💡Why authentic solopreneurs will win in the AI era

Hey there!

I'm so happy you're here—seriously, it means a lot. If you've seen me popping up in your social feeds or caught my recent YouTube videos, you've probably noticed I've been showing up consistently (finally!) for the past month.

And while it's been an incredible learning curve, I'll be the first to admit: there's a lot to figure out, especially when you're starting fresh (and in your soon-40s!).

This is my space to connect directly with you, share real insights, and hopefully make your journey into building a one-person thriving business with the help of AI and digital business models a bit easier and clearer.

The way I see it is - we’re living through the biggest opportunity ever to achieve genuine financial and time freedom. I’m convinced we'll see more millionaires and billionaires emerge in the shortest period ever (Sam Altman agrees).

Putting all the AI noise aside, I truly believe that right now, your authenticity combined with a masterful and intentional use of AI is the single most powerful advantage you can have.

Forget trying to find the right business model, the right product or idea or following someone else's blueprint. The way I see it, there's really only one sustainable way to future-proof your work and your life: building a business around YOU.
Your strengths, your passions, your unique perspective—and let AI & emerging business models amplify and scale that.

Each week I'll share practical AI insights, digital business models I am trying out, tools & prompts that are working for me, things that excite me, and transparent behind-the-scenes lessons from my own ongoing journey of building a freedom-based one-person AI-powered business.

Let’s dive in!

Needle-Mover of the Week # 1: "Deep Research"

It’s been a busy AI week with so many news, but here is the one that is a needle-mover for me and anyone building a business today.

The tool:
ChatGPT's "Deep Research" isn't just another cool feature—it's a revolutionary way to instantly access top-tier intelligence on virtually any topic.

Why It Matters for Us (Solopreneurs):
As someone building your business solo, being able to quickly gather industry insights, trend analysis, and niche-specific intelligence isn’t just convenient—it’s game-changing. It's like having a research assistant who works at lightning speed, freeing up your mental bandwidth so you can spend more time actually building your business.

Here’s how you can immediately put it to use:

• Product ideation: Instantly identify market gaps and customer pain points.

• Trend forecasting: Stay ahead by recognizing trends before they go mainstream.

• Efficient content planning: Easily align your content strategy to trending insights, giving you a cutting-edge advantage and soooo much more!!!!

For more practical examples, I’ve created an in-depth walkthrough video comparing ChatGPT & Perplexity Deep Research Feature for my Youtube Channel (includes a Doc with Prompts).

Needle-Mover of the Week # 2: ChatGPT-4.5 Model

Okay, so ChatGPT 4.5 is here and it’s making waves. The interesting thing with it is while its normal intelligence metrics is on the same level as other models, it now has Emotional Intelligence.

Why It Matters for Us (Solopreneurs):

1. This model is able to come up with original, novel and innovative ideas. Think new product ideas, services, income streams, monetization strategies for your business, hot takes for your content.

2. It comes even closer to Claude in terms of its ability to generate human and intuitive copy in your tone of voice for any content creation purposes. (still playing around with it to see for myself)

Prompt of the week (ChatGPT 4.5):

Why This Prompt Works:
It taps into ChatGPT 4.5’s exceptional strength—generating original, insight-rich ideas. Instead of recycled suggestions, this prompt gives you actionable clarity and unique angles, putting you miles ahead of typical, generic advice.

(Seriously—try it now.)

Good to know:

If you have a Plus ChatGPT subscription (20 dollars), here is what available to you now:

ChatGPT 4.5 - limited( around 40 prompts per week limit)

Deep Research - limited (10 prompts per month)

Sora is available as well - you just need to go to https://sora.com and sign in with your open ai credentials.

If you do not pay for ChatGPT, but still want access to Deep Research, you can use it from a free account in Perplexity (with some limits).

BTS: My Month of Consistency (with zero vanity metrics)

Okay, full transparency—this last month, showing up consistently on YouTube and social media has been both fun and exhausting. Seriously, hats off to anyone doing this long-term!

Here's what’s working for me right now:

My primary focus is output, not vanity metrics like followers or immediate growth. I observe it, but I do not overanalyze it. My weekly goal is: 1 YT video, 5 reels, 3 carousels. Give and take some reels here and there, I have been very consistent.

I think it’s because I am focusing mainly on “Have I showed up authentically and provided value?“ and not how many likes content gets. I have been in enough personal development and business rabbit holes to understand that results accumulate over time and that consistency and small improvements is the only way to get to your desired state:

if you are curious, here are my stats:

My Biggest Win this Month🥂:

I feel like I have been able to overcome the fear of being seen online which made it possible to show up almost every day with little to no overthinking. This is HUGE for me, as someone who is not on social media really and has been so reluctant to show up in the past few years. Being able to show up and feel cringe and talk about things I find meaningful and create value - it has been the most liberating feeling ever! I am so grateful for that.

 New in My Solopreneur Toolbox:

I am (and always will be) sharing only tried and tested tools that I am obsessed with. I team up with them to get affiliate links (enter new passive income stream!), so if you decide to sign up I will get a small commission. Let me know if you want more details on this income stream, and I’ll make a deep-dive!

1. Descript - Video and Podcast Editing

Why I Love It: Turns complex YouTube editing into something I can do with little effort and fast. Powerful AI features. Perfect for repurposing across multiple platforms (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube shorts). Saves time.

2. VidIQ - Youtube Analytics

Why I Love It: Simple, but powerful YT analytics tool, helps me to optimize my videos with SEO, keyword insights and generally understand what content is searched for. (The first video I used it for got a 500 views overnight, so I will def continue leveraging it).

3. Stan Store - All-in-One Digital Products Storefront

Why I Love it: Unpretentious tool to host all types of digital products, freebies, sessions etc all in one place and has a neat link-in-bio. I listened to the founders interview on Dan Koe’s podcast recently and I really resonated with those guys, who are obsessed with helping creators make money with their skills. Saves me tons of mental space. Stupid easy to use.

That's all for this week! I'd love to hear your thoughts—hit reply and let me know what resonated or what you’d like more of next week.

P.S.: Remember, you're not late—you're right on time. Let's start building!

Your AI and Solopreneur Bestie,
Elena Kell