Byte-Sized Businesses: My A.I. Assisted Biz Blitz - 18
Edition 18
Recap: I’ve challenged myself to launch two micro-businesses per month with the help of AI. You can get caught up on the details of the challenge in my original post here.
For new readers, you can scroll to the bottom of this post to see a full list and summary of the micro-businesses that have been launched. Not each one will be covered in every weekly edition, but I will be sure to keep you up to date on all of the key points as things progress.
I got married over the weekend. It was an absolutely amazing weekend. But also a very busy weekend, so I don’t have a whole lot of new updates for this week’s edition. I kept grinding away on the tumbler wraps, but I didn’t work on many new developments. So, for this edition, I’m going to share some of my broader thoughts on the future of this challenge and newsletter as well as some of the thoughts and strategies that I am considering for the microbusinesses.
The Future of This Newsletter
When I first started this newsletter, the idea was simple, I was going to demonstrate how fast an entrepreneurial minded individual can move with the assistance of AI tools. It was also intended to be a motivator for myself also to keep learning and keep building. I think that it has served that purpose, and I hope that you agree.
I am cognizant though that the idea of launching two micro-businesses a month isn’t something that can be done forever, and as this challenge has progressed, the field of micro-businesses that I am launching is narrowing. It started with a wide variety, but as I am finding early success in areas such as Etsy, specifically the tumbler wraps, I am moving away from some of the ones that fall outside of that domain. New “micro-businesses” in this challenge are now more just new products. But I am okay with that.
This is largely what I expected. I started knowing that many of these experiments wouldn’t become anything, and the hope was that a few would emerge as successes. While nothing has been proven yet, I am seeing where the traction is, so that is where my efforts need to be focused.
I am going to continue this current format for a while, but in not too long, likely after the year is over, I plan on beginning to transition this newsletter to focus less on the challenge, and more just on the entrepreneurial journey. I think of this sort of as a phase two, where I take the initial nuggets of success that came from the challenge and see what can be built off of them.
I also plan on starting to include sharing some information on the first business that I started, my small coffee brand, Nordic Jo’s Coffee. I had initially left it out of this newsletter because it has already been operating for several years and didn’t really fit the intent of the letter. But now I am seeing some opportunity to take some of what I have learned and build on top of that business. So as this newsletter evolves, you will see more on that business as well.
Strategy Thoughts
As I mentioned, my focus is definitely on Etsy. In general, I am thinking of Etsy in two categories, digital products like the tumbler wraps and physical products. My early thoughts are that I like the digital products, partially because that is where I have seen the most success so far and partially because with digital products, you don’t have to worry about the cost for procurement and distribution.
That being said, I still see potential in both categories. I have been a little slower in scaling out the physical items than I would have like to. We are in Q4 now, and Q4 is by for the best time for physical items as people are in gift buying mode for the holiday season. The challenge for me is balancing out my time and focus across these two categories. I see importance on continuing to ramp up the Tumbler Wrap business to build on the initial success, especially considering that I have noticed many new entrants in that category lately. Things are getting competitive, but I still think that I am in a window where I can be one of the winners of this race.
But focusing on the tumbler wraps also means that I am sacrificing some potential opportunity in having a robust inventory of products available for the holidays. I have decided that this is okay. I don’t want to rush things out, so rather than trying to make this holiday season as a time of profit, I will use it as a time of testing and learning. I will continue to put out some new products at a reasonable pace as a test run of sorts while my primary focus is ramping up the Tumbler Wraps business. I truly believe that this business can become a valuable asset, but it will take a lot of scaling. It will require thousands of listings.
The List So Far
Dough Control - Dough Control was a blog on cash management for small businesses that I originally started a couple years ago, but hadn’t maintained. I decided to revitalize that blog with the help of AI tools like ChatGPT. This will be a longer duration project, with the goal of developing a following before monetizing.
Canvas and Quirk (originally PleasurePrinted) - This was the first Etsy shop that I launched. It features captivating nature scenes on canvas or metal prints for home or office decor. The images are generated by Midjourney and enlarged with VanceAI. The product descriptions are drafted through ChatGPT. This shop has now been transitioned into a general store through which I will be launching all of my Etsy oriented micro-businesses / product categories.
LittleDreamersDen - A second Etsy shop that also focuses on wall art, but on the other side of the pricing spectrum. The same tools are used to create the works, but the finished products are posters rather than the more expensive canvas or metal prints. The focus of this shop is nursery room decor.
The Consulting Gig - I received a request for some costing and supply chain help. To start, I’ll provide as much value as I can up front. The hope is that the potential client will find it worth hiring me for consulting/coaching on an on-going basis. I plan on using AI to boost my speed in compiling research such as lists of potential supply chain partners.
CozyGifted (originally FlickersOfFantasy) - The third Etsy shop. This shop was originally planned to be as a candle shop, but I have pivoted to also use it for other physical items that work well as gifts.
Wirestock - Selling stock images generated with Midjourney. Wirestock is easy to use right in Discord and allows you to list your images for sale across multiple platforms at once.
Tumbler Wrap Designs (Digital Files) - Digital files of designs to be printed for tumbler wraps. These are sold through Etsy to hobbyists and vendors that sell tumblers in which the print designs on.
Personalized Enamel Coated Camping Mugs - The products are items that I am fulfilling through print on demand services with personalization enabled through HelloCustom, an AI software that streamlines the personalization process between Etsy and Printify.
Personalized Blankets - Similar to the mugs mentioned above, these are fulfilled through the print on demand services of Printify with the personalization being enabled through HelloCustom.