When I launched A Better Lemonade Stand in 2012, fueled by curiosity and a desire to explore online businesses, I never imagined the incredible, life-long journey ahead. Twelve years later, that same curiosity drives me forward, guiding me through this incredible moment in history, which I call the Digital Renaissance.
Your support as subscribers inspires me to share this journey. For those who have been with me for a while, thank you. To the newcomers, welcome! After 12 years of building online businesses, I’ve never been more optimistic about the future for entrepreneurs.
The best is yet to come.
A Quick Update
As summer is in full swing, I’ll be shifting to a bi-weekly publication schedule. Since welcoming my daughter, my time has become even more precious.
Producing each newsletter demands well over a dozen hours of effort each week. I’ll be reallocating this time to focus on building my private community, and further developing my skills in AI, no-code, and automation.
Rest assured, you’ll still hear from me regularly, just at a more relaxed summer pace.
A Bold Prediction
Yesterday was a trifecta of celebrations—Canada Day, my daughter’s 4-month milestone, and a friend’s 40th birthday.
Hanging out with some old friends at a BBQ led to a thought-provoking conversation about AI. When I boldly predicted that within 3-5 years, AI would negatively impact or replace 50% of all jobs, it sparked skepticism and pushback from others around the grill.
Admittedly, I’m neither a data scientist, AI researcher, nor economist. However, I’ve closely tracked AI’s capabilities and rapid advances for the past two years, coupled with my decade-long study of consumer and market trends.
This prediction isn’t merely speculative; we’re already witnessing real-world examples.
Just last week, I shared an article about Benjamin Miller, who in early 2023 led a team of over 60 writers and editors creating engaging content for a tech company. The introduction of AI to cut costs transformed his role drastically. AI-generated outlines soon replaced the team’s brainstorming, and within months, ChatGPT was writing entire articles, leading to massive layoffs.
By 2024, Miller found himself alone, tasked with editing repetitive and often subpar AI-generated content. Eventually, even this role was deemed unnecessary, and he too was laid off. Ironically, he later secured a job at a company developing software to make AI writing less detectable, continuing his work with AI in a different capacity.
Miller’s experience underscores the profound impact AI is already having on employment across sectors. And this is just the beginning.
Upon reflecting on the breathtaking pace of AI advancements since the conversation yesterday, I’m compelled to refine and backup my initial prediction:
In 3-5 years, we’re poised for a seismic shift in our job market and societal structures due to AI advancements and integration.
Consider this: ChatGPT 3.5, debuted in November 2022. In just a year and a half, it has already reshaped our world in myriad ways.
Currently, public Large Language Models (LLMs) operate at roughly a high school level of intelligence. And at that level, we’re witnessing a democratization of media creation across written content, music, voice, sound effects, and coding with tools like:
OpenAI recently suggested that ChatGPT 5, will achieve PhD-level intelligence.
Soon, AI models will be able to take actions in your browser or other software, dramatically expanding their capabilities.
The next significant leap will be the progress of AI agents – autonomous systems capable of breaking down complex goals into manageable tasks and executing them independently. By ChatGPT 6, we may see AI begin to replace software itself, as many apps are essentially interfaces for humans to accomplish specific tasks. Image by John Rush
With versions 7 and 8, it’s conceivable that AI could surpass all human intelligence, capabilities, and dexterity, working faster and more accurately without breaks. And this is merely the beginning. Beyond creative roles, consider the potential impact on customer service, content moderation, and countless other sectors.
The pace of AI advancement is staggering. In just the last six months, we’ve witnessed numerous major updates, from larger context windows to multimodal AI capabilities that can process and generate various data types, including text, images, audio, and video.
The Potential-Practice Paradox of AI
We’re currently navigating the ‘potential-practice paradox’ phase of AI, where its potential far outstrips our ability to seamlessly incorporate it into our workflows. It might appear that AI has plateaued (as one of my friends argued), but that’s an illusion born from our own limitations in keeping pace with its rapid evolution.
The reality is that AI’s capabilities are expanding at a breakneck speed. The challenge lies not in AI’s abilities but in our capacity to effectively harness them.
At present, leveraging AI requires a fragmented, multi-step process. You must must first identify a specific task or process within their business, then determine if and how AI could optimize it. Next, they need to select an appropriate AI tool, provide it with context, break down the task into manageable chunks, and work through each piece with the AI to achieve the desired outcome. Finally, they must bring that output back to where it’s actually needed.
This process demands a high level of strategic thinking and familiarity with AI capabilities to achieve favorable results. It’s a far cry from the seamless integration we envision for the future. The current state is clunky and inefficient, requiring users to bridge the gap between AI’s potential and its practical application in their specific contexts.
Companies are grappling with this disconnect, trying to find effective ways to implement AI into their existing systems and processes. The technology is ready and expanding quickly, but we’re still learning how to dance with it effectively.
This will all get worked out over the next few years.
Our World Operating System Requires an Update
The operating system for our world has served us well thus far, with constant maintenance and tweaking to adapt to societal changes. However, that operating system now seems increasingly incompatible with what’s coming.
AI feels fundamentally different from past technological revolutions.
Supporting this prediction is the recent spike in corporate mentions of “operational efficiency,” as shown in the chart below.
This chart highlights a dramatic increase in discussions around operational efficiency in corporate transcripts. Historically, such trends often precede significant shifts in workforce dynamics, including mass layoffs. This pattern suggests that businesses are gearing up for a transformative phase, likely driven by advancements in AI and automation.
The Robots Are Coming
Parallel to the AI revolution, humanoid robotics is poised for a breakthrough that will amplify AI’s impact. As the technologist Joe Scott points out, we’re heading towards a robotic labor force and an industrial “production arms race.” Agile robots could act as a powerful force multiplier, accelerating AI’s disruptive capabilities.
While the full integration of robotic labor may take longer than my 3-5 year prediction for seismic job market shifts, the signs point to agility robotics becoming increasingly commonplace in our society and workplaces. Expect factories, warehouses, logistics operations, and even service roles being augmented or supplanted by fleets of dexterous robot workers, powered by advanced AI minds.
Recently, BMW has partnered with Figure to deploy humanoid robots at its Spartanburg, South Carolina manufacturing plant. This collaboration marks a significant milestone as it represents one of the first commercial agreements to integrate general-purpose humanoid robots into a manufacturing environment. Figure’s humanoid robot, known as Figure 01, will initially be tasked with specific jobs within the plant, such as body shop work and warehouse logistics. The deployment of these robots underscores the growing trend of integrating advanced robotics into manufacturing to enhance productivity and efficiency.
Similarly, Amazon has significantly expanded its use of robotics, deploying over 750,000 robots across its facilities. This shift has been a key part of their strategy to enhance efficiency, safety, and delivery speed by automating repetitive tasks traditionally handled by human workers. The integration of robots like Sequoia and Digit plays a crucial role in this transition. Sequoia enhances inventory management and order processing, while Digit, a bipedal robot developed in collaboration with Agility Robotics, is designed to handle tasks like moving empty tote boxes and navigating human-designed spaces.
If you’re curious to learn more about the current state of humanoid robots, Bots Like You provides insights into their evolution and capabilities.
This convergence of artificial intelligence and robotic automation could reshape entire sectors at a pace we can scarcely comprehend. As these technologies continue advancing exponentially, the dawning of a new robotic labor era seems not just plausible, but inevitable. The robots are indeed coming – and their impacts could be profound, redefining the very nature of work and human employment as we know it.
As Tony Seba highlights in a recent article, “This time, we are the horses,” referring to the rapid obsolescence of horse-drawn transport in the early 20th century. Between 1907 and 1922, horses went from providing 95% of all private vehicle-miles traveled on American roads to less than 20%.
Despite these predictions, I remain very optimistic. Whether or not the metaphorical sky falls, the best preparation is versatility.
The best way to keep a job in the future is to do the opposite of what our parents did: Don’t rely too heavily on any single job. Make yourself indispensable by acquiring more than a single skill, and combine those skills in interesting ways, finding where your talents and passions can align with the demands of an ever-changing market.”
Jeff Goins
This is precisely my strategy, and I encourage you to consider adopting a similar approach as we navigate this exciting, if uncertain, future.
AI is going to disrupt and break many things, but it also presents unprecedented opportunities for those prepared to adapt.
If what I’m saying above resonates with you, I am building a private community that you might be interested in.
Space is a community I’m creating for entrepreneurs, creators, and digital explorers who are passionate about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible online and preparing for what’s next.
After over a decade in the digital business world, I’ve seen firsthand the power of connecting with like-minded individuals.
That’s exactly what Space is all about.
In Space, we’ll be building a community focusing on:
- Leveraging AI, no-code, and automation in our businesses
- Creating and launching impactful digital products
- Building sustainable online business models
- Developing strong personal brands in the digital age
This community is for those of us who are always looking ahead, ready to adapt and innovate as the digital landscape evolves.
I’m curating this group carefully to ensure we build something truly valuable. If you’re intrigued by Space and what we’ll be exploring together, you can sign up to the wait list here.
Ok, with all of that out of the way, here are all the highlights this week:
- 👨💻 Remote Job Boards on the Rise: How specialized job boards tap into the growing remote work market for solopreneurs.
- 🖋️ Eddie Shleyner’s 68k Subscriber Success: Growth strategies and monetization methods that grew Eddie’s copywriting newsletter.
- 💰 The Power of Exact Match Domains: A traffic-driving strategy using exact match domains to improve SEO rankings and targeted traffic.
- 👩💻 AI’s Impact on Coding: Coding experts share AI’s role in automation, problem-solving, and ethical concerns in programming.
See you in 2 weeks! 👋🏼
📈 Trends
👨💻 Hyper-Niche Remote Job Boards
As the job market evolves, so does how we find and fill positions. Hyper niche remote job boards are gaining traction in 2024. This survey reveals that 36.2 million Americans will be working remotely by 2025, an 87% increase from pre-pandemic levels.
Creating a niche-focused remote job board is an excellent opportunity to tap into this growing trend. These more specialized platforms are the future of remote recruitment.
The Problem with Generic Job Boards
Generic job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn cater to a wide audience, often leading to irrelevant listings and a lack of precision in matching job seekers with employers. This inefficiency can result in missed opportunities and frustration for both parties when searching for remote work.
According to Statista, niche job boards receive up to 3 times more relevant applications than general job boards.
Why Build a Niche Remote Job Board?
- High-Profit Margins: Remote job boards offer some of the best profit margins in the industry due to minimal overhead costs.
- Accessibility for Non-Coders:Creating a job board no longer requires extensive coding skills. With no-code platforms like Job Boardly, you can launch a remote job board quickly and efficiently.
- Creators Welcome: Building a niche job board establishes a platform to monetize and nurture your specific community if you decide to act on last week’s trend by helping them find better remote job opportunities.
How to Get Started
Here’s how you can get started and start monetizing your job board:
- Choose a Niche: Identify a specific industry, profession, or skill underserved by existing remote job boards. For example, automation engineers.
- Set Up the Platform: Use a tool like Job Boardly to create and customize your remote job board quickly.
- Market Your Job Board: Implement effective SEO and social media strategies to attract job seekers and employers.
- Monetize: Use various monetization strategies, such as charging for job posting fees, subscriptions, and sponsorships.
Getting Your First Applicants
To attract job seekers initially, consider these strategies:
- Crawl Jobs: Like RemoteOK and Startup.jobs, start by crawling jobs from other sites and adding them for free. This attracts applicants, and once you have those, you can start making companies pay.
- Manual Outreach: Reach out to companies you already have relationships with and ask them to post their jobs on your platform.
- Leverage Networks: Use your personal and professional networks to attract job seekers and employers.
Learn From This Real-World Example
Eric Turner, founder of Japan Dev, built a successful niche job board focusing on tech jobs in Japan. Here’s a quick breakdown of how Japan Dev became a thriving business:
- Early Stages: Eric started with a Trello board, listing companies that met his criteria: good work/life balance, good salaries, a modern tech stack, and an international vibe. Over time, he expanded this list and shared it on Reddit and Hacker News platforms.
- Marketing Channels:Japan Dev’s growth was fueled by effective marketing strategies:
- SEO: Creating content for long-tail keywords and using structured data for better visibility on Google.
- Email Marketing: Building an email list and sending regular job alerts.
- Social Media: Engaging with audiences on Twitter and LinkedIn while running ads on Facebook and Instagram.
💡 Insights
🖋️ Eddie Shleyner’s 68k Subscriber Growth Loop
Eddie Shleyner transformed from a novice to a professional copywriter, amassing nearly 70,000 subscribers and generating over 7-figures with his copywriting newsletter.
- Effective Growth Strategies: Eddie’s success stems from tactics like guest posting, building a repository of ideas (“The Well”), and implementing a LinkedIn growth loop similar to Harry Dry’s tactics I mentioned last week.
- Monetization Mastery: Leverages newsletter sponsorships, paid courses, consulting, and a unique service called 2-Hour CopyEdit to generate income. His course alone has brought in over $500k.
- Thoughts: One key aspect of Eddie’s success is his understanding of the importance of taking time off. Many gurus stress the need for ‘consistency’ to avoid losing your audience, which often leads to burnout.
🔗 Read Eddie’s Newsletter Growth Strategy
💰 The Untapped Potential of Exact Match Domains
Ian shares his newfound strategy for driving traffic through exact match domains, which align perfectly with high-search-volume keywords.
- Effective SEO Strategy: Exact Match Domains, like his ‘grandrapidsmovers.com’ example, can significantly improve your SEO rankings and attract targeted traffic, debunking the myth that Google devalues them.
- Hidden Treasures: Many valuable EMDs are still available for hand registration at low costs, presenting lucrative opportunities for you.
- Thoughts: This is something to consider if you looking to dominate certain niches, as you can create sites that attract significant organic traffic with minimal investment.
🔗 Get Ian’s EMD Examples
👩💻 How AI’s Impacting Coding
Matt Wolf and Nathan Lens talk with coding expert Maria Shaw about AI’s impact on the coding profession, automation in coding tasks, and ethical considerations.
- Symbiotic Relationship: Maria Shaw discusses how AI can handle routine coding tasks, allowing coders to focus on creative problem-solving. This could lead to a new class of “uber engineers” managing AI bots to enhance productivity.
- Ethical Concerns: Shaw highlights the ethical implications of AI in coding, including job displacement and cybersecurity risks, stressing the importance of frequent updates to AI models to address vulnerabilities.
- Thoughts: I see integrating AI co-pilots supporting the developer’s process as a tool, as it enables automating repetitive coding, debugging, and documentation tasks. This allows developers to focus on creativity and complex problem-solving.
🔗 Explore the Future of Coding in AI
🧰 Apps & Tools
🎙️ Castmagic: AI-powered content workspace to transform audio into valuable content. Import, transcribe, and generate customized articles, emails, and social posts.
🖍️ Meta AI: Bring children’s drawings to life by animating characters to move around. Perfect for sparking creativity and integrating fun interactions with kids’ artwork in your work.
➰ Gumloop: Similar to Hunch and Mindstudio. This tool allows you to build AI workflows without the need for coding.
💬 Respired: AI-powered social media management tool that automates your content creation, scheduling, and analytics.
🤖 Product Updates
🎨 Figma Releases AI Tools to Rival Adobe
Figma has introduced a suite of AI design tools to challenge Adobe’s dominance in the creative software market. These new features help streamline and enhance the design process.
- Design Efficiency: Figma’s AI tools include automated layout suggestions, smart object recognition, and design pattern recommendations, allowing designers to work more efficiently by reducing repetitive tasks and providing design suggestions.
- Collaboration: The tools are designed to integrate seamlessly with Figma’s existing collaborative features, enhancing team workflows and enabling real-time design iterations.
- Thoughts: Design is an important skill in the digital renaissance. It helps you stand out from the crowd like Janis. With Figma adding AI, it’s a great time to jump in and learn it.
🔗 Learn More About Figma’s Latest AI Tools
📧 Google Integrates Gemini AI into Gmail
Google has rolled out Gemini AI, an AI sidebar for Gmail, designed to enhance email productivity. It’s part of the company’s efforts to integrate more AI into its workspace tools.
- Streamlined Email Management: The Gemini AI sidebar offers functionalities such as smart email categorization, automatic reply suggestions, and priority tagging. This helps users manage their inboxes more efficiently by identifying important emails and suggesting relevant responses.
- Contextual Assistance: Gemini AI provides contextual information and insights related to email content, assisting users in drafting well-informed replies and organizing their emails effectively.
- Thoughts: Email is a vital part of daily operations. By automating routine email tasks and providing contextual assistance, you can streamline communication and focus more on strategic activities.
🔗 Read More on Gemini
🛒 Shopify Introduces AI Sidekick Chatbot
Shopify has launched its new chatbot, Sidekick, which is designed to assist merchants in managing their online stores more efficiently.
- Enhanced Store Management: Sidekick can handle inventory management, order processing, and customer inquiries. This allows merchants to automate routine operations, reducing the time spent on administrative work and improving store efficiency.
- Intelligent Customer Support: The chatbot provides smart responses to customer queries, drawing from a vast database of common questions and answers, ensuring quicker response times and enhanced customer satisfaction.
- Thoughts: Great shift towards automating repetitive tasks and improving customer support so you can focus more on strategic growth and innovation.
🔗 Check Out Shopify’s New AI Sidekick
🖇️ Everything Else
🎶 The Music Cartel is Suing Udio and Suno: This feels like the fight 25 years ago when the music cartel went after Napster, as AI is disrupting the music industry. (🔗Insights)
✍️ Impact of AI on Accounting: How AI will reshape accounting, from automating tasks to facing a potential workforce deficit. (🔗Insights)
🔙 Backlink Hacks: Scroll through over 50+ ‘sneaky’ backlink strategies to help grow your project. (🔗Insights)
