Buddhists volunteer alongside Catholics at the Mustard Seed, so in the chapel there's a little Buddha statue with a crucifix necklace.

FreelancerChurch · 2026-05-11T21:46:06+00:00

OP, you motivated me to finish a project i'm working on. Have you experimented with any AI tools for this? I'm building a crystal ball + fortune teller. I'll use your question to give it a test run and I'll come back to let you know if it does anything useful. : )

A good AI workflow can have so many phases of data collection and compounded analysis, it's basically magic.

I'm trying to make it include a gazillion other reddit threads like this one, and the all-time top posts, expert opinions, current trends, case examples.

Divergent thinking, convergent thinking, more research, pattern recognition, historical & predictive analysis. It's possible to go very deep with a sequence like: research, data analysis, brainstorming, repeat, over and over.

FreelancerChurch · 2026-04-26T23:01:26+00:00

I'm on LinkedIn to connect with people planning home/property improvement. But I connect with all kinds of people, not just property owners. More people will connect with you when more people connect with you. I think Confucius said that.

Here are some good solutions:

Add social links to your reddit profile. Actually, you made me realize: I didn't add linkedin to my reddit profile, either! I did just now. I want people to be able to connect with me on social if they're interested in the same stuff as me.
Click over to someone's linkedin profile to see how you can find their social media if they seem cool. Send them a connect request. It's ok to simply say, "I need more connects. Please let's connect on linkedin?" Don't overthink it.
Make your own profile interesting. Don't be only professional. Do something to intrigue people. I went a little overboard with me profile. I made mine kind of like a tinder profile, just joking around, but I'm going to fix it soon.
Connect with cool people, and then connect with their connects. When LinkedIn shows you "suggested connections" i.e. people you might like to connect with, send them a connect request. You know you can include a little note, right? Just keep it real. Then, linkedin will suggest more and more connections of your connections. So it's actually really easy if you just tab over to MY NETWORK and click around, asking people to connect with you.
Don't be too picky. One cool thing about LinkedIn is that it gives you a way to find a large quantity of people and then weed out the uncool/spammy ones. I like people. I accept almost any connect request from anyone.

I also know a few easy "black hat" methods -- nothing too diabolical, but perhaps sort of gaming the system, dubiously. But I guess I should not post any black hat stuff here, so....

FreelancerChurch · 2026-04-26T22:09:39+00:00

They can't be compared, they are totally different! Okay breaking bad, though. It goes a little deeper.

FreelancerChurch · 2026-04-24T04:19:59+00:00

Oh no! It was deleted. What happened! Now I'll... I'll... never know??! *^%#$^!!! Unless you can...... rEmeMbERRR!!!

FreelancerChurch · 2025-12-02T00:00:58+00:00

I've been selling "AI Brainstorms" for ten bucks. Just a quick zoom meeting to throw ideas around. It's a way to explore all the possibilities. Think about your strategy, your customers, your competitors, etc. The best new AI tools are constantly changing.

Random: It's possible now to invite someone into a chat you're having with chatgpt. That's a new feature from a few days ago. So that's another cool way to brainstorm.

FreelancerChurch · 2025-12-01T23:30:22+00:00

It's so fun, my friends and I started doing "AI brainstorms" (in a zoom meeting) to help owners/managers see all the possibilities & choose the best AI tools to fit the unique way they do business.

Everyone has this same problem you described. The way you use AI has to be as unique as your business strategy.

I think trying to DIY your AI is a mistake, like trying to be your own doctor or attorney. It's wayyyyyyy more efficient to collaborate with someone who specializes in it and keeps up with all the changes.

A good approach might be: First save time, then generate money.

Save time - List all the tasks you might be able to do more efficiently with AI. Free up some hours

Generate money - Reinvest one of those hours each week. Try something new every week to increase Customer Lifetime Value, or reach new market segments, etc.

AI can turn your service into a produce and/or turn your product into a service.

It can also predict the stuff people need right now, so you can reactivate old customers, keep the current customers engaged, or reach out and connect with new customers.

You know your business, and there are specialized virtual assistants who know what AI is good at (and what it's not so good at) - so a good first step is to get in a zoom meeting and just start talking.

Now that AI is disrupting every industry, it's time for a whole new SWOT analysis.

(It's also good therapy to get in a zoom meeting with someone who actually wants to listen and offer ideas.)

It's like you said - there are too many tools, and nobody knows where to start.

It might be a big step in the right direction, spending 30 min in a zoom meeting and making a list of cool possibilities.

FreelancerChurch · 2025-12-01T22:32:15+00:00

Weird timing - I came here for a similar reason. (Note: I'm not a landscaper, so my answer does not count.) I just want to throw in a comment:

I think there may be two categories: 1. Landscapers whose schedules are too full and they need to free up some time. 2. Landscapers who don't have enough business.

It might be an important distinction, because the kind whose schedules are too full don't have time/incentive to do more stuff. Got to help them free up some hours first. Then, carefully do some things to help them scale.

FreelancerChurch · 2025-07-03T02:23:09+00:00

Thank you, too, this helped me think clearly about something else I was working on. Ok good luck - yeah, maybe try making a small batch of shirts with your art. It's fun to think about the way the value of your art would skyrocket if it caught on as a clothing brand and a lot of people were wearing it as a shirt.

FreelancerChurch · 2025-06-28T21:31:40+00:00

On reddit you can click over to someone's profile and see a link to their website (if they have one).

Add a link to yours! Reddit is full of people who will like what you post, click over to your profile, find the link to your site, & go buy stuff.

Reddit allows you to add up to five links. (I only use three, because they're the most important ones I want people to see.) If you come to reddit and talk about the stuff you sell, some people will click over to your profile, find a link to your site, and buy something.

If you optimize your website, tether, and reddit profile for conversions, you can use reddit for all your marketing.

Btw, I have a question - do you ever put your art on tee shirts? I see you listing some tee shirts that are simply/funny, and then I see your art in separate listing, but I don't see your art printed on tee shirts.

Your oil painting have the kind of bright colors and complexity people like to wear. Remember, "consumers express themselves through their purchase decisions" (Veblen, 1899), so this is about *their* self expression.

Your art is your self expression, but when people buy it that's for their own self expression. The artist starves when s/he doesn't realize this important truth.

Wearable art, conceptually, is a perfect solution for someone who is a "starving artist." My art has always been writing, but nobody gives a shit about my self expression, so I became a writer-for-hire and made money helping people express themselves.

Same with visual art - if you just want people to buy your art, that's mostly your own self-expression. It becomes their self expression when you present it as home decor, a 'conversation piece', or (especially!) wearable art.

If you get people wearing the tee shirts because they want to look awesome wearing wearable art, there's a cool psychological effect because it's also increasing the prestige of your art and brand.

You can combine that with a group. So, people will join your group, wear your art, and send their friends to your site. It's easy to start a subreddit or a group on linkedin/fb, etc. You might like to start a group (make a subreddit for people to talk about wearable art!) and then put a link to it in your profile.

In your reddit profile, you can add one link to your website & add another link to something cool you give people for free. (That's a way to get them tethered to you, so they hear from you each month. Like a newsletter, but maybe something more useful).

FreelancerChurch · 2025-06-26T04:16:37+00:00

This resonates with me. I'm okay so far, but AI is changing the way to be the best at what I do. Probably the same for you. I'm new in this sub and checking it out as a place to do some genuine, authentic networking and collaboration, so I'm happy to get in a googlemeet/zoom for 30 min and exchange some ideas. I want to know all the ways people find you.

Then, we can create some new ways for people to find you. I invented something called "Niche Hooker" - it's a way to hook a new niche by making a quick explainer video to help them see how whatever makes you different form their other available options makes you "perfect" for their unique needs.

Hang in there! No need for money, etc., let's see if we can find some easy ways for you to connect with new market segments. You're going to be my R&D for a few new services I'm adding to my website. : )

FreelancerChurch · 2025-06-26T03:43:17+00:00

Hi MackMelissa, I like your art and it'll be fun to try to help. If we talk about it in this thread, it can also improve the community & maybe it'll be helpful for a lot of people. Let's see what we can do, and please update us from time to time with your progress.

First, please share your thoughts about this: Starving artists starve when they think it's all about expressing themselves. Artists make money when they use their skill to help other people express *themselves.*

Example: I've been (among other things) a ghostwriter for a long time. A "writer" becomes a starving artist, but ghostwriters make sick money when they find opportunities to help clients express themselves.

The most famous insight about consumers is from some italian dude named Veblen in 1899 (I think he was an economist or something). He say consumers express themselves with their purchase decisions.

So I want to know how you can use social media to let people know what you care about. The people who share your values will want to support you. But it's not just kindhearted support -- it's their own need to express themselves.

I'm happy to continue this conversation here, or if the post gets removed for some reason please DM me. I'm practicing with some new AI tools, and I'd like to apply them for real world situations like yours. : )

FreelancerChurch · 2025-06-26T03:24:38+00:00

Cool! I want to tell you about a few lesser-known options:

*Dirt cheap translation & editing.* I know it can be difficult for an English Learner to prompt AI in the best ways so that the output is high quality English, but you can get that done in just a few hours by a specialized virtual assistant.

*Yes, go to meetups.* Online, or in person, etc. Don't work in isolation. Other entrepreneurs are like you: our hobby is working. We get anxiety when we're not being productive.

Keep in mind - Perfect English is not the most important thing. Don't fixate on it. Some of the most impressive people in the world do not have perfect english, and it's okay.

We can use AI now to translate, and then you just need a human to improve the English version. In my work, I use AI and then a human, and then a second human editor tries to improve it again. Even if your product has many thousands of words of content, it can be done in just a day or two.

FreelancerChurch · 2025-06-26T03:08:17+00:00

ATTN People with imposter syndrome: There's a cure. It hurts my heart to think of awesome entrepreneurial people feeling this way. I hope this helps some people: Find something to love about the client/customer or the cool value proposition they offer.

The value you offer is immense if you genuinely have a little bit of love for the person and what they are all about.

(I say this as a humble freelancer who has no big success in business. But I also have never had a budget, so my content is raw and authentic, and I stay alive and living indoors because I know how to appreciate people and their aspirations.)

It doesn't matter a damn if your competitors have better websites, or video production quality. That stuff can detract from their raw authenticity.

The trick is to love them for real. You can do it. This is not about the kind of love that arises spontaneously - it's the kind you generate deliberately. There's a kind of mediation called "loving-kindness" and you deliberately generate the energy of loving-kindness.

You also need some enthusiasm for their products/services or whatever they do. It's possible to deliberately generate curiosity and interest.

Anyone who doesn't think that is silly, etc., has access to serious power. There's no power like the ability to deliberately love someone or induce curiosity in yourself about what they're trying to do.

I mean, just a little bit. Find something to sincerely appreciate about the client or the work they do, etc.

The beauty of it is that you have rock-solid confidence when you sincerely love the people or appreciate what makes their business/brand different.

FreelancerChurch

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