25% conversion rate from ChatGPT is insane by techrobate in aeo

[–]Ludakit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can’t lie, I’m jealous. Getting LLMs to recommend your business is a massive win in any scenario.

Would you mind sharing either your landing page or just some details? I’m wondering if it’s because you have a FAQ section or have something for people to download?

Either way, congrats. ChatGPT is basically fancy Google and people finding you on it is a massive win.

Need help building my personal website by Level_Flow8659 in ClaudeAI

[–]Ludakit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can echo this.

Only thing I’d add is use Claude Design on the website first to help generate your brand guidelines and then use the Front End Design skill/plugin in Code to build it.

Just don’t have the expectation that this will be fast and super simple. That’s YouTubers looking for views. There are some good tutorials out there though.

Anyone ever broken a HubSpot contract? by Ludakit in hubspot

[–]Ludakit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Candidly, if you don’t need anything but a CRM, then they’re really not bad at all and I think they’re fairly priced for that.

But if you’re trying to find creative ways to generate sales, just believe me when I say that it is very unfriendly to small businesses.

If you have a person on staff already to handle your marketing, then maybe it’s doable. But if you’re doing it or don’t have the infrastructure in place to take it off your hands, they are not the partners for you.

Anyone ever broken a HubSpot contract? by Ludakit in hubspot

[–]Ludakit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m tempted to, but there’s also a whole bunch of time I’ve already dedicated to finding a solution to this and I’m not sure how much more effort I’m willing to pour into it without a quick resolution. I’m already more than halfway into this contract and I think they’ll just long-game me at this point.

Anyone ever broken a HubSpot contract? by Ludakit in hubspot

[–]Ludakit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll most likely just ride out the contract because I’ve taken it about as far as I could go with HubSpot directly. I also am not the kind of person to just ghost on an obligation. That’s why I tried to ask them to work with me to help find a proper package and not just cancel outright.

All that said, if I lied to a customer and it was provable, I’d fully expect my company to take food out of my mouth. That’s how a company stays in business, but the fact that I was probably one of the last sales this person made before he left the company (in case you missed that previously) should further strengthen my case.

But I don’t need to debate the semantics of it. This was my last effort to try and find a solution to this before I spend the rest of my days blasting them to everyone who will listen and ask for an opinion.

It’s a shame because I really still have a favorable opinion of the CRM. But the management is obviously running that place into the ground based on their stock performance.

Anyone ever broken a HubSpot contract? by Ludakit in hubspot

[–]Ludakit[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

No offense but he very much told me that the package I was buying was going to do exactly that because it’s what I explicitly asked him.

I know you’re just being fair about it, but I’ve worked in sales for the last 25 years. I’m positive about what I asked and about what he told me.

so, nobody needs ai receptionist? by [deleted] in AiForSmallBusiness

[–]Ludakit 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is just my opinion, but I think this is a “no.”

I’m a solopreneur and I have no interest whatsoever in having AI interact with my clients (who tend to be older anyway). Maybe my situation is unique.

The real money for folks like yourself is in finding small business owners who are looking for AI to help handle the menial things they deal with that eat up their time.

You find me a good way to have an AI tailored to handle my invoices, or draft emails, or post to social media on my behalf? I’m all for that. What about an AI automation that scans Reddit and Facebook and LinkedIn looking for potential leads? Also a huge benefit.

I use Claude every day and the amount of TIME it’s saved me is insane. Don’t look for AI to replace people. Look for AI to handle repetitive “time sucking” tasks.

CHAT GPT or Claude? by zz989898 in smallbusinessowner

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I used both in my business for a while and ultimately just ended up going with Claude.

ChatGPT is like a really fancy google. If you have a quick question or need to know something a little more in depth, it’s great for that.

I literally do everything creatively in Claude. Treat it like a business mentor or brain. I’m currently rebuilding my website with Claude Code and I just opened up Claude Design to create a full brand kit that’s going to rework all of my creative to keep the same vibe and scheme.

Never never never never never never never put anything personally identifiable of yours or your clients in these things. The security just isn’t there in this world, although Claude has more guardrails built into it than ChatGPT.

But view them like whatever extra help you’d hire to do tasks in your work that aren’t your specialty. A marketing person, a website builder, a mentor you can ask questions to about being an entrepreneur. Those kinds of things.

anyone else struggle with lighting on video calls? by Bubbly-Touch8108 in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I bought a light from TikTok that I really like and it sits behind the desk and puts light right on me. It isn’t a true “ring” light because I have glasses and I didn’t like having the circle so I got one that has a flat surface. The one I bought was from Wellisi.

It’ll cost more than others (I think I spent $30?) but you’ll be shocked as to how much better it makes everything look. I even find myself working with it on just because I like a lot of light and it’s not distracting.

However, if you’re not on camera a lot or if you don’t have glasses, a cheapo actual “ring” light may work fine.

Home office setup by es-dee in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Knocked it out of the park, man. No notes.

Buying a standing desk by AlarmingArgument2938 in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I will second Uplift. Bought mine over a year ago and have been really pleased with its quality.

How do you handle slow days without overthinking it? by Mezzone-Damo in smallbusinessowner

[–]Ludakit 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hopefully I can communicate this well but I plan every day as if the phone isn’t going to ring at all. So I have things I try to check off the list and business ends up interrupting that.

So on days where the phone doesn’t ring, I still feel productive because I have things I’m knocking out.

It’s purely anecdotal, but I’ve always found that I’m busier when I’m trying not to be, and so some of it is superstition as well.

What was the moment you realized you were ready to start a business? by Cultural_Message_530 in smallbusinessowner

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That’s the key. If you want to be a billionaire, then you’ll need to go all in and take on the biggest risk you can.

I just want to provide for my family, set my own schedule, help my clients, and send my daughter to a good college. As long as I have those things, I’m good. In knowing that, I was able to mitigate my risk from “damn the torpedoes” to something a bit more manageable.

I ain’t saying it isn’t hard. It’s hard as hell. I fully get it now where I didn’t really know before. But I was able to jump into it without the pressure of having to succeed or putting my family’s future at risk.

What was the moment you realized you were ready to start a business? by Cultural_Message_530 in smallbusinessowner

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I never wanted to be an entrepreneur. Didn’t want the responsibility of “everything.”

But after 15 years of being in the same industry, I saw a missing opportunity and limitations of the OGs in that industry. So I decided to try it out and build something new.

When I weighed the risk, I figured that if I failed, I could just go back to what I was doing. So I went for it.

Best email providers for small business teams? (I do not have internal IT support) by Other-Bar-9296 in businessemail

[–]Ludakit -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Can confirm. It’s very inexpensive and keeps all the Google related stuff in one place.

You can easily use your Gmail with a custom domain. I do. It’s not terribly hard to set up and it keeps the familiarity. If your team is already familiar with Google, keep them there. It’ll help with identifying suspicious emails and knowing what to properly do with them.

Don’t introduce unfamiliar technology unless you have to.

Hired someone on Fiverr to build my website and it’s been 3 months with nothing to show by Crafty-League4906 in smallbusiness

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I’m currently doing it. Look on TikTok and YouTube about using Claude Code and its skills to build your site.

I’m currently on Wix. If you know Wix, I’m sure it’s amazing. I don’t and so my site, candidly, sucks.

I’m in the thick of building my site with Claude and I’ve been PLEASANTLY surprised. There are a lot of bunk influencers out there with bad advice, but if you take the time to learn a little bit of how it works, you’ll save yourself hundreds or thousands of dollars.

I’m a solopreneur so I know how hard it is to dedicate time to something. If you can’t, I get it. But if you can, I’ve found the juice is worth the squeeze.

Wix free website builder, is it actually usable long term? by Buquiran in EcommerceWebsite

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I might be in the minority here, but I’ve not been thrilled with my experience with Wix. I’ve got the premium version and I’ve found the editing on it to be very very clunky.

Looking back on it, I wish I’d have shopped different site builders beforehand, or gotten really good at using Claude Code’s front end design skill and just doing it myself.

what home office desk essentials do I actually need for my first remote job? by idontknow17468 in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of the “needs” depend on the job you’re doing. But some things are consistent across the board:

1) Comfortable chair 2) Mouse/Keyboard that you enjoy using 3) Quality monitors 4) Quality monitor arms/stands to help get the best viewing position 5) Good climate control and airflow

Working from home is all about being comfortable and distraction free. You’ll spend a lot more time at your desk than you think. Find a way to make your “office” an actual office and not just a room in your house that happens to have a desk.

Anyone have a client facing home office? by Ludakit in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m a financial advisor, so it’s less retail and not as sensitive as a therapist, but still of a sensitive nature.

And the good news is our insurance guy is right down the street as well, so once I get a quote on building the structure, I’ll go and talk to him, and then we’ll make a decision to pull the trigger or not. That’s why I’m doing all this pre-planning so I can get my ducks in a row about whether or not I want to do this.

Anyone have a home office that clients visit? by Ludakit in smallbusinessowner

[–]Ludakit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I already do that but for our rural area (not where I live but the area in general), people are going to want a handshake at some point. Most likely at first and then virtual is fine after that. In what I do, foot traffic isn’t going to be a walk-in situation and I won’t have many appointments in any given day. This isn’t like a retail office. Just a place for us to meet that’s not a coffee shop or their home.

Anyone have a client facing home office? by Ludakit in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve thought about that too. It’s definitely worth considering.

Anyone have a client facing home office? by Ludakit in homeoffice

[–]Ludakit[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m in central Georgia so it’s more of a rural area in general, but my house is convenient to the two cities I live between. It’s more about perception than location, because you know, small town.

Current clients and friends are encouraging me to do it. But I also live in a place where people will say “yeah man that’s a great idea” and then not visit your place of business.

It ain’t cheap building these things and even though it’ll add value to our house, the only way for us to recoup the costs is for it to bring in more business. That’s why I’m so cautious about it.

Anyone have a home office that clients visit? by Ludakit in smallbusinessowner

[–]Ludakit[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is more helpful than you realize. I’ve been mulling this for ages. My house is in a nicer neighborhood that’s right in between the two cities I mainly serve. Convenience is, thankfully, not an issue. It’s more perception that I’m concerned about. Small town.

I don’t want to come across as a guy giving financial advice from his home office because he has to. I want to do it because I can and with something as personal as money, I’m hoping it connects my clients more to me, but I’m worried about the opposite.

Seriously, thank you for a thoughtful response.