We kicked off talking about a big change we're making to our annual planning cadence. Instead of following the traditional January-December cycle, we're shifting to a March-February year. Why? Because December-January is such a mess with holidays and slow starts! We found that planning during this time just doesn't work well. By making March 1st the start of our planning year, we're using January-February as a time for reflection, strategy planning, and wrapping up previous projects. This gives us a nice fresh start in the springtime.
Then Jacob introduced us to "vibe coding" - a term coined by Andres Carpathy. It's about using AI tools like Claude or Cursor to generate code without really understanding the code itself. You describe what you want, and the AI builds it for you. We discussed how tools like Replit, Lovable, and Bolt.new make this possible even for non-coders. Jacob shared great examples, including how someone built a multiplayer flight simulator game in just one day! This approach works especially well for personal tools or weekend projects.
I shared how I've been using Claude as a resource by creating a project focused initially on designing an agency. The cool part is that I've ended up using this knowledge base for all sorts of other projects - from mastermind landing pages to coaching proposals. The AI basically interviews me and builds up a profile of my skills and experience that I can later tap into for various content needs.
Finally, Jacob highlighted Caleb Hammer as his creator of the week. Caleb runs a YouTube show called "Financial Audit" where he reviews people's financial situations (often a bit brutally!) and helps them create a plan to improve. The format is consistent but always feels fresh because each guest brings different financial challenges. Jacob noted how well Caleb has monetized through relevant sponsorships, memberships with behind-the-scenes content, and even creating his own budgeting app.
Takeaways
= Consider shifting your annual planning cycle to March-February if the traditional January start feels rushed and disrupted by holidays
= AI tools like Replit now make it possible for non-coders to create functional web apps and tools - especially for personal use or to solve specific problems
= Building a dedicated AI "project" that knows your skills and experience can become a valuable resource for various content creation tasks
= Bringing audience members onto your show as guests can create fresh, relatable content while still maintaining a consistent format
= Multiple monetization streams work best when they're naturally integrated into your content - Caleb Hammer's example shows how sponsors can be woven in without feeling disruptive
Resources
= Replit - A coding platform with AI capabilities that's great for beginners (https://replit.com/)
= Lovable - AI-powered app building tool (https://www.lovable.ai/)
= Bolt.new - Another no-code tool for building with AI (https://bolt.new/)
= Cursor - Advanced AI coding tool mentioned for more experienced users (https://cursor.sh/)
= Claude 3.7 - The new Claude AI model that Alistair mentioned for coding help
= Caleb Hammer's YouTube channel - Financial audit show (https://www.youtube.com/c/CalebHammer)
= Alitu - Our podcast creation app with new video recording features (https://alitu.com) - use code CREATORTOOLBOX for 50% off your first month
Chapters
00:00:00 Introduction and episode overview
00:01:14 Changing our annual planning cadence to March-February
00:07:38 Why 12-month planning can be arbitrary and limiting
00:11:43 What is "vibe coding" and how does it work?
00:20:28 Replit as a beginner-friendly coding tool
00:24:32 Personal software development using AI tools
00:34:01 Using Claude as a resource for multiple projects
00:43:00 Caleb Hammer as creator of the week
00:47:04 How Caleb monetizes his financial audit show
00:52:32 Closing remarks and Alitu promotion
