Sara Davies is a businesswoman and entrepreneur known for her time on the BBC One show Dragons' Den and Strictly Come Dancing. Sara also founded her company, Crafter's Companion, whilst she was at university in 2005.
Sara spoke to Bitesize Careers about how to use AI to your benefit if you are thinking of starting up a business. She says AI is the future and we have to embrace it, as it will level the playing field to get started in business.
Now, the thing that you've got that I didn't have as I was growing up, and I'm not just talking about YouTube, is AI. Now, I'll be really honest. I'm one of those old fuddy duddy girls in her 40s who doesn't know what to do with AI. However, I'm trying to make an effort to learn, because what I do know is this is the world and this is the future. We're not going back to a world where we didn't have it, so we've got to embrace it. And the big thing is, AI is going to level the playing field. When when I was starting out, all of the bigger companies than me always had that advantage that I didn't, that they had huge budgets to be able to hire specialist staff, buy in all the specialist knowledge, to be able to do advanced sales strategies and marketing strategies that I just didn't have a clue about. Now you can all use AI to help you with all of the stuff that you don't have and you don't know, so it levels the playing field and gives everybody that opportunity to be able to go and get started in business. So all I'd say is embrace it, learn it and use it. However, don't substitute it. The best thing you can be is authentically you. And I always say AI can be brilliant to support and help you with everything that you do, but as soon as you get it to do it for you instead of you doing it, then all of a sudden you've lost what makes you special, which is you. So I always say use AI is the enabler. It is the cherry on top. It's like the 80:20 rule. You know, you should have 10% of giving it exactly what you are, 80%, it can do the groundworks, and then 10% of you take all of that and personalise it to whatever it is you're doing. So those that aren't using AI, I just think are crazy because all of your competitors are. All of the other people you are up against are. So you need to level the playing field and be out there, or be ahead of them using it better than what they are. But don't substitute it for the greatness that you've got inside. You use it to support it, and that applies whatever career you're going to. There will be elements of AI that can support every different field in development of learning, but don't let it take away from what you're doing. Let it enhance what you do and make you even better in an offering to that career.
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