\n\t\t Entrepreneur \t<\/p>\n
Most entrepreneurs use AI the same way: they type a vague request, get a generic response, then spend 20 minutes going back and forth until something usable emerges.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the equivalent of hiring a contractor and saying, \u201cBuild me something nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
The problem isn\u2019t the AI. It\u2019s how we\u2019re asking. After watching dozens of businesses implement AI tools, I\u2019ve noticed a pattern: the ones getting real results follow three simple steps.<\/p>\n
Before typing anything, answer three questions.<\/p>\n
1. What\u2019s the deliverable?<\/b><\/p>\n
Not \u201ca marketing plan,\u201d but \u201ca 90-day content calendar with weekly themes, platform assignments and posting times.\u201d<\/p>\n
2. What does good look like?<\/b><\/p>\n
If the output were perfect, what would it contain? How long would it be? What format? What sections?<\/p>\n
3. What\u2019s already decided?<\/b><\/p>\n
This is where entrepreneurs lose the most time. They ask AI to make decisions that should already be made, then reject the results because \u201cthat\u2019s not what I meant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s a real example. A consultant wanted to improve how she appeared in AI search. When people asked tools like ChatGPT or Perplexity about experts in her field, she wasn\u2019t being mentioned.<\/p>\n
Her first prompt was vague: \u201cHelp me get mentioned by AI assistants.\u201d The result was generic advice about SEO and social media.<\/p>\n
After clarifying her goal, she tried again:<\/p>\n
\u201cCreate a six-month plan to establish my entity presence so AI systems recognize me as an authority in supply chain sustainability. I need to appear when someone asks, \u2018Who are the leading consultants in sustainable supply chain?\u2019 Deliverable: month-by-month actions covering my website\u2019s entity home page, third-party mentions to pursue and content that builds topical authority. Format: actionable calendar with specific platforms and content types.\u201d<\/p>\n
The second version worked because she did the thinking first.<\/p>\n
The principle:<\/b> AI executes well but decides poorly. Do your deciding before you start typing.<\/p>\nStep 2: Clean your input<\/h2>\n
Messy input creates messy output. Every time. Cleaning your input means three things.<\/p>\n
Structure it<\/b><\/p>\n
Don\u2019t paste a wall of text. Break information into categories. Your credentials go in one section. Your audience in another. Your positioning somewhere else. AI can\u2019t organize your priorities for you.<\/p>\n
Make it specific<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m a business consultant\u201d tells AI almost nothing. But this does:<\/p>\n
\u201cSupply chain sustainability consultant with 15 years of experience working with Fortune 500 manufacturers. Known for reducing logistics carbon footprint while cutting costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Specificity gives AI something to work with.<\/p>\n
Remove contradictions<\/b><\/p>\n
Your brand can\u2019t be both \u201can established industry leader\u201d and \u201ca fresh new voice.\u201d You can\u2019t be \u201cexclusive\u201d and \u201caccessible.\u201d<\/p>\n
AI takes you literally. Contradictions create confused output. A friend of mine once fed AI a bio describing him as both \u201ca visionary founder disrupting the industry\u201d and \u201ca steady hand with decades of traditional expertise.\u201d<\/p>\n
The results were bizarre: an innovative one paragraph, conservative the next. The problem wasn\u2019t the AI. His positioning was unclear.<\/p>\n
The principle:<\/b> spend 10 minutes organizing your input and you\u2019ll save 30 minutes fixing the output.<\/p>\nStep 3: Separate reference material from instructions<\/h2>\n
This is the step most people miss \u2014 and where the biggest improvements happen.<\/p>\n
Every AI prompt contains two types of information.<\/p>\n
Reference material<\/b><\/p>\n
Facts the AI needs to know. Your background, credentials, company details and differentiators.<\/p>\n
This is the what<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Instructions<\/b><\/p>\n
The process the AI should follow. The format, structure, tone and logic you want.<\/p>\n
This is the how<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Most people mash these together into one giant prompt. It works sometimes \u2014 until it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
A SaaS founder I worked with learned this the hard way while trying to create content that would help his product appear in AI recommendations.<\/p>\n
His messy prompt looked like this:<\/p>\n
\u201cWrite content for my project management software. We\u2019re called TaskFlow, founded in 2019 in Austin. We focus on creative agencies. Our differentiator is visual workflow management; we integrate with Adobe Creative Cloud and Figma, pricing starts at $29 per user, competitors are Monday.com and Asana, but we\u2019re more visual. Make it about 800 words.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, we split the prompt into two sections.<\/p>\n
Reference material<\/b><\/p>\n
Company: TaskFlow (project management SaaS)
Founded: 2019, Austin, Texas
Target market: Creative agencies and design teams
Key differentiator: Visual workflow management
Integrations: Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma
Pricing: From $29 per user\/month
Competitive context: Alternative to Monday.com and Asana for visual-first teams<\/p>\n
Instructions<\/b><\/p>\n
Goal: Position TaskFlow as the ideal project management tool for creative teams
Format: 800-word article
Tone: Authoritative but not salesy
Must include: Use cases for creative workflowsStructure: Problem, solution approach, concrete examples and clear positioning.<\/p>\n
Structure: Problem, solution approach, concrete examples and clear positioning.<\/p>\n
Same information. But now, when the output is wrong \u2014 which it often is the first time \u2014 you know exactly what to fix.<\/p>\n
The principle:<\/b> when you can update one without breaking the other, your prompts become scalable.<\/p>\nWhy this matters for entrepreneurs<\/h2>\n
For a single LinkedIn post, messy prompts are manageable. But when you\u2019re producing dozens of pieces of content across multiple platforms \u2014 or trying to shape how search engines and AI assistants understand your brand \u2014 consistency matters.<\/p>\n
Messy inputs create a messy digital presence. Structured inputs create clear outputs that compound over time.<\/p>\n
In my experience:<\/p>\n
Pick one AI task you use regularly \u2014 content creation, email drafts or strategic planning.<\/p>\n
Then audit it with three questions:<\/p>\n
Then rebuild the prompt properly.<\/p>\n
Run it again and compare the results.<\/p>\n
In my experience, a well-structured first prompt often produces better results than the tenth revision of a messy one.<\/p>\n
Same AI. Just a better request.<\/p>\n
Clarify what you want. Clean what you provide. Organize how you ask. Three simple steps that separate AI that works from AI that wastes your time.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n