One of the most underrated yet transformative tools in your business arsenal is the simple AI assistant. A custom GPT is so easy to create that even a non-technical person like me can do it. Recently on The Marketing Companion podcast, the brilliant Dana Malstaff (of Boss Mom and Nurture to Convert) explained how entrepreneurs — even those who aren’t coders — can leverage AI bots to accelerate growth, foster community, and reclaim those precious, creative moments of freedom we’ve all been missing.
Dana’s journey began out of necessity—a messy year filled with personal challenges that demanded her to be “on” for her business even when life was falling apart. Out of that chaos sprang something unique: personal AI bots tailored to her needs.
Here’s what I learned from Dana’s fearless embrace of AI and why you should seriously consider building your own digital sidekick.
From Therapy Bots to Future-Self Coaching
Dana Malstaff
Dana first dreamed up what she called a “therapist bot” (affectionately named Atlantis) because traditional support systems weren’t always available at midnight when she needed them. Her bot became a judgment-free zone, combining the endless patience of AI with personalized prompts and questions designed to nudge her forward, both emotionally and in her business. That little experiment snowballed.
The next step? A “future self” bot. Dana structured it as a kind of time machine. She programmed it to act as the version of herself ten years down the line, having already achieved her goals, dealt with her hang-ups, and built out her business vision. The bot guides her (and now, her community) by asking not only what she wanted, but why she hadn’t achieved it yet, what she feared, and who she might need to let go of in the process. This wasn’t just surface-level affirmation; it was deep, sometimes uncomfortable self-inquiry that led to action.
And it works. Her clients, who used the bot built into ChatGPT, reported significant boosts in productivity, clarity, and decisiveness. Bots didn’t replace thinking — they supercharged it.
AI Assistant for Systems, Scale, and Speed
Dana’s not stopping at mental health or personal empowerment. She’s bringing bot-powered systems right into the core of business strategy and marketing implementation.
She is creating a truly AI-first business with an AI bot strategy built into the core of her business model.
It’s not about skipping the work, it’s about skipping the friction. Dana’s mantra: “The clarity is in the doing.” Bots help you get into “doing” mode faster, making it possible to implement, iterate, and improve at lightning speed.
You Don’t Have to Code—You Just Have to Ask
Maybe the most empowering nugget of the whole conversation: Neither of us are coders, and that’s irrelevant. The “coding language” of today is simply good communication. If you can type thoughtful prompts and questions in English, ChatGPT (and similar platforms) will do the heavy lifting.
Dana’s advice for entrepreneurs and marketers: Just try it. Start a conversation with ChatGPT about your goals, your hang-ups, your tasks. Let it guide you with more questions, and keep refining as you learn. The bot isn’t perfect, but it evolves with you. And as your needs become more sophisticated, so will your prompts—and your results.
AI Leaves Room for Creativity
There’s an elephant in the room with all this talk about clones, bots, and AI-first strategies: Am I putting myself out of a job?
Dana’s answer is clear-eyed and optimistic: Absolutely not. Bots make the real you more valuable. They enable you to be “present” for your audience 24/7, democratize access to your expertise, and free you up to do what only you can do: reflect, innovate, mentor, and create real change.
In fact, as bots take over the repetitive or easily systematized aspects of life and business, what remains is space—potentially, for the first time in years—for boredom. And out of boredom comes creativity, innovation, and those big, bold ideas that actually move you and your business forward.
AI, in this manifestation, doesn’t replace humans; it supports us so we can dig deeper, go further, and do work that really matters.
What’s Next? Cloning, Community, and Creativity
Where is this all heading? Dana has her sights set on cloning herself via AI for both Boss Mom (providing life and business advice) and Nurture to Convert (offering strategic marketing coaching). It’s not about making herself obsolete; it’s about expanding her reach and serving her community, even those who can’t afford private coaching.
And, crucially, as our routine tasks get handled quicker and with more precision, we finally earn back the gift of time—time to think, to be creative, to dream up what’s next.
Marketing, business, and personal growth hinge on helping people get what they want faster, with less friction. Dana’s fearless steps into AI-driven coaching and business systems offer a roadmap for any entrepreneur ready to embrace this new world.
So here’s my challenge: Don’t just read about bots — build one. Start small. Play with prompts. Get curious. Let AI shoulder some of your cognitive load and see what opens up for you.
A great place to start is by listening to this inspiring discussion with Dana!
To listen in, just click here:
Click here to enjoy The Marketing Companion Episode 319
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