I Made Six Figures Without an Audience. Here's What I Did.

Last year I made six figures teaching AI workshops to local businesses. 

Under twelve months, no cold pitching, and without the audience to back it — the 55k followers I have across my channels today were built alongside this work, not before it.

Here's the bit nobody on AI Twitter is going to tell you. The entire AI conversation right now is happening online. AI bros pitching to AI bros, all in the same algorithm. Meanwhile your local chamber of commerce has hundreds of small business owners who don't know what Claude is, and almost nobody is showing up to help them. There is no AI bubble in regional Australia. There's a vacuum. And that's where the money is.

In this episode I'm walking you through exactly how I did it — the local directory I listed myself on, why "AI Educator" beats "AI Consultant" for the people you actually want to find you, how to talk about what you do at networking events without sounding like a fraud, the way I framed myself as the antidote to overwhelm, and the one rule I follow in every workshop that turns the room into a referral machine.

If you've been sitting on AI knowledge waiting until your audience is big enough to monetise it — that's the lie that's keeping you stuck.

00:00 — Intro
01:30 — How I Made Six Figures Without an Audience
03:30 — The AI Bubble Nobody Talks About
05:00 — Stop Pitching. Get Found.
07:00 — The Directory That Changed Everything
08:30 — I Built My Own Directory
10:00 — Just Tell People What You Do
12:00 — Why I Said Yes to Cheap Work
15:00 — Stop Trying to Be Impressive
17:00 — Clear Beats Impressed
19:30 — What Six Figures Doesn't Buy You
21:30 — The Network You Can't Build Online
23:30 — Outro


Resources mentioned

Wright Mode community (Skool) — full workshop on how to run AI workshops better, plus the templates, framing language, and outreach examples I use: https://www.skool.com/wright-mode-membership/about
The Wright Mode directory — the community directory I built using Claude Code + n8n. It's literally a Google Sheet that looks gorgeous. Have a look: https://directory.wrightmode.com
Inspire & Collaborate — Kel's Southwest Women in Business community where I list myself (Southwest girlies — come to the panel coming up!)
The Vagilantes — the 40s women's touch team I'm coaching. Hi, girls.


Connect with Brooke

Instagram: @wright_mode
TikTok: @brooke_wrightmode
Skool community: https://www.skool.com/wright-mode-membership/about

Slide into my DMs if you land a local gig from this episode — I genuinely want to hear about it.

Send this to one person
If this episode resonated, send it to one person who's been waiting for permission to do this work locally. They probably need it more than you think.

• Want to work together? Check out my offerings at Wright Mode
• Connect with me on Instagram → @wright_mode

Transcript

0:00

I made six figures last year teaching AI workshops to local businesses in under 12 months without sending a single cold pitch, and here's the part that's gonna blow your mind, mainly without an audience. So the 55,000 followers I have across my channels today, that was built alongside this work, not before it. So if you've been sitting on knowledge, waiting until your audience is big enough to money- monetize it with AI, I am here to tell you that that's the lie that is keeping you stuck. So welcome back to Not Another AI Girl. I'm Brooke, if you've never met me before. I am in Melbourne at the moment for work, workshops. There you go. And today we are gonna talk about how to make money with AI that isn't like snake oil, and it is one of the underutilized or untapped areas that more people need to get into. So- First up, we are in an AI bubble online, and the money is local. What do I mean by this? So, w- we're all online, right? Like, you probably found me online, whether that's through Instagram or TikTok, YouTube, whatever. And so we are, like, seeing what we're interested in. The algorithm is serving us AI. My algorithm is currently AI soccer, 'cause I am a 38-year-old trying to learn soccer for the first time, and, like, funny memes relating to Diet Coke. They're my interests at the moment. And so that is probably reflective of you, too, right? And you probably feel like you are behind. I'm here to tell you that you are not. If you are using AI, you are currently ahead of most other people, and most of the AI conversation right now is happening online. Yes, people are talking about AI, maybe like, "Oh, let's ChatGPT it." But we are all in the same algorithm, shouting at each other, pitching to each other. And so there is a whole untapped area of business that you... If you want to c- like, do AI education or if you want to make money teaching other people how to use AI, I'm telling you, go local. Your local chamber of commerce, business chamber would have so many small business owners who have not heard of Claude. The accountant down the street who has just started playing around with ChatGPT, the, cafe owner who is struggling with their marketing and has heard of, like, ChatGPT or Claude, and has no idea how to use any of it The AI bubble is online. There is no AI bubble in regional Australia or if you're listening globally. We're in a vacuum. I cannot stress that enough. Like, yes, people may have heard of these tools. I ran a workshop this afternoon for women in business, and I was, like, reminded how many people have no idea how to use these tools. Like, this was a group of amazing business owners, and I was telling them how to set up their custom instructions in Claude, and that was, like, blowing their minds, some of them had never created custom GPTs. That is just a reminder that we are in this bubble, and that, my friends, is where the money is. That's the gap, and that is what we are going to walk through today So step one, you need to make yourself findable. So I didn't cold pitch anyone. I wasn't sliding into people's LinkedIn DMs. I actually listed myself on a directory, a local directory. And this was through Inspire and Collaborate. Shout out to Kel, who runs these incredible women in f- these incredible events for women in business in the Southwest. And I just listed myself on her directory, and she, like, contacted me and was like, "Hey, do you wanna come and speak at the first event of last year?" And she has been such a huge supporter of my business. Um, I've got a panel coming up with them in a couple of weeks, so any Southwest girlies, come on down. I haven't been to an Inspire event in a while. I've been away for the last couple. Um, and so none of that was pitched. That all just came from me listing myself on a directory. And so that's what I want you to do. Like, go and search for your local business directories. You can do that online. If there isn't one, guess what? You can make one. I have made a directory for my community. And yeah, that whole process is in the membership of how to create a directory just using Claude Code and NAN, and it's literally a Google sheet, but it looks amazing. I will actually drop the link to it below so you can check it out. And so you wanna find the directory for your region, women in business, chamber of commerce, regional business hub, whatever that looks like. List yourself, and put, like, AI or AI educator on there. And yeah, like, pick your niche. Are you for small business? Are you going to niche into a certain industry? And you can figure that out along the way. That's fine. What I want you to do is go out, find these avenues. I actually have a couple of other members who have taken my advice and done this in Sydney. Both of them are presenting at different business chambers in Sydney. Like, two of my members in the same city have found opportunities by doing that. So step two, this is the one that I guess nobody talks about. Like, go to networking events and tell people that you do AI education, because people don't know what they don't know, right? Like, they are not gonna be like, "Oh, Brooke does AI education," because they're a mind reader. You have to tell people that that is what you're doing, and you need to get comfortable with saying that. I remember when I first started, I was like- Oh, who am I to do this? And then I just was like, "You know what? I'm gonna lean into this," and just got comfy with being like, "Yeah, I teach people," or, "I teach small business owners how to use AI and automations to scale their business." And that is really effective. Like, just start talking to people about it in your network, outside of your network, but in person. Because online there is just, like, so much noise. And so in person, I truly believe if you are just getting started, is a much easier route to take when you're first trying to get clients And so then step three, and this is reaching out to help, not to sell. So when you reach out to a business owner or a chamber rep, don't, don't necessarily pitch the workshop. So for context, like, I ran free workshops last year, and then for the business chamber, I was in a program with the federal government, and they subsidized my rate. But I got paid... Like, it wasn't much. It was a couple of hundred dollars to run these workshops. it's a lot less than what I charge now, but the thing is, I wanted to do that, one, because it was good practice presenting, speaking, running workshops, and two, also, like, small business is different to some of the businesses that I work with now, right? I was working with small and micro businesses. So I was like, "You know what? This is goodwill. I know that this is gonna pay off." And as I said, like, having experience running workshops, public speaking, all of that, building, like, community, networks in the community. So yeah, don't be afraid to go in and be like, "You know, I'm running a workshop. Happy to do it for free or for, like, low, like a low fee." And then in exchange for that, one, you can, like, set up your iPhone, take some photos of you presenting, and then you've got some assets. Two, you can then, like, ask them for their, like, emails or something like that. Maybe that's what you get in exchange. And also, you then are in a room full of small business owners who are, like, overwhelmed by AI and want you to help them learn it. Like, the workshop, is just, like, a nice in, and then you will make connections. Maybe they want some automation set up. Maybe they wanna go deeper. Maybe they want a one-on-one. It is an excellent avenue. So don't go in and pitch like, "Hey, I wanna run a workshop, I don't know, thousands of dollars. Go in and be like, "Hey, I notice, like, a lot of your members are probably feeling overwhelmed with AI right now. I do, like, plain English workshops. I can do an intro to AI and automations or an intro to Claude or ChatGPT. Would be really interested in chatting about running one of these for your group." So notice here, like, what I'm selling is expertise. I'm offering, like, to remove a problem. And that problem is, members are feeling overwhelmed with AI, they don't know where to start. You become the person who can fix that, not like pitching right off the bat. Step four, so this, I guess, I've naturally fallen into this, and I think a lot of people who go into this space will be the same. Frame yourself as, like, the antidote to overwhelm. I- my kids troll me now. Um, we're at that age, it's happening a lot faster than I thought it would. But they say to me like, "Hi, I'm Brooke. Learn AI without the overwhelm." But that is, like, literally what I do, and a lot of my CTAs are on, like on Instagram, "Follow me for more AI tips without the overwhelm." But that is my whole premise, right? And I give permission to try this tech, ask questions, there's no dumb question, and just, like, really try and help people feel less overwhelmed, because it is a lot. Like, find your little vibe with this, like, what is it? Is it removing the overwhelm? Are you gonna make it fun? Are you gonna make it exciting? And you'll get a feel for this as you run these workshops. Don't go in proving that you know more than the people in the workshop. Like, you want them to feel supported, and you don't want to make them feel like they are behind, because then you'll just get, like, people who are too scared to engage, or they, like, yeah, they'll just tune out. And so I guess, like, my kind of superpower, for lack of a better word, in those rooms is not being, like, the most techy. That is one of the biggest pieces of feedback that I have gotten is, like, "Oh, you came in and you didn't explain this." Like, you didn't just drop terms and make people feel like they were behind, or that you should already know this. It's just, like, my approach is like, "Oh, here, let me show you this one thing, and y- have a go. Like, let's do this together." And number five, so this rule is- This is the rule that turned every single one of my workshops into, like, an awesome experience. And it took me a little while to learn this. And again, it's all just, like, practicing, right? But you want to give people one to three things to walk out with. That's it. Not 10, not, like, stuffing it full of value. You just wanna give them one to two... to, one to three things. So often in my intro workshops, it's just, like, setting up your custom instructions, showing them about connectors, and then maybe, like, touching on projects. Depending on how advanced the group is, we might go into some skills. But often it's just, like, how to navigate, like, Claude or ChatGPT, custom instructions, and maybe some projects. That's it. That is more than enough for an hour workshop. And that leaves people feeling like, "Oh, okay, cool. I can implement this stuff." Towards the end you might show them the possibilities. Like, "And here's what you're working towards." But you don't want that whole workshop to be that. You just wanna kind of be like, "Okay, we've done these things, and let me just show you something that you can work towards." Because otherwise they just... Like, they leave feeling overwhelmed, And we want them feeling like clear, not impressed. So clear means they can actually use what you have taught them. And you will get referrals out of that. You will not get referrals if you overwhelm people. And look, as I said, this is... It's all about learning, and that is why I encourage you to do some free workshops, because you get a feel for this stuff too. Also, I will say online workshops versus in-person workshops are very different. So in-person, people are more engaged. Online you get through a whole lot more because there's, like, less engagement, whereas in an in-person one, you often get through less because there's more questions, there's more engagement. So keep that in mind when you're planning it out too And so I guess as part of this, so what compounds from this? So obviously you, like, will get referrals from this, guaranteed. And your business will grow. Like, because you're not competing with all of the noise online. Like, my audience growth, that is a path that I chose to take. That path is not for everyone, and that required me posting three times a day for 12 months straight. Like, can you do that? If you, like, are committed, like I knew that I was going to do that, but if you think maybe that's not for me, then try this way. Like, I guarantee you will see results a lot faster. And underneath that though, what also you will get out of this is public speaking confidence. So you learn how to manage a room. You learn how to engage with people. You learn how to teach people. You have to stand up in front of 40 people that you don't know and explain Claude or ChatGPT in a way that is going to resonate with small business. And also, coming back to the in-person versus online, online businesses are a different beast to local businesses as well. So you have to also think about that in your examples too, because you want to be able to relate it back to the audience that you're presenting in front of. And after you do this a couple of times, you will, like, you will get so confident with this stuff, and that is such a awesome skill. I've got a level of presenting confidence now that is beyond what I ever could have imagined. As an example, I got asked to coach our women's 40s touch team this year. Shout out to the Vagilantes, if you're listening. And I would've not done that a couple of years ago. I would've just been too shy and not confident enough. But because I now have these skills, like public speaking confidence, leadership skills, I was able to be like, "You know what? I can lead this team." And yeah, even my husband said that. He's like, "Far out. Your growth through this business is incredible to watch." So that shit is priceless Number two, what you will gain from this, speaking opportunities. So one talk, like getting yourself in front of a room, will lead to more invitations. I got, so many speaking gigs last year, and I've got more this year, and that is a goal I am working on for the end of the year. None of those opportunities were on my radar until I started doing this. So if you do want more speaking opportunities as well, this is a great way to, practice, and also get those opportunities. And then finally, real connections, like in person, actual humans who, you can say hello to down the f- street, who refer to you, and you refer back to them. That connection and community in person. And also knowing that you're, helping your community out. That is awesome. And so yeah, like yes, my social growth has now exploded. And I would encourage you, if you are interested, take this path. It is l- a lot less competitive, and some people don't want the big audience online, and that is fine. So this is another option for you So that's where I'll leave you today. I guess just a reminder that the AI bubble is online. We're in a bubble. If you're listening to this podcast, I'm sorry, but you're in the bubble. And you are competing with a lot more people on the algorithm, so I just encourage you local, try local, do a couple of free workshops, and see how you go from there. And if you want, like, the templates, I have a full workshop on how to run workshops better. That all lives in my Write Mode community. I will drop the link to that in the show notes. And if this episode resonates with you, slide into my DMs. Tell me. If you, like, get one of these local gigs, let me know. I love hearing about this stuff. And that's it. I will see you on the next episode