Meet Fabiana Aguilar, a Melbourne-based visual storyteller and AI image coach, who is on a mission to help female entrepreneurs do just that. With over a decade of experience in creating eye-catching graphics and illustrations, Fabiana has embraced the power of AI to transform the creative process, cutting down her workflow by 90% and opening doors to passive income opportunities. Through her engaging AI image creation courses, she’s empowering women to enhance their brand visibility, streamline their tasks, and craft visuals that truly resonate.
Ready to level up your visual storytelling?
Fabiana’s insights and expertise are here to help you make your mark in the digital space.
1. How did you transition from traditional design to becoming an AI-generated imagery coach, and what inspired this shift?
When I was in Australia, I was working incredibly long hours—around 14 hours a day. During the day, I ran my own design and illustration studio, and in the evenings, I worked for someone else just to maintain my visa and stay legally in the country. When AI emerged, it felt like a lifeline—an answer from above to help me cut down my hours and finally regain a balanced life.
As a naturally curious person, I dove into learning the creation of AI images on my own, relying on YouTube tutorials. But I quickly hit a wall; the videos promised comprehensive insights but delivered mostly surface-level information. Realizing the limits of free tutorials, I decided to invest in every quality AI course for image generation I could find.
My creative peers began noticing my work and asking how I created these images, leading to hours each week explaining techniques. It became clear there was a real demand for structured guidance and mentorship in this area, and I was already spending a significant amount of time on it. That’s what inspired me to start teaching AI image generation professionally to companies and creatives.
What are some unique advantages AI-generated images offer to entrepreneurs and small businesses looking to stand out in crowded markets?
AI-generated imagery offers entrepreneurs a powerful edge in crowded markets: the ability to produce unique, high-quality visuals at a fraction of the traditional cost—often for as little as $20 a month. With a few clicks, they can create images that look like they were crafted by a professional photographer, yet are fully customized to their brand and unique to them, helping businesses differentiate themselves in a saturated space. And what’s even better: the images you don’t use can be sold on stock portals, creating an extra stream of income from content that might have otherwise gone to waste!
AI also opens up creative possibilities that were once time-consuming and costly. For example, brands can now combine opposing concepts seamlessly—like an organic cream jar that appears carved from a tree trunk—something that would require a full marketing team and a custom photoshoot to achieve traditionally. Now, with AI, an entrepreneur can generate a unique image and use tools like ChatGPT to write an engaging ad title and copy, all in under an hour and at minimal cost.
This blend of exclusivity, speed, and affordability enables small businesses to stay nimble, innovative, and on-brand, regardless of their budget.
Can you share your top tips for digital nomads wanting to create professional, eye-catching visuals without investing hours into design work?
Absolutely! First, it’s essential to identify the exact types of images you need. Start by researching your competitors: What kind of visuals are they using? Are they photos or illustrations? What specific style do they follow? This will give you a solid starting point.
Once you’ve identified the style, use an AI tool that specializes in generating those kinds of images. After creating the visuals, bring them into Canva for post-production. Here, you can remove any unnecessary elements, adjust the quality and size based on where the image
will be used, and fine-tune the colors to match your branding. This streamlined approach ensures your visuals stay consistent, professional, and on-brand—all without spending hours in complex design software.
For expats running businesses abroad, how can AI image creation streamline marketing and communication across different cultures?
AI tools provide an exceptional way to adapt visuals to diverse cultural contexts. By analyzing local preferences and trends, AI enables businesses to create imagery that resonates with audiences in specific regions. This means expats can produce location-specific content without needing extensive local design knowledge, making it easier to connect authentically with customers abroad.
Additionally, leading AI image platforms offer galleries of user-generated images. By entering just a few keywords, you gain access to a range of visuals created by other users, providing rapid inspiration and insights into the visual trends that resonate with a particular audience. This approach not only accelerates the creative process but also helps you stay on-brand while tapping into culturally relevant design ideas.
What role does visual storytelling play in a brand’s success, and how has AI transformed the way we can tell our brand stories?
Visual storytelling is fundamental to building an emotional connection with your audience, and AI has taken this to a new level. It enables brands to rapidly prototype and iterate on visuals, testing out different story arcs and aesthetics until they find what resonates. AI allows for unprecedented levels of customization, making storytelling more dynamic, personal, and accessible.
As a female entrepreneur, what challenges have you faced in the tech and AI space, and how did you overcome them?
From a gender perspective, I haven't encountered significant barriers in the AI space, as it really depends on which area of AI you focus on. In coding and development, men might be more predominant, but I come from a creative background and continue to work in that space. Now, many of my former peers are actually my clients as I focus on training in AI, and in this field, there’s no substantial gender disparity; men and women are quite evenly represented.
As for challenges within the AI field itself, the biggest by far is the speed at which it evolves. Information and tools quickly become outdated, so staying relevant requires constant testing, attending events, and networking to stay up-to-date with the latest tools and features. This rapid pace demands a commitment to continuous learning to deliver current and valuable insights to my clients.
How can AI imagery help in building a passive income stream, and what initial steps would you recommend for beginners?
This is one of my favorite topics—I actually dedicate an entire module to it in my course From Creator to Innovator. AI-generated imagery opens up several exciting avenues for passive income: you can monetize prompts, create stock images for portals, design patterns to sell on platforms for designers (or even for interior design brands), and produce imagery for merchandise (mugs, t-shirt, prints, etc) through sites like Printify.
For beginners, my top advice is to first focus on truly understanding AI so it can generate the images you envision. Many people get frustrated because they don’t achieve the exact results they’re picturing, so mastering the basics of image creation is key. Once you’re confident in producing quality images, the next step is choosing the category that excites you the most—whether it’s stock photos, patterns, or merch designs. Passive income is a long-term strategy; it doesn’t bring in massive revenue overnight. If you’re not genuinely interested, it’s easy to lose motivation, and that’s where people often give up.
Think of it like building a YouTube channel: in the first year, you’re uploading videos and maybe seeing only a handful of views, but you keep going regardless of analytics. Over time, the algorithm starts to pick up your content, and suddenly your reach expands. It’s the same with passive income through AI-generated images—commit to the process, stay consistent, and the results will follow.
With your experience working with AI tools, how do you stay creative and avoid the pitfalls of overly generic or “robotic” visuals?
I never use AI-generated images exactly as they are. Instead, I treat them as a source of inspiration or a starting point, often layering additional elements to ensure the final result is unique and free of that “robotic” feel. Achieving authenticity also depends on selecting the right AI tools for each specific type of image. For example, DALL-E (by OpenAI, the makers of ChatGPT) can sometimes produce images that look quite artificial, especially when depicting people. Since DALL-E is embedded in widely-used tools like Microsoft Designer and ChatGPT, it’s often the go-to choice for many businesses, even though it may not yield the most realistic results for professional use.
This is why it’s crucial to understand the strengths of various AI tools and, if necessary, to consult with an AI image professional. With the right guidance, you can unlock the full potential of AI, achieving cost savings of up to 90% and time savings of 70-80%. When used strategically, AI becomes a powerful asset for creating visuals that are both authentic and impactful.
How do you foresee AI-generated imagery evolving, and what should entrepreneurs know to stay ahead of the curve?
This isn’t just the future—it’s already the present, even though many still see it as something distant. AI-generated images are transforming design across all fields: fashion, interior design, architecture, web design, video games, film, and beyond. And this is only the beginning. At the current pace of change, we might soon be creating our own movies directly on our smart TVs, producing entirely customized audiovisual content tailored to our tastes, rather than relying on traditional streaming platforms.
The reality is that a massive digital divide is forming between those who know how to use AI and those who don’t, and this will impact every sector. Ignoring AI is no longer realistic. For entrepreneurs, the sooner you learn and implement it in your business, the better. AI itself won’t take your clients—another business that uses AI effectively will. Embracing AI now isn’t just an advantage; it’s quickly becoming essential for staying competitive.
What advice would you give to expats and digital nomads wanting to leverage AI in their workflows, especially those in creative or visually demanding fields?
My advice is to experiment boldly but strategically. Seek out tools that enhance or streamline what you’re already doing, especially those that save time or help maintain brand consistency. For digital nomads and expats, AI can reduce reliance on large teams or costly resources, allowing you to keep a professional visual identity no matter where you’re working from.
Feel free to reach out to me on social media to explore how I can support you. The graphic needs of a marketer specializing in advertising are very different from those of a community manager or a graphic designer, and I’d be happy to offer tailored guidance.
Connect with Fabi:
Instagram: fabiana.aguilarf
LinkedIn: Fabi Aguilar
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