If you've ever felt like traditional business systems just don't work for your brain, or if you're constantly battling overwhelm, time blindness, or that voice that says you're "too much," this episode is for you.

What if the way you found your next big opportunity was by building the tool that found it for you? That's exactly how this episode came to be. Janay Trevillion — AI educator, travel curator, and founder of Empire Creator Lab — didn't just Google her way onto the AI Queens podcast. She built a Claude skill to find the exact podcasts she wanted to guest on… and AI Queens came back ranked #1. That's not a fluke. That's the whole point of this conversation.

You don't have to be all in and you don't have to be all out. You just have to decide for yourself, tool by tool, line by line. That's what critical thinking actually looks like, Queens.

This is the quick and dirty version of what went down at the Buildathon, plus a free resource so you can build your own.

Queens, I just spent 10 days in New York City, and AI was not just in my phone like usual. It was on every billboard, in every subway car, in the shop windows, and even at the brunch table next to me. The whole trip I kept bouncing between two feelings: is this all hype, or is there real hope here? I think it's both right now, exciting and uncertain at the same time, and I have a feeling I'm not the only one who feels that way. It started at a tiny restaurant on my last day, where I overheard a woman talk about dropping a slow research department's report into AI and getting her answers in minutes. That little moment stuck with me the entire trip, because it's a window into how fast the future of work is shifting and who gets to thrive in it.

Last week you built your AI COO. Now it's time to meet the other half of your executive team. In part two of this series, originally recorded for Jordan Gill's Systems Saved Me podcast, Erika walks you through building your AI Chief Marketing Officer.

You know you need systems. You've maybe even built a few SOPs. But what if you had a team member who actually ran those systems for you, handled the backend chaos, and never asked for a break? That's exactly what Erika is building in this episode, originally recorded for Jordan Gill's Systems Saved Me podcast. It's part one of a two-part series on turning AI from a scary tech tool (or a glorified intern) into your strategic AI C-suite. This week is all about your AI Chief Operating Officer.

Queens, my guest today is Blume Bauer, a fine arts illustrator, creative business educator, and founder of The Yellow Studio, where she's spent 30 years teaching artists how to turn their craft into real income. Her whole vibe is slow living and big money, and she came in ready to challenge some of the things you might believe about AI and art.

If you've made the jump from ChatGPT to Claude and keep slamming into the token wall mid-project, you are not alone. It's the conversation Erika keeps having at AI Business World, after workshops, and in networking event side chats. Claude is genuinely one of the most powerful AI tools out there right now, but if you don't know how it actually uses tokens under the hood, you'll burn through your usage way faster than you expect.

This week, Erika sits down with Jasmine Schwarz, founder of Schwarz Strategic Services and an AI stewardship consultant who helps nonprofits adopt technology responsibly, ethically, and without losing sight of the people they serve. Jasmine came to AI through sociology, healthcare, finance, and nonprofits, and she brings a perspective that cuts straight through the influencer noise.

Fresh off the stage at Social Media Marketing World and AI Business World in Southern California, Erika is bringing you straight to the conference floor. In this episode, she sits down with a handful of attendees to ask the one question that matters most: what is the real problem you're most excited to solve with AI when you get back to work?

Recorded fresh off Social Media Marketing World and AI Business World, this one is your "okay, what do I actually do next" episode. Erika breaks down why most people are using AI like an intern when it could be working as a full-on CMO, and shares a real client story (Little River Fishing Fleet in Myrtle Beach) to show how the blueprint plays out in practice.

You've probably used ChatGPT to write a caption or brainstorm some ideas. But are you actually building with AI? There's a difference, and it's a big one. In this solo episode, Erika breaks down why women entrepreneurs need to stop treating AI like a novelty and start using it as the serious business tool it is.

Whether you're an overthinker, a side-quest collector, or someone who spent three hours building a dashboard you didn't need (no judgment, Erika's been there too), this episode is your permission slip to stop, reorient, and build what actually moves the needle.

This one is for anyone drowning in tabs, texts, and to-do lists with no clear picture of what actually needs to happen today. Hit play, then go talk to your AI about what's weighing you down.

Erika and Rachel dig into why skipping the foundation-building step is one of the most common (and costly) mistakes businesses make with AI, and what to do instead.

Anne Murphy, founder of She Leads AI, joins Erika for a conversation that goes way beyond AI tools. Anne brings three decades of fundraising experience for STEM research and a laser focus on one big idea: women's wealth generation is the foundation of global prosperity, and AI is the biggest opportunity we've ever had to make that real.

If you've been wondering whether it's time to make the switch from ChatGPT to Claude, Erika gets into exactly that this week.

Your voice in AI policy is not optional. The people building the rules are in the room right now, and if you are not represented, your needs will not be considered. Tune in, then take one small step this week to show up.

If you've been sitting on the free version of a tool and wondering if it's enough, this episode will push you to stop waiting and start digging deeper into what you already have.

There's a version of using AI that makes you sharper, faster, and more confident in your work. And then there's a version that quietly hollows out the expertise you've spent years building. Pia Silva, founder of No BS Mastery, TEDx speaker, and author of the brand new book Scale Solo, joins Erika to get real about the difference and why it matters more than most people realize.

AI is mainstream, but you don't have to let tech bros or big companies define what it means for your business. Stay critical. Stay curious. Stay grounded in your values.

In this raw, fired-up minisode, Erika breaks down why propaganda isn't new (hello, wartime Looney Tunes cartoons), how AI has made misinformation faster and more convincing, and why official government channels posting fake images is eroding trust in everyone, including the real journalists doing actual work.

This episode is for women entrepreneurs who know their offer works but struggle with confidence on sales calls, feel stuck around pricing conversations, or just wing it without a repeatable system. The Laurens are proving that when you combine emotional intelligence with strategic AI tools, sales can feel energizing instead of draining.