Growth comes from stretching yourself into new challenges, then actually acting on them. That was the real theme of day one at Growth Hacking Live, which I am attending right now here in Dallas.
Before I sat in a single session, I built two tools using AI, because preparing for this event triggered ideas for me to be ready in an entirely different way.
The first is a CRM. I've tried the popular options and found most of them too complex, tracking details I don't need while missing the ones I do. So I built my own. It integrates with the tools I already use and captures exactly the information I care about, because when I check in with someone, it's for a specific reason and there's a specific action I have in mind.
The second is a notebook in Notion, built with prompts in Perplexity, to track speaker notes, ideas for future summits I might host, and notes on the people I'm meeting at the conference, which will feed to the new CRM. Once I knew exactly what I wanted, it took about ten minutes to build. The clarity took longer than the build itself.
That's the real lesson from day one, and it's bigger than either tool. You can build, design, or create almost anything you can clearly visualize now. The hard part was never the building. It's doing the work to know exactly what you want first.
A few things from today's sessions that stuck with me, and that line up with what I already believe:
- Complexity is a tax. The more people and steps a business adds to do something simple, the more it costs to run. The fix isn't more headcount, it's a clearer system.
- Never hand a machine the decisions that need human judgment. Repeatable tasks can be automated. Anything that requires reading a person, a relationship, or a room still needs a person.
- Own your audience. A customer list and an actual audience are two different assets, and you need both. Being clear about exactly who you are is what makes you valuable in a noisy market.
- Attention and wisdom are getting more expensive. Hyper-personal, real connection, whether on video or in person, is what still cuts through. (I have been saying this for years.)
None of this is actually new to what I teach. It's just more proof that your experience is a unique asset in a world where AI can help anyone move more quickly.
I'm here this week to get sharper at building and using AI systems that support my work and the goals of my clients. If this has you thinking about what you'd build for your own business, ask yourself the same question I asked myself before I opened a single tool: what do you actually want it to do? Get clear on that first. The building is the easy part.
Your expertise does not have to disappear because the tools changed. Merging the two is what makes you so much more powerful.
This is exactly what I help people build: not just the confidence to get on camera, but the system behind visibility, so you can be seen consistently without it taking over your life.
Not sure where to start visualizing your own next step? Start with my Digital Authority Audit. It takes a few minutes and shows you exactly where to focus first.
Talk soon,
Tanya
P.S. Have you ever asked AI to recommend someone in your field? Hit reply and tell me what came up. I read every reply.
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