Late to AI is Still Better Than Not Starting

In February 2025, I set out to build an ROI calculator for the Applied AI for Distributors conference. I wanted something interactive that would help attendees see the real financial impact of AI adoption on their operations. I had a clear vision of what it should do, I had the time blocked out, and I had Claude as my AI partner.

What I didn’t have was any intention of learning a new tool.

So I built the entire thing in Claude. No code editors. No app builders. Just me and the model, grinding through prompts, debugging outputs, and wrestling with formatting issues that shouldn’t have taken as long as they did.

It took hours. I burned through my usage limits daily. I’d get stuck, work around problems, hit walls, and push through anyway. By the time I finished, I was exhausted but proud. I had built something useful.

I had also done it the hard way.

The Tool I Refused to Learn

I had heard about Lovable. I knew it existed. I knew it was designed specifically to help non-developers build web applications quickly. But I was so locked in on finishing what I’d already started that I didn’t want to stop and learn something new.

That’s the thing about being busy. There’s always a reason to keep doing things the way you’ve been doing them. Learning takes time. Learning feels like a detour. And when you’re under pressure to deliver, detours feel like luxuries you can’t afford.

So, I pushed through. I got the calculator done. And I told myself I’d made the right call.

Except I hadn’t.

Falling Victim to My Own Advice

Here’s the uncomfortable part. I spend a significant amount of my time telling distribution leaders to invest in learning AI tools. I tell them to carve out time even when they’re busy. I tell them the upfront investment pays off. I tell them that staying comfortable with what they already know is the most expensive decision they can make.

And then I did the exact opposite.

I was so focused on the output that I ignored the process. I was so committed to finishing that I refused to pause and ask whether there was a better way. I fell victim to my own advice.

If you’ve ever caught yourself doing the same thing, you’re in good company.

What Changed Over the Holidays

Over the holiday break, I finally carved out time to learn Lovable. No deadline pressure. No calculator to finish. Just me exploring a tool I’d been avoiding for months.

Within a few sessions, I was building apps in a fraction of the time. What used to take me hours now takes minutes. What used to frustrate me now energizes me. The quality is better. The process is smoother. And I finally understand why people kept recommending it.

The irony isn’t lost on me. If I had taken two hours to learn Lovable back in February, I would have saved myself ten hours of frustration and delivered a better result. The math was obvious. I just wasn’t willing to do it.

That’s the full cost of waiting. It’s not just the hours you lose grinding through inefficient processes. It’s the compound effect of all the things you could have built faster, better, and with less friction if you’d just taken the time to learn.

The Invisible Debt of Delay

Every week you delay learning the next tool, the next capability, the next way of working, you’re accumulating invisible debt. It’s not on your balance sheet. It doesn’t show up in your metrics. But it’s there.

It shows up in the projects that take longer than they should. It shows up in the frustration of knowing there’s a better way but not having time to find it. It shows up in watching competitors move faster while you’re still doing things the old way.

The people who started learning AI six months ago weren’t smarter than you. They weren’t less busy. They just decided that learning was worth the short-term cost. And now they’re compounding that advantage every single day.

The good news is that it’s not too late. The unwelcome news is that every week you wait, the gap gets wider.

Start Today, Not Tomorrow

I’m not writing this to make you feel guilty. I’m writing this because I made the same mistake and I don’t want you to repeat it.

There’s a tool you’ve been meaning to learn. There’s a capability you’ve been meaning to explore. There’s a workflow you’ve been meaning to improve. And there’s a voice in your head telling you that you’ll get to it later, after the current project, after the quarter ends, after things slow down.

Things won’t slow down. They never do.

The best time to start was six months ago. The second best time is today.

What’s the tool or capability you’ve been putting off? Block an hour this week. Just one hour. Start learning. The future version of you will be glad you did.

If you want to accelerate your AI learning with other distribution leaders, join us at the Applied AI for Distributors conference in Chicago, June 23-25. It’s three days of practical, hands-on learning designed specifically for our industry.