From Scaling Expertise to Ethical Expertise: Erin Austin’s Next Chapter
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.
Erin's LinkedIn Page: www.linkedin.com/in/erinaustin/
Scaling Expertise YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/@Scalingexpertise
Blog Transcript:
Erin Austin: Hello, welcome to a very special episode of Scaling Expertise.
Closing a Chapter, Opening What’s Next
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.
From Tips & Tricks to Ethical AI
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.
So 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.
An Invitation to What’s Next
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.