No Economy on a Dead Planet: How Small Businesses Can Use AI Consciously, with Brandi Clark Burton

Hey, Comp Jam, it's Flora, and welcome back to another episode of The Human Side of AI. Today's guest is someone I've worked alongside for years in our coalition and nonprofit work, and I know her as the Green Queen. Brandy Clark Burton owns The Austin Common, a local media outlet that makes things like city budgets and climate policy feel simple and doable. She's also a vision-to-reality strategist who helps people bring things to life that don't exist yet, and I've actually had the chance to see it in real Here's what I love about this conversation. Brandy cares deeply about our planet, and she uses AI every single day. She's honest about both. We talk about how she used ChatGPT to find the perfect wheelchair for her mom's first cruise, how she runs client work out of Claude projects, and what she means when she says there's no economy on a dead planet. Stick around for the end where she shares the story of a business owner whose clients keep paying him even after they stopped needing his service because they can't imagine leaving his community. That one really gave me the chills because it's exactly what we're building here at Club Jam. If you're not a member yet, come find us at jamout.ai. Now let's get into it. Hello, Brandie. How you doing today? I am doing great. Nice to see you. Nice to see you. Thank you so much for, for joining me. And, and Brandie and I know each other in a different world, in more of an environmental space. And I actually know you as the Green Queen. And I really love this conversation. I've actually had some environmentalists on the show, and we talk about AI just as a tool. And I like this narrative that AI can be used for good and that it's not just like completely killing our planet and it is allowing these things. So, so when I reached out to you and I said, hey, Brandie, will you be a guest on my show? We're going to talk about AI. What were some of the thoughts that, you know, kind of came across your mind?

I think honestly, I feel a little guilty, honestly, at how absolutely almost inexpendable it is at this point, how helpful it is to me in my life and how much good it does for the work I do and for my family and for like, and knowing that not all You know, there are a handful of data centers that are really trying to do things well, and others are just jamming their, you know, themselves down people's throats and doing it in, you know, diesel operating, you know, sort of burn, baby, burn style when it could be done in a more holistic and sustainable way. I think that the pace of development is not sustainable. I think that the style of development is not conscious or responsible in most cases. And I think it's gonna be up to us, the consumers, to say, hey, you know, we're gonna move to the services, or we're going to find the ways to demand that you guys behave better. Because this is the way the world is moving, and the world won't move very far if we like, you know, really ruin it for ourselves, and there's not a planet that is inhabitable. So. Like I say, there's no economy on a dead planet. So let's, let's treat this place that we live like it's the context for which we do life and business. It's not an afterthought.

Well, and it's honestly so refreshing to talk to someone who is so environmentally cautious and still using tools available to us, right? Because there is definitely this, this like narrative that this is terrible, right? And, and I know when you and I work together outside of this call, obviously, I'm always a little like relieved to see, to see someone using AI so openly in this space. So before we jump into that, tell a little, like, tell people who you are and, and, you know, what, what are all the things that, you know, are keeping you busy these days?

Well, who I am is someone who's up to and always has been up to connecting people, information, and resources that advance sustainability. And And really advance the greater good. I would say the broader definition of sustainability includes environment, equity, and economy. And we embrace that with the expansion of my media outlet. I own a local media outlet that started in the early days, it was called the Austin Eco Network. And then after years of doing that, and when the IPCC report came out that said we basically had 12 years from then, which is coming up, to really dramatically change how we're doing things on the planet or It's gonna be very uncomfortable. It's gonna be not good for a lot of people. And our then editor-in-chief, and she still is, Amy Stansbury and I sat down and we asked ourselves, are we doing everything we can? Is there something we could be doing differently? And we decided that there was a little too much preaching to the choir within the eco network, and we needed to broaden it and make it more accessible to to everyone. And so we went through a year-long rebranding process and really asking our community what they wanted, what they thought was needed. And what we've ended up with is a media outlet that all of the content is illustrated and video-based and very digestible and accessible, primarily to younger audiences. Our bulk of our viewers and subscribers on Instagram are under 40. But Older people like it too. I mean, it's— everyone appreciates things being simplified and explained in a way that doesn't make them feel stupid and also doesn't assume a bunch of prior knowledge. So we're— I care about people understanding information that can help them make a difference, can help them make better choices. And hopefully, you know, we do that with our voter guides. We do that with, you know, explaining what the city is doing and rebate programs and what's going on and policy things that are coming up and even the budgeting process that that would be the least sexy things to talk about, our editor-in-chief, Amy Stansbury, is brilliant at getting people excited about it, about creating visuals, about translating it to pizza and candy and things that people understand and think about. And so it's really wonderful. And I, you know, I would like to bring that sort of spirit of simplifying and explaining things so that people feel like they have access to get involved in other categories of life as well. And small business is one of those areas I've had an interest for a long time in supporting them. and sort of greenifying what they're up to. But lately what I'm focused on, I've been calling myself a vision-to-reality strategist because I just—

Truly.

You what?

Truly, you are.

Well, I was trying to define what is it that I, you know, have to offer. And I was like, oh, well, the thing that people keep coming to me for is to start things that don't exist in the world. And, you know, I'm one of those people that if there's already a manual, an explainer, you know, it's already figured out, like, I'm not interested. Like, if there's, you know, it's a greenfield and there's a coalition that needs to be built and communications that need to be developed and established, I'm all in. And especially if it's gonna do something to help the world. And so I've been saying that out loud for a few months now, and I just keep getting, you know, client after client, and it's been really fun. So that's what I'm doing. I have a deep interest in community, and I'm experimenting with this new area called community as a service. And you could ask me more about that, but that's, that's like, I'm, I'm playing with this idea of refining like that what I help bring into life is, you know, communities of purpose and folks who are gonna support each other in expanding their mission and, you know, accomplishing something that they couldn't do by themselves.

Awesome. Yeah, Brandy, when I think of you, There are not a lot of people that I put in this category. And, and you and I have had a chance to work together for a few years now and, and in our, in our coalition work. And, um, when I think of you, you're, you're someone who's like, okay, I have this idea, green light, it's going. And, um, I kind of had this aha moment this year. And, you know, I've always thought to myself, like, I'm not going to commit to something Um, unless I already have a plan in place on how I'm moving my foot forward, right?

Mm-hmm.

And I, and I share this with you because I think you can, you can resonate. And I, I think it's honestly kind of a, a unique thing that you and I both share where it's just like, okay, let's, let's move it forward. Let's do, actually do the thing, right? And, and, and a lot of people have that. Obviously that's not super unique, but then I started listening to others in this, in, in this like professional development, personal development space, and they started saying this idea that if you have a dream and you already know how to achieve it, it's not big enough. And so it's kind of made me take a step back and be like, oh, well, what is, what is the difference between these commitments that I'm saying or these goals and these plans and these dreams? Because I've, I've had this value, this core value of mine that if I say I'm going to do something, it's because I already know how I'm going to start doing it in my head, right? But

I

don't know, I just wanted to share that with you because I figured you might, you know, relate to that and just kind of what your thoughts are on it.

Well, I'll just reflect back that you are a complete badass, and I love working with you on any project because when you say you're going to do something, you do it with with with speed, with alacrity, and you are your follow-through and professionalism is great. So I have really enjoyed working with you directly.

It's very mutual. Yeah. But but what's your thoughts on that? I mean, because you are this visionary to green, you know, to to go. So what did you call it? Visionary to

Vision to reality.

Vision to reality. So, so what are your thoughts on this idea of like, if you can actually visualize it and make it a reality in your head, like, do you think it's like not big enough? Like, what are your thoughts on that?

Well, um, I don't think that it's, uh, that it's not big enough. Often people have ideas and there's, um, they can kind of see what it would look like completed, but they don't know what the steps would be to get there. And so that's where it can help is like figure out what what's missing, you know, the presence of which would make a difference. Like, if you had a communication plan that got people excited about what it is, like, not a communication plan that sounds very like, I don't know, official and businessy, but the actual message, like, what is the— what you're up to that in a way that other people can explain and, and, and hear it and get it and wanna take action on that? Or what, like, how can I be involved? So when it's at that level of, How can I be involved? Then, then other people, then there's an opportunity for it to grow because no project depends on one person. You know, AI does extend people's capacity a lot to do a lot more than they could on their own before. Normally you'd have to like sub out a lot of things, but the, the ability to iterate quickly ideas and then figure out like use it to say like, and who do I need to— who are the top 3 recommended places that I should like? start first to talk to someone about this project. And so I kind of like use it as a brainstorm partner, you know, to begin to AI. And but, you know, what I love about ChatGPT specifically is that because I have like sort of drip used it over the last couple of years, that over time, like I've— it knows enough about me and the things I care about and the projects I've worked on and the things I've— dilemmas I've dealt with. That when I put in a, hey, I was just asked to speak at this event and here's a proposal and here's one of the questions, how can I frame what I'm up to? What I most recently said I was up to in the context of what I've always been up to to make a pitch for this. And it knows me enough to be like my assistant that's been at my side. Like, how are you? Like, oh, well, I don't know exactly how to frame this, you know? And then it gives me something and I'll be like, okay, that's, that's, that's close. That's good. You know, like it's missing this other, you know, like it lets me see what's missing by putting it in front of me quickly and then letting me like ask for it to be different and then ask for it to iterate. And, and in a short amount of time, I can get an application to, you know, to speak at some event prepared and out the door instead of that's on my plate for the whole week. Yeah. Like, I am going to agonize over this. I'm going to— it's going to eat up my evenings, it's gonna eat up my weekend, my time with my family and my ability to exercise. And all this is gonna be compromised because of this thing that I really wanna apply for. And so, it's just, I don't know, insanely helpful.

So, so, Brady, you know, you, you have, you have this title, right? This green screen title. And it is really just this philosophy of your life and, and, you know, it is every aspect of you. So when AI started becoming readily available to the masses, you know, mainly through ChatGPT, talk us through like, what were some initial thoughts? When did you start using it? What,

what is your stack? Like, how are you using it? Kind of talk us through that journey. Yeah, I, I think I started using— Chat doesn't date anything, so I looked at it to see if I could tell when I started and it doesn't have dates. But if I go back— oh, what was the— it's, it's, it's going to think about it. But I can tell that those are conversations or thoughts or ideas or things I was researching a couple of years ago. So I, I think it's been a couple of years. And it's everything from my mother is now in a wheelchair and I wanted to take her on her first trip. And we were trying to figure out what would a travel, like travel wheelchair that was suitable for her, for her particular condition and her ability to like get in and out or not. And, and the, you know, her weight, her height, her all these different things. And I was able to put in all this data and, and say what we're, what we're gonna use it for. And it gave top recommendations. So I was able to like winnow down quickly the research to figure out what would help me and my mom be able to go on a trip together successfully. And it was brilliant. I mean, the electric wheelchair that she got, like everyone is like, where did you get that? That's amazing. I need one of those. And I was like, well, I spent a little bit of time researching it on chat and I could have researched online, but you can't, when you do a search online, you can't say like, weighs this much and does it, just the sophistication of being able to have a conversation with it and ask for what you really need. And I think there's a book in me called Asking for the World You Want. And it comes from this belief that like, first of all, like all things are possible in conversation. And just because things are the way they are right now doesn't mean they're always this way and that they're going to stay that way. Like we get to say how things go. And so like giving people a sense of agency and— and power to, to declare like, this is what I'm up to. And doing the background research for like for this, I don't know, for me it's been extremely helpful. So the other thing I've used it for years is, is meeting recordings and transcripts.

Yeah.

And because I attend a million meetings, I am in a lot of conferences and events and sessions and things like that. And Getting down the notes, um, I would say I was a like hardcore Otter user for years.

I remember that.

And then I, uh, then I switched briefly to— there was something in between, but I'm like on Fireflies right now. But I think I might be switching to Granola or something else. So.

Okay. We do love Granola.

You do?

Okay. Yeah. Um, okay. So how was the trip with your mom?

It was fantastic. It was fantastic. We went on a cruise. There was only one mishap, and it came from the one time I left her alone for an hour.

But she's okay.

She got herself pinned between the couch and the table. I was like— I was with her the whole time. And then I was like, you know, there's this art class I wanted to go do, origami and this watercolor thing. I was going to be gone for like 90 minutes. And she's like, I'll just take myself back to the room. She like zipped back there. And when I come back to the room, she was— Like literally stuck between the sofa and the chair at the table. And I was like, how long have you been there? She's like, kind of since I got back.

Oh, Mom.

So we're planning another trip, but there's gonna be at least one other person besides myself. So I am not the 24/7 make or break everything, um, person. So yeah, we'll do another one.

We'll do another one. Learn. Okay. So I wanna learn a little bit more about this idea of like asking what the world you want and in And I say that because, you know, you and I talked about using AI kind of as like this conversational tool, right? Like, well, let's revise this. This is actually what I need. Yeah. Yeah.

So combination. Yeah.

Yeah. So how does that play into this idea of asking the world what you want?

Oh, oh, asking for the world you want. Yeah, that's what I would say. It's like asking for it. Like, I mean, it, it starts as simple as this practice that I have been teaching people for years to, you know, when you Say you wanna like shop more consciously or you want a store or a restaurant to do things differently. Like, do they compost? Just asking the question, just asking the question, whether they, whether the answer is yes or no that they do composting. When people ask questions, they know that it matters to their customers. And when people get enough questions around something, they start to do something. And actually my origin story of how I got involved in sustainable business stuff in the first place was hearing the story of Ray Anderson. I don't know if we have time for this, but— Yeah, we do. But he, it was customers that asked his company, like, what are you doing to be sustainable? That had them start on this journey that became like world-changing, like role models for sustainable business everywhere. And so like companies invent stuff all the time and convince us that we need them, but it can go both ways. Like, it's not just like companies, you know, telling us what, What you need this, you need this. We can also say we want this, we want this, or we don't want this, or we're not going to stand for this, or that sort of thing. And so reminding people that you have a role in how things go in the world, it's not just a passive like, oh, that's all there is, you know. If it's not, if what you want isn't there, ask for it.

Yeah, well, and honestly, so in our community we have predominantly small business owners, right? And I think small business owners are kind of a unique person, right? Because they are, they are the people that say, hey, you know, there's this need, you know, and that I wanna fill, or—

Right.

There's this, this thing that I wish I had, so I'm going to start this, you know? So, so I feel like you're, you're kind of preaching to the choir, you know, because it's, it is, it's, you know, small business owners are often looking to, to, to fill, to fill that gap. And, and I don't know, I, I, I, I think that'll resonate with a lot of people here.

Yeah, I think there have been organizations that have been dedicated to promoting small business or local-first organizations, and then there's been organizations that promote sustainable business practices, and very few have actually bridged that gap. There was one for several years that I was such a fan of it. This is embarrassing. So Bali Business Alliance for Local Living Economies—they don't exist anymore. Don't go look them up. They they really promoted the buy local and the be sustainable in the same thing, and I was so engrossed in what they were doing and like trying to you know find a way to be at each of their annual conferences as a speaker or as an attendee that when I got married, that part of our honeymoon included. Going to the Valley Conference in South Carolina, in Charleston, while we're also like going to the beach and doing like—

That's right. It's a lot of fun for

them all. But he was game, and that's partly why we're together is because, you know, we share similar missions in life. And so, yeah.

So, okay, so you— I have a good question for you, actually. I like this. Where did it go? Where did it go? Of course, I have AI running our transcript and leaving me questions, and I like this one. And okay, okay. You said there's no economy on a dead planet. Love that. What's one thing a small business owner can do this month to use AI more consciously?

Oof.

Ooh.

It's AI more consciously. That's not what I asked. Ooh, let's see. Ask it how you could do things more sustainably. What am I doing? You know, what is something I'm doing that There's— I will just start with there is a more sustainable, greener, whatever you call it, less impactful way of doing literally everything. And if you don't know how it, you know, what that is, just start asking the question. And the more you train your AI that you care about those things, it can tee up those suggestions for you. So it could be in your supply chain, it could be who you're buying from, where or how far that stuff is traveling. It could be what it's made of. You can get, you can get into that, you know. AI can help you research like what is in stuff that you want to avoid or that you're, you know, what's the good stuff? How do I seek out the good stuff? How do I get better packaging? If you offer services, you can say like, how do I reduce my energy consumption or my water consumption? How do I, you know, just be more involved in my community and give back, be integrated into the community? You know, how do I be part of a resilient community? Like, get curious about that word. resilience and ask AI, what are, you know, 3 things I could do this year to build my connection with, with my employees, you know, with my customers, with my community, you know, and with the environment?

Yeah, no, I love that. So, so what are— you shared your personal, your personal story on how you used AI with your mom and planning the trip. And I imagine that gave you a lot of time back to work on other things, right? Or spend time in other ways. But what are ways that you're using it in your, in your businesses and in your line of work

now? Well, so I have started using Claude. I was sort of— took me a minute to like work up to it and I don't know why I felt like I had to like start it right in order to do it at all. But it's not that bad. It's not harder. I mean, it still has a chat function like ChatGPT, but what I've been mainly using is projects. And so inside of a project folder, I will upload all like sort of like Like the whatever they hired me, the contract that says what we're— what I'm setting out to do here and what I agreed to do, any background documents that they are, you know, asking me to work from as we go along. I'll upload transcripts of meetings with key decision makers that like where we hashed out what it is that we're trying to accomplish next so that I can make sure I turn those deliverables into action items and get the work done. You know, I've used it to take a whole bunch of stuff and turn it into a visual chart. So given all of these things that this organization says they're trying to do over the next 4 years, turn this into a visual, which I, I mean, it would take me, I don't know, days to just find someone to hire them and then explain what I wanted and then go back and forth with iterations. And it would cost lots and lots of money and that I don't have myself. And so like to be able to deliver a high level of product you know, kind of as a solopreneur, it is remarkable.

Wow. What are you wanting to expand on in your personal and professional AI journey?

Well, I created my first little, I don't know if you call it an agent, but I want to do more public speaking. So I asked it to do a daily scan for speaking opportunities that would, you know, sort of like fit what I'm up to, the audience I'm looking for, you know, sort of changemakers or entrepreneurs, people who are starting things or interested in, you know, getting things off the ground. It could be an existing organization who wants to launch a new initiative or new event. I mean, I've done— I've produced— I'm not kidding— at least 1,000 events in my life. And so I have a lot of event organizing experience. If somebody wants to do an event, I can help them either just like map it out or Or produce it. So anyway, but all of that is so much easier when I, you know, create a project for it and then tell it what I'm trying to do. And, you know, I can upload previous examples of things I've done as models. It's just the ability to build on my prior work and iterate as I'm going along. Your question was about my goals and what I want to do. I think be better at figuring out how to get certain workflows. I guess that's my next step. It's like I, with my media outlet, the Austin Common, I do the business development and the kind of strategy stuff with Amy. So when I speak to someone and they say, yes, I want to be a client, or we've hashed out what it is that they want, I have to develop a contract that reflects the level of services that they want and whatever. So I used AI to put together a better template contract, um, and much cuter than the one we had before. It looks like our branding and everything. Um, but I still haven't gotten to like turn like the decision or the, the transcript of a conversation into the contract. Like there, I'm, I'm, I don't know how to do that yet.

Okay. Kind of this idea of like, this is my understanding more or less.

Yeah. Well, I mean, getting it to where it's a document that someone could sign. So, it's— I know that is doable and many more complicated things than that. I've actually sat through several AI trainings in the last year, and I know that many things are possible. And, you know, you watch these people who just like whiz through and they can make it do this and this and this. And then, you know, I'm like, okay, I'm still I'm still using it relatively simply, but still for me very powerfully. So,

yeah. And so, Brittany, I feel like we're, we're seeing a lot more of this, whereas like in the past, if someone, someone had like one career, they were a doctor, they were an accountant, right? Right. And you're seeing so many more people, and I, I always use this term, but like wearing these hats, right?

Mm-hmm.

And, and I'm, I'm one of them. I wear, I wear these hats. You wear all these hats, right? And I've personally struggled with this, like, well, is this chaotic? Like, am I, like, am I, what am I? And I always kind of gauge it on, on who's asking, right? So like, if someone in the environmental, environmental space, you know, asks me what I do, I'm gonna, I say I co-lead a coalition, right? And I have a small nonprofit, right? If someone in the marketing space, you know, it kind of varies, right? And Where I've landed is it's not about the hat I'm wearing, but it's me. Like, I am the brand. And I'm just curious, like, what are your conversations with AI about that exact topic I just mentioned? Like, how do you pitch yourself if, if you have these so many hats?

Honestly, I think chat has been able to help me synthesize so many what feel like pulling me in different directions kinds of, you know, things like actually explaining, helping me derive how they're related and how to talk about it in a way that isn't scattered and, and messy and that sort of thing. So, um, I think, I think you're right to speak to your audience about, you know, what they— you think is relevant to them, but also, um, you know, general marketing tips is like, don't just talk about your thing all the time. Like, people don't wanna hear about your thing every time you get on social media. Like, have some other interests, like the fact that you're interested in reuse or you're a volunteer with the Austin Reuse Coalition. Like, you, you know, if like that's your thing and you also like photography and you also like this, you know, you can, people actually want to interact with a human. And so, um, I don't think it's bad that you have these different facets and different things that you do. Um, Kind of, it, it makes you more specialized and more niche and more good at what you do in a particular space, you know.

But I'm curious, like, because you can relate to that, I'm sure, how are you articulating that? How are you, how are you communicating that when you are, you know, doing these pitches? And, you know, how do you, how do you just say like, hire me, I'm good, right? I can figure it out. Like, how do you really pigeonhole yourself when you're not pigeonholed?

That is a good question. And I, um, I am blessed in that pretty much everyone who has hired me has known me. Like, I actually do— almost all the work I've done, I did not apply for.

Yeah.

People came and asked me to do it, or I said, I'm, I'm doing this vision-to-reality strategy consulting. They're like, I need you. You know, and they just, they sold themselves on it. Like I literally said almost not more than that, but they know me in other contexts. They've seen me perform and produce and do things and launch things. And so when I said I'm offering this as a service, they're like, I want that. So that is, that doesn't say environmental, right? That doesn't say, oh, it doesn't say a lot of things about me. It has taken work to winnow it down to what do I do? I help bring things to life that don't yet exist, and specifically for changemakers or people who are up to doing some sort of good in the world. That's as much as I've like narrowed it at the moment. Like, I haven't tried to be like super niche. What's this? Dean Graziosi talks about your dot, you know, and to get super, super specific, like nurses between the ages of this who live in this county. Yeah. Like, I'm definitely not doing that. So, you know, I'm also not making millions of dollars like he is. So I think maybe there's some merit in that focus. And what I mentioned earlier that I'm playing with is this idea of building community. Like, I started the Austin Eco Network 20, approaching 24 years ago, and that bringing together of people around a theme or a shared interest has been something I've done, wash, rinse, repeat over and over and over again, all, you know, for many, many years. And I think that in this age of AI, where so much is digital and we do spend time talking with a computer or typing with a computer, that the human interaction is even more important. That the pull for in-person events, the pull for human communities where we can talk and support each other and hear about each other's issues and collaborate, I think that this is, is going to be more vital and more necessary than ever. So, um, I guess I'll explain it if you— if you— do you want me to explain the community as a service concept that was introduced to me?

Yeah.

So, so I was at a mastermind in Vermont last month, and I, um, one of the guys, instead of using his time to like share an issue or challenge his business has, you know, and getting the feedback of the group, he said— he was a multi-millionaire— he's like, I'm doing fine. He's like, I just I actually want to share something that I think is cool. And so his company is a marketing company that boosts Facebook ads for realtors.

Okay.

Super like, whatever. Okay. Not— wouldn't jump to mind that this is the obvious place for building the most beloved tight-knit community. So what he's done is he, he, he He introduces realtors to his service at a lower price. It starts at $1,000 a month and then it goes up by $100 a month until it gets to $2,200. He's like, when you're, when you're newer, you're making less. By the time you're, you know, we're going to help you make more so you'll be able to afford it. But you pay for, you know, the fees for posting plus your ad spend. That's sort of the basics. Well, another basic is that there's one realtor per geography, so he's not competing against himself trying to get, you know, the most visibility for multiple people in the same space.

Okay.

There's one per geography. But then what he does is twice a year he hosts a mastermind and invites all the realtors. There's no additional charge. If you're a customer, you're invited. Just get yourself there. And people from all over the country who are all in the same profession get together and they are able to share like really openly, like they're not in competition with each other. Like, this is, this is what's working. This is where my challenges are, that sort of thing. And they really like get a lot of value out of being together and getting together twice a year. They're actually creating community and they keep seeing the same people and that, you know, it's that there's like this sort of extended family of people that they are co-professionals with. Um, and then once a year he does like a fun event. He personally likes rodeos and so he like sponsors this rodeo somewhere out in Big Sky Country and—

Okay.

He, um, he said same thing, just says, just get yourself there, bring a tent, bring an RV, Whatever, you know, get a local hotel, whatever. We're going to get together. We have fun, no extra charge. Just come do that. And he has people who've been in the past, like, get on. They have— oh, and they have a Slack channel where they communicate with the sort of client list member group and people who've been before get on there like, oh my gosh, you're stupid if you don't go. This is so much fun. You know, it doesn't even cost anything. Just get yourself there. And they really— they get a lot of them to come and they have an amazing time. And why is this interesting? Well, He's creating experiences for people that they are really, really finding value in. And from a business strategy perspective, he is spending money to produce each of these events, but his retention rate is so high. He has people who come to him and say, look, I don't even need your services anymore. We're doing fine. Like, I don't even need you to place these ads anymore, but I cannot imagine not being a part of this community. And they're willing to pay $2,200 a month to be in this community for the value that they get. I'm like, Whoa. Okay, that is mind-blowing. And, um, you know, it's not a one-for-one business model that would work with everybody, you know, in every situation, but even in nonprofit—

Humanity, like, it's the power of just the human connection.

Yes, yes. I think people are starving for it. I mean, we have like a loneliness epidemic, and it is, um, it is everywhere. I mean, I, my I have 5 living octogenarians in Austin, several of which live in assisted living places. And I've seen how many people are just desperately lonely in those places. And I know that there's people around the world who are also lonely, like, can we get these people together? There's so much opportunity for creating more connectedness. And yet the default, I mean, literally you go to teenage parties and there's like 16 kids and they're all looking at their phones around each other, or, you know, I was at a cafe yesterday and people sitting at tables across from each other looking at their phones. I'm like, we are getting to a weird world here where we don't talk or not much. And so I think that strategically creating curated opportunities for people to actually communicate and learn from each other and build community is something I think is really needed. So I'm, I'm, this is, I'm just sharing that this is what I'm up to next is figuring out how, how can I sort of Do this as a thing, a vision I bring into reality for multiple, like, organizations and businesses or community groups or that sort of thing.

As the world, like, globally is hungry and hungrier for it. And so, I mean, there's, there's this takeaway here from this call that, you know, as a small business owner, whatever, whatever space you're in, pause and, and maybe use AI to conversate and to ask and, and, or, or even just put the screens down for a second and think, you know, how, how can I use this community that I'm building within my customers? And how do I, how do I make it a more human experience for all of us?

Yeah, yeah. Um, I think creating, creating— I mean, a business succeeds on whether or not it creates value, you know, for its customers. And value is— it looks like a lot of different things. Um, for the realtors, it could be customers, but it's also like professional development. And so what do people need in your space? Or if it's a nonprofit and you have a mission-based thing, it's like, what do our supporters care about? And I think a lot of this is not a new concept. Like nonprofits have been throwing like annual picnics or, you know, receptions or galas and things like that that get people together. So it's— I mean, I guess in a way it's kind of taking sort of nonprofit wisdom and bringing it to business spaces because they don't often build community intentionally like that. And yet, you know, you think of your favorite pizza shops, you know, that have trivia nights, or, you know, pubs that, that get people together and do quiz things or other social things, competitions, you know, like food eating competitions and whatnot. So.

And honestly, I kind of had this just aha moment. It's like, that is really what Club Jam is. We are a community and we are We're bringing people from all over together. And yeah, I just, I just think that's really beautiful. And I, and I love that's kind of where we landed on this call. So how do people find out more about you? If someone, if something sparked and they said, you know what, I just want to reach out to Brandi and see kind of where this idea could go, how do people find you?

Just remember Eco Brandi, E-C-O-B-R-A-N-D-I. That is my email, ecobrandi@gmail.com. I am— that is my LinkedIn, Eco Brandi. Slash in slash whatever, but eco brandy. Brandy Clark Burton is my full name, but eco brandy. You'll find me. I have an Instagram account. I haven't really used it much, and I am my full name on Facebook. So those are the ways to reach me. And I would just say that I would love to learn more about Jam Out, and because I think that these virtual communities, as valuable as they are, there may be something that I could help you guys create that would create some in-person experiences that would make everyone. even more excited to, you know, to be a member and stay in it for as long as they could dream of.

Yeah. Well, I'm gonna share some ideas with you and we'll just continue this conversation.

Cool. Love it.

All right. I'll talk soon. Thank you so much, Brandy.

Thanks for having me.

Thanks again. Bye. All right.

Bye.