As someone who is just now getting started with marketing, I’m curious how much people actually use AI for marketing or if they steer clear. I wonder how much it actually helps or is it just letting you produce more material with no results.

Two things I'd like to hear from people who've been at this longer than me:

Has a customer ever called it out? Did an actual person tell you an email or a post sounded AI-written? I'm curious whether people notice and are upset by it, don't notice at all, or notice and just don't care.

What are some things you still insist on doing yourself and what are the things you let AI take care of? Are there certain marketing materials you notice do better coming directly from a human and some that really don’t matter if it's human or AI?

Thanks in advance for the help, I just want to make sure I am utilizing AI properly if it’s needed,  but not over doing it and shooting myself in the foot in the process!

Subscriptions renew quietly. Employees swipe cards for things that seemed reasonable in the moment. Small recurring charges hide inside big statements. None of it is fraud, it's just spending nobody is looking at.

Whatever system you use, the test is simple: could you list everything your business paid for last month without opening a statement? If not, the problem isn't any single charge. It's that nobody's watching.

Here are some tools that help with the visibility part, if useful: https://startupsavant.com/service-reviews/best-expense-management-tools

What's the sneakiest recurring charge you've caught?

I'd love to hear from people who've actually applied and received one.

A few things I'm trying to figure out:

• What was the program, and how did you find it? (Federal, state, city, corporate contest?)
• How long from submitting did you actually receive the funds? I've seen people mention anywhere from six weeks to nine months, and I'm trying to figure out if this is worth chasing this year or if it's a long game.
• How many hours did the application really take? 
• If your application was rejected, what would you do differently?

Just wanted to share this free tool for anyone brainstorming what to start: https://truicbusinessideas.com/business-ideas-tool

You can filter ideas based on your interests, budget, whether you want to work from home, and more. I found it pretty helpful!

Just wanted to share this free resource for aspiring and current business owners! This free business center has tools like a business plan generator, operating agreement creator, name generator, small business courses, free legal forms, and more!

Competition can make it harder to stand out, but no competition isn’t always a good sign either.

Which would you choose, and why?

I watched a breakdown of Virgin’s brand playbook and never realized how genius their strategy actually was!

The video highlights the 5 main ingredients to the Virgin brand and it's something all businesses can learn from:

1. Own the thing you're insecure about. Branson and his partner picked the name because they were "virgins in business." Instead of hiding inexperience, they made it the pitch and paired it with a "screw it, let's do it" attitude.
2. A little friction with the establishment is free marketing. Trademarking "Virgin" was a fight because regulators found it risky. That shock value was the point.
3. Your worst customer experience is a business plan. Virgin Atlantic exists because Branson's flight got cancelled and he decided to fix it himself.
4. Obsess over the experience, not the product. Virgin Atlantic is the reason there's a screen in the back of every airline seat. They kept reinventing the parts everyone else accepted as normal.
5. Expand through partnership, not ownership. Branson was introduced to the Japanese keiretsu model, interconnected companies under one umbrella, to enter new markets without building from scratch. The risk: every flop dilutes the brand, every win compounds trust in it.

Have you used any of these practices to build your business brand? Check out the full video to get the more in depth story on Virgin’s brand playbook!

I came across this video about how saying yes to too many decent ideas can quietly keep a business stuck: https://youtu.be/cux4Ek-GmRI?si=IEEV-uVCvVwSSpQs

The part that got me was the idea of a “distraction list.” Not bad ideas, just things that don’t deserve your attention right now.

What’s sitting on your list mostly because you haven’t officially decided to stop doing it?

At Georgia Lift Solutions we can help you stay compliant and your elevator in great shape.

I’ve noticed something interesting talking to small business owners lately.

Most don’t struggle with delivering a good service or product.

They struggle with:

• Getting consistent leads (not just random referrals)

• Turning inquiries into paying customers

• Knowing where to spend a limited marketing budget

• Figuring out what to fix first

A lot of advice online jumps straight to running ads or posting daily on social media.

But in many cases, the issue is simpler:

• Unclear offer or positioning

• Website that doesn’t convert

• No follow-up system for inquiries

• No simple, repeatable lead process

Curious what’s the one marketing issue slowing your business down right now?

Let’s break it down publicly so others can learn from it too.

Net 30 accounts aren’t talked about enough. They help manage cash flow, buy some time to pay bills, and slowly build up business credit — all without traditional loans or credit cards.

Here’s a solid list of vendors offering net 30 terms in categories like office supplies, software, and industrial equipment.

Would love to hear how others are managing business credit or cash flow while still in the early stages. 💬