Are you an established solopreneur, creator, or micro-business owner who's hit a ceiling? You're successful, but you're trapped—drowning in administrative tasks, struggling to keep up with marketing, and realizing that your income is directly tied to the hours you work. You know AI is the answer, but you're overwhelmed by the hype and don't know where to start.
"The AI Hat Podcast" is your practical guide to escaping the grind.
This isn't another show about abstract AI theory. This is a workshop for building your AI-powered operational engine, piece by piece. Join your host, Mike Allton—a fellow solopreneur and AI architect—as he provides step-by-step "AI Workflow Teardowns" designed to solve your biggest bottlenecks.
You’ll learn how to:
Reclaim 15+ hours a week by identifying and automating the repetitive tasks that consume your day.
Build custom "AI Agents" that act as your social media manager, content assistant, and operations coordinator.
Achieve true scalability by designing systems that grow your business without requiring you to hire more staff.
Apply the H.U.M.A.N. Framework to ensure AI augments your unique creativity and expertise, rather than replacing it.
This show is for the ambitious Growth Architect who is ready to move from operator to owner.
Start your journey to scalability now by downloading our free Scalability Audit at TheAIHat.com/download/scalability/.
And join the conversation with Mike on Instagram @mike.allton at https://www.instagram.com/mike.allton/, where he shares daily tips and behind-the-scenes looks at building an AI-powered business.
All content for AI for Solopreneurs: The AI Hat Podcast is the property of Mike Allton and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
Are you an established solopreneur, creator, or micro-business owner who's hit a ceiling? You're successful, but you're trapped—drowning in administrative tasks, struggling to keep up with marketing, and realizing that your income is directly tied to the hours you work. You know AI is the answer, but you're overwhelmed by the hype and don't know where to start.
"The AI Hat Podcast" is your practical guide to escaping the grind.
This isn't another show about abstract AI theory. This is a workshop for building your AI-powered operational engine, piece by piece. Join your host, Mike Allton—a fellow solopreneur and AI architect—as he provides step-by-step "AI Workflow Teardowns" designed to solve your biggest bottlenecks.
You’ll learn how to:
Reclaim 15+ hours a week by identifying and automating the repetitive tasks that consume your day.
Build custom "AI Agents" that act as your social media manager, content assistant, and operations coordinator.
Achieve true scalability by designing systems that grow your business without requiring you to hire more staff.
Apply the H.U.M.A.N. Framework to ensure AI augments your unique creativity and expertise, rather than replacing it.
This show is for the ambitious Growth Architect who is ready to move from operator to owner.
Start your journey to scalability now by downloading our free Scalability Audit at TheAIHat.com/download/scalability/.
And join the conversation with Mike on Instagram @mike.allton at https://www.instagram.com/mike.allton/, where he shares daily tips and behind-the-scenes looks at building an AI-powered business.
Stop Lying to Yourself: How AI Reveals Your Real Time Investment
AI for Solopreneurs: The AI Hat Podcast
48 minutes
1 day ago
Stop Lying to Yourself: How AI Reveals Your Real Time Investment
How many times have you told yourself that podcast will only take an hour to record? Or that client proposal? Just thirty minutes, right? Here's the uncomfortable truth every solopreneur needs to face: you're lying to yourself about how long things actually take. And that lie is keeping you trapped in operator mode instead of scaling to owner mode.
The problem isn't that you're bad at time management; it's that you've never truly measured what your workflows actually require. That's where today's guest comes in with a revelation that changed everything about how he runs his business.
Rich Brooks discovered that his "one-hour" podcast actually consumed three full hours of his time. But instead of throwing in the towel, he used AI to map every minute of that process and create systems that handle the heavy lifting. As the founder of Flyte New Media and host of The Agents of Change Digital Marketing Podcast with over 600 episodes, Rich has mastered the art of turning time-intensive processes into AI-powered efficiency machines. He's the perfect guide to help you stop underestimating your workflows and start building systems that actually scale.
The AI Hat Podcast host Mike Allton asked Rich Brooks about:
✨ Time Truth-Telling: Discover how to accurately track where your hours really go and why most solopreneurs underestimate by 200%.
✨ AI Workflow Mapping: Learn Rich's proven process for identifying time drains and building custom AI assistants to handle repetitive tasks.
✨ Scale Without Staff: See exactly how one conversation becomes ten pieces of content through systematic AI integration.
Learn more about Rich Brooks
Connect with Rich Brooks on LinkedIn
Resources & Brands mentioned in this episode
Flyte New Media
Agents of Change
Scalability Audit
Fathom
Descript
AI Solopreneur OS Community
Notion
AI-Powered Blueprint for Solopreneurs
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Winning with Quality Over Quantity
00:19 AI-Powered Proposal Writing
02:17 Introducing The AI Hat Podcast
02:40 The Reality of Time Management for Solopreneurs
03:09 Guest Introduction: Rich Brooks
04:31 Revelation: The True Time Cost of Podcasting
07:39 Time Tracking and Workflow Optimization
10:12 Automating Podcast Production with AI
10:42 Using Text Expander for Efficiency
12:34 Integrating AI in Podcast Production
16:38 SEO and AI: Enhancing Podcast Visibility
25:28 Evaluating AI-Generated Content
26:42 Comparing Major LLMs: Chat GPT, Gemini, and Claude
27:05 Customizing AI for Your Needs
27:34 SEO and Content Repurposing Strategies
30:09 AI in Proposal Writing
33:24 Recording and Utilizing Client Calls
34:14 LinkedIn Newsletters and AI Integration
36:19 Creating Accurate AI Voice Docs
3:56 Final Thoughts and Recommendations
45:55 Conclusion and Resources
SHOW TRANSCRIPT & NOTES: https://theaihat.com/stop-lying-to-yourself-how-ai-reveals-your-real-time-investment/
Feeling stuck on the solopreneur hamster wheel? Diagnose your biggest bottleneck in just 15 minutes with my free Scalability Audit. Download it now at: https://theaihat.com/download/scalability/
Produced and Hosted by Mike Allton, founder of The AI Hat. He's a Business Systems Strategist who helps overworked solopreneurs and creators stop being employees in their own businesses. After building his own successful solo ventures for over a decade, Mike now teaches entrepreneurs how to build AI-powered operational systems that reclaim their time and allow them to finally scale.
Interested in being a guest? We're looking for experts who help solopreneurs build better, more scalable businesses. Reach out to Mike to learn more.
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AI for Solopreneurs: The AI Hat Podcast
Are you an established solopreneur, creator, or micro-business owner who's hit a ceiling? You're successful, but you're trapped—drowning in administrative tasks, struggling to keep up with marketing, and realizing that your income is directly tied to the hours you work. You know AI is the answer, but you're overwhelmed by the hype and don't know where to start.
"The AI Hat Podcast" is your practical guide to escaping the grind.
This isn't another show about abstract AI theory. This is a workshop for building your AI-powered operational engine, piece by piece. Join your host, Mike Allton—a fellow solopreneur and AI architect—as he provides step-by-step "AI Workflow Teardowns" designed to solve your biggest bottlenecks.
You’ll learn how to:
Reclaim 15+ hours a week by identifying and automating the repetitive tasks that consume your day.
Build custom "AI Agents" that act as your social media manager, content assistant, and operations coordinator.
Achieve true scalability by designing systems that grow your business without requiring you to hire more staff.
Apply the H.U.M.A.N. Framework to ensure AI augments your unique creativity and expertise, rather than replacing it.
This show is for the ambitious Growth Architect who is ready to move from operator to owner.
Start your journey to scalability now by downloading our free Scalability Audit at TheAIHat.com/download/scalability/.
And join the conversation with Mike on Instagram @mike.allton at https://www.instagram.com/mike.allton/, where he shares daily tips and behind-the-scenes looks at building an AI-powered business.
