It's Time For Rick To Say Farewell And Pass The Baton

But I am here to share with you that this is my last episode as host of the art of online business podcast . That is not some sort of early approvals or anything like that . This is my last episode as host of the show that I've been doing since 2015 . So eight years now , and in a few minutes I'm gonna explain everything . I'm gonna explain a lot more .

So , with all this , I've never really liked the word pivot . You know . I always thought of it as changing directions because something wasn't working or something wasn't right . So , oh , something's not right , I need to change the direction . Oh , I'm gonna pivot over here .

But recently I looked up the definition of pivot in the context of business , right , and here's what I found . This is what it said In a business context . The word pivot refers to making a strategic change or adjustment in response to new circumstances or opportunities .

It involves shifting or adapting the direction of a business to better align with market needs or to capitalize on emerging trends , and I quite like the latter part of that definition and I'll just reread that latter part . It involves shifting or adapting the direction of a business to better align with market needs or to capitalize on emerging trends .

I would probably add to that that it involves shifting or adapting the direction of a business to better align with the business owner and then add or to capitalize on or to better line with market needs or to capitalize on emerging trends .

I think , first and foremost , aligning with the business owner and what the business owner wants to do , and I think that captures quite well what my next evolution in my business is all about . At the time I'm recording this episode , it is the middle of November 2023 . I know this episode's coming out the first week of December .

I have been in business now for 10 years . I can't believe that 10 years , which in internet years , is forever right . And somebody called me recently like one of the Godfathers and I'm like whoa . I do not see myself in that way . First of all , that makes me sound super old . But over those 10 years I've made one pretty major shift .

We'll call it a pivot , right , which is when I went from only teaching and talking about Facebook ads and paid traffic you know , back when this podcast here was called the art of paid traffic , to then I stepped back a few layers , if you will , and I started teaching and talking about growing and streamlining your online business a bit more broadly , right .

So I still I've still , you know , talked about over the years Facebook ads and other things , but , as you know , if you've been listening for any period of time , I stepped back from just talking about ads and that was about four years ago and here we are .

My business is going through another evolution and , with that definition of pivot , like I just talked to you about , I would say this is a pivot .

Now , many of you know that earlier this year 2023 , I took a four month sabbatical because I was burned out and I'm not gonna go to , I'm not gonna rehash the whole sabbatical and the reasons I took it , and all that because I did a whole episode about that a few , a few months ago .

But during the sabbatical , I started thinking about what the next phase of my business could look like and I kept coming back to AI and for some of you , this might not be . This might not surprise you at all . I am so fascinated , and I'm fascinated by an interested in AI and its evolution .

Specifically , how AI and some of these AI tools can help you , the online business owner , and your team right , if you have a team become more efficient in your business . How you can essentially be leveraging AI to work less while , at the same time , increasing your profits .

How you can essentially be giving so much of your day-to-day work over to AI and automation so that you can be spending your time on only the highest leverage activities that you should be spending your time on , or more time with your family , or more personal time , or whatever it is however you wanna be spending your time Now .

I know a lot of people are scared of AI , or maybe you're not scared , but you just don't know how to use it yet or to use the different tools and what have you , and wherever you stand on using AI , it's totally cool For me , it energizes me and I find it so fun .

And whenever I show someone how they can make something in their business so much easier with this prompt or that prompt or this tool or that tool , or I give them a tip or a strategy or a technique or whatever it is , the reaction is always the same Like their mind is blown and they're hooked .

I know you're thinking about that little mind-blowing emoji right now . I was when I said that . So they are hooked . At that point they're like holy cow , what else can this do ? They wanna know more , and that's how I was earlier this year , which is why I am now pivoting my business to teach you about AI and how it can help you as an online business .

And again , I started thinking about all this during the sabbatical , which was supposed to be three months , and then it turned into four months , and I just knew that I wanted to make a change .

I just wasn't quite sure what that change was , and so I just allowed it to be and I sat on it , and I've been doing a lot of thinking about it for a long time now , and so this is the direction I have decided to take . Now there's a lot of people already talking about AI .

Right , they have huge email newsletters and huge Twitter accounts , but everything I've seen they're just reporting the latest news and new , new rules . They're just reporting the latest news . I still can't say it . They're just reporting the latest news and tools .

You know they're basically RSS feeds of the latest AI news , which is great , right , it's super helpful , but that doesn't really help you in your day-to-day business .

Now , one skill that I have really leaned on and I truly don't know where this came from , but I'm also very proud of the fact that I feel like I'm very good at this but one skill that I've leaned on a lot throughout my years of running my online business is my ability to simplify complex topics into simple actions that make sense and that you can actually

use in your business , not just talk about it , but how to actually use it and implement it and incorporate it into your business . And that's exactly what I'm going to be doing with AI and AI tools for you .

Because , if you haven't already grasped maybe or maybe accepted is a better way to say this the fact that AI is completely redefined the game , my friends , for when , for how you run your business and the impact that it can have on your business .

And I'm the person who understands how these tools that are being announced every day can fit into your business or not fit into your business . So , for example , if you hear a tool or some new thing or what have you .

I have already looked at it , played around with it , see if I can put it into some sort of automation and I wanna tell you whether I think it's helpful for you or not helpful and show you actually how to incorporate or not incorporate .

So I'm gonna be simplifying and sharing everything that I know and I'm learning along the way , cause , like , let's face it , we're all learning along the way when it comes to AI , about how you can be leveraging AI in the online business so that you can become more efficient and increasing your profits in your business .

It's about showing you use cases and how you can incorporate AI into your business Again , not just reporting the news or the latest thing , whether it's in your marketing , your sales , your fulfillment or your operations .

So again , for example , when a new AI tool comes out or a technique or a new functionality of an existing tool or what have you , I wanna save you time and energy as I want you to go . Okay , what does Rick really think about this ? And then come check out what I have to say about it .

And I couldn't be more excited about all this and the new direction . Now , with this next evolution comes a lot of things that I know , and it comes a lot of things that I don't know , and so I wanna sort of list out for you here . Here's what I do know about this new direction .

As I've already shared with you , I have decided to no longer host this podcast , the Art of Online Business . I am passing the baton to Kwejo , who has been co-hosting with me for the past few months .

I feel amazing about this decision and about him continuing to bring you , you know , the super helpful content here on the show that you are used to , and , frankly , there is nobody I would have continue helping you each week here on the Art of Online Business podcast than Kwejo . So this podcast isn't going anywhere .

It is gonna continue evolving and growing and continuing to help you each and every week . It is just it is going to be hosted by Kwejo , so I'm passing the baton to Kwejo as the host of this podcast .

So , side note , I know you don't listen to the show , but for all of you PR people who email me blindly and put in the subject line brackets name of the podcast , please don't email me those anymore . You can send those emails to Kwejo , but I know you don't listen to the podcast . I also know that I'm not going anywhere .

My friends , I'm not going anywhere . I wanna create super helpful content for you and that is gonna look like YouTube an email newsletter , tiktok , short form videos . Another podcast , which is AI for Business , specific , and also serving you through my Pick , rick's Brain Coaching AI , which I'll tell you more about in a second .

So , in terms of YouTube videos , when this video and I just wrote about this , my perfectionism and why it's taken me so long to get you know , get my butt going on for creating YouTube videos , which is so weird , because I am so excited about YouTube and , finally , finally , I'm taking it seriously .

So , when it comes to YouTube , I'd love for you to subscribe to my channel , even though the videos are still coming . Think about it investing in what you're gonna be learning , even though there might not be a video on there when you get there and subscribe . So just search for Rick Mulrady on YouTube .

I used to have tons of Facebook ads videos from way , way back . I've basically I don't know what you call it like archive them or hidden them on the channel so you might get there and there's only like one video there , but I will tell you right now they are coming .

I'm literally , as I'm recording this , I am working on that first video and I'm really excited about it .

So a lot more videos coming , and my whole goal with YouTube is not a subscriber count , although sure , I love a lot of subscribers . What my goal with it is consistency One to two videos per week for the next year . That's my . I mean beyond a year , but let's start with the first 12 months . My goal is consistency .

Okay , cause I can't control the subscriber counts . What I can control is delivering videos , great videos , each and every week to you .

And just a side note on that , one thing I've decided to do is I've decided to approach even though I have like less than 2000 subscribers on YouTube , which are have been there for several years because of my former Facebook ads videos .

I'm looking at it like I'm approaching it as if I already have a hundred thousand subscribers , even though that's not my goal . There's a different level of I don't know cadence , quality , et cetera , editing all those types of things . So that's how I'm approaching it , which I think has been super helpful for my mindset on it . So that's YouTube .

Love it if you come over and subscribe . Subscribe to my email newsletter . This is something that , frankly , I have never taken seriously outside of sending you like the latest podcast episode , which is helpful , right , but this is a whole new level of newsletter and I talked to somebody recently several people recently .

They were like newsletter sounds so old , like just an old word . But that's what this is , and I'm sharing different topics in there about how AI can be helping your online business , just like we've been talking about , and so I'd love it if you subscribe right .

Go to my website , rickmullreadycom and click on either the free newsletter link , which is in the upper right hand corner of the nav bar , and you can just subscribe right there , or I have a free chat CPT PDF that you can download . It's a cheat sheet seven chat CPT prompts that every online business needs that will help you reclaim five plus hours a week .

So you can download that and then you'll get on my weekly newsletter list . So I'd love it if you subscribe . Follow me on TikTok . I'm not gonna go into TikTok a lot , because I've talked to you in the past and if you listen to the podcast for any period of time , you're like , yeah , rick , you've been talking about TikTok forever .

Well , just like YouTube , when you follow me at Rickmullready , you're investing in what's coming your way and it is coming your way Again . This can be super helpful , bite-sized , short form content for you that you're really gonna find useful . Now you might be thinking well , rick , like you've been podcasting for literally 10 years now , what about podcasting ?

Yes , a new podcast is coming , my friend that I will be co-hosting with a friend of mine and a brilliant AI mind . More details coming on that soon . So if you're on my email list , you'll be the first to know . Okay , now you're also gonna be hearing from me on this podcast in the form of a few pre-roll promos .

You know the audio promos that come at the very beginning of a podcast episode each month , because this is something that Kweji and I have worked out , where I'm gonna be sharing opportunities with you , where I can help you . So you'll hear from me a few times per month here in the form of a pre-roll promos , audio promos here on the podcast .

So you'd be like hey , I know that , I know that voice . So here's another thing . I do know I want to build an audience and , yes , I want to build a big audience , but I want to build an engaged audience . Very much quality over quantity . This is I do know .

Another thing I know I want to spend my time talking about things that energize me while helping you . I also want to be . I want to be , I want to be keeping . I want to keep coaching , but on a smaller scale . So this is my limited one on one online business coaching the same type of coaching I've been doing for years .

What I decided to do if you haven't heard me talk about this is I have opened up a very small handful of one on one coaching spots . It's month to month , no long term commitment . At the time of recording this , I have one spot open and that is not some fake urgency . That's literally what I have open .

So if you are interested in that , just shoot me an email , let me know you're interested , rick , at Rick Mulreadycom . But that is not going to change that's . I'm going to continue to do that because I love coaching , love it , love it on a on a one on one scale , because it allows me to dive deeper into your business .

Now , I'm still going to be coaching , but I say like , yeah , I'm not going to be . I'm still going to be doing the one on one coaching , but I'm going to be coaching on a grander scale also on YouTube and TikTok and all that stuff on the AI content .

And another thing that I do know I'm excited about opening up my PickRick's brain coaching AI to all of you because the early feedback from my alpha users who , at the time recording this , have been using it now for probably five weeks . It's been amazing .

It has blown away my expectations and you know we're still working some kinks out from a technological standpoint . But the role that this coaching AI is playing in people just like you in their everyday business is so cool and I'm going to continue making improvements to it and making it better and better .

And it's just going to be a very , very low cost membership to have access to this . So you're going to have literally 10 years of my brain that we have created a coaching AI around my knowledge not chat GBT knowledge , my knowledge and you can access it 24 , seven , 365, . Pull out your phone and there it is at your fingertips for a very low monthly rate .

I'm excited about that . And then I'm finally I'm really excited about rebuilding something new , like I have a very small email list If I told you the size of my email list , you would be very surprised . It's very small . I have very few YouTube subscribers that , and they , like I said before , they've been subscribed since my Facebook ads days .

So I'm basically starting from scratch there . I have no TikTok videos at the time of this recording anyway , and I think I have like 100 subscribers and they're all like spam accounts or something like that . So I'm excited about all this to re bit , you know , to start something new and rebuild in this new direction .

Now I say rebuild yes , I am , I am truly rebuilding .

But I also am very aware that I'm bringing my Brand , if you will , and in all that stuff , reputation and so forth With me in all of my 10 years of experience , and so I think that uniquely Call and qualifies , but , like it , gives me a very unique perspective on online business and how all the different areas of an online business , how I can help you , and

so those are the things I do know . Here's what I don't yet know going forward . I don't yet know how I'm going to monetize .

I am going to create content , I'm going to build an audience and I'm going to let you tell me what you all want and need and then see if that aligns with what I want to do and that and I'm going to talk about more about here in a second about my anxious brain .

But yeah , I don't know yet how I want to monetize this new direction and I have there's a lot of different options and I thought about a lot of different things and there are some things that super excite me and other things that that don't . I don't know yet where things are going to go with this . I really truly don't .

I have an idea of where I want things to go and I'm going to do everything I can to Head in that direction .

I'm heading in that direction , but I mean , we don't know right , like I don't know yet where things are going to go with this and honestly , I don't know yet how many of you will also , in addition to continuing to listen to you know this part the art of online business who will also tune into my new content .

You know , follow me on YouTube and send it from a newsletter . It's like I have no idea and that's OK . I also have no idea how long it will take to build my YouTube channel or my email list or TikTok account . I have no idea and you might be sitting here in the early part of your business , like not in your head , listening .

You're like , yeah , I know exactly what that's like Now . For those of you who have followed me for a while now , you know that I have struggled with anxiety since I was a young kid . I can sort of pin it back to like seventh grade . I don't know how old I am at seventh grade , someone is at seventh grade , but that's like way back .

And so all of these unknowns , like these big unknowns oh yeah , they've had a field day with my anxious brain but I see this as a wide open opportunity for me to jump into . Like this isn't going anywhere . Ai is not going . Ai is not , you know , coming .

It's not a fad , it is here and it is only going to get more important to understand it , and that's where I want to serve you .

And so I again , I see this as a wide open opportunity for me to jump in to helping you in a new way , a way that I don't see being done anywhere and that excites me . And so , as I wrap up this episode , this final episode of me being the host of the art of online business , you are in such good hands with Quaijo .

I want to thank you for always listening to this podcast and for continuing to listen , as , like I said , as the type of helpful content that you are used to here on the show is not changing , it is still coming your way each and every week and I'm so thankful for you for being part of this phase of my business , and I'm super excited to serve you in a

different way for this next phase of my business , and I hope that you'll subscribe and follow on the platforms that I mentioned so that I can continue serving you with these new challenges and opportunities . I love you guys , love you , my friends , and I will talk soon .