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How a Mom of 3 Makes $50K a Month With AI (No Experience) Transcript, AI Summary & Key Points

Chris Koerner on The Koerner Office Podcast · 23 hours ago · Education · 34:13 · EN

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00:00 You don't have to know anything technical  because AI is doing it for [music] you. Yeah. So, you're making over 50,000 a month. How many hours  per week would you say you're working? I still have my full-time job, 9 to5. Also, I have three  kids [music] under the age of eight right now. So, building all of this had to be easy for me.  I could only spend 1 to two hours a day.

00:14 Even the client work, I only spend like an hour a day  maximum. [music] That's it. Wow. I was super poor. like too poor to a point. I could [music] only  spend $2 a day. One time I couldn't pay the rent, so I got kicked out. I slept on the beach. The  police came up to [music] me and I got kicked out from the beach as well. So, I'm like,  "Oh my gosh."

00:35 So, the reason [music] why I'm sharing this is because I wanted to tell you  where I was in terms of I need to make money. And that's [music] the first the very first money  that I made online, which is $3,000 a month retainer. Wow. Now, did you have any experience  when you applied for this? No. You're just using Chad GBT. Yeah. Oh man, I'm using Chad GBT.

00:54 Oh,  I got Chad GBT. 20 bucks a month. I'm now an expert. That irrational confidence, that fake  it till you make it has never been more like in everyone's [music] grasp than it is today.  Just have a one mindset of if Sandy can do it, I can do it just because I [music] just started  this 9 months ago. Yeah, that's beautiful. Yeah. I just think that humans are much more likely from  a place of insecurity to like, oh, who am I?

01:15 No, just like do it. [music] Just go try it. talk to  people on their deathbed like they regret things that they didn't do, not things that they did  because we always learn something from things that we did, but we never learn from something  we never did. Yeah, exactly. So, you either win or you learn. I started so many businesses that  failed and I regret none of them because I at least answered the question for myself.

01:37 Okay, so  here are some secret sauce. What you want to do is So, I came across this woman, Sandy Lee, 9 months  ago. She started applying for random odd jobs on Upwork. She had no experience, no testimonials, no  portfolios. And her first job she got after seven applications and it paid her $3,000 a month for  SEO and she knew nothing about SEO, but she had PT because now everyone is a PhD in everything.

02:03 We  just need to remember that and connect the dots. So, I wanted to talk to Sandy. How did you go from  zero to $52,000 a month in only 9 months? And it all started with one job in a skill that she knew  nothing about. Please enjoy. So I was raised in seven different countries since I was 11 years  old. And that was without my parents. That was me alone going to different families and living here  and there.

02:26 So I just learn had to learn how to survive just because I didn't speak the language.  But what happened was while I was studying abroad, my parents' business went really south. So we came  from like fairly rich family to really poor all of a sudden. So meaning every single time when I  was talking with my parents, they were always worried about money.

02:48 So every single conversation  was about money, money, money. So in my head, I just had a thought of I need to make money  like when I grow up and then just to make sure my parents are all taken care of and stuff like that.  And when I was in college, I was super poor, like too poor to a point. I could only spend $2 a day.  So, you know, like uncrustable, like one of those peanut butter jelly sandwich from vending machine.

03:11 That was all I could eat. So, I'm like, I'm going to save this so I can eat this. Yeah. So, I got  two of those a day and then ate that for a couple of months. One time I couldn't pay the rent so I  got kicked out. I slept on the beach. The police to me? Yeah, I was in Hawaii. So, I slept on the  beach in the tent and the police came up to me and said, "You're not supposed to be here."

03:33 And I  got kicked out of the from the beach as well. So, I'm like, "Oh my gosh, what's my So, the reason  why I'm sharing this is because I wanted to tell you where I was in terms of I need to make  money." So, as soon as I graduate from school, I found this job, which is a startup company that  pay me fairly well. And that's back in the day, Chris, which is $7 an hour, right?

03:55 But they  offer me fairly good amount of money for salary. So I brought my husband with me. So we started  working together for this company and I was the best salesperson there just because I was the only  salesperson. So [laughter] like the only was the best. Yeah. One of one. And I was working there  but in about a couple of months the CEO told me that we're restructuring the company.

04:19 You and your  husband need to go. And we got let go the same day. And I was like looking at my husband. And  I still remember this day. We couldn't speak for like 2 hours or so because we were really shocked  at that. But that's the moment I realized I cannot have somebody hold my income basket. Yeah. Cuz  literally, so that's when I started to work on side hustle, like different side hustle projects,  drop shipping, you know, like FBA, Amazon FBA business, all that.

04:49 I still have some product at  my house trying different stuff, but it didn't really work because I was too addicted to shiny  object syndrome. So, what is the next? What is the next? I was just hopping around and that's when  I actually found your channel too because I was really into cytools. But that's the moment when I  decided I need to really focus on one thing, just one thing.

05:11 And that was AI because I know AI was  hot, but I don't know anything about AI. I'm like I or at least I didn't know anything about AI. I  should say, but I knew how to talk to people. So, what I decided to do is going to Upwork literally  and then applying for job application in AI business that I don't even know about. But I knew  how to talk to the CEO or how to talk to different people what they're looking for.

05:36 So after having  Chachi PD build couple different models for me, I presented that idea to the client and that's  the first the very first money that I made online which is $3,000 a month retainer. Wow. From  Upwork. From Upwork. Yeah. Hey, please subscribe to the channel. Whether you're on Spotify, Apple,  YouTube, doesn't matter. It would mean a ton.

05:54 So, did you do anything to like build your Upwork  profile or like establish a presence? Yeah. So, I didn't have any testimonials. That's the thing. I  had a huge imposter syndrome when I first started doing this just because I had no testimonial. I'm  like, who am I to pitch an idea that I can do this because I don't know anything about AI, right?  But what I realiz is every single person including myself, we have some sort of history what we've  done in the past.

06:20 It doesn't matter if you work for, I don't know, like Chick-fil-A or McDonald's  and is serving people. That's still a thing that you did and you can somehow relate that into  automation. And that's what I did. I went to Shach PT and told them exactly what I did in the past  and then got some numbers out there and how can I relate this into automation and then put that into  the work and also get couple different portfolio so that it looks better.

06:48 Portfolio doesn't  necessarily mean it's your testimonial. It's what you've been building. Right. Sure. So, how  many jobs did you have to apply to before you got the one that you got? I apply seven applications.  I specifically remember that. That's not many. No, it's not too many. That's not bad at all. It's  more competitive now, I would say, but before when I did it, which was November last year.

07:07 Okay.  November last year. So, I've been an Upwork client since they were called odesk, which was like 2010.  They were called odesk and it was like the place. It was odesk and freelancer.com. That was like  where you went to find a virtual assistant. So, I was looking for virtual assistants there  forever. It probably seems more competitive to you because like it's more competitive than it  used to be, but it's been around almost 20 years, you know, and I I feel like we don't really know  how much supply and demand

07:32 there are for any given job. It's always kind of imbalanced. And so maybe  for your niche, it's it's gotten more competitive. Maybe for other niches, it's not competitive  enough. But I just find that like an interesting concept is in any marketplace, sometimes things  seem more competitive than they are because you're like in it. And sometimes like if you were to  compare your niche with an Upwork to a different niche that you've never even been in, you're much  less competitive.

07:56 You know what I'm saying? Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about. That's  the reason why some of the strategy that I've used personally. So to be very transparent, the  first client was SEO business. So they wanted to automate the SEO stuff, right? Okay. But I didn't  type AI automation. I didn't type AI SEO. I only typed SEO. Meaning I know AI in Upwork is really  competitive but then if you just like you said if you just tilt it just a little bit slight  just very slightly and then go with a slightly

08:29 different niche kind of similar but different  there's a lot less competition there and that's how I got the first gig. Now did you have any SEO  experience when you applied for this? No. You're just using Chad GBT. Yeah. Using Chad GBT. I know.  It's like no experience whatsoever. I'm like, "What the freak does this mean?" You know, like  back links, internal links.

08:47 I had no idea. So, I had to educate myself before I jump on a call.  Yeah. I just I just wish that I could like buy a billboard on every highway in every city in the  world that just said like you are now an expert in everything like period. Like we we remodeled our  upstairs with Chad GBT. We've never done anything like that. Go. We're building a house with Chad  GBT.

09:09 I fixed my lawn mower with Chad GBT. Like so many people use chat GPT but we're still so  early that they don't yet know that they're now a PhD in everything. They're just not thinking to  connect the dots. So you're like I don't need to know about SEO. I got Chad GPT 20 bucks a month.  I'm now an expert in SEO. Like that irrational confidence that fake it till you make it has  never been more like in everyone's grasp than it is today.

09:34 So I applaud you for that. Yeah. Thank  you. I appreciate that. It is real for sure. And then my thought behind this is if Chacha PT can  be my agent underneath me, if he's the expert, she's the expert, whatever, if it's the expert,  then I have my confidence. And that was where my confidence came from even though I'm not the  expert. It's okay. Yeah.

09:54 And at the end of the day, the company that decided to pay you 3,000  bucks a month, they're probably using Chad GPD. It's not like they don't know it exists. Even if  they're using it for SEO, they still need a human to push the buttons, to follow up, to check in, to  be to like they need someone, not something to be accountable, right? So like they still need you  to do the job even if they already have the tool that's doing most of the job, you know?

10:20 So yes, I  just think that humans are much more likely from a place of insecurity or scarcity to like, oh, who  am I? I don't know anything about SEO. Like, no, just like do it. Just go try it. Mhm. Worst  case scenario, after a month, they're like, "Man, that's not imposter syndrome. That guy is  an imposter. I want my money back. Who cares? Give him your money back and keep trying."

10:41 You  know, like that's the worst that could happen. Exactly. That's literally where my mindset is  right now, just because I have a full-time job, Chris, right now. I still have my full-time job.  And my full-time job is working for the funeral homes. Isn't that weird? That's crazy. What do you  do for them? Um, so I work for funeral marketing, sales and marketing company.

11:02 So, I'm a regional  manager helping other people kind of like wedding planners but for funerals. That's what it  is. I'm helping them how to do that. Anyways, the reason why I'm sharing that where I'm coming  from is I think about death a lot because yeah, I mean hang out with the people who's about to die  like [laughter] you know like there were really old grandma who was 102 years old.

11:22 I don't think  she's legally able to drive but she drove to the funeral home pre-planning her funeral services and  then we just we're just talking. Yeah. And not to be morbid at all or negative, but this is just on  top of my head a lot. If I die tomorrow or if I die in a month, what would I regret the most? And  then that was me not starting my business and me not believing myself of doing that.

11:45 So right now  it totally changed my mindset. It's like I can do this. If that kind if that person can do it, I can  do it. Yeah, that's another billboard message that I want is like to put on a billboard that like  you are much more likely to regret things that you didn't do than things that you did. Like I started  so many businesses that failed and I regret none of them because I at least answered the question  for myself like did I like that business or could that business have worked?

12:10 Yes. Aside from  like outlier things where we make like terrible terrible decisions, we usually sit around and  talk to people on their deathbed like they regret things that they didn't do, not things that they  did cuz we always learn something from things that we did, but we never learn from something we never  did. Yeah, exactly. So, you either win or you learn.

12:28 I love that. Okay. Okay. So, I want people  to know if they don't have a grasp of upwork, like for you to apply to an SEO job on Upwork  is like the most generic. Like, that's like the highest competitive category in the world.  You had no background. How did you get that $3,000 a month job over someone else with a ton  of experience? Okay, so here's some secret sauce.

12:51 What you want to do is you want to record a video.  Okay, so that is your practice. you are going to record a video loom video explaining how you  can help them and that's exactly what I did. So even though I don't know anything about SEO I had  Chachi PT build Naden system for me. So basically NA looks complicated. So what businesses owner  when they look at it they're like oh it's too complicated she's got this I need to pay you to  do this.

13:15 Yeah. [laughter] But in reality I didn't even understand what any was. So I'm like I'm  learning this. But I didn't say that obviously. I'm like, you know what? This is what the workflow  is based on what Chachi PT has given me is the script. This is how the workflow works and this is  where I'm going to come in and help you out. So, I pitch the idea before I build a product.

13:35 Okay?  So, that's really important you do that because if you build a product first and then pitch the idea  next, you're too late. You want to see what's out there first. And that's exactly what I did. And  one of the strategy like I mentioned is recording a video so that people can gauge who you are and  feel your vibe. Now if your English is not native, this is a perfect way to practice as well.

13:59 So  that's what I did. Okay. I just have this thought like the great men and women that have built  this world were probably the same people that said the phrase, "How hard could it be?" over and  over and over. And like they always were proven wrong. Like it always ends up being harder than  you think. But that that naive like that optimism, whatever you want to call it, like that attitude  just walks you into amazing circumstances.

14:20 So you're like, "How hard could it be, SEO?  How hard could it be?" It's like, "Ah, it's kind of hard. There's a lot going on here,  but I'm an expert now. I have Chad GPT." Like just as a framework. Like if you find yourself saying  that a lot, you'll probably be successful. Yeah, a little ignorance could be helpful. Yeah, that's  true. I love that.

14:36 That's I'm like walking in between being humble and also being ignorant,  but not really ignoring. It's more confident. I would say, let's just say confidence. Being  confident and then not feeling imposter syndrome. Those are three feelings just I'm going back  and forth a lot. Yeah. Yeah. Where am I? Yeah. I also want to say imposter syndrome is just a  it's like insecurity with like a prettier name, right?

15:00 We're all insecure. Every single one of  us are insecure. So like if you feel imposter syndrome, that's a signal that you're on the right  track, that you're like you're like batting above your pay grade. You're stretching yourself. Like  it's I think it's good to feel imposter syndrome. Oh, that's a really positive thought. I never  thought about that way.

15:15 That's super cool. So, you're out of your comfort zone pretty much.  That's why you're feeling that way. Yeah. Quick word about today's sponsor, Beehive. They  just launched something called Community, and it does something that I've never seen on any  other platform. Every newsletter and podcast you publish gets added to your feed automatically,  sitting right in front of the people who already love your stuff.

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16:16 The links in the description below. Okay. So  you make this Loom video. How long was it, give or take? Did you edited it? I didn't edit  it. No, I didn't know how to edit Loom videos, so I only just sent it. But I practice, meaning if  I don't like it, I re-record it a couple of times just to see if it sounds better. It was about two  to three minutes.

16:32 I found that that's the sweet spot because a lot of people don't really want to  watch a long video. Okay, so two to three minutes and eventually though eventually I deliver the  work for this client and I I was really successful for their SEO by the way cloud code. So which we  can talk about I did everything with cloud code really successful and then I told them hey let's  increase the price.

16:55 So after that I increased the price to 5.5k monthly retainer same client. What  gave you the confidence to do that? Like what did you see or what made you think to do that? I  just thought to myself I have nothing to lose at that point. What type of a client was this? What  type of a business? Like was it a million-doll business $und00 million business?

17:16 Home services?  E-commerce? What are we talking? It was education. education business like they were having education  app business and then it was about a million dollar business. So I knew that they had money  just because of you know like how much money they generated from SEO in general. So basically  what I did is I did automation for blog automation for one language right English Japanese and then  I extend that to Spanish and Korean.

17:39 So that's I said, "Hey, I'm gonna expand this to Korean and  Spanish, and that way you can you're going to pay me more." And in on their end, it makes sense  because this is how much money it cost, which is $3,000. If I were to duplicate what I did,  you know, in business perspective, it's $6,000. But I'm giving you a cut to 5.5K. So they got  a good deal.

18:01 But for me on my on my side of it, I just do copy and paste. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Now,  did you That's what I did. Did you increase the price after you saw that their SEO was working?  Yes, of course. Smart. Do you still have them as a client? I don't anymore. U last month was the last  month that I had them. Mhm. Now, how did you get your second and third and fourth clients?

18:25 Yeah.  So, it was coming from inbound lead. The second, third, fourth client, they were all different.  That's when when I was working for this client, I just had this thought of AI is enhancing too  fast. I'm not saying this to create FOMO by the way just because I am a believer of using AI as a  tool not to replace us right however people who's using AI could replace people who's not using AI  if that makes sense it's not AI replacing it's the people so I thought to myself you know what  I need to actually teach

18:54 people how to do that that's when I started the content creation journey  and everything happened from there which is insane meaning Before I mentioned that I was applying  for jobs on Upwork and email marketing, right? But ever since I started my personal branding content,  people were reaching out to me. I've been getting emails asking if I can become their senior  marketing officer or can I teach this people um this group of people for this business as  a consultant, which that's one of the side gig that I did.

19:30 And then last month I was working for  this company as a AI strategist. They got me for they wanted me to work full-time, but I just told  them no because I wanted to build my business. So, what I'm trying to say is inbound opportunities  started coming after creating content. Now, a lot of people think, you know, my content needs  to get tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of views.

19:53 Like, I need to be an influencer. I need  to go viral. Obviously, this is like a softball question, but I'm I'm hoping I'm right here and  that you started getting valuable inbound leads when seemingly no one was really watching you.  Is that the case or no? That's exactly the case because Okay, so here are two different things.  When I was sending outbound before inbound came, I was still referencing my YouTube video and  that was when I had 200 subscribers, very little, but still is giving that authority because

20:18 people  can check me out before and see what I know, what I don't know. And here's another tip that I have  for people, which is if you don't know anything what you're going to film, you learn right before.  That's literally literally what I did. I asked cloud code how can I teach this steps and then I  learned read. Yeah. And then it got into my head and then I record you know hit press the button.

20:40 That's what I did. So you your YouTube channel is Sandy Lee AI and I'm going to go to your oldest  video. Your oldest video is only nine months ago then, right? It is only nine months ago. But  here's another thing that I want to mention is I've been a content creator since 2018, Chris.  So, I speak Spanish and Korean. My content was teaching Korean to Spanish speakers.

21:04 And that was  me. That's pretty niche. Uhhuh. Very niche. And I hate my my videos because I'm all about like  doing this. It's just so like cheesy. But the reason why I'm saying this is because I gave up on  that because I quickly realized there's no money behind that. Because if you think about it, people  who are learn who are wanting to learn Korean, you know, Spanish speakers wanting to learn  Korean, they were all students.

21:26 They were kids, 14y old, 13 year old. What am I going to do with  them? I don't want to charge anything, right? So, there is a concept that I want to talk about.  Is that okay if I go over that with you? So, eky guy is a Japanese concept and I've  heard of this when I was a teenager as well, like when I was younger. But it pretty much means  a reason for being, right?

21:44 So, the reason why I'm I'm covering this is because I want you to see the  difference between my old channel, which is this, which I grew my channel across three platforms to  550K followers. But what I really focused on was what I love to do, which was language, and what am  I good at, which was language. Those two things, passion. That's it. But I didn't necessarily focus  on what can you get paid for this one right here.

22:16 And also, what does the world need? So because  I didn't pay I didn't focus on that. I didn't really think about that. There was no way for  me to make some income stream of this channel specifically when I was building personal brand  and I thought you know what never mind content is not my way. But when I started this channel  specifically not not even that long ago the oldest channel was nine months ago right?

22:37 So pretty  recent. I focus on all different four things of what do I love to do and what are you good at?  What can you get paid for? What does the world need? And I suggest every single person who's  listening to this right now to go through this process wherever they are at whether they have  a business for themselves or not or wanting to start a business.

22:59 I think this is very important  when it comes to building personal brand in my opinion. Agreed. And I would even change one of  these. Instead of like what you can get paid for, it's like what can you more easily get paid for  because I think everything is monetizable but not all at the same difficulty level, right? So  like what can you get paid for that you're most easily able to access or have the skills towards  um etc.

23:19 And same with like what the world needs like what does your corner of the world need  cuz I could sell the dumbest product in the world and if I could find the right distribution  for that product I could be successful but it's really hard to find that if there's a thousands of  distribution channels and thousands of different niches that's over a million combinations of ways  to sell a certain thing.

23:39 So you got to go towards the things that have like the least amount of  friction and difficulty. But absolutely. Yeah, that's so true. I agree with you on that. That's  that's the reason why what I'm trying to figure out for myself right now, which I can share  my revenue um all of this in here. So I have a couple different revenues when it comes to  my client work, right?

24:01 So I had a client that I started. This is the first thing just to be full  transparent with you guys. Um, I even have like Stripe accounts that I pulled up over here, like  how much money I made from YouTube, so you guys can see the whole thing. Beautiful. But what I'm  Yeah. What I'm trying to say is I I still have my full-time job just because I love the work that I  do.

24:22 And sponsorships is something that I I think is another side gig which doesn't take a long time  for me to do cuz just keep that in mind. I still have my full-time job 9 to5. Also, I have three  kids under the age of eight right now. So building all of this had to be easy for me. It had it had  to work. I could only spend one to two hours a day per platform, right?

24:46 So that's how I was able  to make it. Uh even the client work it only I only spend like an hour a day maximum. That's it.  Yeah. I I'm trying to look at this but my Is that too small? Could you could you zoom in a little  bit? Yeah. Okay. So client retainer. That's like the first client you had, right? Or like being  the first client. Okay. Full-time.

25:03 That's your job. Sponsors, there's people like advertising in  your videos. You have a school community, an app, and YouTube revenue, like YouTube AdSense.  Yes. Tell me about your app. Yeah. So, my app, it's pretty funny because my whole thing when  it comes to YouTube is Okay, let me show you an example. When I first started YouTube, this video  got really viral for my channel, like 100K view, which is selling AI website on clock code.

25:33 I  had no idea how to build website. And then I just made this video because it went viral. So I'm  like, might as well just me building a website. So I did. Yeah. And then I quickly realized  a lot of people said, I don't really know how you can connect to real app. So in this specific  video right here, I recorded this video for like six hours because I had to build an app while  recording this video.

25:54 Might as well hit record. I'm going to do this anyway. Might as well record  it, right? Yeah. Seriously. So this was built in six hours while I was recording and this was the  very first app which is the GEO audit app and how do I know GEO AI come on I asked GEO how to do it  and also I have a lot of friends who knows about GEO which is generative engine optimization which  means AI SEO same thing yeah AI SEO so this was the first app but then I also made another video  Chris so I want people to realize this the The

26:34 reason why I'm sharing this is because I'm keep  finding opportunity to monetize. That's what it is. And again, I didn't build it and then sell  it. Do you see the difference? I sold the idea first and then saw what is needed and then build  a product after. So, another video that got viral was how I automate my content journey because  I've been a content creator forever.

26:51 And then, ever since I did that, a lot of people said,  "Oh, Sandy, it doesn't look good as what you're building." So, I just thought to myself, hm, what  can I make an app out of this? Let's do it. By the way, I have a new private YouTube community where  I post exclusive interviews and videos that no one else in the world will see. All you got to do  is pay five bucks a month.

27:11 And you know what? YouTube takes 30% of that. So, I'm hardly getting  anything from that. In addition, you're going to get every single 25 plus page business plan that  we make from every episode we publish. And we sell these for 19 bucks and we do 15 episodes a month.  So, this is about $300 a month worth of value, plus extra interviews and videos that you'll  never see anywhere else for five bucks a month, and you can cancel anytime.

27:37 You'll also get my  previous backlog of every business plan I've ever published. So, you can get the link right  down below. It's all done right here on YouTube, and you'll even get little custom emojis or stars  next to your name when you comment on videos, so you can get priority replies from yours truly.  Thanks a lot. And that's the app that I made.

27:50 So it's pretty much what it is is not to promote my  my app by the way, not at all. But what this does is you're trying to copy the strategy that other  people use from YouTube videos. So for newbies, it is so crucial that you do that because if  you're original all the time, it's hard for you to get visible. Yeah, it's I mean it's better to  copy formats that are already working than to try and reinvent the wheel.

28:18 Yeah, that's literally  what Mr. Beast does, too. You know, Mr. be his people. He like literally go out and see what  is the outlier video and that's the app that I have is I just pretty much generate the script it  does it it gives the script it gives thumbnails it gives teleprompters so pretty much all in  one platform and when I first got first clients through this app I'm like holy crap people are  actually paying for this like you [laughter] know that was my first thought um but then right  now I hire an engineer

28:43 to make it better just because I'm a little bit more invested in this and  this is also one of the lead magnet that I have for my community that I build for my school, too.  Okay. So, just like a couple different ideas. I'm testing multiple different things to see what's  working. Yeah. For my lifestyle, you know. So, you're making over 50,000 a month.

29:07 It's somewhat  recent. You're you still have a full-time job. And how many And you have three kids under 10. How  many hours per week would you say you're working for my business? Yeah. for all of your income  streams? For all of my income streams. Okay, let's do go back here. Right now, the most time  consuming thing is actually YouTube just because I want to grow my personal brand and I'm finding  different ideas app.

29:28 I used to take you know some time but cloud code did the most of the work. So  I would say maybe three to four hours a week but even that I wanted to gain that time for my  YouTube. So I hired an engineer very recently couple weeks ago, two weeks ago. So he does it.  So I don't even spend anything on the app. School community once a week we do like a weekly calls  and then every single day I just comment people.

29:57 So 10 minutes a day. So you do the math. Maybe  three hours a week. That's it. Sponsors those are videos, right? So I would say maybe two hours  per sponsor a week. Is that outbound or inbound? This is all inbound. Sponsorships is everything  is inbound. Okay. Now, I'm going to try to like pull away some some highle takeaways from what  I've learned so far and fill in the gaps.

30:16 So, if we were to make like a Sandy's playbook for  success. It's like fake it till you make it. Sell it before you build it. Sell it before you have  it. Be emboldened by AI Chad GBT. Like know that you're an expert in everything. Procrastinators  win. Like learn the thing right before you have to do the thing because then you'll you'll feel this  artificial pre or not even artificial, you you'll feel this pressure just kind of like cramming for  a test.

30:40 Like there's a lot of there's a lot of negative things to say about cramming for a test.  Like we grew up and our teachers like don't just cram. It's like actually I will because it works.  Thank you very much. Like that pressure works. Yes. So it's like all right cra for the test. What  am I missing? Like oh like build cool stuff and hit publish and then like hit record and then hit  publish.

31:00 Like don't care what other people think of you. What am I missing? Yes, that's exactly  what it is. Something that I do want to say if you're starting if you're curious what AI tool  should I be using? I do recommend clot code to be honest. I've used every other platform before.  I use manis. I use chajbt and codex is pretty good too. But clot code is so good.

31:20 It's like really  really good. Yeah. Even especially like fable but don't use fable too much. Um but what I'm trying  to say is you can build things even though you're not engineer. I'm not an engineer guys. I'm not at  all. My husband is an engineer. So he look at me he's like you built this. [laughter] Yeah. And  he's like in a judgment tone. Yeah.

31:38 He's like, "Wait, do you know do you even know what SSL  is?" I'm like, "I don't care what the crap that means." You know, I don't know. I only care.  I know. That's exactly what it is. And yeah, he's obviously really proud of my success and  really supportive. Yeah. Like amazing dad and husband. But what I'm trying to say is you don't  have to know anything technical because AI is doing it for you.

32:05 Yeah. You should flip the script  on him and say, "Wait, you know what SSL means? What a nerd. [laughter] What a nerd. I know.  That's not I shouldn't say it's like you actually know teachers. That's funny. Yes. Oh, it's funny.  That's amazing. Like where where can we find you, your products, your apps? Like where can we  find Sandy if we want to learn more?

32:25 Yeah. The best place to find me is my YouTube just because I  share everything my journey, what are my thoughts, um, and what am I working on? I'm really  transparent. So if some person's asking me how much money you make, I can show you everything  some of the strategy behind it. So yeah, YouTube go there and learn different things and just  have a one mindset of Sandy.

32:47 If Sandy can do it, I can do it. Just because I just started this  nine months ago. Yeah, that's beautiful. Yeah. 50K a month in nine months. Um and none of this  would be possible if you never hit publish on what you're doing. Like show the world 100%.  I I'm a huge believer in content creation. huge. It doesn't It doesn't matter what you  look like.

33:08 Honestly, it doesn't matter how you sound like either. No, you learn those skills.  I mean, think about it. 20 years ago, we all had to choose between like a hundred TV channels.  It's like, don't like golf, okay, now you got 99 to choose from. Don't like But now, it's like  there's 8 billion people and like there's someone out there for everyone. There's thousands of  people out there for everyone.

33:28 So, like there's nothing too niche. Like if you're a boring dude  in the Midwest, monotone, there's another boring dude that would really feel like he connects with  you. Like there's someone out there for everyone. There's nothing too niche. Like even if a hundred  people are watching you, if it's the right hundred people, then it could be more valuable than a  million people watching you that don't feel any affinity towards you.

33:50 Exactly. Yeah. Exactly.  But my my huge belief is you only need 1,000 people to follow you. That's what it is. The true  10,000 people who support you and that's it. Amen. And you're going to be successful. Yeah. Thank  you, Sandy. You're awesome. This was great. No, thank you. Thanks, Chris. Thanks for having me. If  you like this content, please share with a friend, hit a like or a comment below, and  we'll see you next time on the Kerner

💡 Answer

$50,000-plus per month within 9 months, while working a full-time job, raising three children under eight, and using AI tools without prior technical experience.

🧠 AI Summary

Sandy Lee reached over $50,000 per month within 9 months while keeping a full-time job and raising three children under eight. She began with no AI or SEO experience, used ChatGPT to develop AI-enabled SEO automation, won a $3,000 monthly Upwork retainer after seven applications, and later increased it to $5,500. Her income expanded through inbound consulting, sponsorships, YouTube, a school community, and apps. Her core approach is to sell an idea before building it, use AI to learn and execute unfamiliar work, create content consistently, and focus on opportunities that combine personal strengths, market demand, monetization potential, and genuine interest.

🔑 Key Points

  • Sandy Lee started with no AI or SEO experience and used ChatGPT to create models, workflows, and automation systems.
  • Her first online income was a $3,000 monthly retainer obtained through Upwork after seven applications.
  • She initially searched for generic SEO work rather than highly competitive AI automation or AI SEO terms.
  • She created a two- to three-minute Loom video explaining how she could help prospective clients.
  • After delivering successful SEO work, she increased the first client's retainer from $3,000 to $5,500 per month.
  • Content creation shifted her client acquisition from outbound applications to inbound leads, consulting opportunities, and sponsorships.
  • Her personal-brand framework considers what she loves, what she is good at, what can be monetized, and what the world needs.
  • Her income streams include client retainers, a full-time job, sponsorships, a school community, an app, and YouTube revenue.

✅ Actionable items

  • Apply for relevant Upwork jobs even without testimonials or formal experience, using prior work history to demonstrate transferable skills.
  • Use ChatGPT to translate previous experience into automation ideas and create portfolio examples.
  • Search for adjacent, less competitive niches instead of using only highly competitive AI-related keywords.
  • Record and repeatedly practice a two- to three-minute Loom video explaining how a proposed workflow could help a client.
  • Pitch an idea and validate customer interest before building the product.
  • Learn the necessary material immediately before teaching or delivering it, then use AI to help explain the process.
  • Publish content consistently to create authority and generate inbound leads, even with a small audience.
  • Evaluate a personal-brand opportunity by considering personal interests, skills, monetization potential, and market need.
  • Study formats that already perform well and adapt them instead of trying to reinvent every content format.
  • Use AI tools to build and test multiple app or product ideas, then improve the ideas that show customer demand.

💡 Business ideas

AI SEO and multilingual blog automation service08:00

Automate SEO and blog production for businesses, then extend the workflow into additional languages.

For
Businesses seeking SEO and multilingual content automation.
Solves
Reduces the manual effort required to produce and expand SEO content.
Validate by
Pitch the automation workflow to prospective clients before building the complete product.
  • Education app business
  • English, Japanese, Spanish, and Korean blog automation
AI-assisted content creation app27:31

An all-in-one platform that generates scripts, thumbnails, and teleprompters for content creators.

For
Content creators and people building a personal brand.
Solves
Simplifies the process of planning, scripting, and presenting content.
Validate by
Publish videos about content workflows, observe audience requests, and acquire initial paying customers before further investment.
  • Sandy's content journey automation app
GEO audit app26:06

An app focused on generative engine optimization, described as AI SEO.

For
Businesses or creators seeking AI-search optimization.
Solves
Provides a tool for auditing generative engine optimization.
Validate by
Build the app in response to audience interest after a related video.
    Paid educational YouTube community27:07

    A private community providing exclusive interviews, videos, business plans, comments, and member features.

    For
    People interested in business ideas, interviews, and educational content.
    Solves
    Provides members with additional content and community access.
    Validate by
    Offer the community to an existing YouTube audience.
    • Private YouTube community

    🏗️ Business models

    AI-enabled freelance services08:44

    Selling client-specific SEO, marketing, and automation services while using AI to create workflows and deliver the work.

    1. Find a relevant freelance opportunity
    2. Use AI to research the required skill and develop a proposed workflow
    3. Pitch the workflow before building the full product
    4. Deliver the service and increase pricing after demonstrating results
    • SEO automation
    • Blog automation across English, Japanese, Spanish, and Korean
    Content-led inbound business19:01

    Publishing educational content to build authority and attract consulting, employment, client, and sponsorship opportunities.

    1. Learn a topic with AI
    2. Publish educational videos and personal-brand content
    3. Use published content as proof of knowledge
    4. Convert inbound interest into consulting, strategy, and sponsorship opportunities
    • AI strategy consulting
    • Senior marketing officer inquiries
    • Inbound sponsorships
    Audience subscription and digital products27:07

    Monetizing a YouTube audience through a paid community, business plans, apps, and related content.

    1. Create content around audience interests
    2. Identify repeated audience requests
    3. Build an app or paid community around those needs
    4. Charge recurring or one-time fees
    • Private YouTube community
    • Business plans
    • Content-creation app

    💰 Monetization

    Monthly client retainers $3,000 per month initially; later increased to $5,500 per month for the same client. 09:06

    Charging businesses recurring fees for SEO and automation services.

    • SEO and multilingual blog automation
    Sponsorships 24:17

    Accepting inbound sponsorships for published videos.

      Paid YouTube community subscription $5 per month; YouTube takes 30%. 27:11

      Charging for private interviews, videos, business plans, community access, and member features.

      • Exclusive interviews and videos
      • 25-plus-page business plans
      One-time business-plan sales $19 per business plan. 27:39

      Selling business plans created from published episodes.

      • 25-plus-page business plans
      • 15 episodes per month
      YouTube advertising revenue 25:14

      Receiving YouTube AdSense revenue from published content.

        📣 Marketing

        Sales

        • Pitch the idea before building the product.
        • Increase pricing after producing successful results.
        • Frame expanded deliverables as a business value proposition for the client.

        Branding

        • Build authority by publishing what is being learned and built.
        • Focus content on a niche where personal skills, interests, market demand, and monetization overlap.
        • Prioritize the right audience over large view counts.

        Distribution

        • Distribute educational content through YouTube.
        • Use multiple platforms for personal-brand growth.
        • Offer paid community access directly through YouTube.

        Customer acquisition

        • Apply for freelance jobs on Upwork.
        • Use a concise Loom video to show personality and explain the proposed solution.
        • Reference published YouTube content as authority when making outbound pitches.
        • Create personal-brand content to generate inbound leads.
        • Use apps as lead magnets for a school or community.

        🔍 SEO & discoverability

        Mistakes

        • Focusing on a language-learning audience that consisted largely of students and had limited monetization potential.
        • Hopping between side hustles because of shiny object syndrome.

        Strategies

        • Target adjacent niches instead of only highly competitive AI SEO keywords.
        • Use SEO and AI-assisted content automation for clients.
        • Use published videos as credibility when contacting prospects.

        Other channels

        • Inbound email inquiries
        • YouTube sponsorships
        • Personal-brand content across platforms

        Content strategy

        • Learn a topic immediately before teaching it.
        • Create videos around audience questions and repeated requests.
        • Adapt formats that are already working.
        • Publish consistently even with a small audience.

        Keyword research

        • Search for SEO rather than AI SEO or AI automation when the latter terms are more competitive.

        🧭 Frameworks

        Ikigai21:41
        1. What do you love to do?
        2. What are you good at?
        3. What can you get paid for?
        4. What does the world need?
        Sell before building13:42
        1. Identify a potential customer need
        2. Pitch the idea
        3. Assess demand and required functionality
        4. Build the product after validation

        🧰 Tools & AI usage

        • ChatGPT — Research, learn unfamiliar subjects, create automation models, and develop workflows.08:54
        • Loom — Record two- to three-minute client-pitch videos.12:51
        • cloud code — Perform most of the work involved in building apps and support successful SEO work.16:49
        • Manis — An AI platform Sandy had used.31:20
        • Codex — An AI coding platform described as fairly good.31:20
        • Fable — An AI platform mentioned alongside other tools.31:34

        AI is used for

        • Developing AI and SEO automation models — Create proposed workflows for freelance clients without prior technical or SEO experience.05:30
        • Learning unfamiliar subjects — Understand SEO concepts and prepare for client calls and educational videos.08:48
        • Building websites and apps — Create products and prototypes without being an engineer.25:32
        • Generating content assets — Produce scripts, thumbnails, and teleprompters in an app for content creators.28:28

        📊 Numbers mentioned

        Costs

        • YouTube takes 30% of the $5 monthly community subscription

        Growth

        • Seven Upwork applications before obtaining the first client
        • Nine months from starting the AI-focused channel to reaching over $50,000 per month

        Pricing

        • $20 per month for ChatGPT
        • $3,000 per month initial client retainer
        • $5,500 per month increased client retainer
        • $5 per month private YouTube community
        • $19 per business plan

        Revenue

        • $50,000-plus per month
        • $52,000 per month within 9 months
        • $3,000 monthly retainer
        • $5,500 monthly retainer
        • $5 per month community subscription
        • $19 per business plan
        • About $300 per month of business-plan value from 15 episodes

        Traffic

        • 200 YouTube subscribers when published videos were used as authority
        • 100K views on an AI website video
        • 550K followers across three platforms for the former language-learning channel

        ⚖️ Advantages, risks & lessons

        Advantages

        • AI lowers the technical barrier for building services, websites, apps, and content systems.
        • A human remains necessary for communication, accountability, follow-up, and checking AI-generated work.
        • A small but relevant audience can be more valuable than a large audience with little affinity.
        • Selling before building reduces the risk of developing products without confirmed demand.

        Risks

        • AI-assisted work still requires learning, checking, and delivering results for clients.
        • Upwork competition may vary by niche and can be greater in generic AI-related categories.
        • A niche audience may have limited monetization potential if its members cannot or will not pay.
        • Building multiple products or pursuing shiny objects can dilute focus.
        • Client income can end, as demonstrated when the first client relationship ended.

        Lessons

        • Focus on one opportunity instead of repeatedly switching between side hustles.
        • Use prior experiences as evidence of transferable skills, even when they are unrelated to the target service.
        • Imposter syndrome can indicate that someone is stretching beyond their comfort zone.
        • Publishing creates authority and can generate opportunities before an audience becomes large.
        • Starting and testing businesses can resolve uncertainty even when the businesses fail.

        💬 Quotes

        Sell it before you build it.

        Summarizes the recommended validation approach for products and services.30:24

        You don't have to know anything technical because AI is doing it for you.

        Captures the video's central claim about using AI to lower the technical barrier.32:05

        If Sandy can do it, I can do it.

        Summarizes the suggested mindset for beginning an AI-enabled business.32:51

        👤 People & companies

        Sandy Lee

        AI-focused entrepreneur and content creator who reached over $50,000 per month within 9 months while keeping a full-time job and raising three children.

        01:45
        Chris

        Interviewer and host of the conversation.

        02:00
        Upwork

        Freelance marketplace where Sandy applied for AI and SEO-related jobs and obtained her first $3,000 monthly retainer.

        05:24
        Beehiiv

        Sponsor whose Community feature was promoted as a way to combine newsletter and podcast publishing with audience discussion.

        15:23
        Amazon

        Mentioned in connection with Amazon FBA as one of Sandy's earlier side-hustle experiments.

        04:43
        YouTube

        Platform used for Sandy's content, sponsorships, community subscription, and YouTube revenue.

        19:35
        Stripe

        Payment platform whose accounts Sandy used to show revenue information.

        24:12