AI is changing everything.
SO WHAT?
SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS...
Let's sort out what matters, what doesn’t... and what to do next.
Plain English
Clear thinking about AI without the jargon, chest-beating or robot wallpaper.
Practical Next Steps
Useful questions, sensible experiments and decisions grounded in your actual business.
MIKE FARLEY
OWNER • ENTREPRENEUR
SPEAKER • AUTHOR
WHY I'm HERE
The business guy asking better AI questions.
I’m Mike Farley: a branding and marketing professional, entrepreneur and coach with 30+ years of experience helping businesses make sense of change. I’m not an AI technologist, and I’m not interested in pretending to be one. I’m learning, testing and implementing this stuff alongside the people who have to run real companies while hyped headlines fly past.
AI is most certainly worth paying attention to... not because every tool deserves a standing-ovation, but because some of it already is (and will) change how we work, sell, create and compete.
My job has always been to translate the noise into plain English, separate useful possibilities from expensive distractions, and help you ask the question that matters most:
"SO WHAT DOES AI MEAN FOR ME?"
MIKE FARLEY
BUSINESS COACH
FOOTBALL COACH
AI: SO WHAT?
VIDEO BY DAN KLIEFT • skool.com/nextgenai
"I had AI build this website in 2 minutes!"
That's the hype... and the So What? is not that AI replaced a web designer...
It's that it got an experienced web designer (me) to a credible first comp in about 2 minutes — the rest took just a bit more — so that I could DISCERN what's worth preserving and what needs more work — and that's an AI workflow that works.
The AI: SO WHAT? Framework
WHAT HAPPENED?
Start with the change itself. What can this tool, trend or announcement actually do? Skip the breathless claims and get clear on the facts.
SO WHAT?
Put it in business terms. Does it affect your customers, team, margins, marketing or competitive position? If it doesn’t, it may not deserve your attention.
NOW WHAT?
Choose a sensible next move: learn more, run a small experiment, make a plan—or deliberately do nothing for now. Trust the work, not the worry.
What I've been working on...
AI Shelf Space
Build an auditing tool for small business owners to learn how they can influence AI Models like ChatGPT to recommend them.
Client Signage
A new school, a big idea on a building too old for architectural plans. Ensure the banner meets all installation specs.
Children's Book
A friend's mother had written a children's story before she passed. Create a keepsake that truly honors her legacy.
CHECK BACK OFTEN — ALWAYS MORE TO COME
Episode 01-A
Episode 01-B
Episode 01-C
— The Latest Musing from Mike —
SUBSCRIBE TO youtube.com/@AISOWHAT
ABOUT MIKE
I'VE BEEN ASKING “SO WHAT?” ALL MY LIFE
"Adapt or die."
Isn't that what they say? I'm older, but I am not old — but my life has changed many times:
• Star Wars changed my life.
• The Macintosh Super Bowl ad changed my life.
• The NFL cutting me 3-times changed my life.
• Marrying my wife changed my life.
• Having four kids changed my life.
I'm old enough to have seen the advent of color TV, the VCR, desktop publishing, cell phones, the Internet, the Dot-Com bubble, SaaS software, smart phones, social media, streaming services and now AI is upon us.
I've done well in my life AND I have a lot more to do... with NO intention of letting any of this pass me by.
Your motto, too? Good!
...'cause if there's one thing that I learned long ago from my football coaching father, when someone knocks you down, you get back up and say, "what am I going to do now?"
Not with fear, but with genuine curiosity for what transformations lie ahead.
That's "AI: So What?"
So let's figure it out. Let's tackle it; tame it... and put it to our use.
Glad you're along for the ride!
MIKE FARLEY
husband • Father
ATHLETE • COACH
“Trust the work. Not the worry."
In a fast-changing world, success comes from testing what matters, learning quickly and taking the next sensible step.”
Mike Farley
Branding & Marketing Pro, Entrepreneur & Coach
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DOES AI KNOW YOUR BUSINESS?
Maybe you're wondering how AI affects your company. Maybe you're trying to figure out which tools are worth experimenting with. Maybe you're wondering whether customers — or AI itself — can even find your business...
and RECOMMEND you — that's the stuff I'm working on.