What happens when an ending is really a beginning? After 120 episodes and three incredible years, I’ve been reflecting on the journey from Hourly to Exit to Scaling Expertise—and how this show has become a trusted resource for protecting and scaling expertise.

In this final episode, I share my gratitude for you—the listeners, the amazing guests, and the broader community who embraced my mission of helping experts protect their IP and grow with intention.

But this isn’t goodbye. I’m excited to share what’s next: long-form content, in-person workshops, and deeper conversations about what it means to be an ethical expert in an AI-saturated world.

Key Takeaways

• Erin closes Scaling Expertise after 120 episodes and 3+ years of conversations on scaling and protecting expertise.
• Gratitude for listeners, guests, and the community who engaged deeply with IP, growth, and the future of work.
• Why podcasting has been both humbling and transformative, stretching her thinking and expanding her network.
• The decision to pivot toward long-form content, workshops, and in-person interactions for deeper, real-time exchange.
• A shift from “tips and tricks” toward tackling complex questions especially around AI and ethics.
• Exploring what it means to serve clients responsibly in an AI-saturated world.
• Balancing legal concerns (copyright, contracts, confidentiality) with broader ethical obligations and client trust.
• An invitation to join Erin in the next chapter: building a community committed to using AI with conscience and integrity.

Connect with Erin to learn how to Turn Your Expertise into Scalable Recurring Revenue.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/

Think Beyond IP YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVztXnDYnZ83oIb-EGX9IGA/videos

Music credit: Paphos by Mountaineer

A Team Dklutr production

Hello, welcome to a very special

episode of Scaling Expertise.

Today's episode is a little

bittersweet because after 125 episodes.

A little over three years of podcasting.

This will be the last episode of

scaling expertise in its current form.

First, I wanna say thank you.

Thank you to every single listener

who's tuned in, whether this is your

very first episode, and if so, I'm

glad you made it or if you've been

with me since the beginning when I

started with Hourly to Exit podcast.

Thank you and thank you to all the amazing

guests that I've had over that time.

They have also generously shared

their successes and their challenges.

I personally like to think of all of

them as my own personal coaching session.

They all had such great

information to share.

And thank you to the broader community

for your curiosity, your thoughtful

questions, your willingness to

think differently about expertise.

To think about intellectual property.

I know it's a topic that, some

people don't like to think about,

but thank you for bearing with me

while I nerd out on intellectual

property and about the future of work.

So this podcast has been a

really wonderful, wonderful

chapter of my professional life.

It stretched me, humbled me at

times, and most importantly,

connected me with people that I never

would've connected with otherwise.

I always learned something new, which is

the great thing about creating content.

We create content as much for

ourselves as we do for you.

Any content creator will tell you

that they learn so much with every

piece of content that they create.

And of course, an ending

is also beginning.

So I'm excited to share with you

what will be next in my journey.

So after, sharing insights and

interviews in this format, I

will be pivoting to a long form.

Content.

So I'll be doing some deep dives

workshops, conversations that don't just

skim the surface, no more tips and tricks,

but tackling some of the most urgent

and complicated questions of our time.

And one of those questions, how do we

as experts, how do we serve our clients

ethically in a world where AI is in

everything everywhere all the time.

So what happened?

I had the pleasure of presenting an

in-person workshop, and it really

was so eye-opening to be able to go

really deep and have that interaction

with people, it's something that

you just don't get on a podcast.

And even with my, LinkedIn lives,

which I enjoy tremendously, I still

did not get that type of interaction,

just that immediate feedback.

The ability to just kind of,

pivot and, wait, go with the flow.

I really, really loved it and

so I wanna do more of that.

I wanna be in the room with

people while we talk about these.

Wonderful issues, so I'll be

seeking out more opportunities to

interact with people, in person.

And there's another part of

the AI conversation that I also

wanna focus more completely on.

we don't need to know anything more about

prompts or about which tools to use.

There are so many resources that will

guide you to tell you which resources

to use for speed or for productivity.

My inbox is absolutely filled with,

people who will help you with that.

But what I really wanna dive into and

what's really close to my heart, is to

talk about our responsibility to talk

about what it means to be an ethical

expert in an AI saturated world.

Of course legal issues

will always be there.

You know me, I'll keep

talking about copyright law.

I mean, honestly, it's impossible

to not talk about the legal

issues, copyright law, contracts,

data protection, confidentiality.

These are all elements of

being an ethical expert.

so, you know, the law will still

continue to show up, but even

bigger than the legal issues.

Is the context of our ethical

obligations as experts, our duty

to our clients who place so much

trust in us and our responsibility

to bring integrity to our work.

And so during conversations

with you online, in person,

I've heard your concerns.

the fear of, is any AI use ethical.

Especially when we think about, the

bias that is unfortunately baked

into the training data, the enormous

environmental costs, of the power and

energy required to operate ever more

powerful ai, tools and the impact on jobs.

Especially in today's environment,

it really feels like a perfect storm.

then there's also kind of the more

practical questions like, how do I

disclose my AI use to my clients?

Do I need to, what type of attribution is.

Required or ethically required,

since there's generally not a legal

requirement, but that's all separate.

I should only go there.

But how do I start, without falling

into kind of getting overwhelmed.

Frankly, there's so many

tools, so many choices.

you could, Add an AI tool to literally

every element of your work if you wanted

to, but that's gonna be their rare,

expert who wants to go that deep with ai.

There certainly are some who

do and more power to them.

I admire them.

But for most of us, we're just looking

for the right ways, both legally and

ethically to add AI into our practices.

So these are not small questions,

but they go to the heart of being

a trusted advisor to our clients

and frankly to be better humans.

So what's next?

I'll be creating content that's

designed for experts who care

deeply, who care deeply about their

clients, who care deeply about

their body of work, about their

reputations, about their communities,

and about the state of the earth.

And because you know the world is full

of people who just use AI thoughtlessly.

that might even be the majority

of people I'm afraid to say.

But what we need is a community that's

committed to using AI with a conscience,

and that's what I hope to build.

it is about doing the right thing,

not just because the law says so,

but because our integrity demands it.

So this isn't goodbye.

It's, see you soon in a new format.

And I invite you, and I hope that you'll

stay connected with me, on LinkedIn.

there'll be fewer, newsletters,

but they'll come out occasionally,

but not on any regular cadence.

I plan to still do the

occasional LinkedIn live.

But as I continue to explore this

long form content, more workshops,

more in-depth resources, I definitely

want you to come along so we can

explore this new territory together.

And I really do.

Rely on you to get your feedback to hear

what your thoughts, your concerns are.

That's how I grow and can

provide the most value to you.

and I hope that you'll come along with

me on that journey to get clarity and

confidence in using AI in our work.

So protecting client trust, protecting

our reputations, you know, that's

the most valuable asset that we have.

So from the bottom of my heart,

thank you for being part of this

incredible journey from hourly to

exit to scaling expertise, and now to

what's next, diving into how to be an

ethical expert in an AI driven world.

So, until then, till I see you

again, take care of yourselves, take

care of your ip, and use AI wisely.

Thanks again.