Breaking Through in the AI Wave: Building Your Own One-Person Company

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, more and more companies are replacing human labor with AI. Layoff announcements are emerging globally: some companies have cut tens of thousands of jobs at once, with a cumulative total of 120,000 layoffs; others announced another 5% reduction on February 10. Data shows that 60% of jobs may be impacted by AI. Reality reminds us—no profession is absolutely safe.

However, amid this technological wave, we need not fall into pessimism. In contrast to the layoffs, more ordinary people are leveraging AI tools to carve their own paths. A 19-year-old student earned a million dollars in three months with an AI-developed app to combat addiction; a college student named Max created an AI-powered homework-grading platform and secured $500,000 in investment. Neither are professional engineers, yet they used AI to develop products, stepping onto a new stage of “making money solo.”

This is a brand-new era where almost everyone starts on the same starting line. This article will break down the four key steps to building a “one-person company” and share 12 accessible AI skills related to these steps, enabling anyone to hop on the fast track to AI entrepreneurship.

I. Four Key Steps to a One-Person Company

1. Acquiring Traffic  
Whether you’re an employee or an entrepreneur, the first step to making money is attracting attention. For example, a Notion content creator earned $1,000 in their first month with zero advertising by sharing insights and template screenshots on LinkedIn and Twitter. This is the power of “traffic.”

2. Product Delivery  
With traffic, you need a deliverable product, such as newsletters, apps, or designs. Previously, this required coding or design skills, but AI has significantly lowered the barrier.

3. Closing Sales  
To sell products, you need a sales funnel, such as automated website guides, email marketing, or one-on-one consultations. AI can now automate these processes.

4. Automating Operations  
A one-person company can’t do everything manually. AI acts like a tireless digital assistant, handling emails, generating reports, managing customers, and even posting promotions, significantly boosting efficiency.

II. 12 AI Skills Corresponding to the Four Steps

Step 1: Traffic Acquisition  
1. AI Writing  
From tweets to articles, newsletters to business plans, writing is the foundation of all content. With tools like GPT-4o, Gemini, and Claude, even beginners can produce high-quality content.

2. Replicating Viral Content  
Use ChatGPT to analyze popular account posts, summarize their style, and generate similar content. Paired with tools like Feishu’s multidimensional tables and Deepseek, you can produce content in bulk.

3. AI Design  
With Midjourney, Ideogram, and ChatGPT’s visual plugins, simply input requirements to quickly generate product images, covers, or social media visuals. No need to learn Photoshop—anyone can create visuals scoring at least 70/100.

4. AI Ad Video Creation  
Tools like Heygen and Pictory.ai can generate product ads with real models, voiceovers, and dynamic visuals in minutes, supporting multiple languages for platforms like TikTok or Instagram.

5. Digital Persona Creation  
To build a virtual avatar or “clone yourself,” use Heygen or Jimeng to create highly realistic digital personas. Input text to generate video content automatically, saving time on filming and editing.

6. AI Video Editing Tools  
Tools like Jianying, CapCut, and Filmora support auto-editing, subtitles, and background music selection. They can even split long videos into multiple shorts with one click, drastically reducing manual work.

Step 2: Product Delivery  
7. No-Code AI Development  
With tools like Replit, Lovable, and Cursor, describe your idea, and AI will generate interfaces, logic, and functionality. High school students have built apps in three days using this method.

8. Low-Threshold App Creation  
Apps like mood assessment tools, weight-loss apps, or Twitter astrology apps can be quickly created, tested, and launched by ordinary people using AI, allowing low-cost market validation.

Step 3: Automated Sales  
9. Sales Funnel Setup  
Use AI website builders like Durable, Framer, and Mixo to create high-conversion landing pages quickly. Combine with email marketing and community guides to smoothly guide users from browsing to purchasing.

10. Email Marketing Automation  
Tools like Mailchimp and Beehiiv, paired with AI-generated content, enable scheduled emails to boost repeat purchases and user retention.

Step 4: Operational Automation  
11. AI Customer Service  
Build smart chatbots with Rasa, GPT API, or Botpress to answer common questions and handle basic needs, saving manpower.

12. AI Task Assistant  
Use Zapier, Notion AI, or Make to embed AI into daily workflows, automating tasks like posting, data processing, and reminders.

III. Conclusion: You Can Build a One-Person Company from Scratch  
In the AI era, anyone can become the operator of a “one-person company.” You don’t need to be a programmer or designer. By mastering the right tools and methods, you can experiment, test, and optimize at minimal cost, gradually monetizing in the process.

From acquiring traffic, delivering products, closing sales, to automating operations, AI is lowering the entrepreneurial barrier to an all-time low. This is the golden era for ordinary people.

If AI has sparked your enthusiasm but you’re unsure which skill to start with, begin with the one that interests you most. The key is action.

The future belongs to those who dare to unleash their potential with tools.