Watch Here: https://youtu.be/Q2QTYAN7Juo

About the Guest: 
Jonathan Mast isn’t your typical AI guru. At 55, with a Gandalf-like beard and 20 years in digital marketing, he’s positioned himself as the “voice of reason” in a landscape full of overhype and under-delivery. His company, White Beard Strategies, teaches business owners how to use AI without losing their minds—or their margins. Mast’s approach blends deep industry experience with a no-nonsense communication style. He’s not selling pipe dreams; he’s offering a toolkit.

Summary:
In this refreshingly candid episode of the How2Exit Podcast, Ron Skelton flips the usual script. Instead of diving into how to buy or sell companies, he sits down with Jonathan Mast—founder of White Beard Strategies and self-declared AI pragmatist—to tackle a more pressing question: Now that you've bought a business, how do you scale it with AI? With a long white beard and a sharper edge on reality than most AI evangelists or fearmongers, Mast offers a grounded, practical view of how artificial intelligence is changing the game for business owners. From cutting costs without cutting quality, to using AI as a "force multiplier" for human creativity, the conversation strips away the hype and lays down a roadmap that business buyers and owners can actually use.

Key Takeaways:

1. AI is an “Easier Button,” Not an Easy Button: Mast cautions that AI won’t magically solve all your problems—but it will streamline, accelerate, and amplify your existing business processes if used right.
2. Prompt Engineering is Just Delegation 2.0: The most effective prompts treat AI like a new hire—tell it what role it’s playing, what task you need, what the output should look like, and give it context. Then ask, “Do you have any questions?”
3. AI Won’t Replace Humans—But Humans Who Use AI Will Replace Those Who Don’t: The real risk isn’t AI taking your job—it’s your competitor using AI better than you and outpacing your entire operation.
4. Agents Are the Next Frontier: Current tools still need your input, but AI agents—autonomous task-doers with goals instead of prompts—are coming. These could revolutionize business ops by handling repetitive, logic-based tasks with little oversight.
5. AI Is a Skill Multiplier: A mediocre copywriter becomes competent with AI. A great copywriter becomes world-class. AI doesn’t level the playing field—it widens the gap between skilled and unskilled.
6. Bias Is Inevitable—Just Like in Humans: Every AI model reflects the biases of its creators. That doesn’t invalidate its usefulness, but it does mean you need to be vigilant about aligning its output with your brand’s tone and truth.
7. Business Intelligence on Steroids: Jonathan envisions a near future where agents will analyze data from every platform—Google Analytics, YouTube, LinkedIn—and proactively suggest growth strategies without human prompting.
8. Start Small, Start Now: You don’t need to be an engineer or visionary to benefit. Begin with basic tasks like drafting emails, summarizing reports, or analyzing transactions—and build from there.

--------------------------------------------------
Contact Jonathan on
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathanjmast/
Website: http://whitebeardstrategies.com/
--------------------------------------------------
💰If you’d like additional ways to support this podcast, you can become a paid subscriber here: https://how2exit.substack.com/

►Visit Our Website: https://www.how2exit.com/

📧For Business Inquiries: [email protected]

Don't Forget to SUBSCRIBE to the How2Exit channel and press (🔔) to join the Notification Squad and stay updated with new uploads.✨

👇🏻SUBSCRIBE HERE
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_ONnhwaKSTPFt2nOxKoXXQ?sub_confirmation=1

𝐖𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬...?
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
👍 Like the video (it helps a ton!)
💬 Comment below to share your opinion!
🔗 Share the video with anyone you think might help :) ▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬
📱Stay Tuned On Our Social Media :
» Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ronskelton/
» Twitter - https://twitter.com/ronaldskelton
» Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/How2Exit
» Newsletter - http://deeper.how2exit.com/

🎬SUGGESTED VIDEOS
Don't forget to watch 📽 Our other videos. Please check them out : 

▶️E135: Sam Rosati On His Journey From Being A Lawyer To Becoming An Entrepreneur In The ETA Space - https://youtu.be/D2qJOidptRA

▶️E100: CEO Of Flippa Blake Hutchison Discusses Innovations In Buying And Selling Digital Assets - https://youtu.be/R1D5guQU9Z0

#How2Exit # # 💖Thanks for watching! 💖

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/how2exit-buy-don-t-build-m-a-of-small-businesses--4859429/support.