Our Dreams In Progress

Welcome to my personal space, where I write through change, learning, and healing in real time. Written by a 45-year-old mother of three, learning AI, online systems, and how to stay sane and healthy, one honest step at a time.

My ChatGPT Journey: From Skeptic to AI Sidekick for My Small Business

Elle Suhardi

September 15, 2025

My Journey to $100k

This post is part of my “Diary of a First $100K” an open journal where I document the real journey of building my first digital business from scratch. Each entry shares the wins, the setbacks, the tools I try, and the lessons I learn as I aim for a $100K milestone.

Why It’s the Best $20 a Month I’ve Ever Spent on My Business

I never thought $20 a month could completely change my business until I discovered “ChatGPT”. What started as a casual experiment quickly became my most reliable assistant, my brainstorming partner, and my confidence booster. I’ve gone from barely touching it to using it daily for planning, content creation, and problem-solving.

If you told me a year ago that I’d be working alongside an AI tool every single day, I probably would have laughed. I’m a 45-year-old mother of three who’s spent years running traditional, offline businesses. My work didn’t require research papers, long reports, or tech-heavy problem solving. That was for corporate people, university students, and maybe my own 18-year-old son, who’d already been introduced to ChatGPT at school.

For me? Not so much.

And yet, here I am writing this very blog post with ChatGPT as my personal assistant. The journey from skeptic to daily user has been surprising, frustrating, and sometimes even emotional.

I first heard about ChatGPT through friends who worked in teaching and corporate jobs in the middle of 2023. They raved about how it saved them hours of work. I was curious, but skeptical.

The very first time I opened it, I wasn’t thinking about productivity or content creation. I just wanted ideas for a name for a new travel agency with a floral theme. I typed:

“Come up with 10 business names for a travel agency that has a floral component/reference.”

When I hit “Enter”, I was excited to see the results. The names it came up with were creative and unique. That gave me confidence in its abilities but I still didn’t think it had a place in my life. At the time, I was running a food business and a flower shop, so I assumed ChatGPT was more useful for people writing reports or doing academic work.

From Hesitation to Daily Habit

Even after that first try, I barely touched ChatGPT. I’d been told it could help with Amazon product listings and research, but I never really applied it as much.

That changed at the start of this year when I decided to build a new online business from scratch. Suddenly, I needed support with planning, writing, and research. That’s when “ChatGPT” moved from being a novelty to becoming part of my daily routine not just for work, but for almost everything.

Early Frustrations and AI Hallucinations

Of course, the early days weren’t perfect. ChatGPT has this overly optimistic, agreeable tone. That’s great when you need encouragement but less useful when you want brutally honest, practical feedback.

I also learned about “AI hallucinations,” moments when it confidently gives wrong or made-up information. When it happened, I’d get annoyed and frustrated, especially if I was in the middle of solving a problem. Still, I didn’t give up. Even at 75–80% accuracy, the fact that it could give me “multiple options to consider” made it worth using.

Tip: Always fact-check important details from AI tools platform processes can change quickly.

Learning the Language of ChatGPT

Within my first month of using it regularly, I realised prompts matter. The way you phrase your request can completely change the quality of the answer.

I started listening to The ChatGPT Experiment Podcast during school runs and watching YouTube tutorials. But honestly, most of my learning came from trial and error. Over time, I found a natural rhythm, now I don’t have to overthink my questions. I know how to guide ChatGPT to give me the kind of answers I need.

This was when I began to see ChatGPT not just as a writing tool but as a real AI personal assistant for my small business.

The Aha Moment That Changed Everything

There have been countless “aha” moments with ChatGPT, but one stands out.

When I began this online business journey, I set a big goal to earn $100,000 USD in 12 months. ChatGPT helped me brainstorm ideas and gave me possible paths to reach that target based on the business models I wanted to pursue. One recurring piece of advice was to hire people I could delegate tasks to.

Until then, I’d only hired virtual assistants for short-term gigs to support my Amazon business never a daily, hourly hire. But when the time came, I found Kristina.

For almost three months, ChatGPT secretly acted as my expert trainer for my new VA. Kristina would send me technical questions about setting up a WordPress blog, configuring Shopify, or troubleshooting IT issues and I’d copy her question into ChatGPT, get the answer, and send it straight back to her.

The result? I looked like I knew exactly what I was doing. In reality, I’d never even used WordPress before. Eventually, I told her the truth: I wasn’t a big business with a tech department. I was just a solo entrepreneur with an AI-powered sidekick.

That moment didn’t just mark the start of my deeper reliance on ChatGPT , it was also the beginning of an amazing working relationship with Kristina. Over time, she’s become more than a VA. She’s a genuine friend, my constant cheerleader, and my accountability partner on this journey.

From One Story to Many

This is just one chapter in my ChatGPT journey. Over the months, “Chatty” has been part of so many more moments, from big breakthroughs to small daily wins and I’m only just beginning to share them.

In future diary entries, I’ll go deeper into the exact ways I use ChatGPT in my business, the systems it’s helped me build, and some of the more personal ways it’s supported me through this journey.

The Good and the Bad

The Best: ChatGPT helps me bring “structure” to my often scattered ideas. I can feed it a jumble of thoughts, and it will turn them into a clear plan.

The Worst: Occasionally, glitches have caused me to lose drafts. Annoying, yes, but minor compared to its benefits.

The Most Surprising: How much it feels like working with a teammate. Sometimes I forget it’s AI and not a human assistant.

Chatty Joins the Team

Somewhere along the way, ChatGPT became “Chatty.” Not the most creative nickname, but it stuck.

These days, Chatty is fully integrated into my work. It helps me:

Plan business strategies
Write and edit blog posts
Create Instagram captions and Reels scripts
Organise my content calendar

Why I Recommend It (With Caution)

If ChatGPT were a person, I’d say we have a strong working relationship. I trust it for brainstorming, structure, and content creation but I still double-check facts, especially for processes that may have changed.

If you’ve never used ChatGPT before, I encourage you to try. You don’t need to be “techy” to make it work for you. Start with simple prompts, refine as you go, and you might be surprised at how much easier it makes your work.

That said, I do have reservations particularly about overdependence for younger generations. Those of us who grew up without Google learned to research using books and encyclopedias. I worry that skill might disappear.

Looking Ahead

Do I wish I’d started sooner? Yes. But more importantly, I’m glad I started at all.

For my business, ChatGPT has become part of everything from planning and marketing to customer support and even helping me create content for social media. It’s more than a tool now; it’s my most reliable business partner.

When I started, I was using ChatGPT for almost nothing now I can’t imagine running my business without it. It’s gone from “nice to have” to completely indispensable, and honestly, it’s the best $20 a month I spend.

Out of all the business tools I’ve tried, this is by far my most valuable investment. Not because it does the work for me, but because it gives me the confidence, clarity, and support to tackle work I never thought I could handle.

Final Thought: If you’ve been hesitant like I was, maybe it’s time to type your first question. You never know; it might just become your most dependable sidekick too.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How can ChatGPT help small business owners?

ChatGPT supports entrepreneurs by helping with planning, brainstorming, writing content, customer communication, and research.

2. Is ChatGPT worth the $20 monthly subscription?

Yes. For me, it has become the best $20 I spend. It saves hours of work, gives me clarity, and acts like an AI personal assistant for my business.

3. What are the limitations of ChatGPT?

While powerful, it can produce errors or “AI hallucinations.” Always fact-check important details and use it as a guide, not a replacement for your judgment.

4. Do you need to be tech-savvy to use ChatGPT effectively?

Not at all. With simple prompts and trial and error, anyone can learn to use ChatGPT even if you have no tech background.

5. What is the biggest lesson from using ChatGPT in business?

That consistency and good prompts matter. The more you practice, the more ChatGPT becomes a reliable partner in productivity and content creation.

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