I just got back from Social Media Marketing World/ AI Business World in Anaheim, CA (yes, I went to Disneyland—you know me) and I brought home something WAY better than mouse ears: real conversations with real entrepreneurs who are actually making money with AI.

And not in some hypothetical "maybe someday" kind of way. Like, right now. Today. In their businesses.

This episode is raw, scrappy, and full of ideas you can steal. I sat down on-site with three brilliant humans—Maddie Van Patton (wedding industry), Emma Tiegan (social media scheduling), and Lauren deVane (visual AI queen)—and asked them one question:

How are you monetizing AI?

What I got back was pure gold.

We're talking about:

1. Building AI tools that help small businesses compete with the big guys (without the big budgets)
2. Using AI to automate content scheduling so solopreneurs can batch and chill
3. Creating custom GPTs and courses that teach visual creation without the fear factor
4. Launching paid memberships because static courses can't keep up with how fast AI moves
5. The difference between using AI and selling AI expertise

If you've ever opened ChatGPT and stared at the blank screen going "...now what?"—this episode is your spark. It's not about being perfect. It's about being curious and exploring what's possible.

Oh, and I'm totally handing out stickers that say "My Bot Squad Makes Bank" because why not? 😎

>>MEET THE GUESTS<<

Maddie Van Patton

Wedding industry pro helping small businesses in California's Central Valley compete with the big names using AI tools and custom bots.

Connect on IG: https://www.instagram.com/maddie_vanpattie/

Emma Tiegan

Working with Smarter Queue—a social media scheduling tool built for solopreneurs who want to batch content and let AI handle the rest.

Learn more: https://smarterqueue.com

Lauren deVane

Visual AI strategist and creator of Prompty Poppins and Bot Muse. She teaches entrepreneurs how to use AI for image generation.

Connect: https://www.instagram.com/youraiauntie/

Get a sneak peek of what we are building with wAIv, your AI monetization platform.

🤖Train AI to sound like you (in under 2 hours) with BrandCalibrator™

🔹Let’s talk Bots for your business! Book a coffee chat

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