This is the ForbesWomen newsletter, which every Thursday brings news about the world’s top female entrepreneurs, leaders and investors straight to your inbox. Click here to get on the newsletter list!Over the last several weeks, I’ve had more than a few testy interactions with ChatGPT and Gemini during searches I’ve asked the AI platforms to run for me. (Let’s just say that “nope, try harder” is a command you’ll find in my chat history.) I say this in recognition that the theme of today’s newsletter might be born entirely from my own frustration with both AI tools and the nonstop conversation about what AI is doing to business… and yet, I share today’s stories—as ever—in hope that they will be useful to you. Over the July 4th holiday weekend, my colleagues on the small business desk published this fascinating story about how millennials are buying up blue-collar, brick-and-mortar businesses to AI-proof their futures. As business brokers tell it, the type of companies that millennials are now eagerly snapping up are smaller firms with recurring revenue, a solid customer base, expertise in a niche market, and books that are in order. Most in demand are businesses in plumbing, electrical work, pest control, and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning). “There’s overall consensus that AI is not going to eliminate them, not yet at least,” says Patrick O’Connell, a consultant who’s worked on some of these acquisitions. “There’s a little bit of a moat in some of the home services if they require licensure” (the way plumbing and electrical work does).You don’t have to acquire an HVAC business if that’s not your calling, but it’s not a terrible idea. Also not a terrible idea? Reading on—we’ve got other tips for AI-proofing your life in our checklist, plus a look at the value of community-focused businesses in the “In Case You Missed It” section.Cheers!Maggie McGrathFeatured Forbes Profile: This $541 Million Chicago Advisor Turned Her Reception Desk Job Into A Thriving 17-Year-Old BusinessJoyce YooJoyce Yoo didn’t plan to become a financial planner. She wanted to start her own non-profit to continue the outreach work with orphans and vulnerable groups that she had been involved in since high school. Before entering financial services, she worked in fine dining, hospitality and hotels, including at the front desk of Chicago’s Four Seasons, where she often interacted with wealthy and famous guests. In 2009, a friend from her church suggested she look into financial planning, insisting she had a knack for talking to people with money. Yoo was not interested at first but eventually agreed to an interview with New York Life. During the interview, she mentioned that she had been good at upselling guests into larger suites. The interviewer pointed out that she clearly was not intimidated by wealthy clients. “Why would I be scared to talk to them? They’re just people,” she replied. Click through here to find out what happened next.ICYMI: Stories From The WeekBEVERLY HILLS, CALIFORNIA - APRIL 22: Mariska Hargitay attends the NBCUniversal Emmy Luncheon on April 22, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Emma McIntyre/WireImage)WireImageMariska Hargitay is slated to host the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in September, NBC announced Tuesday. The Law & Order: SVU actress received the news fresh off her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing. The hosting announcement is part of a larger theme of the ceremony, celebrating women-led performances and contributions to the entertainment industry.Speaking of the Emmys… ‘The Pitt’ guest star Brittany Allen nominated herself for an award after HBO didn’t submit her name for consideration. It worked—proving that it never hurts to bet on yourself.Within days of each other, two women made headlines for attempting risky ocean endurance feats. Kelsey Pfendler completed a solo row from California to Hawaii, becoming the fastest person to make the crossing, and Catherine Breed launched an attempt to become the first person to swim the entire California coastline. Together, their accomplishments challenge one of the most persistent stereotypes about women.Investors are betting big on businesses whose core offering depends on humans being in the room together. Chief hit a $1.1 billion valuation as the first women’s community to reach unicorn status. Othership, a wellness "third space" (the term for gathering places that are neither home nor work) has raised over $20 million from investors including Winklevoss Capital and Kerry Washington. According to real estate firm Knight Frank, more private members' clubs have opened in the past four years than in the three decades prior. What makes these businesses AI-proof? The product is the presence of other people. We close with a reminder that science would be more fun if women weren’t consistently left out of studies: A peer-reviewed report in Frontiers in Physiology found that exposing someone working out to chocolate smells immediately before and between weightlifting sets significantly increased the number of repetitions they could do without the participants feeling they were putting forth any greater effort. Amazing news for chocoholics… until you read on and find out that the trial’s 23 participants were all male and averaged 23 years old. Anyone up for a redo with women in their 30s, 40s and 50s?The Checklist1. Understand why the “safe” part of your portfolio has more AI risk than you think. AI stocks stumbled around the world Tuesday, and the selling spread to the U.S., where the Nasdaq-100 fell about 2% and AI favorites including Micron, Broadcom, AMD and Marvell Technology also declined. High-quality corporate bonds are supposed to be one of the steadier parts of a portfolio, often helping offset losses when stocks fall, but DoubleLine portfolio manager Mariya Entina argues the AI investment boom has spread well beyond chipmakers and Big Tech. 2. Continue to AI-proof your career by building essential human skills. As AI becomes more capable, these experts say employers are looking beyond traditional hiring credentials like degrees, job titles and technical expertise when making new hires. Instead, they’re focusing on candidates with essential skills that can complement and utilize AI, but can’t be replaced by it.3. Avoid a “tokenmaxxing” hangover. Bryan Catanzaro, Nvidia's vice president of applied deep learning, recently put it bluntly: the cost of compute for his team now far exceeds what the company spends on the employees using it. Lisa Emme, co-founder of Inversion AI, has this advice for senior executives at companies of all sizes: "The mistake is treating AI as a feature you add. The winners this decade won't run the biggest model. They'll have built systems where the right model runs the right task, moving toward workflows that need a human in the loop less and less."The QuizOne of the teams competing in the World Cup had more than 1,200 pounds of food from their home country—predominantly fish and cheese—shipped to the U.S. so that players could maintain a consistent diet. Which country’s team was it?BelgiumNorwayEnglandSwitzerlandCheck your answer.Liked what you read? Click here to get on the newsletter list!