I was just watching a video by a guy who manufactures air filters in the USA and he similarly broke down where China has the advantage and where the USA has the advantage, and it’s mainly...
I was just watching a video by a guy who manufactures air filters in the USA and he similarly broke down where China has the advantage and where the USA has the advantage, and it’s mainly non-glamorous industrial stuff that needs high quality, reliability, fast turnaround, customisability, and ongoing service.
China has the advantage in tech stuff because they literally have entire cities dedicated to manufacturing, with raw materials, suppliers, manufacturers and customers all in the one place.
America has also essentially lost a generation or more of manufacturing knowledge. Even if you wanted to buy something or source materials, you couldn’t.
The proliferation of AI marketing images that all look the same suggests so. They're not, IMO, actually good but it's all most small businesses are using now.
The proliferation of AI marketing images that all look the same suggests so. They're not, IMO, actually good but it's all most small businesses are using now.
I went to a small ice cream shop in a tiny town that I visited in Indiana last month. It was the only ice cream shop in town that wasn't a DQ or other national chain, and the older lady behind the...
I went to a small ice cream shop in a tiny town that I visited in Indiana last month. It was the only ice cream shop in town that wasn't a DQ or other national chain, and the older lady behind the counter was a friendly and clearly loved what she had built. She mentioned that they had been open less than a year, which is when it suddenly clicked for me why the logo and marketing materials all looked very AI generated.
I was a little sad, I (silently) wished the owner had solicited some art from a grandchild and used it as the basis, it would have been way more interesting and unique.
My mom is someone who can do very good art by hand but has always struggled with perfectionism and only seeing the flaws in what she does. In my adult life I've been trying to encourage her...
My mom is someone who can do very good art by hand but has always struggled with perfectionism and only seeing the flaws in what she does. In my adult life I've been trying to encourage her creativity and help her through her self doubt because she clearly loves making art but doesn't do it often since she has so many negative feelings about it that come from within herself.
She's also expressed interest in my D&D campaigns so I thought it would be cool to ask her if she could try drawing my character... I couldn't fully explain to her how heartbreaking to me it was that she sent me back a screenshot of her using AI to create the image, especially whenever she was so excited to show me that she's using new technology all on her own.... I tried to explain that she has her own style that I was expecting and like more than what the AI produced, but she responded that she felt sure the AI was better than what she could've done...
It's rough when some people are very clearly proud of what they're doing, like it sounds like with your ice cream shop owner. It seems like a lot of the new businesses are people who didn't think it could be possible for them to do without using AI. I feel like a lot of that stems back to an underlying self doubt that people have and I wish there was a good way to have people realize they can do something without AI - or be able to point out that the AI is only helping them feel more confident when they are doing most of the actual work on their own but don't see it that way.
This is very interesting to me. There’s always such a difference between chains and independent businesses. One thing I noticed years ago is that if you order a burrito and it comes wrapped in...
This is very interesting to me. There’s always such a difference between chains and independent businesses.
One thing I noticed years ago is that if you order a burrito and it comes wrapped in foil, it’s probably going to be really good. Because a corporate beancounter (no pun intended) at a chain restaurant would have cut the budget on not just foil but also quality ingredients.
What's the cheaper alternative to foil? Just no wrapping at all? I can't remember the last time I ordered a burrito, I can't really picture how I'd expect it to come. Please limit your response to...
What's the cheaper alternative to foil? Just no wrapping at all? I can't remember the last time I ordered a burrito, I can't really picture how I'd expect it to come. Please limit your response to the answer to my question(s, I suppose), staying away from lamentations about my burrito-deprived life.
Here in Texas the alternative is wrapping it in butcher/wax/parchment paper, or serving it in a disposable paper tray, or very often serving it in a styrofoam container.
Here in Texas the alternative is wrapping it in butcher/wax/parchment paper, or serving it in a disposable paper tray, or very often serving it in a styrofoam container.
No doubt to you, but the question for the small business owner is, what does her average customer think?
I was a little sad, I (silently) wished the owner had solicited some art from a grandchild and used it as the basis, it would have been way more interesting and unique.
No doubt to you, but the question for the small business owner is, what does her average customer think?
Small business owner here, and I maintain a full time job in telecom / IT to boot. My wife and I run a mobile coffee business and we're in the process of opening up a brick-and-mortar for...
Small business owner here, and I maintain a full time job in telecom / IT to boot. My wife and I run a mobile coffee business and we're in the process of opening up a brick-and-mortar for breakfast and lunch. She does the business full time, I'm doing everything in the background including bookkeeping, budgeting, financing, legal, IT, electrical, plumbing, and equipment repairs. She used AI to create the logo and sometimes uses it for marketing graphics. I've used it for business modeling, updating accounting and budgets, and for general information searches for regulations, ordinances, etc.
I won't say we couldn't have started the business without AI, but it sure enabled a lot. A cool looking logo is fine, but the real work is making everything taste great, establishing a great reputation, getting repeat customers, etc., all the while pricing items correctly, keeping an eye on COGS and opex, and hopefully breaking even and later even making a profit. The amount of work is staggering. I won't fault any small business owner using AI for logos and marketing, and other cosmetic stuff. While it's a necessary part of the business, it's something that is easily "delegated" to AI, and lets the business owner devote more time to other stuff that really matters. Furthermore, it has enabled me to do a lot more business modeling, what-if scenarios in spreadsheets, and talk through business decisions.
I get this and I'm not really interested in arguing about AI generally; I'm just saying marketing is about convincing me to come buy your product or eat your food or whatever. And the AI pictures...
I get this and I'm not really interested in arguing about AI generally; I'm just saying marketing is about convincing me to come buy your product or eat your food or whatever. And the AI pictures and the "sameness" of all the marketing tells me absolutely nothing about their actual products and fails to do the job of good marketing. 3 years ago small businesses had to rely on other tools, they still could today.
But mostly I think they're just bad, to the point that I can't even tell them apart half the time, and with fake or deeply filtered product images, I have no desire to shop with them. So I don't. But it is everywhere.
If people don't come in, it doesn't matter how good the food is. I'm just one person, so all I can share is how that impacts me. And I don't, as a customer, really care about how it helps you business model or use your spreadsheets. Your spreadsheets could be fire but if your burrito is fake in the pic and the image looks like fifty other new restaurants, I'm not gonna be there. I hope more folks use other tools or pay someone for their marketing.
I agree about bad AI use and images. We don't use any AI-generated product images. That would just be, bad, and stupid. A real photo of a fancy coffee drink with syrup, swirling different colors,...
I agree about bad AI use and images. We don't use any AI-generated product images. That would just be, bad, and stupid. A real photo of a fancy coffee drink with syrup, swirling different colors, whipped topping, etc. just can't be recreated well with AI. The looks of the product speak for itself; we use only real pictures in social media and elsewhere. If the taste is as good as the looks, which we strive for, it sells. The conversation here started with "slop business models" and went to AI in marketing. Reasonable use of AI in marketing is fine, for a decent-looking logo, or for perhaps a flyer for an event. I don't agree that small businesses shouldn't use AI tools because there was and continue to be other ways to accomplish certain things, such as marketing, or because bad AI use for marketing is too common. Spreadsheets weren't around 40 years ago (I'm ignoring Visicalc, lol). One could accomplish business modeling, budgeting, and bookkeeping without spreadsheets today, but it would be arduous and labor-intensive, or costly to pay someone else to do it. Bad marketing existed long before AI, AI just made it easier to create really bad marketing. Spreadsheets undoubtedly have been used to create some really bad business models the last several decades, too.
I was specifically referring to: Which was my contribution to the AI marketing conversation. It's a very specific very common aesthetic currently. ETA: here's an example, I found it via a Google...
I was specifically referring to:
AI marketing images that all look the same
Which was my contribution to the AI marketing conversation. It's a very specific very common aesthetic currently. ETA: here's an example, I found it via a Google image search, it's existence on /r/AntiAI is coincidence. (I intended the first pic but the whole post has decent examples) This is one of a subset of a few styles that are all similar in their badness.
Again as I said, I don't have an interest in getting into AI in other areas, I'm generally a hater, personally. But specifically this style of image is all over social media, particularly Facebook and community Facebook groups, where folks often advertise new businesses or support small businesses. And small town folks also hate them based on the response to those posts.
Again, I don't care to speak about spreadsheets, my point was that as a customer I don't care how much time AI saves you if that's the marketing you put out. I think there are fundamental differences between "spreadsheets" and "AI" that make the comparison useless to discuss.
It will probably take small businesses failing, and at a higher rate than normal especially for restaurants, for people to change. And I'm ok with that. I'd rather have good businesses than more, worse, ones regardless of size. (And if they don't fail, great for them, I won't be eating there and I'm ok with that too. )
This undoubtedly isn't going to resonate with you as you admit you're an AI hater, but AI may decrease small business failure rates as it gives owners information resources and data analysis they...
It will probably take small businesses failing, and at a higher rate than normal especially for restaurants, for people to change.
This undoubtedly isn't going to resonate with you as you admit you're an AI hater, but AI may decrease small business failure rates as it gives owners information resources and data analysis they didn't have before. As I said before I get your angst over bad marketing. However, a lot of businesses don't live or die from marketing. If you want to judge a business strictly by their low effort marketing, and ignore other aspects like reviews, word-of-mouth, or a full parking lot, that's your prerogative. You're probably missing some good things.
I'm once again only talking about the marketing so the rest is irrelevant. I wish you'd stop trying to pitch it. And I haven't had good word of mouth from any of those restaurants with fake food...
I'm once again only talking about the marketing so the rest is irrelevant. I wish you'd stop trying to pitch it.
And I haven't had good word of mouth from any of those restaurants with fake food on their menu. Again, even the small town people seem to hate these adverts. I might miss out, hell, they might thrive because everyone loves them but me. But uh, that has not been my experience, instead they seem to disappear. The local places switching to this marketing are worse, but I am not dying for not going to the kitschy local shop. I legitimately haven't gotten good word of mouth
I have limited cash, so when I make decisions, I'm not spending it on someone who can't use real pics of their food. I'll probably just be disappointed. It's a sign that they don't stand by their product.
As I said, if they don't fail, great for them. I have zero FOMO about it and I do think it's weird you're trying to induce that feeling. I don't miss out on Chick-fil-A (never had it, not sad about it) and I don't go back to places with shitty management who mistreat their staff either, at least when I know about it, no matter how good the food was.
The point isn't that it's "bad" it's that it's "the same bad AI marketing that everyone is using" which made it relevant to the "slop business model" comment I replied to. You seem much more interested in the overall business model or in convincing me I'm wrong about my feelings ok this and I'm very unlikely to change my opinion of these small businesses. They shouldn't be using AI for their marketing IMO.
I think this is a key line from the article that unfortunately suggests this is not as positive as one would hope. This suggests that these are businesses applying for local applications rather...
Census data shows that the rise in business applications has been driven by start-ups that are not likely to hire workers rather than by those that are.
I think this is a key line from the article that unfortunately suggests this is not as positive as one would hope.
This suggests that these are businesses applying for local applications rather than to the IRS for an EIN, making it more likely that these are sole proprietorships or single-member LLCs.
I would hazard that this is more consistent with gig workers (rideshare drivers, AI training contractors, and dropshippers, etc.) applying for businesses to separate their business finances from their personal finances for tax purposes. I wouldn’t characterize that kind of startup as entrepreneurship; it’s more in line with people not finding consistent employment elsewhere.
That’s also consistent with the post-pandemic timing and the rise of the gig economy. I do believe that, over a long time horizon, AI will make entrepreneurship eaiser, but I doubt that’s what this data is reflecting.
From the article: [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] [...]
From the article:
Jump-started by the pandemic, when a confluence of factors including mass layoffs and remote work led to a flood of business creation, and supercharged by the rise of artificial intelligence, start-up activity is booming after a decades-long slump.
Americans filed 5.7 million applications last year to start new businesses, according to the Census Bureau, the most in the two decades the government has kept track. New business applications through the first half of this year continued to climb.
[...]
The strong run of business creation is one of the most surprising and welcome economic developments of the post-pandemic era. New businesses help drive innovation and productivity growth. Although many fail or remain small, some could develop into giants that spur job growth for years to come.
[...]
Data on the number of business formed each year lags, so it will take time to determine whether the increase in new business applications translates to a rise in real-world businesses and hiring. In 2023, the most recent year for which the data is available, half a million businesses formed, according to the Census Bureau. That was down slightly from the previous year but broadly consistent with an upward trend.
[...]
More recently, there are signals that A.I. is adding fuel.
A recent paper from economists at the University of British Columbia and the Stockholm School of Economics found that generative A.I. was “spurring entrepreneurial activity” in the United States, both by giving rise to new ventures built around the technology and by making it cheaper to start enterprises.
[...]
According to a recent report from Gusto, a small-business payroll and benefits service, nearly 60 percent of founders on its platform who started businesses last year said they used A.I., and half said the technology made it cheaper and faster.
The technology appears to be greasing the path for entrepreneurs, removing some barriers and allowing them to get their enterprises off the ground more quickly. Chatbots are effectively serving as virtual collaborators that can answer questions, carry out tasks and write code.
[...]
Census data shows that the rise in business applications has been driven by start-ups that are not likely to hire workers rather than by those that are. That, some economists believe, is more evidence that A.I. is eviscerating obstacles to entrepreneurship.
Ernie Tedeschi, the chief economist at Stripe, a financial tech firm, said the government’s data, as well as an analysis of Stripe users, indicated a jump in solo entrepreneurs who might be using A.I. for tasks that once required human employees.
[...]
Other factors could be stoking the rise in start-up activity.
The low-hire, low-fire labor market that has persisted for much of the past two years could be causing some unemployed workers to turn to other sources of income. The high-flying stock market and lofty home prices could be encouraging business investments. E-commerce platforms such as TikTok Shop could be producing a new category of third-party sellers. Swelling business creation could be a reflection of optimism in the country’s trajectory. It is also possible that A.I. is making it easier to fill out applications.
Smarter Every Day just posted an interesting video on US manufacturing and trying to do everything "properly". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS6HEes8daw
Smarter Every Day just posted an interesting video on US manufacturing and trying to do everything "properly".
I was just watching a video by a guy who manufactures air filters in the USA and he similarly broke down where China has the advantage and where the USA has the advantage, and it’s mainly non-glamorous industrial stuff that needs high quality, reliability, fast turnaround, customisability, and ongoing service.
China has the advantage in tech stuff because they literally have entire cities dedicated to manufacturing, with raw materials, suppliers, manufacturers and customers all in the one place.
America has also essentially lost a generation or more of manufacturing knowledge. Even if you wanted to buy something or source materials, you couldn’t.
... so now we have slop business models?
The proliferation of AI marketing images that all look the same suggests so. They're not, IMO, actually good but it's all most small businesses are using now.
I went to a small ice cream shop in a tiny town that I visited in Indiana last month. It was the only ice cream shop in town that wasn't a DQ or other national chain, and the older lady behind the counter was a friendly and clearly loved what she had built. She mentioned that they had been open less than a year, which is when it suddenly clicked for me why the logo and marketing materials all looked very AI generated.
I was a little sad, I (silently) wished the owner had solicited some art from a grandchild and used it as the basis, it would have been way more interesting and unique.
My mom is someone who can do very good art by hand but has always struggled with perfectionism and only seeing the flaws in what she does. In my adult life I've been trying to encourage her creativity and help her through her self doubt because she clearly loves making art but doesn't do it often since she has so many negative feelings about it that come from within herself.
She's also expressed interest in my D&D campaigns so I thought it would be cool to ask her if she could try drawing my character... I couldn't fully explain to her how heartbreaking to me it was that she sent me back a screenshot of her using AI to create the image, especially whenever she was so excited to show me that she's using new technology all on her own.... I tried to explain that she has her own style that I was expecting and like more than what the AI produced, but she responded that she felt sure the AI was better than what she could've done...
It's rough when some people are very clearly proud of what they're doing, like it sounds like with your ice cream shop owner. It seems like a lot of the new businesses are people who didn't think it could be possible for them to do without using AI. I feel like a lot of that stems back to an underlying self doubt that people have and I wish there was a good way to have people realize they can do something without AI - or be able to point out that the AI is only helping them feel more confident when they are doing most of the actual work on their own but don't see it that way.
How was the ice cream?
Pretty good, worth the meandering around town in 90F+ weather to find.
This is very interesting to me. There’s always such a difference between chains and independent businesses.
One thing I noticed years ago is that if you order a burrito and it comes wrapped in foil, it’s probably going to be really good. Because a corporate beancounter (no pun intended) at a chain restaurant would have cut the budget on not just foil but also quality ingredients.
What's the cheaper alternative to foil? Just no wrapping at all? I can't remember the last time I ordered a burrito, I can't really picture how I'd expect it to come. Please limit your response to the answer to my question(s, I suppose), staying away from lamentations about my burrito-deprived life.
Just paper
Here in Texas the alternative is wrapping it in butcher/wax/parchment paper, or serving it in a disposable paper tray, or very often serving it in a styrofoam container.
No doubt to you, but the question for the small business owner is, what does her average customer think?
Small business owner here, and I maintain a full time job in telecom / IT to boot. My wife and I run a mobile coffee business and we're in the process of opening up a brick-and-mortar for breakfast and lunch. She does the business full time, I'm doing everything in the background including bookkeeping, budgeting, financing, legal, IT, electrical, plumbing, and equipment repairs. She used AI to create the logo and sometimes uses it for marketing graphics. I've used it for business modeling, updating accounting and budgets, and for general information searches for regulations, ordinances, etc.
I won't say we couldn't have started the business without AI, but it sure enabled a lot. A cool looking logo is fine, but the real work is making everything taste great, establishing a great reputation, getting repeat customers, etc., all the while pricing items correctly, keeping an eye on COGS and opex, and hopefully breaking even and later even making a profit. The amount of work is staggering. I won't fault any small business owner using AI for logos and marketing, and other cosmetic stuff. While it's a necessary part of the business, it's something that is easily "delegated" to AI, and lets the business owner devote more time to other stuff that really matters. Furthermore, it has enabled me to do a lot more business modeling, what-if scenarios in spreadsheets, and talk through business decisions.
I get this and I'm not really interested in arguing about AI generally; I'm just saying marketing is about convincing me to come buy your product or eat your food or whatever. And the AI pictures and the "sameness" of all the marketing tells me absolutely nothing about their actual products and fails to do the job of good marketing. 3 years ago small businesses had to rely on other tools, they still could today.
But mostly I think they're just bad, to the point that I can't even tell them apart half the time, and with fake or deeply filtered product images, I have no desire to shop with them. So I don't. But it is everywhere.
If people don't come in, it doesn't matter how good the food is. I'm just one person, so all I can share is how that impacts me. And I don't, as a customer, really care about how it helps you business model or use your spreadsheets. Your spreadsheets could be fire but if your burrito is fake in the pic and the image looks like fifty other new restaurants, I'm not gonna be there. I hope more folks use other tools or pay someone for their marketing.
I agree about bad AI use and images. We don't use any AI-generated product images. That would just be, bad, and stupid. A real photo of a fancy coffee drink with syrup, swirling different colors, whipped topping, etc. just can't be recreated well with AI. The looks of the product speak for itself; we use only real pictures in social media and elsewhere. If the taste is as good as the looks, which we strive for, it sells. The conversation here started with "slop business models" and went to AI in marketing. Reasonable use of AI in marketing is fine, for a decent-looking logo, or for perhaps a flyer for an event. I don't agree that small businesses shouldn't use AI tools because there was and continue to be other ways to accomplish certain things, such as marketing, or because bad AI use for marketing is too common. Spreadsheets weren't around 40 years ago (I'm ignoring Visicalc, lol). One could accomplish business modeling, budgeting, and bookkeeping without spreadsheets today, but it would be arduous and labor-intensive, or costly to pay someone else to do it. Bad marketing existed long before AI, AI just made it easier to create really bad marketing. Spreadsheets undoubtedly have been used to create some really bad business models the last several decades, too.
I was specifically referring to:
Which was my contribution to the AI marketing conversation. It's a very specific very common aesthetic currently. ETA: here's an example, I found it via a Google image search, it's existence on /r/AntiAI is coincidence. (I intended the first pic but the whole post has decent examples) This is one of a subset of a few styles that are all similar in their badness.
Again as I said, I don't have an interest in getting into AI in other areas, I'm generally a hater, personally. But specifically this style of image is all over social media, particularly Facebook and community Facebook groups, where folks often advertise new businesses or support small businesses. And small town folks also hate them based on the response to those posts.
Again, I don't care to speak about spreadsheets, my point was that as a customer I don't care how much time AI saves you if that's the marketing you put out. I think there are fundamental differences between "spreadsheets" and "AI" that make the comparison useless to discuss.
It will probably take small businesses failing, and at a higher rate than normal especially for restaurants, for people to change. And I'm ok with that. I'd rather have good businesses than more, worse, ones regardless of size. (And if they don't fail, great for them, I won't be eating there and I'm ok with that too. )
This undoubtedly isn't going to resonate with you as you admit you're an AI hater, but AI may decrease small business failure rates as it gives owners information resources and data analysis they didn't have before. As I said before I get your angst over bad marketing. However, a lot of businesses don't live or die from marketing. If you want to judge a business strictly by their low effort marketing, and ignore other aspects like reviews, word-of-mouth, or a full parking lot, that's your prerogative. You're probably missing some good things.
I'm once again only talking about the marketing so the rest is irrelevant. I wish you'd stop trying to pitch it.
And I haven't had good word of mouth from any of those restaurants with fake food on their menu. Again, even the small town people seem to hate these adverts. I might miss out, hell, they might thrive because everyone loves them but me. But uh, that has not been my experience, instead they seem to disappear. The local places switching to this marketing are worse, but I am not dying for not going to the kitschy local shop. I legitimately haven't gotten good word of mouth
I have limited cash, so when I make decisions, I'm not spending it on someone who can't use real pics of their food. I'll probably just be disappointed. It's a sign that they don't stand by their product.
As I said, if they don't fail, great for them. I have zero FOMO about it and I do think it's weird you're trying to induce that feeling. I don't miss out on Chick-fil-A (never had it, not sad about it) and I don't go back to places with shitty management who mistreat their staff either, at least when I know about it, no matter how good the food was.
The point isn't that it's "bad" it's that it's "the same bad AI marketing that everyone is using" which made it relevant to the "slop business model" comment I replied to. You seem much more interested in the overall business model or in convincing me I'm wrong about my feelings ok this and I'm very unlikely to change my opinion of these small businesses. They shouldn't be using AI for their marketing IMO.
I think this is a key line from the article that unfortunately suggests this is not as positive as one would hope.
This suggests that these are businesses applying for local applications rather than to the IRS for an EIN, making it more likely that these are sole proprietorships or single-member LLCs.
I would hazard that this is more consistent with gig workers (rideshare drivers, AI training contractors, and dropshippers, etc.) applying for businesses to separate their business finances from their personal finances for tax purposes. I wouldn’t characterize that kind of startup as entrepreneurship; it’s more in line with people not finding consistent employment elsewhere.
That’s also consistent with the post-pandemic timing and the rise of the gig economy. I do believe that, over a long time horizon, AI will make entrepreneurship eaiser, but I doubt that’s what this data is reflecting.
From the article:
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
[...]
Is there a gift/mirror/archive link? Tried searching for one but no dice.
I got you: Gifted article.
Smarter Every Day just posted an interesting video on US manufacturing and trying to do everything "properly".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS6HEes8daw