Should I Stop Reading the News and Watching YouTube about AI?
Like most people, I get bombarded with news from every direction — and I listen to it. Lately, it feels like there’s an overwhelming amount of bad news. Maybe today’s cold, rainy weather isn’t helping my outlook either.
But it got me thinking about how business owners are coping with the current economic climate and growing customer uncertainty. I’m not technically a business owner anymore — I sold my business a couple of years ago — but I still work closely with the new owners. And after 35 years in business, that mindset doesn’t just vanish.
Over those three and a half decades, we’ve worked with thousands of business owners to help them get their financial act together. One pattern I’ve seen repeatedly: when times are good, many business owners act as if the good times will never end — that sales and cash flow will keep rolling in indefinitely. But the truth is, business cycles always have ups and downs. The mistake is not preparing for the downs.
Just today, one of our CFOs told me about a client with a large overdraft (secured against his home) and upcoming regulations that could render his business uncompetitive. His challenge is clear: what is he going to do about it? He employs 12 people and understandably feels responsible for them.
The CFO suggested a small price increase. The client hesitated, fearing he’d lose customers to competitors. But here’s the twist — after implementing the price increase, sales didn’t fall at all. Why? Because he has a strong reputation. Customers are willing to pay a little more to deal with a business they trust. In today’s world, that kind of reputation stands out.
Then there’s all the talk about AI — often painted in apocalyptic tones, predicting job losses and existential crises. It reminds me of the Y2K panic. If you’re under 40, you might not remember the “Chicken Little” forecasts about planes falling out of the sky. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.
I also remember the anxiety around the introduction of the GST in 2000. Some business owners even claimed, “GST will put me out of business.” What nonsense! If GST could sink your business, it probably wasn’t sustainable to begin with. All you needed was a decent system to manage it — collect the GST, don’t spend it, and claim credits properly. Not exactly rocket science.
So, back to AI. Whether you see it as a threat or an opportunity likely depends on whether you’re a glass-half-empty or half-full kind of person. The way I see it, AI is just the new buzzword for tools many of us already use — like Gmail’s writing assistant or apps like Otter.ai that help take and summarise notes.
These tools won’t replace you. They’ll help you save time, be more productive, and reduce errors. Humans still crave human interaction. Sure, some jobs may disappear — but they’re often the mind-numbing ones no one really wants to do anyway. The key is to shift towards roles AI can’t easily replicate — caring professions, creative roles, skilled trades, and so on.
I’m reminded of a seminar I attended years ago, just as the internet was taking off. (Pre-webinar days — we had to attend in person!) The guest speaker, Phil Ryven — a futurist and analyst — addressed all the panic about this new thing called the internet.
He described it as a freight train barreling down the tracks, and said we had three options:
- Stay on the tracks and get run over
- Step aside and watch it go by
- Jump on the train
I went back to the office and said, “We’ve got to get on this train!” And we did. It was a big investment at the time, but one of the best we ever made. Had we ignored that advice, I doubt we’d have stayed in business.
So here’s the takeaway: focus on abundance, not scarcity. Embrace change. Learn what AI can do for you and how it can make your business (and life) better. Use it to improve your productivity and stay ahead of the curve — rather than being left behind.
PS I ran this article through ChatGPT to tidy it up. ChatGPT didn’t write it!
