Are you watching everyone on LinkedIn and Substack talk about AI and wondering if you're already falling behind? Have you already bought a tool subscription or two, only to find it hasn't really changed how your firm operates? If the noise around AI is making you feel anxious rather than excited, this episode is for you.

I share the advice I gave to several of my clients this week, all of them professional services firm owners who came to me worried they were missing the boat on AI.

In this episode, I talk about why the fear of being left behind is getting ahead of the reality, what the early AI adopters of 2023 and 2024 actually have to show for it, and the far more practical approach that will serve your firm much better than rushing to buy yet another subscription.

What you'll learn in the podcast episode:

- Why not being first to adopt AI doesn't mean you are behind, and why history backs this up

- The three things you should do before spending a penny or an hour on any AI tool, including why mapping your existing workflows comes before choosing any software

- Why a significant amount of what is being marketed as AI may already exist in the software sitting on your desktop, and how to check before you spend more

- The real data security risk that most small firms are completely unaware of

Why the firms that built sustainable practices around social media were rarely the first movers, and how that lesson applies directly to how you should be thinking about AI today

Related episodes:

What I wish I had known 3 years ago: https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/what-i-wish-i-had-known-3-years-ago

How AI has broken 2 of my businesses and what I am doing about it https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-ai-has-broken-2-of-my-businesses

How to fix your business strategy in 6 steps https://startuptogrownup.substack.com/p/how-to-fix-your-business-strategy

Useful links:

- sign up as a paid subscriber and use this link to get 20% off an annual membership of Start Up To Grown Up

Welcome to a free podcast episode of Start Up To Grown Up: Your source for ideas, insights and tactics to take back control of your business and scale it sustainably and profitably by Heather Townsend, award-winning author of The Accountants’ Millionaires’ Club and Founder of The Accountants’ Growth Club

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