Create an AI Business Coach in 15 Minutes (Med Spa Example)

Introduction

The AI revolution isn't just looming on the horizon—it's already here, tearing down the gates and reshaping how we do business. The question isn't if you'll tap into it, but how—and how fast? It surprises me to have so many friends in business that don’t really fully utilize AI to its full potential or are just now getting their feet wet with AI. But I get it—we all get stuck in the operations of our businesses.

When a friend of mine was gearing up to launch her first med spa business in that cutthroat industry, I knew she needed expert-level marketing advice tailored to her niche. I realized I could do something transformative for her business journey in just 10-15 minutes. Why not unleash a touch of AI Alchemy for a friend?

I proceeded to quickly create a custom AI business mentor for her med spa business (something she didn't even know was possible) — and decided to share the process here, as it could add value to those wanting to create their own AI mentors. This is much simpler than you might think, and potentially life-changing for business owners in various industries.

Understanding Custom AI Assistants: It's All About Custom Instructions

Before we dive into the steps, let's demystify what a custom AI assistant really is. At its core, creating a custom AI assistant is essentially just producing a set of detailed custom instructions. These instructions act like a specialized lens through which the AI views and processes information.

When you're making a custom AI assistant, you're not building a new AI from scratch or fundamentally altering the underlying model, or "fine-tuning". Instead, you're providing a sort of "pre-prompted" framework of guidelines, knowledge, and behavioral cues that the AI uses to tailor its responses. It's like giving the AI a very specific playbook for a particular domain or task.

This is why the process we're about to go through focuses so heavily on defining clear instructions, setting parameters, and specifying areas of expertise. By doing this, we're effectively teaching the AI how to think and respond within a specific context - in our case, as a med spa marketing expert.

For beginners, it's crucial to understand that the power of your custom AI lies in the quality and specificity of these instructions. The more thoughtful and detailed your guidelines are, the more effectively your AI assistant will perform in its designated role. The good news? The AI does all the heavy lifting. Your job is to provide clear directions, and engage in iteration, and the AI takes care of the complex processing, prompt creation, custom instruction creation, knowledge application, etc.

The Problem with Generic AI Outputs

Generic AI assistants like standard ChatGPT or Claude can be useful for broad tasks, but they may fall short when dealing with specialized industries, compared to a customized assistant (custom instructions). Here's why customized AI assistants are superior, especially for complex fields like the med spa industry:

By customizing an AI assistant, you create a tool that thinks like a seasoned industry professional, offering focused, relevant, and pivotal insights without the fluff or wasted time.

Prepping for Customization: The Game Plan

I didn't spend hours buried in research (as I know nothing about this industry). I let AI do the heavy lifting, hacking the process with super simple and precise prompts to extract exactly what I needed. Here's how I turned lead—incredibly simple prompts—into gold (for her):

Step 1: Cracking the Code on Local Med Spa Mastery

First, I interacted with Claude 3.5 for insights.

Note: You can use Claude or ChatGPT for this, but I chose Claude as the newer Sonnet 3.5 model tends to give the best results (currently the main AI model I use).

Here was the prompt I used:

Let's say someone is a world-class expert in local marketing for med spas. What makes them successful at dominating their niche?

Claude's response was spot on—pure gold:

• Mastery of hyper-local SEO
• Strategic social media tailored for med spa clients
• Deep community ties
• Personalized customer experiences
• Relentless focus on reputation management
• Data-driven marketing strategies
• Staying ahead of evolving trends and regulations
• etc.

Step 2: Tapping into the Winning Mindset

The next step involves what I call "Mindset Matrix Encoding" or "Embedding a Mindset" - a technique I've developed that produces remarkable results. While it may share conceptual similarities with the “expert prompting” techniques discussed in research papers, I created this approach independently.

It's a pretty simple and straightforward approach, yet a highly effective method. The focus is on deeply integrating a specific expert mindset into the AI's reasoning process. Essentially, I'm guiding the AI to "think" through a particular set of goggles - a focused paradigm. It's not about imposing a broad worldview, but rather equipping the AI with a targeted mindset, like giving it specialized lenses to interpret and respond to industry-specific challenges.

To tap into the psyche of top med spa marketers, I used a follow-up prompt that was simple yet laser-focused:

(Note: This prompt is a continuation — building on our previous exploration of top med spa marketers' expertise, we now delve deeper into their mindset—the core psychological framework that drives their success. This technique aims to capture not just their knowledge, but their entire way of thinking, decision-making processes, and strategic instincts.)

What are the mindsets they operate from?

The result? A roadmap to success:

• Customer-first thinking
• Lifelong learning and adaptability
• Community-centric integration
• Long-term relationship building
• Ethical, results-driven marketing
• Fierce competitiveness paired with innovation
• A focus on quality over quantity, always

Step 3: Building the AI's Brain

Armed with these two deceptively simple insights, I challenged Claude to generate custom instructions that would transform a generic AI into a laser-focused business mentor. My prompt was:

Can you create custom instructions for an AI business coach based on these mindsets and strategies?

Claude responded with a detailed blueprint—covering everything from core competencies to interaction styles—packed with practical guidelines to deliver high-impact advice tailored to the med spa industry.

Step 4: Refining and Fine-Tuning

I developed the "Insight Cascade Protocol" (ICP), a technique that builds on AI self-reflection and iterative refinement concepts. Here is a very simple example of this concept (essentially you are having the AI reflect on its last answer):

Any way we can make it even better? Anything missing?

Though this is a super simple implementation of the method (you can get much more in-depth with this), ICP prompts the AI to critically analyze its previous response, sparking deeper insights and refinements. Unlike similar techniques like RCI or SELF-REFINE, ICP uniquely focuses on both improvements and omissions. This dual focus often yields more comprehensive enhancements, pushing the AI to not just refine what's there, but also consider what might be missing.

ICP shares similarities with Stanford's "curious replay" method but is tailored for real-time, dialogue-based AI refinement. Unlike complex frameworks requiring specialized training, ICP works immediately with any capable large language model.

The results were impressive for such a simple prompt: Claude suggested psychological insights, crisis management strategies, and cutting-edge tech integration—transforming solid advice into industry-specific expertise.

In essence, ICP mimics a top-tier consultant's review process, leveraging AI's vast knowledge and rapid processing. It's a simple yet powerful tool bridging academic AI concepts and practical application in prompt engineering.

Step 5: Masterful Refinement with The Prompt Alchemist Assistant

After creating the initial custom instructions in step 4, I supercharged the process by employing my proprietary tool: The Prompt Alchemist. This advanced prompt engineering assistant, available to my paid subscribers, is designed to create, refine, and optimize prompts with unparalleled precision and creativity. It's like a truly good prompt engineer at your disposal 24/7.

Anyways I simply copied the first two questions and outputs (responses about the mindsets, etc)

Task: Can you create a custom instructions for an ai that would essentially become a business coach (specifically for: AI Med Spa Marketing Coach)? that would have these midsets embedded, and the other qualities mentioned? (review chats from previous chat interaction)

Then, The Prompt Alchemist created a custom instruction. Then I provided the custom instructions from the previous chat interaction, and had the the AI combine best of both custom instructions to create a stronger version.

Now take this custom instruction: [Custom instructions]
and take best of both... use your version and the version I just supplied to create a superior version

Here's how The Prompt Alchemist transformed our AI business mentor:

1. Holistic Analysis: The tool comprehensively analyzed our initial instructions, considering every aspect from structure to potential edge cases.
2. Universal Applicability: It refined the language to ensure our prompts were generic and applicable across various scenarios within the med spa industry, avoiding overly specific examples.
3. Ethical Enhancement: The Prompt Alchemist wove ethical considerations and inclusivity deeply into the fabric of our AI mentor's instructions.
4. Modular Reconstruction: It broke down complex parts of the prompt into modular components, making them easier to understand and modify.
5. Future-Proofing: The tool incorporated forward-thinking elements to anticipate industry developments and emerging trends.
6. Robustness Optimization: It suggested ways to make the prompts more robust, capable of handling a wider range of potential inputs and use cases.
7. Iterative Refinement: The Prompt Alchemist provided multiple variations, encouraging an iterative approach to prompt design.

The result was a set of custom instructions that were not just improved, but transmuted into a more powerful, flexible, and effective set of custom instructions. The AI business mentor for the med spa industry now embodied the expertise and mindsets of top prompt engineers, ensuring it could provide nuanced, contextual, and ethically sound advice.

This step showcases the power of specialized prompt engineering tools in creating truly exceptional AI assistants. The Prompt Alchemist, available to my paid subscribers, can be used with Claude projects or custom GPTs, offering a valuable resource for those looking to push the boundaries of what's possible with AI interactions.

By incorporating The Prompt Alchemist into our process, we added layers of sophistication, ethical awareness, and future-oriented thinking to our custom AI business mentor, making it uniquely suited to navigate the complex landscape of med spa marketing and management.

Keep in mind, that I wanted to create a "Business" assistant that focused on Marketing, as this was a key challenge for my friend just starting out in her business journey. You could create a more balanced assistant or customize it to your own business & needs. She was pretty stoked to use it:

The Secret to My Prompt Engineering Success

See how easy that was? Creating custom instructions is less about grinding through hours of research and more about mastering efficient prompting techniques. My secret? I leverage AI to do the heavy lifting—just like I did here. By learning to ask the right questions and refine responses, I can quickly generate powerful prompts and workflows.

I'd feel a little silly calling this "prompt engineering". The reality is, I let AI do the heavy lifting. That's where prompt engineering is headed anyways: it's about being effective with AI—knowing how to work with AI tools to get your desired outputs. Who gives a shit if you don't write code, prompts or custom instructions—as long as you get the result you want?

You can get truly impressive results with allowing AI to do the heavy lifting, implementing certain techniques, and engaging in a process of iteration and refinement—all while saving tons of time. You keep doing this until you get the exact result you were looking for. Sure, I can manually write prompts and instructions from scratch, but I rarely do anymore. Why? Because efficiency is the name of the game. LEVERAGE whatever tools and technology you can, and move forward.

For quick projects like this one, it's all moving fast and getting quick, effective results. But when I'm working on something for myself (especially for a prompt chaining system), I might spend hours perfecting it through iterations, manual edits, and careful refinement.

The payoff? Once you perfect the output, you'll consistently get masterful results giving you exactly what you need, in a fraction of the time it would take using traditional methods. This investment in refining your prompts and systems can lead to exponential efficiency gains, allowing you to accomplish in minutes what might have taken hours or even days using conventional human-knowledge work approaches.

Building the Custom AI Mentor: The Step-by-Step Guide

Now, let's walk through the step-by-step process of creating these instructions and bringing our custom AI mentor to life.

Now, here's where it gets fun: I took those refined insights and used GPT's custom tools to create a sharable AI model that my friend could use right away, even with a free account. GPT's custom models make it easy to create, fine-tune, and share AI tools without needing any coding knowledge. And with a few simple steps, I built a powerhouse AI mentor in record time.

1. Picking the Right Base Model

There are many AI tools out there, but the two 500-pound gorillas that most people are using are ChatGPT and Claude. For the final custom AI mentor, I went with ChatGPT (a Custom GPT). Why? I was creating this for a friend, and Custom GPTs are a triple threat: versatile, powerful, and most importantly people can use them for free. You can share a URL to this assistant and anyone with a free account can interact with it.

I actually used Claude to whip up the initial instructions—that's my go-to AI tool currently. However, you can get very similar results with ChatGPT—so just use the tool you have access to. If I were going to create an AI business coach for my own business, I'd absolutely use Claude Projects for the final product. Why? It has a larger context window (it learns about your business) and it has better teamwork features (along with Claude Sonnet 3.5 generally being a smarter AI model compared to GPT-4o).

2. Writing Custom Instructions

Using the polished set of instructions from Claude, I crafted guidelines defining:

• Core skills and expertise
• Guiding principles and attitudes
• Interaction style and tone
• Key areas for advice (like local SEO and client retention)
• Advanced topics like cultural competence and trend analysis

3. Testing and Iterating

I tested the AI's grasp of high-leverage marketing strategies with this prompt:

What are the 20% of marketing strategies that drive 80% of med spa revenue? List them clearly.

The output hit the mark: a no-nonsense, high-impact list of strategies that could turbocharge sales, proving the AI was tuned into the nuances of med spa marketing.

4. Adding the Final Touches

Finally, I needed a name and some branding flair. I used this prompt:

Give me a name, description, and conversation starters for this custom GPT.

The final product:

• Name: MedSpa Marketing Pro
• Conversation Starters:
  1. "How can I boost my med spa's local SEO ranking?"
  2. "What social media tactics work best for med spas?"
  3. "How do I build a killer client retention program for my med spa?"
  4. "What's the most effective way to promote a new treatment?"
  5. "How can I measure the ROI of my med spa marketing efforts?"

Description:

AI-powered strategist for med spas. Expert in local SEO, social media, client retention, and ethical marketing. Get tailored advice to dominate your market.

Quick Process Recap

Here's a fast breakdown of how you can replicate this process:

1. Define the Need: Identify the specific challenges and industry the AI needs to address.
2. Gather Information: Use AI to research key strategies and mindsets.
3. Create Custom Instructions: Develop detailed guidelines covering competencies, principles, and key areas for advice.
4. Test and Refine: Put the AI to the test with real-world scenarios and tweak as needed.
5. Finalize: Create a name, description, and conversation starters for your AI model.

The whole process took just 15 minutes—proving how quickly you can build a tailored, high-impact AI assistant.

Key Features of the Custom Med Spa AI Mentor

This AI mentor isn't just another digital assistant; it's a strategic powerhouse designed specifically for med spas:

1. Industry-Specific Expertise: Deep knowledge of med spa operations, regulations, and marketing strategies.
2. Strategic Thinking: Tailored advice for industry-specific challenges.
3. Ethical Considerations: Emphasizes compliance and responsible marketing.
4. Data-Driven Approach: Prioritizes analytics and performance tracking.
5. Local Focus: Knows the critical role of community engagement and hyper-local strategies.
6. Adaptability: Built to stay on top of trends and evolve with the market.

Results and Feedback

My friend was blown away. She now has a 24/7 marketing consultant that not only understands her business but speaks her language. Key benefits included:

1. Rapid Strategy Development: Quickly crafted a comprehensive marketing plan.
2. Confidence in Decision-Making: The AI became her go-to for validating ideas.
3. Increased Local Visibility: Advice on local SEO and community engagement boosted her presence.
4. Cost-Effective Marketing: Data-driven insights helped her optimize her marketing spend.

Tips for Creating Your Own Custom AI Assistant

1. Define Clear Objectives: Know exactly what you want your AI to help with.
2. Be Specific in Your Instructions: Detailed guidelines lead to better AI performance.
3. Include Ethical Guidelines: Ensure your AI operates within ethical and legal boundaries.
4. Test and Iterate: Don't expect perfection on the first try. Test, refine, repeat.
5. Stay Updated: Keep your custom instructions current as AI capabilities evolve.

Pitfalls to avoid:

• Overcomplicating Instructions: Keep them clear and concise.
• Neglecting Ethical Considerations: Always prioritize responsible AI use.
• Forgetting the Human Element: AI is a tool, not a replacement for human judgment.

Potential Applications in Other Industries

The process I used can be adapted to just about any field. Here are a few examples:

1. Real Estate: An AI assistant for market trends, property valuation, and negotiation strategies.
2. Restaurants: A mentor for menu optimization, inventory management, and local food trends.
3. E-commerce: An expert in digital marketing, customer behavior analysis, and supply chain management.
4. Fitness Centers: A coach for membership retention, workout program design, and health trend analysis.

Maybe I should work on creating these for various fields and offering those as custom GPTs 🤔

Lessons Learned

Through this process, I walked away with key insights:

1. Iteration Is Key: My first draft of the custom instructions wasn't perfect, but through testing and refinement, I honed it into something powerful.
2. Specificity Drives Success: The more detailed the instructions, the better the AI performed. Vague inputs lead to vague outputs.
3. Balancing Depth and Breadth: Focus on deep expertise in a few key areas rather than surface-level coverage of many.
4. Ethical Considerations Matter: Especially in sensitive industries like med spas, embedding ethics into the AI from the start is crucial.
5. AI as a Research Tool: Using AI to gather initial insights was a game-changer, proving AI's value both as a creation tool and a research assistant.
6. The Human Touch Remains Crucial: AI amplifies expertise but should always be guided by human judgment.

Conclusion

Creating a custom AI business mentor in just 15 minutes shows the real power of AI in today's business landscape. By leveraging the right tools and prompting techniques, I demonstrated how you can mold AI into something tailored, efficient, and impactful.

Whether you're running a med spa with the help of AI, managing a real estate portfolio, or scaling an e-commerce brand, this process can be adapted to give you a powerful AI ally. The future of business strategy is here, and it's accessible to anyone willing to dive in and experiment.

So, are you ready to craft your own AI mentor and revolutionize your business? The key is learning to let AI do the heavy lifting while you focus on perfecting the prompts. Once you get that down, the possibilities are endless. Don't just watch the AI revolution from the sidelines—be the fucking alchemist turning digital possibilities into golden opportunities. Your competitors won't know what hit them.