WEBVTT - Education: He is helping individuals enter high-paying tech careers (UX design and AI) without a traditional four-year degree. 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:03.160 My guest is the founder of u x D Academy. 0:00:03.640 --> 0:00:06.320 It has grown into a beacon for career switchers and 0:00:06.480 --> 0:00:09.920 aspiring designers who lack the means or desired to pursue 0:00:10.039 --> 0:00:14.000 a traditional four year degree. He has prepared ux D 0:00:14.160 --> 0:00:17.560 Academy to the fourth from the AI and Design Education. 0:00:17.840 --> 0:00:20.880 Please welcome to the Money Making Conversations Master Class, every train. 0:00:21.239 --> 0:00:21.640 Thank you. 0:00:21.880 --> 0:00:24.119 How you doing, Everett, I'm doing well. It's my first 0:00:24.120 --> 0:00:25.560 time in Atlanta, so I'm excited. 0:00:25.760 --> 0:00:28.960 Well. Good. First of all, mister Swain, it's important that 0:00:29.000 --> 0:00:32.680 people understand when you say AI, what does that mean. 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:34.560 Let's educate them about that first. 0:00:34.680 --> 0:00:36.639 Yeah, so AI is the book. 0:00:36.560 --> 0:00:38.680 Because people are saying AI is taking job. Now, you 0:00:38.720 --> 0:00:42.000 said AI will able people to have a career. 0:00:42.320 --> 0:00:44.640 Yes, yes, so. AI. 0:00:44.800 --> 0:00:48.560 Artificial intelligence is a buzzword right now. Everybody's probably heard 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:51.159 it at some point. But there are two schools of 0:00:51.200 --> 0:00:55.120 thought with AI. One, companies, unfortunately, are looking at AI 0:00:55.160 --> 0:00:59.200 to replace people. And then there are the top companies 0:00:59.200 --> 0:01:02.960 that are using AI to amplify their people. So giving 0:01:03.000 --> 0:01:05.280 them AI as a means of a co pilot to 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:09.200 help them with roles or tasks. 0:01:08.920 --> 0:01:09.959 That they do not want to do. 0:01:10.800 --> 0:01:12.440 Now, how did you how did you get started? Was 0:01:12.480 --> 0:01:16.800 your this is very technically driven? Technically driven? Give us 0:01:16.800 --> 0:01:19.399 a background? I asked you be their expert. 0:01:19.480 --> 0:01:23.440 Now, yes, so you know what's interesting. I took an 0:01:23.440 --> 0:01:26.560 aptitude test. I said I was equally analytical as I 0:01:26.680 --> 0:01:28.680 was creative, and I should do graphic design. 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:29.399 Now. 0:01:29.400 --> 0:01:31.360 I went to school for that not knowing what graphic 0:01:31.400 --> 0:01:34.520 design was, and then I couldn't find a job in 0:01:34.560 --> 0:01:37.800 graphic design. Once I graduated, I stumbled upon an article 0:01:37.800 --> 0:01:41.560 that says, what is UX user Experience design? And so 0:01:41.760 --> 0:01:44.160 I understood what that meant. I was like, Okay, I'm 0:01:44.200 --> 0:01:47.080 the one who gets to design how a product or 0:01:47.120 --> 0:01:51.000 digital product works and so they make more money. So 0:01:51.080 --> 0:01:53.800 I went to go that route, and then ultimately I 0:01:54.080 --> 0:01:56.000 decided to teach people how to do the same. 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:59.840 Now, let's talk about this because you in the area 0:02:00.080 --> 0:02:04.120 where there are a lot of professional schools that are 0:02:04.200 --> 0:02:09.359 giving our certificates, and this interview is about people who 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:12.400 don't want to go to a four year institution. With 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:14.840 that being said, is it people don't want to go 0:02:14.880 --> 0:02:17.920 to a four year institution or does people want to 0:02:18.440 --> 0:02:22.320 or feel they can be success be successful without going 0:02:22.320 --> 0:02:23.840 to a four year institution. 0:02:24.080 --> 0:02:25.560 At K It's a combination of both. 0:02:25.800 --> 0:02:28.800 I've been someone who is saying you don't need to 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:30.959 go to school for what I do, and it's it's 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:34.920 proven well over forty percent of tech companies do not 0:02:35.040 --> 0:02:38.800 care about degrees anymore. They care about certifications. But ultimately 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.280 is your portfolio. Can you do the job? 0:02:41.639 --> 0:02:42.720 Prove it? Let me see it. 0:02:43.160 --> 0:02:48.600 So UXD Academy is literally showing people thirteen and older 0:02:48.639 --> 0:02:51.720 how you can become an AI experience designer or an 0:02:51.800 --> 0:02:54.040 AI automation expert without a degree. 0:02:54.280 --> 0:02:56.600 You know, we've been drilled go to college, go to college, 0:02:56.600 --> 0:02:58.680 go to college, go to college, get this degree. It's 0:02:58.760 --> 0:03:02.040 wonderful lifestyle. Right now you're telling me a certificate? 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:07.840 Yeah yeah, People's eyes light up and say, wait, I 0:03:07.840 --> 0:03:10.040 don't have to go into this massive amount of debt 0:03:10.280 --> 0:03:12.919 to get this type of job that's paying you one 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:16.000 hundred and fifty two hundred thousand dollars. Sure, sign me up. 0:03:16.040 --> 0:03:17.960 What do I need to do? That's more the reaction 0:03:18.040 --> 0:03:20.320 that I get. It's not so much of like a 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:23.440 disbelief like wow, I could I can do that with 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:26.480 a degree. It's more like tell me how and show me. 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:31.960 How Now, with that being said, how was you XD born? Everett? 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:34.920 It was born from a question, to be honest with you. 0:03:35.000 --> 0:03:39.080 So, my second job in my field, I had the 0:03:39.160 --> 0:03:42.520 rare opportunity of working for a black manager in the 0:03:42.600 --> 0:03:45.880 ux space, and it's extremely rare, and so I after 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:48.920 a few months working on his team, he asked me. 0:03:49.000 --> 0:03:50.680 What do you want to do with this career? 0:03:50.800 --> 0:03:52.840 I said, I want to teach a work in a 0:03:52.880 --> 0:03:55.520 corporate space for about ten years and then teach it 0:03:55.560 --> 0:03:58.080 at the university level. He asked me, why do you 0:03:58.120 --> 0:04:01.160 have to wait to teach people? The girlfriend I had 0:04:01.200 --> 0:04:04.800 at the time, I helped her successfully switch her career 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:07.120 and become a designer. He said, you talked to girl, right, 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:08.560 why can't you teave people now? 0:04:09.000 --> 0:04:11.400 Two weeks later we founded UXD Academy. 0:04:11.760 --> 0:04:14.560 What gap do you see in education of workforce development? 0:04:14.600 --> 0:04:20.080 That u XD Academy was created to film the gap in. 0:04:20.120 --> 0:04:26.039 The workforce honestly, diversity and not just skin color. 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:27.880 I'm talking about diversity and background. 0:04:30.200 --> 0:04:31.920 One of the things I did not like about the 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:38.400 industry was the gatekeeping aspect. People were very pretentious against 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:41.719 people who did not have a degree. And then a 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.000 few years later company said we don't care about degrees, 0:04:45.320 --> 0:04:48.320 and so the gap that I'm feeling is showing people 0:04:48.440 --> 0:04:52.120 from all backgrounds, Hey, you can learn this, and let 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:54.279 me go ahead and create a curriculum that allows you 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:56.400 to perform better than people who have the degree. 0:04:56.680 --> 0:04:58.799 So let me ask you that they can be frustration, 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:02.840 there can be in office. No, I won't use your 0:05:03.000 --> 0:05:06.960 anger because there are people out there that go to college, 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:09.680 get your degree, may be in debt or may not 0:05:09.720 --> 0:05:12.559 be in debt, and then somebody with a certificate comes 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:18.000 along and is competing competitively from a financial or salary standpoint. 0:05:19.760 --> 0:05:23.240 Can that create a problem. I don't think that's it 0:05:23.360 --> 0:05:25.640 can create a problem. But I think that was a 0:05:25.680 --> 0:05:28.800 problem I'd say probably four years ago. Not so much 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:32.360 anymore because so many people are entering I have entered 0:05:32.400 --> 0:05:35.640 the field without a degree from a four year institution, 0:05:36.080 --> 0:05:37.599 So I don't think it's much of a problem. 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.960 Now, good, are you a four year graduate? I am okay, 0:05:41.880 --> 0:05:45.200 So you a four year graduate? Give me your degree 0:05:45.200 --> 0:05:48.040 background for it? Because this everything you're talking about is 0:05:48.080 --> 0:05:50.719 technically driven. Okay, talk about you. 0:05:51.240 --> 0:05:54.160 My background is I would say creatively driven. 0:05:54.279 --> 0:05:57.479 So I was a graphic design major, which if I 0:05:57.480 --> 0:06:00.839 had to boil it down to Layman's termsraphic designers about 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:05.120 creating pretty graphics or pretty images using color theory, psychology, 0:06:05.560 --> 0:06:08.480 and things of that nature to create a banner, an image, 0:06:08.520 --> 0:06:09.200 a poster. 0:06:09.040 --> 0:06:09.680 Or whatever it is. 0:06:10.120 --> 0:06:12.480 Well, that's sort of died a little bit with the 0:06:12.600 --> 0:06:15.600 advent of AI tools like Canva and things like that. 0:06:16.480 --> 0:06:18.400 Now I don't need to have a degree in graphic 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:20.600 design to create pretty images. I could just use Canva 0:06:20.680 --> 0:06:23.120 to do it. And so I made the switch. I 0:06:23.240 --> 0:06:27.560 reverse engineer my career. I actually said, Okay, I'm creating images, 0:06:27.640 --> 0:06:29.520 or at least what the school taught me is to 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:32.560 create images. But I'm seeing where the money is money 0:06:32.680 --> 0:06:36.040 is actually creating digital products. So I reversed engineer at 0:06:36.040 --> 0:06:39.080 that taught myself how to do it, and I'm sharing. 0:06:38.800 --> 0:06:39.320 The wealth back. 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:41.640 So how do you make money? It's money making conversations, 0:06:41.680 --> 0:06:43.160 mass to classes. How do you make money? 0:06:43.880 --> 0:06:45.880 So I make money a couple different ways. 0:06:46.000 --> 0:06:49.600 Won by a consultant as a consultant for companies to 0:06:49.720 --> 0:06:53.000 create digital products. Right now, it's the buzzword is AI, 0:06:53.200 --> 0:06:56.479 so AI agents automated workflows. 0:06:56.760 --> 0:07:00.000 But the cool thing that I've done is within UXD Academy. 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:04.039 I have built an AI experience agency called our Table, 0:07:04.520 --> 0:07:06.400 and it's a way for me to not only it's 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:08.240 a way for me to create a learn and earn 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:11.920 pipeline where I can train people at UXD Academy. I 0:07:12.040 --> 0:07:14.560 take the top ten percent of those and employ them 0:07:14.720 --> 0:07:17.600 at our Table on a project basis. So I go 0:07:17.680 --> 0:07:21.120 out and get small business clients via our Table, and 0:07:21.200 --> 0:07:23.480 then I bring that work into the school so that 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:27.280 way my apprentices can see what real, real world work 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:27.680 looks like. 0:07:28.080 --> 0:07:37.720 Everyone AI, what exactly is AI? You know it exploded 0:07:38.000 --> 0:07:41.840 chat gt GPT right that came out like two years 0:07:41.880 --> 0:07:44.400 ago and did it? But it's been out longer than that. 0:07:45.440 --> 0:07:49.440 And so then you say, I'm a self taught AI person, 0:07:50.440 --> 0:07:56.720 So how can you teach yourself AI? African American, black 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:01.800 person of color? And are you consulting? How are you 0:08:02.000 --> 0:08:06.080 continually able to educate yourself and stay in front and 0:08:06.120 --> 0:08:08.000 stay up because ever changing industry? 0:08:08.200 --> 0:08:08.520 For sure? 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:11.680 How did you make decision to teach yourself because you 0:08:11.720 --> 0:08:13.760 went to be a graphic designer that's what you've been 0:08:13.800 --> 0:08:17.440 trained in. This feels way more technical, it is well. 0:08:17.400 --> 0:08:18.160 For for sure. 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:24.720 So YouTube University, I learned, Wow, practically everything that I 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:26.640 needed to learn about this from YouTube. 0:08:26.880 --> 0:08:29.400 I found great content creators. I followed them. 0:08:29.640 --> 0:08:30.160 They are. 0:08:31.600 --> 0:08:34.760 Creating the waves or behind directly behind the people who 0:08:34.800 --> 0:08:35.720 are making the waves. 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:37.720 So I just stay right in that lane and follow 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:39.080 what they're doing and test it out. 0:08:39.679 --> 0:08:43.480 I tell people YouTube, Google and books taught me everything 0:08:43.520 --> 0:08:46.120 I know about AI and what. 0:08:46.320 --> 0:08:49.319 Is AI when a standpoint of the reason I keep 0:08:49.600 --> 0:08:53.439 harping there because you know, a year ago, i'd use 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:57.400 AI lot. From a standpoint of I have my podcast. 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.839 It translates my podcast, It gives me a descriptions, it 0:09:00.960 --> 0:09:03.920 tells me give me some marketing campaigns and things like that. 0:09:04.559 --> 0:09:08.319 Am I under selling the more I can do with AI? 0:09:09.520 --> 0:09:12.120 Yeah? So I like to tell people AI. Just think 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:12.800 of it as the. 0:09:15.200 --> 0:09:19.920 It's the smartest person you know or the smartest intern 0:09:20.320 --> 0:09:24.000 that you know, and you can train that intern to 0:09:24.120 --> 0:09:28.800 work specifically for you. In a nutshell, that's why, and 0:09:29.240 --> 0:09:33.920 AI really is like the greatest mimic on Earth. It's 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:38.040 just learning from things that we've already produced. It's not 0:09:38.200 --> 0:09:42.400 really creating anything. It's more like mimicking and guessing based 0:09:42.440 --> 0:09:45.320 off of its data. And so we have to feed 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.640 it good data and it'll give us a good output. 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.000 Okay, cool. You don't want to miss an episode of 0:09:50.040 --> 0:09:54.319 Money Making Conversations Masterclass, So right now, follow a subscribe 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:57.720 to Money Making Conversations. It's free and you can find 0:09:57.760 --> 0:10:02.080 it on the iHeartRadio, app, spotif Apple Podcasts, or wherever 0:10:02.200 --> 0:10:03.280 you get your podcasts. 0:10:04.400 --> 0:10:05.439 Please don't go anywhere. 0:10:05.679 --> 0:10:08.760 We'll be right back with more money Making Conversations Masterclass. 0:10:11.480 --> 0:10:14.480 Welcome back to Money Making Conversations master Class with me 0:10:14.640 --> 0:10:18.839 with Sean McDonald. Let's get into more details here. You 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:22.640 actually Academy teaches design, design tools and AI. 0:10:24.080 --> 0:10:30.000 How So I have an online platform built on school 0:10:30.320 --> 0:10:34.679 skol and effectively what I do is I've created my 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:38.199 own curriculum in video format, so I put that on 0:10:38.360 --> 0:10:41.960 that platform. But it also serves as like a combination. 0:10:42.200 --> 0:10:46.680 The platform serves as a combination of LinkedIn Google Classroom, 0:10:47.160 --> 0:10:50.600 so people can post which I encourage people to share, 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:53.599 Hey I built this, and then every two weeks I 0:10:53.720 --> 0:10:57.240 do a free class where I show people, Hey, here's 0:10:57.320 --> 0:10:59.200 what I'm actively working on, and here are the. 0:10:59.240 --> 0:11:02.360 Tools that I'm using to build what I am building. 0:11:02.280 --> 0:11:04.280 And so people can come in and ask me those 0:11:04.320 --> 0:11:07.760 type of questions and then thirdly a mastermind a weekly 0:11:07.880 --> 0:11:10.800 mastermind group where people can get guidance from me and 0:11:10.960 --> 0:11:15.160 helping build their portfolio as well as working on client work. 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:20.720 Wow, so underserved community. I will tell you I won't 0:11:20.760 --> 0:11:22.959 get on a soapbox bodyess, but I will tell you 0:11:23.120 --> 0:11:26.720 that I feel that for the first time in history 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:31.040 that people of color, black people who are on these 0:11:31.600 --> 0:11:34.840 programs or whether you can call the welfare program programs, 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:40.080 that well you actually with these certificates, like you said, 0:11:40.120 --> 0:11:41.520 you don't have to go to a four year school, 0:11:42.080 --> 0:11:45.320 four year college or to your junior college. 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:49.760 Well, you can change your life in a manner more literally. 0:11:51.040 --> 0:11:55.679 Listen, Please let my let my listeners hear this by 0:11:55.760 --> 0:12:01.600 going to your website and seeing the results because living 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:04.960 a life on section eight of staff programs, you don't 0:12:04.960 --> 0:12:07.720 have to do this. No, you can live a better life, 0:12:07.960 --> 0:12:10.199 live in a better community. I would tell you that 0:12:10.559 --> 0:12:14.000 living in those communities under those programs force you to 0:12:14.080 --> 0:12:17.480 maintain a certain lifestyle, force you to live a certain way. 0:12:18.120 --> 0:12:21.840 For you at u XD Academy can bridge a gap 0:12:21.960 --> 0:12:26.920 of academic freedom, financial freedom not only for the individual, 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:29.800 but for their family members and their family and family 0:12:29.880 --> 0:12:32.599 members talk to us. You can soapboxes if you want to. 0:12:32.679 --> 0:12:33.199 Sure. 0:12:33.440 --> 0:12:37.480 The job I had before my career as a designer, 0:12:37.559 --> 0:12:39.160 I worked at a mortgage linding bank. 0:12:39.240 --> 0:12:39.679 I hated it. 0:12:39.840 --> 0:12:43.520 I was making about fourteen dollars an hour, and I 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.720 got to the point where I said, I hate my situation. 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:50.559 I don't like this, and so I leveraged YouTube University 0:12:51.080 --> 0:12:54.480 and went down a rabbit hole and started teaching myself right. 0:12:55.240 --> 0:12:57.840 The routine that I had was I would get up, 0:12:58.120 --> 0:13:00.520 I would go to work from seven to three. Then 0:13:00.559 --> 0:13:03.000 I would work out from three to four, and then 0:13:03.160 --> 0:13:07.760 from five to about two am. I am learning, I'm building, 0:13:07.920 --> 0:13:11.640 I'm redoing my portfolio. I am putting my best foot 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:13.559 forward so people can give me a chance. 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:16.560 Unfortunately, that took me about three years. 0:13:17.240 --> 0:13:20.240 Took me about three years, but somebody gave me a shot, 0:13:20.840 --> 0:13:24.079 and I haven't looked back since I started. 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:24.880 When I got my. 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:27.920 First job, I made seventy five thousand. The second year 0:13:27.960 --> 0:13:31.120 I made one hundred and five. The third year I 0:13:31.240 --> 0:13:34.760 made one hundred and forty. So it's just gone up now. 0:13:34.880 --> 0:13:36.880 Part of that I do know how to speak, I. 0:13:36.920 --> 0:13:38.280 Know how to interview, will hered you well. 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.640 However, my portfolio is what got me that, and so 0:13:42.520 --> 0:13:46.000 I am literally showing not only just people that looks 0:13:46.120 --> 0:13:50.000 like us, but hard working people. A you follow what 0:13:50.080 --> 0:13:53.600 I'm telling you, you can change your life in under 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:54.920 a year and a half. 0:13:55.280 --> 0:13:57.800 Okay, well that next step, what do they have to do? 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:00.839 Will you say? Follow what I'm taking telling you? Where 0:14:00.840 --> 0:14:02.920 they're going to have to go to follow what you 0:14:03.000 --> 0:14:04.400 are telling us in this interview? 0:14:04.640 --> 0:14:05.000 Perfect? 0:14:05.120 --> 0:14:08.160 So of course you can go to my website, yes 0:14:08.640 --> 0:14:14.240 UXD dot Academy. From there, it'll launchpad you straight into 0:14:14.400 --> 0:14:15.200 the free community. 0:14:15.320 --> 0:14:17.760 I offer a free community. That's the thing. I'm giving 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.960 away my information for free. What you're paying for is 0:14:21.080 --> 0:14:21.640 my guidance. 0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:24.480 So I take a do it yourself approach because that's 0:14:24.520 --> 0:14:25.960 what I did. So I'm going to give you the 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:28.800 meat and potatoes of all the courses you need to take, 0:14:29.480 --> 0:14:31.320 the certifications. 0:14:30.520 --> 0:14:32.800 You need here, all the books you need to read. 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:36.200 I give you all of that, so there are no excuses. 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:38.320 If you want to take your own time, sure you 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:40.560 can get there in under two years. But if you 0:14:40.680 --> 0:14:42.840 want that guidance, well then that's where you're going to pay. 0:14:42.840 --> 0:14:46.760 It's just hey, let me give you the course. Correction 0:14:47.000 --> 0:14:47.520 that you need. 0:14:49.200 --> 0:14:51.040 Lit's say you have a graphics you have a four 0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:53.480 year degree. I'm trying to really reach the people who 0:14:53.600 --> 0:14:58.760 have neither that's lost here in this interview for the 0:14:58.880 --> 0:15:02.600 very first time, trying to understand where they can fit 0:15:02.720 --> 0:15:09.080 in it, trying to disseminate reality from their reality. 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:10.240 Talk to me. 0:15:12.040 --> 0:15:15.800 So for that person that you described, what I teach 0:15:15.880 --> 0:15:21.240 people are AI tools, specifically no code and low code tools. 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:24.400 So no code is exactly how it sounds. You don't 0:15:24.440 --> 0:15:27.120 have to know any code in order to use this tool. 0:15:27.880 --> 0:15:31.040 If you know some code, then that means you can 0:15:31.120 --> 0:15:33.480 take a low code tool and push it to the 0:15:33.600 --> 0:15:37.400 max because you actually know the language. That's me no cue, 0:15:37.720 --> 0:15:38.680 so you know the language. 0:15:39.040 --> 0:15:43.760 But you can literally build a chatbot an agent in 0:15:43.880 --> 0:15:47.000 ten minutes with these tools, and I'm teaching you how 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:48.640 to do that and then how to do it on 0:15:48.720 --> 0:15:53.640 a larger scale. So I would say again, you actually 0:15:53.720 --> 0:15:57.120 Academy's YouTube channel is a great place to start, but 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.520 in my community, I also list out the YouTubers that 0:16:00.600 --> 0:16:03.200 I learned from. Right, and you watch one video, You're 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:05.440 going down the ramp hole and you can see the 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:07.800 phone that you have in your pocket. 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:11.600 That's more than enough to get you to it right. 0:16:13.480 --> 0:16:16.920 And we know everybody lives off their phone nowadays, so 0:16:17.000 --> 0:16:19.120 you know there are just many computers for sure. I 0:16:19.240 --> 0:16:21.440 was those of my picking my phone. This is pretty heavy, 0:16:21.600 --> 0:16:24.200 it is, you know it was supposed to be just 0:16:24.240 --> 0:16:26.320 because they small don't be in their light exactly, which 0:16:26.400 --> 0:16:28.720 means that a lot of technologies is crammed into that. 0:16:29.080 --> 0:16:30.920 You don't want to miss an episode of Money Making 0:16:30.960 --> 0:16:35.200 Conversations Masterclass, So right now follow a subscribe to Money 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:38.320 Making Conversations. It's free and you can find it on 0:16:38.400 --> 0:16:42.880 the iHeartRadio app, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get 0:16:42.920 --> 0:16:43.680 your podcasts. 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:45.840 Please don't go anywhere. 0:16:46.080 --> 0:16:49.160 We'll be right back with more Money Making Conversations Masterclass. 0:16:51.880 --> 0:16:54.880 Welcome back to Money Making Conversations master Class with me 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:58.560 for Shan McDonald. And let me ask you this effort 0:16:58.640 --> 0:17:01.200 in the next twelve to eighteen months, what major AI 0:17:01.400 --> 0:17:04.680 trends or technologies you believe will have the biggest impact 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.679 on a small business. I'm a small business. This shows 0:17:07.680 --> 0:17:10.960 about small business businesses and entrepreneurship. 0:17:11.440 --> 0:17:17.680 Talk to us, so I would say automated workflows, AI 0:17:17.880 --> 0:17:23.280 agents and AI powered customer experiences. Those are going to 0:17:23.320 --> 0:17:26.159 be the three biggest I say, major shakeups in the 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:27.560 next twelve to eighteen months. 0:17:27.680 --> 0:17:32.600 This year was dubbed the Year of the Agent, which. 0:17:32.440 --> 0:17:36.080 Effectively I just tell people an agent is a suped 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:40.760 up chat bot that can perform tasks for you on 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:42.320 its own or with you. 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:43.920 That's all it is. 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:46.560 And the reason you're on this show is that I 0:17:46.760 --> 0:17:50.040 know that the world we live in is changing. The 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:54.400 way we view opportunities has to change too. And when 0:17:54.480 --> 0:17:58.920 I saw what you were developing or have developed short 0:17:59.040 --> 0:18:03.960 term opportunities through academic training, I'll point an example to 0:18:04.080 --> 0:18:08.760 my audience. I'm based in Atlanta and Goodwill offer the 0:18:08.920 --> 0:18:16.960 program where EV installations, and they were offering a paid 0:18:17.119 --> 0:18:21.440 training period, and then after that paid training period was 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:24.600 over with, then you had a full time salary that 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:29.960 was over sixty five thousand dollars no education, and we're 0:18:30.000 --> 0:18:32.520 talking about less than six months. This whole period, this 0:18:32.640 --> 0:18:37.200 whole lifetime experience was changing. What are the obstacles in 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.080 your business and how have you overcome those obstacles. 0:18:40.400 --> 0:18:45.879 The obstacles I have are trying to partner with educational institutions. 0:18:46.600 --> 0:18:50.639 They still operate very in a very archaic way, and 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:54.000 so they are very much reluctant to change. I am 0:18:54.119 --> 0:18:57.440 trying to convince them, like, hey, this is where we 0:18:57.560 --> 0:18:59.720 are now. You need to adopt and need to train 0:18:59.760 --> 0:19:03.479 Pece based off what's happening now. So that's been an 0:19:03.520 --> 0:19:06.040 obstacle to try and convince them of that. However, I 0:19:06.119 --> 0:19:08.520 don't spend that much time trying to convince people what 0:19:08.600 --> 0:19:12.520 they can't see. I go and listen to the people 0:19:12.560 --> 0:19:15.960 who I'm trying to help, and they give me a 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:19.679 great perspective because they are telling me what their problems 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:22.560 are and I'm attacking that head on. So I would 0:19:22.560 --> 0:19:25.159 say the biggest obstacle is just not knowing where the 0:19:25.240 --> 0:19:26.560 hell I'm going sometimes. 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:29.399 But I am grounded in what I'm doing and the 0:19:29.440 --> 0:19:31.280 purpose that I'm doing. It allows me to overcome that. 0:19:31.880 --> 0:19:36.560 You know, big fear. It's kind of an interesting interviewing 0:19:36.600 --> 0:19:40.399 you because you use the word AIAI so much. And 0:19:40.640 --> 0:19:43.080 the number one fear in the people who don't know, 0:19:43.280 --> 0:19:46.280 especially in the minority community, is that AI is going 0:19:46.320 --> 0:19:50.440 to take their job. I believe there are from a 0:19:50.640 --> 0:19:54.480 robotic standpoint, jobs are going to be replaced. But again, 0:19:54.640 --> 0:19:58.919 somebody got to run the robot. Somebody gotta program the robot. 0:19:59.040 --> 0:20:03.200 Somebody gotta be able to organize a strategy to advance 0:20:03.280 --> 0:20:07.159 the services of that robot. AI. I don't believe it 0:20:07.280 --> 0:20:09.640 is going to replace the job. It's going to create 0:20:09.760 --> 0:20:13.680 options for a job. When I say that, Everett, am 0:20:13.680 --> 0:20:14.359 I incorrect? 0:20:15.480 --> 0:20:22.640 No, I don't think you are AI will replace some job. 0:20:23.040 --> 0:20:23.960 Yes it will. 0:20:24.080 --> 0:20:27.320 So there are some reports I believe it was MIT 0:20:27.560 --> 0:20:29.800 came out with a study and showed that ninety five 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:36.600 percent of AI polot programs failed. That's at the enterprise level, 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:40.359 that's not at the small business level. Small businesses have 0:20:40.520 --> 0:20:45.280 sewn about eighty percent of positive ROI from using AI. 0:20:45.760 --> 0:20:48.680 And that is where the biggest opportunities are going to 0:20:48.720 --> 0:20:53.879 be is to help small businesses introduced safely, introduce AI 0:20:54.000 --> 0:20:55.679 to them so that way they can scale. 0:20:56.520 --> 0:20:58.440 That is going to be the biggest opportunity. And that's 0:20:58.440 --> 0:20:59.400 where I flourished. 0:21:00.000 --> 0:21:04.840 And companies that are less than fifty employees, they need 0:21:04.960 --> 0:21:09.920 help and giving them AI by way of automating certain processes, 0:21:10.240 --> 0:21:13.359 giving them AI what I call AI co workers, which is. 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:17.760 Just you know, effectively chat GPT as. 0:21:17.280 --> 0:21:19.480 A coworker, right right, So those are going to be 0:21:19.520 --> 0:21:22.200 the biggest opportunities from a small business standpoint. 0:21:22.680 --> 0:21:25.360 You know what. I again, Everett, thank you for coming 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.280 on the show. I'm an interview and the founder of UXD. 0:21:28.960 --> 0:21:31.440 Before we move forward, is there an app. 0:21:31.800 --> 0:21:34.520 The platform that we learned on school that there isn't 0:21:34.560 --> 0:21:34.840 that for that? 0:21:35.119 --> 0:21:36.560 Okay? Cool? Talk to us about that. 0:21:36.960 --> 0:21:37.200 Yeah. 0:21:37.359 --> 0:21:40.320 So again, I built my curriculum on a platform called 0:21:40.400 --> 0:21:43.880 School that's skool relatively new. 0:21:44.160 --> 0:21:51.040