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Newsletter #0006 - Write Prompts So Good AI Can’t Mess Them Up
Nikolas Hulewsky
April 07, 2025
Happy Monday beautiful people! I’ve got PACKED newsletter today!
This week:
Week 2 of my 10 week Entrepreneur’s AI Playbook series: How to Write Better Prompts
Podcast recaps
A $2.3M HVAC Sheet Metal Fabricator in New Jersey deal analysis
🚨BUT FIRST, PLEASE HELP ME IMPROVE THIS NEWSLETTER👇
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The Entrepreneur’s AI Playbook: 10 Weeks to Practical AI in Your Business
Week 2: The 4 Step Prompt Framework for Stupid-Good AI Results
I've been playing with AI tools for about a year now.
And let me tell you - the difference between a mediocre prompt and a great prompt is MASSIVE.
Most of us don't have time to become prompt engineering experts. So I created a dead-simple framework that's improved my results by at least 80%.
AI is smart, but it cant read your mind! This framework will help you get in the habit of giving AI everything it needs to give you everything you want.
The 4C Prompt Framework
Here's how it works:
1) Clarity
Most people fail here. They write vague prompts and get garbage back; mostly because they aren’t clear on what they want in the first place.
Bad: "Write about marketing."
Good: "Write a 200-word LinkedIn post introducing a new content marketing strategy for startup founders."
Being specific about what you want is THE most important step. Spend 50% of your time here.
2) Context
AI is smart but it doesn't know your business, your audience, or your goals unless you tell it.
Bad: "Create an email about our product."
Good: "Create a concise email introducing our CRM software to small business owners, highlighting easy integration and cost savings. The tone should be professional but friendly."
The difference? About 10 seconds of extra typing that saves you 10 minutes of editing.
3) Constraints
Set boundaries like a pro. Without constraints, AI will ramble like your uncle after his third bourbon at Thanksgiving.
Bad: "Explain digital marketing."
Good: "Explain digital marketing in 3 concise bullet points suitable for non-technical small business owners."
Tell it how long, what format, and who it's for.
4) Commands
Use direct action verbs. Being polite to AI is useless - it doesn't have feelings (yet).
Bad: "Ideas for productivity."
Good: "List 5 actionable productivity tips specifically tailored for remote workers."
Direct commands get direct results.
Here's a fill-in-the-blank template you can use RIGHT NOW:
[Command] a [format/output] about [topic].
It should be [constraints like length, style, tone].
Context: [background, examples, intended audience].
Example:
"Write a 150-word email about our new AI chatbot product. It should be engaging and concise, with a clear call-to-action to schedule a demo. Context: The audience is busy e-commerce store owners who value ease-of-use and customer engagement."
TL;DR - Prompt Writing Checklist:
• Did I clearly state what I want? (Clarity)
• Did I include enough background info? (Context)
• Did I set clear limits? (Constraints)
• Did I use direct instructions? (Commands)
This framework has easily saved me 5+ hours a week in back-and-forth with AI tools.
Spoiler Alert: The best part is you can use this with ANY AI tool, not just ChatGPT. I've tested it across 7 different platforms and it works every time.
If you want even more help getting started, I made this tool with 70 prompts AND this framework. Click here
Nikonomics Podcast Summaries
🎙️ Guest: Jon Matzner
Business: Sagan—an Amazon Prime-style membership community for top executives, founders, and CEOs to hire and maximize the impact of international talent to grow their business.
Insight: Forget broad influence—Jon is betting big on affluent, niche communities as the real power players of the future.
Model: Recurring revenue B2B service with a community-powered distribution engine.
🎙️ Guest: Amanda Orson
Business: Galleon (AI-enabled seller-financed home sales)
Insight: Amanda introduced “seedstrapping”—raising capital once to build your first product, then reinvesting revenue to scale fast without further dilution.
Model: B2B SaaS + marketplace with AI-driven ops. Hit $60K MRR in 4 weeks.
🎙️ Guest: Nick Hancock
Business: Direct Outlet Mattress — family-run, high-margin mattress stores in NC
Insight: A few high-ticket mattress sales a week can cover your entire store’s expenses — margins are juicy, but inventory management is key.
Model: Brick-and-mortar + Twitter-powered DMs + expanding into online sales with $150K in Twitter-driven revenue in 3 months.
🎙️ Guest: Kirill Zubovsky
Business: Breckworks (coworking space) + AI project builder
Insight: Kirill uses AI as his IT guy, coder, brainstorm buddy, and project manager—cutting dev time from months to days.
Model: Brick-and-mortar coworking + launching a SaaS tool to guide non-tech folks through building products with AI.
🎙️ HoldCo Bros: Chris Koerner
Business: AI implementation agencies (that don’t exist... yet)
Insight: Want to help small biz owners and surf the AI wave? Start an AI implementation agency for sales teams, healthcare pros, or even therapists using wearables like the Limitless pendant.
Model: Service biz installing off-the-shelf AI tools + custom automations = high-value retainer model.
Business Listing Analysis
A 10-employee HVAC sheet metal fabricator in New Jersey generating $2.3M in revenue and $640K in cash flow, serving repeat commercial clients.
Buyability Score: 6/10
What’s to Love:
Tailwinds from Tariffs: With new Trump-era tariffs favoring domestic manufacturing, this business could see a meaningful bump in demand and pricing power.
Established Commercial Base: Long-term repeat customers create predictable revenue in a high-barrier B2B niche.
Real Operational Footprint: 10 employees and in-house fabrication offer levers to pull—process improvement, pricing, scheduling, utilization.
Clean Books: Seller claims all numbers are on the books, which is a rarity at this size and simplifies due diligence.
What’s to Hate:
Overpriced: $3M ask on $640K cash flow is a 4.7x multiple—steep for a non-strategic buyer, especially with no financing.
Cash-Only Requirement: Seller wants cash at closing, which narrows the buyer pool and implies low flexibility or unrealistic expectations.
Confusing Seller Motivation: Listing mentions both “retirement” and “looking for a partner”—which undermines credibility.
Skill Dependency: Success likely requires HVAC/construction sales experience—hard to replace or outsource.
Who Should Buy This:
A former HVAC contractor or construction sales lead looking to transition into ownership.
A regional HVAC firm looking to vertically integrate fabrication capabilities.
Someone bullish on domestic manufacturing who sees this as a wedge into broader fabrication or contracting services.
Who Should Avoid It:
Buyers seeking remote-friendly or digitally scalable businesses.
First-time buyers without HVAC/construction experience.
Anyone relying on SBA or seller financing—this deal likely won’t pencil without concessions.
Final Take:
This is a stable, cash-flowing business in a sector poised to benefit from political tailwinds. But the lack of flexibility on terms and the rich asking price make it a tough entry point unless the buyer brings HVAC chops, strategic synergy, or a desire to work in the business. If the seller softens on financing—or if tariff effects materially boost earnings—it could get interesting.
Ask Me Anything
Every week, I’ll be answering a question sent to me via Twitter, Speakpipe or [email protected].
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Thank you for reading! If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably pretty cool and pretty cool people like to help make things better so… Will you help me make this better? Just a quick survey on the direction I should take this newsletter/podcast here
Nik Hulewsky