I Don’t Sell AI Skills. Here’s Why

[00:00:00] I've never done an episode on this yet, and I'm a little nervous because I may have a controversial opinion, and it's all about AI skills. I do not sell them, and sometimes I kind of wish other people would stop selling them. There's a lot of nuance and a lot of caveats here, so don't come at me just yet.

[00:00:21] But I do want you to listen to this episode because I know that we are evaluating as creators whether we should jump on this bandwagon because skills, they feel like they're so hot right now. People are buying them, selling them for like $39, and it seems like a good way to make some revenue. Because if you think about it from the user perspective, it's easy to install skills, and they're kind of just this plug and play.

[00:00:50] Now you know my exact way to do XYZ. So why would you not jump in to that? It is a business decision for you to make, and I want to use this episode to help you think through where you land on this spectrum, ultimately. Because what you need to think about, first of all, is what a skill is. It is a file.

[00:01:13] It's an instruction file that tells AI how to follow a certain process, how to follow some steps that you potentially created in order to create a specific outcome for the person who's using it. So consider what you're giving away. And also consider whether a skill can actually deliver a good result in someone else's AI environment. And then the last piece is whether that result will stay useful as technology changes.

[00:01:44] So today I want to look at another way to think about the skills trend, which is how to create something people want while making a deliberate choice about your IP, your client experience, and the kind of value that you want to keep providing. So if you've been around the podcast for a minute or more, you know how I feel about IP protection.

[00:02:07] I feel like we are the last generation of entrepreneurs who built businesses from our own experience, from our own education and training. And all of that is so valuable. It was before AI could tell us what our frameworks should be and make fancy little acronyms for them and help us outline entire courses and all the things that AI can do now.

[00:02:31] Like anybody who's been around a minute has earned their stripes. And I have a personal mission to help the market understand that, that there is a huge difference between just using AI to try and help you solve a problem and going and finding an expert who actually figured out a method that works to solve your problem.

[00:02:55] And the frameworks behind that and all of their user experience and the nuance and their ability to apply the way that they approach something. Like I have so much respect for that. And I think it's important that we maintain value around what that actually is. And so to me, that's the idea of IP protection. And when it comes to AI tools, it is such a muddy, convoluted, complicated space.

[00:03:25] Because on one hand, as a creator, somebody who's sharing your expertise as part of what you do, whether you're a coach, a course creator, a consultant of some kind, that means debating whether you're missing the boat on the opportunity to create AI tools that help get the result that you teach

[00:03:53] or holding on and protecting everything that you've built when it comes to your IP. And I know this is not an easy decision to make, which is why I want to keep having this conversation from as many angles as possible. But when I'm having chats with people either as podcast guests or in communities that I'm part of, and I hear, oh, I just, I have to start selling AI skills because AI skills are what is selling. Well, first of all, that appears to be true.

[00:04:22] I don't know that we necessarily have all the data that backs that up. And I'm working on a project to help us understand better what people are purchasing and where the money is going when it comes to AI products. But that's coming out later in the new year. But right now, it's just making my heart break that we think that we need to build something that exposes our IP.

[00:04:52] And we just have to suck it up because that's just the cost of doing business right now. Like, I hate that. I hate it so much. It makes me, makes me angry, sad and all the feelings. And obviously, that's why I've been on a mission to create a platform that does not require an expert to do that.

[00:05:15] A platform that keeps IP protected behind a gated experience and also ensures the best outcome for the client. And I think that's the other piece that's not being considered. What kind of results do you want your clients to achieve? And is providing a skill file the way that they're going to get that result? So I want you to really sit with this question.

[00:05:41] Because something that nobody's talking about when it comes to skills is that the pieces that you don't control may have a huge impact on the way that that skill actually functions. So when you hand over a skill file to someone, they install it into their AI environment. So whether that's their chat GPT account, their Claude, whatever.

[00:06:06] And then it starts mixing in with everything else that's in there or everything that's not in there, right? So it may have too little context about their brand or their business or be surrounded by years of old conflicting context. And if that skill needs a clean understanding of a client to do good work, how reliable will that result be?

[00:06:32] I think about this like the analogy of giving somebody a recipe to make your favorite chocolate cake. But they are in a kitchen where they don't have an oven. And they don't have like the flour that they have in their pantry is like seven years old. And they don't have baking soda. And, you know, they live at a different altitude.

[00:06:54] And all of these factors contribute to whether or not that cake can be achieved through the recipe that you gave it. So that's what I think we need to always be thinking about when building AI tools where we want our clients to get great results. Is what is the environment that it is being delivered inside of? And how does it impact whether this tool is going to work or not? Well, right?

[00:07:24] Because I know if you're listening to this podcast, you're the kind of person who actually values your clients getting results. Your business is built on your ability to help them get the result of the thing that they're struggling with. And AI can play such a huge role in that because it can take away a lot of their disbelief in their ability to do something. Because there's a tool that's going to help them apply your methodology.

[00:07:51] It's going to help them to take action when they don't want to because AI gets rid of emotion. AI doesn't have emotions, I mean. So those are the things to consider as well as if you are thinking about selling AI skills. Now, here's where I have had to come to terms with this recently. I do a lot of collaborations, right? If you're hearing me, you may have come through an event that I've been part of or something like that.

[00:08:19] And the collaborations have been asking for AI skills. And I grappled with this. First of all, back in the summertime, I was invited to be part of an event called This Is How We Clawed. And I was like, oh, I don't know if I should do it because, you know, we were building our own thing. It's really Wave is an alternative to sharing and selling AI skills as an AI product.

[00:08:45] And I kind of really sat with it for a bit. And then eventually I decided we should definitely participate because we built an MCP connector. And we really are trying to integrate how our creators can build tools using the AI that they love and then selling it through a platform that helps to keep their IP protected.

[00:09:12] So anyways, as a result, I participated in that event and the host asked for a Claude skill to give to all of the people who are part of it. And I was like, well, that feels like it goes against my values. But how can I think about this differently? So what I built instead of a skill that is built with by proprietary like processes.

[00:09:40] So I have just so you know, I have 60 plus skills that are running our business right now that help us go through the processes and write the content and map out these podcast outlines and produce my show and all of those things. But I do not sell those. Right. And so when I thought about what kind of a skill could I create that would be valuable, I kind of thought about it. I'm calling these like recon skills.

[00:10:08] So the purpose is that I know that it's going into somebody's AI environment and what information can it go and gather in order to help them have some insights and see what their opportunities are.

[00:10:24] And I wanted to do that in a very strategic way where essentially it would show them, for example, for that event, I built a tool, a Claude skill called the AI monetization snapshot, which is a skill that you can install. And it will run through your account and review your business and see what you've been working on and find opportunities for what you might sell.

[00:10:48] And of course, those opportunities are like here's a bot squad tool that you could build. And here's where you're set up to monetize, because I also look at monetization as internal systems optimization so that you have more time to give in to different parts of your business as well. So basically, these skills will go run and create a report for the client who's looking at it.

[00:11:18] So it's not like producing their emails for them. It's not helping them like do that kind of thing. It's helping them with the strategic thinking, strategic thinking that is required in order for them to potentially move along in our customer journey around. Oh, like if I think about if somebody's coming and evaluating whether they should use Wave, one of the first questions is whether or not they think they should be selling AI products.

[00:11:47] So if I can help them see what those opportunities are and where that fits into their business, that moves them along that journey. And then, of course, the output of that skill is like a branded dashboard with my links, my branding, my logo, places where they can find me. So it's almost like how it used to be back in the day when a lead magnet was a PDF. And then you would put a whole section on. Hi, this is me. This is what I do. If you want to take the next step, click here.

[00:12:16] But I build that all into the skill so that it's doing that like introduction and almost like selling for me. So that's how I have gotten around the concept where I'm like participating in creating skills that other people can use because I know that people are using them and they want to download them. And it makes, you know, people are just taking them like catnip and that's great.

[00:12:45] But I don't want to build them with my IP embedded within them because that is a line that I am drawing for myself. And as always on the show, I'm not here to tell you what to do or how to think. I'm just here to show you different perspectives of how different people are applying this in their business. Because I know there's lots of people who are selling skills and making lots of money. And that's amazing.

[00:13:10] And there's some of us who are looking at that and going, ah, but it doesn't feel right to do it that way. So what are my other options? And so your other options are thinking about ways that a skill that you contribute to an event, whether it's free or whether it's a paid thing, you might sell a skill that still sells you. Right. And what does that look like?

[00:13:35] Or maybe it's where you look at a bot squad on Wave where it's a system that your clients can access regularly as well. Because that's the other piece that we're not thinking about when it comes to skills is that you can't update it. When somebody installs it, they get it that day with whatever that day's information is. Like, it's in their computer, it's in their it's in their CLAW account now or their chat GPT.

[00:14:01] And you no longer have any way of, you know, improving it over time. So if what you're delivering actually requires ongoing updates because of best practices, shifting trends that impact the way that you do your work. To me, that immediately tells me that what you have is something that people need ongoing access to.

[00:14:30] And when they need ongoing access, that's a subscription like that is a bot squad. That's exactly what we designed Wave for so that people would have a way to sell something that's ongoing. Right. We have moved past the time of static programs where you create information once and people pay for that information. That's to me, that's dead. That is dead for 2027.

[00:14:54] No more static courses. People need ways of getting ongoing support and ongoing use of your tool. So that is part of my predictions for 2027 is that we're shifting into more of this kind of a model. I did an episode last week on how AI changes your business model and the cost of ongoing AI use. So I'll link to that in the show notes as well, because that's that is another consideration here.

[00:15:23] It's not just about like where is the cash at, but what is the best way to set up your business that continues to provide your clients with results? Because results are the best way that you can keep selling yourself. When your clients get results by working with you, they will give you testimonials. They will stay working with you. They will tell their friends about you. And that is really the most value that you can create.

[00:15:49] So if you're creating or buying AI skills, don't stop at asking whether the tool is useful or easy to install. Ask what it can see, what result it can reliably create, and whether it will be useful as your business, the best practices, and the technology all change. And if you're building one, ask yourself what you're comfortable sharing.

[00:16:14] Some people are happy to put their method out there because the impact matters more to them than protecting the process. And that's a valid choice. But I just want you to know that it's a choice. And for me, I'm interested in using skills as a first step to help introduce somebody to me and see an opportunity or move past a hurdle without giving away the whole method behind my work.

[00:16:38] And when the result needs ongoing updates, context, and support, that may call for a more complete experience than a file that someone downloads once. You don't have to follow the trend exactly as it's showing itself to you. You can find a way to meet the demand that fits your expertise, your values, and the results that you want your clients to get. Thanks for being here, and I'll catch you on next week's episode.