I’m a pastor living in rural Arkansas, and I make up to $3,000 a week with my side hustle using ChatGPT to make pitch decks for startups

• Larry Lundstrom is a pastor in rural Arkansas.
• He makes use of AI instruments like ChatGPT and Tome to make pitch decks for companies on the facet. 
• Here is Larry’s story, as instructed to Insider’s Lakshmi Varanasi.

I’ve spent nearly all of my profession with a fairly idiosyncratic job title: innovation pastor. 

There are only a few of us across the nation — world wide, actually. 

What it means is that I am an ordained pastor, so I officiate weddings, conduct funerals, and preach sermons. 

However I’ve additionally spent years creating advertising campaigns, constructing web sites, and working the design division of the church. 

I spend about 40 to 60 hours every week as a pastor, and I dedicate the majority of that point to making ready my weekly sermon.

However I spend one other 10 to twenty hours on artistic facet tasks. Oftentimes, that entails making pitch decks, logos, or web sites for companies. My shoppers vary from corporations like Elon Musk’s SpaceX to the fintech startup Chime. 

For years, Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe InDesign had been my default instruments. Now, I am counting on AI instruments like the brand new chatbot, ChatGPT, and the storytelling instrument, Tome, for my artistic work. 

These instruments are worthwhile if you happen to can keep stability and never depend on them as shortcuts. In the end, what’s vital is that your work stays true to who you’re. 

All of it comes again to “creation”

I grew up in a family of religion. My grandmother and mom had been ladies of religion, however they did not beat me over the top with it. 

It was my determination to imagine in God. 

I selected to imagine that somebody created the mountains; that somebody created our skill to see — and that somebody created our skill to create.

It is humorous the way it all boils right down to that concept of creation. In a manner, creation has been a central matter of my whole life. I’ve at all times considered myself as a creator — an artist, actually. 

I have been designing logos and graphics since I used to be in highschool. In faculty, I began constructing web sites, and shortly, I received fairly good at that, too. 

But the dots between my religion and my work did not actually join till I grew to become a father. When my son, Colby, was simply three years previous he stopped strolling out of the blue. 

A couple of weeks later, he was recognized with leukemia. He died 11 days later.

It was a type of moments the place time stopped, and my priorities all of the sudden modified. I noticed that I may do the identical work I used to be doing for the church as an alternative of a advertising agency. So, I left the company world, and a brand new chapter started. 

AI instruments have reduce my turnaround time in half

After years of designing all the pieces from web sites to school soccer logos, my artistic work is now restricted to freelancing. 

I exploit websites like Upwork to promote my expertise. I even have a Rolodex of shoppers I’ve constructed up over my profession that also fee tasks from me. 

Earlier than the daybreak of AI instruments it will most likely take me every week — a full 40 hours — to place collectively a pitch deck from begin to end. 

Now, I can pull collectively a deck in half of that point. AI instruments have made my artistic course of extra environment friendly. I spend extra time on the aspects of my work that take advantage of distinction to my shopper or viewers. 

I cost between $500 to $1,000 for a deck and I make two to 3 per week. 

To me, it is probably not concerning the cash, although. It is about having a facet hustle that retains me financially steady and lets me deal with what actually issues: staying artistic.