goose

Here are 7 basic ways to monetize your personal brand.

  1. Newsletter: Just like this one, it's your direct line to your audience. Share, connect, and monetize.

  1. Consultations: Your expertise is valuable. Offer it.

This is the first service you can provide after you establish your personal brand. I consulted 3 companies in last 1 month which will make them at least $40,000 more in revenue every month by utilizing AI.

I charged them $2000 for a 120-minute session on the AI roadmap for their company.

  1. Info Products: Package your knowledge. Sell it.

  1. Coaching & Mentorship: Guide the next generation. And get paid for it.

Mentorship is a High Ticket product. You charge a premium amount for your mentorship, as you are working 1 on 1 with the student. The basic Mentorship program starts from $2500.

I mentored 22 students in the last 1 month. (tomorrow is my last class) for 5x less amount of base mentorship price. Why? I wanted to give immense value and collect data from my audience.

I achieved that goal. Now I can build 10x better projects for my audience.

  1. Cohorts: Collaborative learning is the future. Lead a group.

Dickie Bush runs a 7-fig cohort program on Ghostwriting.

  1. SaaS: Got a tech solution? Offer it as a service.

That’s my favorite. After you run a service you collect data and you build a SaaS product. With AI + No-code tools we can build and deploy SaaS in just a week.

I am working on Hypegenius (an AI agent that writes and publish newsletters for you) and 1 more exciting SaaS product that I’ll announce soon.

  1. Sponsors & Partnerships: Collaborate and grow together.

Find sponsors for your Newsletters and this will give you solid passive income that can pay your bills and you can focus on building the brand.

Find like-minded people to co-build an info product, a SaaS or even an agency. Twitter is the best place to build a network. Utilize that.

Bottomline:

Personal Brand is a must for your Digital Business.

It will give you initial users for your SaaS, initial case studies or testimonials, first 10 service clients, and most importantly - a monetizable audience.

So Start your first Startup - your Personal Brand today.

Let me know if you hit any roadblock. I’ll try to a lighthouse for you.

Let’s build a solid foundation and then build an Empire on top..

Let’s act!

Cj