Send a question or message to Kate & Sam

AI only does what you direct it to do. If it’s giving you rubbish, it hasn’t been trained yet or set up for success.

Kate De Jong and Sam Morris break down the two things that make AI actually useful in a small business: context and connectors. Sam shows how she runs three businesses with one AI executive assistant that reads her email, calendar and Trello board, then tells her every morning what to focus on.

Get the free prompt, “Why Should Anyone Pick You?”:
thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/free-prompt

Ready to train your AI properly? Grind to Growth: The AI Setup Workbook:
[link]

Questions? thrivingbusinesspodcast@gmail.com

Chapters (add your intro length to each):
00:00 Welcome back
02:07 AI only does what you direct it to do
03:51 Why you have to onboard AI like an employee
05:58 The builder who thought Copilot was crap
06:59 The two keys: context and connectors
08:30 Native connectors vs GitHub files
17:00 Step 1: one inbox, one calendar
19:56 Using Trello as the to-do list
22:24 The daily brief: how it plans the day
26:01 Payroll from days to minutes
32:24 Cash flow questions answered in seconds
34:25 Using AI to coach you, not replace your thinking
36:52 Building a staff intranet with Google Sites
40:58 “I don’t believe in AI”
43:45 Supervising AI from the couch
49:59 Where to start

Thriving Business Podcast 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/

Thriving Business Launchpad 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/thriving-business-launchpad

Connect with Your Hosts:

Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business

🌐 Website: https://katedejong.com/

📱 Instagram: @katedejong.inspiredbusiness

✉️ Email: kate@katedejong.com

Sam Morris | The O8

🌐 Website: https://www.theo8.com/

📱 Instagram: @the_o8crew

✉️ Email: sam@theo8.com

Send a question or message to Kate & Sam

You see someone crush it with a group program, a membership or a $37 product, and you think that's what you should be doing too. We've both fallen into that trap.

In this episode, Kate and I talk about why we pulled the pin on The Engine Room, our group program, after coming home from Bali completely wiped out. There was nothing wrong with the idea. We just didn't want to deliver it.

We talk about:

• Why someone else's success comes from their skills, personality and journey, not yours
• How to use your energy to tell whether a business model's right for you
• Group coaching vs online courses, and what we've chosen instead
• Why coaching gets poor results when the foundation work hasn't been done first
• Getting off the hamster wheel long enough to get clear on what you actually want

If you're a coach, consultant or expert trying to work out which business model suits you, this one's for you.

Grab our free AI workbook at thrivingbusinesspodcast.com while it's still free.

Thriving Business Podcast 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/

Thriving Business Launchpad 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/thriving-business-launchpad

Connect with Your Hosts:

Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business

🌐 Website: https://katedejong.com/

📱 Instagram: @katedejong.inspiredbusiness

✉️ Email: kate@katedejong.com

Sam Morris | The O8

🌐 Website: https://www.theo8.com/

📱 Instagram: @the_o8crew

✉️ Email: sam@theo8.com

GET THE AI SETUP WORKBOOK

🌐 https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/ai-setup-workbook

Send a question or message to Kate & Sam

In this candid episode of the Thriving Business Podcast, hosts Kate De Jong and Sam Morris return from a month-long break for an open and honest "full disclosure" conversation. Fresh off their business retreat in Sanur, Bali, Kate and Sam reflect on the importance of creating spaciousness, listening to intuition, and making brave pivots when things no longer feel aligned in business.

Key Discussion Points & Takeaways:

• The Power of Spaciousness: Highlights from their 5-day Bali retreat on why slowing down and stepping out of daily operations allows essential recovery and expansive visioning to take place.
• Full Disclosure on "The Engine Room": Why Kate and Sam made the decision to pull the pin on their planned program, The Engine Room, after recognizing resistance and misalignmen.
• Human Design & Personal Alignment: How exploring Human Design helped Sam realize her natural wiring as a Generator—preferring behind-the-scenes consulting, systems, and tool creation over live group coaching.
• Skill Sets vs. Energy Drivers: The crucial distinction between being skilled at something and being genuinely energized by it, plus how Kate and Sam balance their complementary strengths in leadership, marketing, and systems.
• Pivots & Market Feedback: Why trying new offers that don't take off isn't a failure, but essential feedback that highlighted their audience's biggest demand: revenue generation and AI implementation.
• What's Coming Next: The upcoming transition to the Business Launch Pad—a resource providing self-paced AI prompts across all quadrants of the Thriving Business Wheel.

Thriving Business Podcast 🌐Website: https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/

Connect with Your Hosts:

Kate De Jong, PhD | Inspired Business

🌐 Website: https://katedejong.com/

📱 Instagram: @katedejong.inspiredbusiness

✉️ Email: kate@katedejong.com

Sam Morris | The O8

🌐 Website: https://www.theo8.com/

📱 Instagram: @the_o8crew

✉️ Email: sam@theo8.com

GET THE AI SETUP WORKBOOK

🌐 https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/ai-setup-workbook

GET YOUR FREE PASS TO THE ENGINE ROOM

🌐 https://www.thrivingbusinesspodcast.com/the-engine-room

NOTE - OUR WORKSHOPS AND RETREAT WILL BE BACK IN 2027!