Great news, your AI Consulting persona is…
The Creator
You’ve already built impressive skills in tech, business and work culture – and we’ll help you scale up those skills while ensuring you have the confidence in yourself to dive in to your new consultancy business.
As a creator, you’ve spent much of your career adjacent to tech and business, but this is the first time you’re really diving into running a business of your own that’s focused on the most cutting-edge technology available. You’ll be simultaneously skilling up on AI while going into business for yourself, which means you will need to stay focused on taking small, meaningful steps forward (without getting overwhelmed).
And since you care deeply about the quality of everything you create, you’re also likely to experience a lot of Imposter Syndrome as you get started – that’s the feeling that you’re “not quite good enough” or “in over your head” and the fear that clients or the people around you won’t take your new endeavor seriously. Spoiler alert: you’re waaaay too hard on yourself, and we’ll help you see that you’re actually well on your way to building a successful client-service business (and that you can skill up in days or weeks, rather than months or years).
We’ll help you build your confidence by Building Your AI Skills and Tech Stack and Building Your Online Reputation (based on the things you’ve already accomplished.) Then, we’ll introduce you to quick ways to Score Your First Gig and build a list of new prospects so you can Make Your First 3 Sales from your brand-new AI consulting client-service menu.
Join us on Slack:
Share your persona when you intro yourself to the Slack community!
Where to start:
Before you start down your path you’ll want to make sure you’ve knocked out these onboarding steps below. They’re quick (about 20 minutes total) and they’ll make sure you’re plugged into everything this course has to offer: the Slack community, the live sessions, all the resources you need. Once you’re done here, you’ll jump right into your personalized path.
First – launch in 7 days (+ destroy imposter syndrome)
Your most important goal is destroying Imposter Syndrome – keep in mind you already have equal or better skills than folks who are charging hundreds of dollars an hour for AI consulting services.
From there, you can take a detour from business and level up your AI skills a bit more. Dive into our lessons on Mastering the AI Economy, Tools and Skills to help you skill up on AI. A great goal would be to build your first AI workflow, and we have TONS of tutorials to help you build projects for yourself, your clients, or just to start creating a portfolio of cool ideas and experiments.
Here’s a secret – you can do everything you need to deliver valuable, high-quality projects to clients without coding. The way we see it, if you can get good at a tool like Photoshop or Excel, you can rock your client’s world as an AI consultant.
To lock in your tech skills, build your first workflow by following our Build It Together: Document Automation series.
Keep in mind that you only need to do the intro, Core Workflow and Power-Up lesson. The final lesson is a bit more techie, and safe to skip for now.
Result: Your first workflow that could be sold to a client in the future!
Optional detour: Build your reputation and your offer suite
For more on building your reputation and beating Imposter Syndrome, check out our lessons on Building Your 1-Page Calling Card Website and Optimizing Your LinkedIn Profile. You don’t have to take action on these right away, but since you’re likely to doubt yourself early on in your journey, seeing what’s coming will be especially valuable for you.
Another option: If you want to take a break from client skills, take a look at the lessons on building no-code workflows and automations. These are a great way to dip your toes into the AI pool, without getting in too deep before you’re ready.
Next – create your AI consulting services
Work through the lessons above until you’re ready to Score Your First Gig. Then, start building your exclusivity statement to focus in on your service offerings.
Once you’ve done that, you’re off to the races. We recommend creating a first draft of your AI Consulting Service Menu, with the understanding that it will evolve as you gain more experience.
Build your ethical framework
Knowing how to use AI will get you in the door, but understanding its impact on society will make you invaluable. This section explores the bigger questions you’ll face as a consultant: How is AI reshaping industries? What are the copyright implications? How do you spot and address bias? This chapter gives you the context and frameworks to navigate these complex human and ethical dimensions thoughtfully.
Explore the full curriculum
Once you’ve completed your customized Creator starter path, explore the 100+ in-depth lessons in our full curriculum—we guide you through every step in building a thriving consultancy.
Suggested: Enhance your client skills
When it’s time to start reaching out to people outside your “warm” network, you’ll need to learn how to create your online presence, build a prospect list and reach out to them with gentle, powerful, human “cold outreach” that gets their attention and gets them excited to hop on Zoom with you to talk about how you can help them enhance their businesses with AI.
What to focus on:
- First, beat Imposter Syndrome. Our goal will be to help you dive in and get started – and avoid waiting for everything to be perfect before you put yourself in front of potential clients.
- You can likely score some early gigs from your personal network, so taking action there will have a big payoff for you in terms of both cash and confidence.
Common challenges:
- You may find yourself wondering if you’re “good enough” yet – remember that almost all of humanity is behind the curve in AI compared to you! We’ll help you defeat Imposter Syndrome and gain the confidence to get the ball rolling.
How to win big: Aim to join the IWAI Directory
Start fast and recognize that everyone is learning as they go—and that you have a huge advantage by being an early-adopter and AI enthusiast. The business and tech skills are all learnable – but it requires you to take action and talk to real people and real clients soon as opposed to waiting until you have “skilled up” on everything.
As a Creator, you have a great balance of tech and client skills. Our certification asks that you reach certain milestones to steadily grow your professional expertise so you can propose and score deals consistently. Once you’ve successfully billed 2-3 clients, you can apply to be listed in our directory as a trusted, IWAI-approved consultant.
Not a Creator?
You might also be a Producer (less advanced tech skills), an Engineer (more advanced tech skills), a Bootstrapper (less advanced business skills) or a Strategist (more advanced business skills). Or, you can retake the quiz.