Adrian Ribao

The other day, I was presented with a problem that caught my attention.

An academy told me they were having severe problems creating student schedules. The director even told me it was costing them their health.

The funny thing is that it is not the first time I have heard this.

If an academy has 50 students and 5 different classes (very modest numbers), the possible combinations are 5⁵⁰, which is a vast number. Approximately 88, followed by 33 zeros.

If we could process a thousand combinations per second, it would take several trillion years longer to process them all than the universe's current age.

The numbers would be much bigger if students could choose more than one class. There would be about as many combinations as there are atoms in the universe.

Restrictions help us narrow down the possibilities.

For example:

* Students can only have one class per week.

* Student A can only attend the class on Mondays.

* There can be no more than one class at the same time.

* A teacher can teach up to 30 hours of classes per week.

* etc...

The problem involves finding a solution within a space as vast as the number of possible combinations.

It is a very complex problem for our minds, but it is also computationally expensive.

One way to approach it is using genetic or evolutionary algorithms. I am currently exploring this area.

It is a common problem and mathematically expensive, but from my point of view, it is exciting!

I will keep working on it!

One thing I have realized throughout my life is that your partner influences your life profoundly, from your daily choices to your biggest dreams.

Their support allows you to grow and encourages you when you are weak.

His unshakable faith in you helps you take the most difficult steps, such as those that I would not have dared to take alone.

Having someone by your side who believes in you is priceless.

Remember, the support in your relationship is a two-way street, with both partners benefiting from each other's growth and success.

Support your partner in everything. Be his or her biggest fan, and he or she will always love you.

Strive to create a relationship that not only supports your personal growth but also nurtures your professional aspirations, building a life of shared success.

Because there are also destructive relationships, and that is like living in hell.

Think about how you can support your partner today. You'll both have a better day.

If you're an entrepreneur, you've probably always felt creativity overflowing your mind.

Entrepreneurs need to create. They have a head full of ideas.

If you are an entrepreneur, you have a creative nature.

Sometimes, when you start working on something, you slowly move from creativity to management. You have to take care of clients, hire, teach, prepare invoices, and get work done.

And in those moments, stress takes over.

You feel you have lost your creativity.

Over the years, I've learned how to get it back, and it's easier than it seems.

Set aside time to do nothing.

One of the things I like the most is to do sports. If you don't like it, it's not a problem; walking is an excellent exercise that promotes your creativity. Ideas miraculously come back to your head.

You need time.

Find it.

If you have reached a point in your life where you have decided to start a new professional stage, you are probably full of mixed feelings.

Fear, enthusiasm, passion... there are many emotions that you may feel at different times.

Remember one thing:

Trust the path.

Remember, you have chosen this path. You have prepared for this, and now you are about to dedicate yourself fully to something you love.

You have taken the reins of your life; now, you just have to be perseverant and confident in yourself.

There will be difficult moments, but you have the resources and tools to get ahead and achieve your goals.

When challenges arise, remember that you have the skills and the strength to overcome them. Trust in your abilities, seek help when needed, and nothing can stand in your way.

In today's society, many people feel tired and stressed.

This leads to other dangerous habits, such as not getting enough sleep or not taking care of their diet.

Bad habits produce a snowball effect: the worse you feel, the less energy you have to make an effort to take care of yourself.

Today, I am going to tell you five things you can do to improve your sleep, your stress levels, and your energy:

Exposure to light as soon as possible

Getting sunlight early in the day is a natural way to align your internal clock, also known as your circadian rhythm, with your environment.

This rhythm helps regulate when you feel awake and when you feel sleepy. Sunlight triggers the release of serotonin, a hormone associated with boosting mood and helping you feel calm and focused during the day. It also later converts into melatonin, the hormone that supports restful sleep.

The more exposure to natural light you get, especially in the morning, the more your body understands when to wake up and wind down, setting you up for better sleep and more energy throughout the day.

Exercise early in the morning.

Engaging in physical activity in the morning helps revitalize your body by getting your blood flowing, delivering oxygen to your brain and muscles, and releasing endorphins—chemicals that promote feelings of happiness and reduce stress.

Eat a light dinner 2 hours before going to bed.

Eating a heavy meal too close to bedtime can interfere with one's ability to fall and stay asleep, as the body is focused on digesting food rather than resting.

A lighter meal, consumed earlier in the evening, allows your digestive system to wind down before you head to bed.

It's also essential to avoid high-sugar or caffeine-rich foods late in the day as they can cause spikes in blood sugar, making it difficult to fall asleep.

Avoid screens 2 hours before going to bed.

Electronic screens emit blue light, which interferes with the production of melatonin, the hormone that signals to your body that it's time to sleep.

When you use devices like phones, tablets, or TVs right before bed, your brain remains stimulated, making it harder to relax and fall asleep. By cutting down on screen time two hours before bedtime, you allow your body's natural sleep processes to take over, making it easier to drift off and get deep, restorative sleep.

Disconnect from work and worries 2 hours before going to bed

Mental stimulation from work or stressful thoughts can make it challenging to transition into sleep mode.

When your brain is overactive, it's harder to relax, leading to tossing and turning as you lie in bed.

Disconnecting from work and mentally setting aside worries allows your mind to settle down and focus on rest. You can also try calming techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, or journaling to release any lingering stress from the day.

Technology feels intimidating or overwhelming.

Many people think they need advanced knowledge or technical training to navigate the digital world, but that's far from the truth.

You don't need to be a tech expert to get started—all you need is the right approach and a bit of patience. The key to learning tech is breaking it down into simple, manageable steps.

Today, there's a wealth of resources designed for complete beginners. From user-friendly apps to online tutorials, you can learn everything at your own pace without feeling overwhelmed. The variety of options ensures that you can choose the method that best suits your learning style.

One of my favorite places to learn is Coursera. There are thousands of excellent courses there.

The beauty of modern technology is its accessibility. You don't need to know all the technical terms or complicated processes to enjoy the benefits of digital tools.

Start small, practice regularly, and soon enough, tasks that once seemed impossible will become second nature.

So, don't worry if you don't have tech skills—just take the first step, and you'll be surprised how quickly you can catch on.

I have spoken to dozens of CEOs who have grown their companies from zero to dozens of employees and millions of euros in turnover.

They all agreed on the role they have had to play in growing their companies.

The important part of their goal is not how they did it but what they did and why.

The goal they all had during their growth was:

Get as much money as possible.

Short and simple: They needed food to help their company grow.

Each CEO approached it differently and adjusted to their specific circumstances but shared the same objective and motivation.

Without money, you can't grow.

They had to adapt their work at each company stage to do so. Some had to develop and program their products initially, then go out and sell them, hire people, create teams, dedicate themselves to sales, etc.

Different roles at different stages but always with a single goal: to make money for the company.

It is essential to understand that the money was not for them. They didn't use it to buy mansions or luxury cars. The money was for the company. They remained austere and humble in their personal lives.

Who needs the money is the company. It is their food.

AI is everywhere, and every day is more and more powerful. It's even scary! New models are better than most of the doctors in their areas.

If you have a business, you can significantly benefit from using it.

• Understanding AI's Strengths

• Workflow automation

• Data-Driven Decision Making

Understanding AI's Strengths

AI excels at automating complex repetitive tasks, analyzing vast amounts of data, and providing actionable insights at unprecedented speed.

Speed is the most critical factor here. You can get the results a fraction of the time, which means more profits.

By applying AI to tasks that are time-consuming or complex for humans, businesses can improve efficiency and accuracy while freeing up employees to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Operations and Workflow Automation

One of the most common areas where AI adds value is operations and workflow automation.

AI-driven systems can significantly benefit inventory management, order processing, and supply chain optimization tasks.

AI-powered automation tools can reduce human error, streamline operations, and allow businesses to respond more quickly to changes in demand or supply conditions.

Data-Driven Decision Making

AI is also a powerful tool for enhancing data-driven decision-making.

Small businesses usually collect less data than large companies do.

AI can help you to collect this data and extract meaningful insights.

AI can process and analyze data from multiple sources, uncover patterns, and generate predictive models that support informed decisions.

Whether optimizing marketing campaigns, improving product development, or forecasting sales, AI helps businesses make smarter decisions based on real-time, accurate data.

Conclusion

By carefully identifying the areas of their business that benefit the most from AI, companies can unlock their full potential, gain a competitive edge, and drive sustainable growth.

Scaling a small business takes work.

When you're small, you try to survive by doing many things that help you pay the bills but don't allow you to grow your business.

By the time you figure it out, what you have is self-employment.

There is a strategy you can follow to increase the chances of specializing your business and growing it:

Create products or services that can be replicated.

If you offer a service, document how it will be performed in detail. Create a document with detailed instructions for the procedure. The instructions should be clear enough for someone unfamiliar with the sector to follow step by step and achieve the same result.

Remember to include the quality tests that must be passed and the documentation that must be given to the customer.

If you create a product, make it as parameterizable as possible. Take the time to think and consider what changes would be needed to make the product replicable by making minor configuration adjustments.

Making such a product may reduce or eliminate all your profits, but once you have it, you can spend time attracting customers.

With each customer, you will be multiplying your revenue.

The key is to find a way to increase your business revenue. The two strategies I mentioned are two possible ways to achieve this.

I have been working for 17 years in the technology world on very interesting projects, and I made the mistake of not publicly describing what I was doing.

If I had written more on topics related to my day-to-day work, I would have had 17 years of content and more followers than now. And more online friends, which is very important :-)

Despite having worked on very attractive, high-level projects, no one knows. Now I realize it was a mistake.

It's never too late to start, so I've started writing now.

So, my advice is to start writing right now. Publish content, even if you think it's not interesting; for many people, it will be.

Start writing now!

Most people don't like technology, yet they use it constantly. Why is that?

Many people not only don't like technology but also find it complicated and don't want to spend their valuable time learning it.

Why do people use something boring and that they don't like?

The answer is simple:

Because it solves their problems

Virtually everyone uses a cell phone. The reason is simple: it is an extraordinary communication tool.

No matter how complex a smartphone may be. Everyone learns the basic things that they consider necessary and that solve problems in their daily lives.

WhatsApp to communicate with people, GPS applications to quickly navigate to any location, the camera to keep the best memories...

The important thing about technology is that it solves problems.

When selling a highly technological product, don't focus on how complex and advanced it is but on the problems it solves.

As a small business in the retail industry, it's tough when big companies are impacting you negatively.

But you can fight, and you can win. Here are some ideas:

Personalization and customer relationship

Small retailers can personalize the shopping experience for every customer—something Amazon can't do.

From tailored recommendations to knowing regular customers by name, small businesses can build personal relationships, leading to greater customer loyalty. Creating a sense of community and offering hands-on, attentive service can give small retailers a unique edge.

Offer local products

One of small businesses' greatest strengths is their ability to offer unique or hard-to-find products that are not readily available on Amazon.

This isn't valid for all businesses, but it is for many of them. Fruit, meat, honey, fish, wardrobes... There are thousands of products in your local area that are probably much better than the ones sold on Amazon.

Excepcional customer service

With fewer customers to manage than a large corporation, small retailers can provide quicker, more personalized solutions to problems.

They are familiar with their customers, often knowing their families and lives, and can deliver outstanding customer service.

With these three things and some basic tools, small retailers can surely defeat Amazon and other big companies.

In the evenings, I usually read.

My favorite topics are technology and business. I read the latest news and interesting articles that are coming out, as well as quite a few books.

However, I am restless and need to feed myself with diverse topics. Yesterday, I touched on quantum mechanics.

I came up with a question about elementary particles, so I opened ChatGPT and started asking.

It's fascinating how good it is! I asked questions for about an hour. My next step might be to read a book to explore some topics further.

So yesterday, I used the AI for work, as usual, but to end the day, I was entertained by a spectacular talk to ChatGPT on the Higgs field, quantum entanglement, and boson curiosities.

We live in wonderful times!

All businesses accumulate things they don't need over time. This isn't free, and you can compare it to getting dirty.

Over time, businesses may accumulate items and processes that are no longer in use yet continue consuming resources.

We can also have tools and services; sometimes, we forget about them.

From time to time, it's a good idea to spend some time on housekeeping tasks:

• Keep up-to-date a document with an inventory of all the services and tools that consume money.

• Re-evaluate the need to use these tools.

• Analyze if there are better alternatives

• Implement the changes.

A business can significantly benefit from this "cleaning" over time. Instead of getting rusty, the company becomes agile and well-maintained.

I just finished a cleanup, and it feels really good.

Everyone struggles with stress.

Personally, I have for years.

I take my work too seriously. I work hard and have a high sense of responsibility. This sometimes makes it hard for me to sleep and causes me high stress.

But what changed for me was a life like that is not worth it. Family, friends, and health are the things that matter. And as soon as that clicked, I started to understand that overcoming stress wasn't that hard—I was just doing the wrong thing.

Here's what I should have done instead:

Take time for myself and my inner circle.

I needed to spend time doing the things I liked. In my case, that was having fun with my family and friends and doing sports.

Also, I needed to take time to think about my life, what I wanted to do, and how I wanted to achieve it.

Taking time to think is vital. Don't dismiss the power of self-reflection.

So, take time for yourself and the people who love you.

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve, its impact on society grows exponentially. However, as this technology advances, so do concerns about its governance, accessibility, and fairness. This is where democratic AI comes into play — ensuring that AI serves all needs, not just the few.

Democratic AI is crucial because it promotes transparency and accountability. AI systems, particularly those used in critical areas like criminal justice or finance, must be developed and deployed with clear guidelines for making decisions.

It's crucial that every small business has access to the same powerful AI tools as big companies. Without this equality, the competitive landscape becomes skewed and the fight becomes unfair.

The benefits of AI should not be limited to those with the most resources. Just as public education aims to provide learning opportunities for all, democratic AI must ensure that the tools and advantages of artificial intelligence are available to everyone, regardless of geography, income, or background. This is essential to prevent a future where AI only serves the elite while leaving others behind.

Collaboration is key.

Democratic AI isn’t just about technology—it’s about building a future where AI benefits everyone equally.

Indeed, knowledge is power. It gives you the confidence and control to make informed decisions for your business. Do you agree?

You must know the next steps you want to take with your business.

Have a strategy for keeping it up to date.

Many business owners don't know how to do this. They don't know how to use technology. They don't know the capabilities of AI, and how to use it to their advantage.

If the same thing is happening to you, you need to learn. Research what others are doing. Look for videos on YouTube, read blogs, and follow relevant accounts on X (Twitter).

We live in fascinating times; don't miss it. It is not as difficult as you think.

If you have doubts or need help, you can ask me anything you want, and I will try to help you as best as I can.

Once you know the possibilities, you will be able to create a successful strategy and be thrilled with the possibilities that open up for your business.

Many things in the world make you earn money if you pay for them.

A financial advisor, an internet connection, or, for some people, even a gym.

But there is one thing that is incredibly affordable considering its potential, and that is artificial intelligence. It's a wise investment if you use it right.

The biggest problem business owners face now is that they don't know what they can achieve using AI.

Can you imagine having a machine in your business that gives you back ten for every nine coins you put in?

You would learn to use it immediately, even if it meant spending a night without sleep.

Taking advantage of artificial intelligence now is very similar to that magic machine.

I have been using it more frequently for more complex tasks for years, and I am genuinely amazed at what it can do for me.

Let the AI do complex tasks for you, like optimizing your SEO, answering questions for your customers, executing complex tasks in your workflow, analyzing your business data, creating automation tools for you, being a process supervisor, helping your users to use your product...

The options are unlimited.

If you want to know what IA can do for you, leave me a comment!

Knowing your customers or leads' problems is vital for increasing the efficiency of your communication, selling pitch, and marketing actions.

One of the most effective methods I use to understand their problems is through surveys. By asking the right questions, you can gain invaluable insights from your customers or potential customers.

Here are five of my favorite questions I use. Some questions are tailored to my tech niche, but you can modify them and adapt them to your business:

• If you had a magic wand to get rid of your biggest problem with your business, what would that problem be?

• In your day-to-day life, what bothers you the most or takes up most of your time?

• Do you believe that AI (Artificial Intelligence) has the potential to significantly improve your daily life?

• Can you tell me something important you think you should be doing regarding technology but don't?

• Have you recently searched Google for something related to your business niche?

The two first questions are a must in every survey. Imagine you have the answer to those questions: how different would communication with your client be?

Their answers will give you magic knowledge to provide the exact solutions they need to make their life easier.

All businesses have problems that take up a lot of time daily.

If you want your customers to be happy, you must help them solve their problems.

They aim to be more efficient, have more time available, and eliminate tedious tasks.

You need to know their niche to understand what these problems are. Here are three things you can do to get to know your customers better:

Research the Internet: You can find information on the Internet about what business owners search for on search engines. Whatever they search for is what they need. Look for their questions in forums.

Identify a small problem, find a solution, create a small demo, and call them. Try to get a meeting by all means. You will get valuable information in that conversation to help you understand more problems.

Send them a survey, and give them something in return for their time answering it. You can help them for free or offer them a tool to perform some time-saving tasks. Think carefully about the survey questions, and don't forget to ask what the most time-consuming and annoying problem they have to deal with daily.

Get to know your customers as well as you can. Once you do, you will learn to communicate better with them.

You will focus on their problems and how to help them. You'll get to the point, which they'll appreciate.

Always think about how you can help them. That's the key to growth.