The Great AI Land Rush

Good Morning!

Last week, I wrote about tariffs (not the politics of it 😀, but the business hiding inside of it and inside headlines).

This week, I mapped 10+ real consulting opportunities tied to the latest tariff changes. I’m no tariff expert, but I’ve learned this: if you can match your skills to what businesses actually need, you’re already halfway there.

If you're stuck and want help spotting opportunities in all this chaos, email me. I’ll reply personally to the first 5 messages.

On the Mat

The Great AI Land Rush
What Two Rounds in Business Taught Me About Surviving and Winning
Over-Niching? Too Broad? Here’s the Fastest Way to Find Your First Clients

Let's Train

The Great AI Land Rush

In 1849, word spread that gold had been discovered in California, and tens of thousands of people packed their lives into wagons and rushed to California to strike it rich.

Most of them never found gold.

The ones who did? They weren’t mining. They were selling shovels, maps, housing, and supplies to the miners.

Today, we’re living through the same story. Only the gold isn’t metal, it’s AI.

Over the past two years, millions have jumped into the AI race: building apps, writing prompts, starting courses, automating workflows.

Some are making fortunes. Most aren’t.

And now, with the release of GPT-5 last week, faster, sharper, and able to build working apps in minutes, the frenzy just doubled.

More people are pouring in. More businesses are desperate to “do something with AI” before they get left behind.

The truth? You don’t have to be the one chasing AI gold.

You can be the one selling the shovels.

That means positioning yourself as the person who helps others apply AI in their world.

Here are two practical ways you can start right now:

Example 1 – AI for Client Research

If you’re a marketing consultant, you can create an AI-powered research system that:

Scans industry news, competitor moves, and customer reviews daily.
Summarizes findings into a short, actionable report.

Your clients get sharper insights in minutes instead of weeks. You become the person they rely on to stay ahead, without them having to lift a finger.

How to get started:

Pick a niche you understand (law firms, real estate agents, SaaS startups).
Use tools like Perplexity, ChatGPT, or custom GPTs to pull daily insights.
Package those insights into a “Weekly Competitive Edge” report.

Finding leads:

Search LinkedIn for marketing directors in your niche.
Offer them a free 7-day trial report tailored to their business.
Follow up with a clear monthly subscription offer.

Example 2 – AI for Workflow Automation in Manufacturing

If you help manufacturing companies, you can use AI to save them time and cut waste.

Here’s how it could work:

AI pulls daily production numbers from machines.
It makes a simple dashboard showing inventory, defects, and downtime.
Every morning, it sends managers a short report with ideas to fix problems.

This replaces slow manual spreadsheets. Problems get solved faster. Costs go down.

How to start:

Look for factories that run out of stock, have delays, or have too much unused inventory.
Learn one tool really well, like Zapier, Make, or a custom GPT that connects to factory data.
Offer a “Production Dashboard Setup” so they can see all their key numbers in one place.

How to find leads:

Search LinkedIn for “operations manager” or “plant manager” in your area.
Go to local manufacturing events and meet people.
Post a short demo video showing how your AI dashboard works.
Send a friendly message offering a small test project to show results fast.

The point is this: You don’t have to build AI tools; you can help businesses use them. You don’t have to chase the AI gold; you can sell the shovels.

And if you’ve been waiting for the “perfect moment” to start your consulting or service business, this is it.

The demand is here, the tools are here, the wave is only getting bigger.

That’s exactly what I cover in my latest video:

The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Consulting Business in 2025

Inside, you’ll learn:

How to spot waves like GPT-5 before they go mainstream.
The 10+5 Method to validate your consulting offer fast (no ads, nowebsite).
Messaging templates to land your first clients.
How to deliver results without burning out.

Don’t just dig for AI gold. Be the one who sells the shovels.

▶ Watch here → The Ultimate Guide to Starting a Consulting Business in 2025

Ask Feras Recap

The first time you start a business, it’s like walking into a boxing ring blindfolded. You don’t know where the punches are coming from… until you’ve already taken a few to the jaw.

The second time? You’ve got ring vision. You can read the angles, see the openings, and know exactly where the knockout blows land.

So here’s the question I got asked recently: “What were your worst mistakes the first time, and what were the best lessons you carried into the second?”

The Challenge

In my first business, I underestimated how long it would take to bring in revenue, especially with both me and my co-founder learning on the fly. Fear of pitching kept us overplanning and underexecuting.

What I Learned the Hard Way

In my second business, I realized you don’t need to reinvent the wheel, you can repurpose systems and processes from before. You won’t repeat the same mistakes, but you will make new ones if you get overconfident.

And sales skills? They don’t always transfer across markets, what works in one might flop in another. Learn from the locals.

What I Told Them

If it’s your first business, expect delays in revenue. Face your fear of selling early and learn the craft yourself before outsourcing it.

If it’s your second, use what you’ve built before, but keep your humility as you’ll still have blind spots. And always adapt to the market you’re in, not the one you came from.

Sharpen Your Blade

Over-Niching? Too Broad? Here’s the Fastest Way to Find Your First Clients

How many clients have you walked past without realizing it?

If you’re just starting out, you might be over-niching yourself into an empty calendar…

Or going so broad that you spend weeks chasing leads who will never buy.

That’s how you end up with:

Endless outreach that gets no replies
Coffee meetings that go nowhere
Prospects ghosting because your offer “isn’t quite right”
That sinking feeling when bills are due and the pipeline is still dry

In this video, I’ll show you exactly how to position yourself so you attract real opportunities from day one — while still building toward the niche you actually want.

Watch Now!

Subscribe to the Black Belt Startup Newsletter

Weekly, 5-minute insights to help you escape the 9–5, land your first clients, and grow a thriving business.