🧰 AI Just Built Your Website (While You Blinked)

👷You’re the CEO, the intern, the IT guy, the copywriter, and the one apologizing for the late invoice you forgot to send yourself. Running a solo business is less “lean and agile” and more “I guess I’ll sleep later.”

This week, we’re handing you AI tools and shortcuts built for the overbooked, the overwhelmed, and the “accidentally skipped lunch again” crowd. From instant websites, to onboard-anyone forms, to agents who actually get things done, this edition’s packed with help that doesn’t need a standing desk. (3-minute read)

Week’s Highlights:

• Tool Spotlight: Durable builds your website in 30 seconds; Taskade’s AI agents actually get stuff done.

• Sherpa’s Shortcuts: Quick client updates and a one-link onboarding form that keeps your inbox from mutiny.

• The Ridgeline: ChatGPT paints masterpieces, Insta freelancers spill their tea, and washing machines take calls.

• 😜Tools Gone Wild: When your AI assistant misunderstood “set boundaries” and fired the client.

AI tool spotlight:

Tool Sherpa explores the flood of new AI apps and carefully selects only proven tools.

🔍 Durable: The 30-Second Website (and More)

Why It Matters:
Durable promises a full business website in 30 seconds—and it mostly delivers. This isn’t a design playground; it’s a get-it-done machine. You plug in a few words, and Durable generates a clean, single-page site with AI-written copy, a contact form, and even a logo. But here’s the real win: it includes a basic contact management, invoicing, analytics, and appointment scheduling too. Leads from your site go straight into your contact list, so you’re not scrambling to keep track later.

Who Should Use This:

• New freelancers launching a service business

• Local pros (coaches, landscapers, dog walkers) who want a presence without the tech mess

• Solo folks who want to look like they have a team

Best Use Case:
You launch fast with a site, lead form, and simple client tracker—no web designer, no dev, no duct-taped stack. It’s perfect for small businesses that want to promote their services, capture leads, and send invoices from one place.

Pros:

Website, CRM, and invoicing in one. It creates AI web copy to get you live in minutes. Stores contact info from your website leads.

Cons:

Not built for ecommerce or blog. Offers only limited design control.

Pricing: Free plan available; paid starts at $15/month (includes free web domain). 👉 Try Durable for free →

Taskade: AI Teammates That Actually Work

🥾Why It Matters:
Most freelancers don’t need another brainstorming tool—they need a team. Taskade gives you the next best thing: actual AI agents that follow instructions, complete tasks, and organize your work while you do something else (like, say, eat lunch for once).

These agents don’t just spit out a draft and disappear. They follow step-by-step instructions to plan content, research topics, manage tasks, and even organize your notes inside a sleek, Notion-style workspace. Think of it as hiring a few virtual interns—minus the onboarding and coffee budget. You build each agent by simply telling it what to do—in plain English.

Who Should Use This:

• Freelancers and solo founders managing repeatable workflows (content, outreach, research)

• Creators tired of bouncing between Notion, Trello, Slack, and ChatGPT

• Freelance copywriters who want agents to help plan, research, and write first drafts based on client goals

Best Use Case:
You create an agent to plan and write a week of content, while another tracks your client projects, or plans and conducts research. Each one runs independently—so you finally stop copy-pasting tasks between tabs.

Pros:
Taskade gives you real AI agents that follow multi-step instructions, not just quick replies. You can run multiple agents in parallel, replacing several tools.

Cons:
There’s a small learning curve when building your first agent, especially if you’re new to task automation. And if your workflow is super simple, Taskade might be more than you need.

Pricing: Free plan available; Pro starts at $20/month (or $10/month if billed annually)
👉 See Taskade in action →

_{Disclaimer: Some links may earn us a small commission, but they never affect what we recommend.}

Sherpa’s shortcuts 🪓

Sherpa-approved hacks to save time and streamline your workflow in today’s most popular AI apps.

⚡Hack #1: AI-Powered Weekly Update Emails

Problem:
It’s Friday, your client wants an update, and all you’ve got is a vague sense that you were definitely...doing things.

Solution:
Grab your task list, calendar events, or any notes you’ve made (Notion, Trello, phone memos, even sticky notes). Drop the bullets into ChatGPT and ask it to turn them into a polished project update email. Perfect for solo freelancers who do the work but forget to tell anyone.

Prompt idea:

Visit ChatGPT

⚡ Hack #2: Look Pro Without a Client Portal

Problem: You just landed a new client—but now you’re chasing files, timelines, and vague project goals across many emails to onboard them. It’s chaos, and you’re one step away from sending a “Just circling back” at 11pm.

Solution: Set up a Gmail template that asks for everything you need up front. No fancy onboarding tools or client portals—just a clean, reusable message that makes you look polished and keeps the project moving.

Step 1: Turn on Templates

• Open Gmail (desktop only)

• Click the gear icon (⚙️) → click “All Settings” at top

• Go to the “Advanced” tab along top

• Find “Templates” → Click “Enable”

• Scroll down → Save changes

Step 2: Create Your First Template

• Click Compose to start a new email

• Write your message (e.g. client intake questions)

• Click the three dots (⁝) in the lower-right

• Hover over “Templates” →
  Select “Save draft as template” →
  Click “Save as new template”

Step 3: Use Your Template Anytime

• Click Compose email

• Click the three dots (⁝) along bottom

• Hover over “Templates”

Choose your saved message from “Insert Template”

⚡ Sherpa Tip:
Save multiple versions for proposals, follow-ups, or onboarding. Clear template names = faster replies and less mental load

👉 Visit Gmail

The Ridgeline 🏔️

News on how AI is rewriting the rules for solopreneurs and small teams. Let’s chart the trail:

🎨 ChatGPT’s Artistic Upgrade: ChatGPT says it now creates more stunning images in chat—great for solo workers without a graphic artist (and those who want to get away from stock photos). Quick directions video: 🔗Unleash the magic

🌎 Insta Freelancers Spill Secrets: Sam Laliberte reveals how successful freelancers on Instagram juggle multiple income streams. Spoiler: they're legit, and you could be too. 🔗Steal her secrets

⏳ AI Kills Your Procrastination Excuses: AI-powered scheduling now bullies you into productivity—more billable hours, fewer midday TikTok spirals. Your wallet thanks you. 🔗Stop wasting time

🛠️ Businesses Actually Doing Cool AI Stuff: Real non-tech companies skip the AI buzzwords and share actionable wins—automating sales, delighting customers, and ending spreadsheet suffering. 🔗Swipe these hacks

🚗 Appliances Gone Wild? Samsung’s (very pricey) new AI stick vac texts you updates, and its washing machine answers calls. Freelancers, meet your new assistants? 🔗Clean up your workflow

💸 Juuli’s Smart Wallet Ends Invoice Drama: The service organizes payments, tracks invoices, and boosts cash flow. Because “just following up” emails shouldn't be your part-time job. 🔗Get paid painlessly

☕ Final Sip:
AI is helping master your workflow—so you can master looking effortlessly productive during client calls.

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Tools gone wild! 😜(Meme edition)

Let’s end with a laugh — when AI tools take a detour off the happy path.

The Freelancer Who laid off herself

After a long day of edits, invoices, and a dog named Kevin, one solo freelancer set up an AI assistant to manage her inbox. Instructions were simple: “Politely decline anything that adds work to my plate.”

By Friday, it had turned down a paid rush job, ghosted a client, and marked an invoice reminder as spam. The kicker? She received an auto-response from the bot:

📌 Lesson Learned: Outsource your overwhelm, not your judgment. AI doesn’t know which version of you pays the bills.

🧭 What’s Next?

This week, you built a website in 30 seconds, hired AI teammates with no payroll, and found new ways to stop drowning in client chaos. Next time, we’ll tackle even more ways to scale your solo business—without burning it all down.

If Tool Sherpa made your week a little easier, forward it to a fellow freelancer who’s still doing everything the hard way. They don’t need another course—they need shortcuts. Subscribe here now.

— Your Sherpa Team