Rage Sheshvel says uh in your recent video you mentioned AI may not be that use a automations may not be that useful in 2026 2027. What skill sets should we master to survive and thrive in the automation and agency space during that time?
To survive and thrive in the automation and agency space in 2026‑2027, master business skills: learn to communicate business needs and requirements, speak in consulting terms, understand core consulting concepts like driver trees and a four‑step framework, grasp foundational business principles (revenue, cost, profit, valuations, risk conceptualization akin to an 80/20 view of a business degree), and then get in front of customers to practice selling and communicating—exactly what Maker School teaches.
I just added a big workshop module to Maker School — just in the final QA touches here. Essentially this is an in-depth step-by-step guide to selling education, selling structured education to companies, selling training to companies, and so on. So I have actually added that in, and that is more AI adoption, engagement, enablement type stuff. Aside from that, I've also shifted towards teaching people how to build their own brands within the confines of Maker School, doing so in highly effective ways and then combining that with outreach and so on to really get the 80/20. So yeah, Maker School's evolved quite a bit — and thank God I called it Maker School and not Gemini 3.1 Pro school, huh? That's where I'm at with that.
If I were you and thinking long‑term, I’d ask where everything is heading. Everything is moving toward AI and automation over the next five years; what happens after that is uncertain, but my honest advice is to choose the AI automation business model. I’ve found the most success with it and have run it four times. The main reason is leverage: AI and automation offer far more leverage than traditional marketing agencies. Traditional marketing agencies are declining—this model peaked around 2017‑2019 and has been falling since, partly due to market saturation and the rise of SaaS tools that automate tasks like scheduled posting, brand strategy, and marketing strategy. In contrast, the AI automation model is still early; it really took off around 2021‑2022 with ChatGPT, and I predict it will continue growing until about 2027‑2028, when AI agents could double the market and demand. After that, demand may dip slightly as agents become more advanced. If you're in Saudi Arabia, you're essentially seeing a delayed version of this curve, giving you a few extra years to ride the upward trend. So, if I were in your place, I’d go all‑in on AI automation.
He says yes, it's smart to start an automation agency now to capture the lag, but you should focus on delivering strategic outcomes and consulting rather than just selling tools. You can still make money with tools, but the real value is in helping clients achieve business results. He also notes that if you're not making $10k/month yet, focus on reaching that income first, and that many traditional businesses (web design, clay pottery) still thrive, so it's not all black‑and‑white.
Yeah, for sure. I would pivot a bit and brand yourself more as an AI consultant or strategic consultant who uses no-code tools rather than necessarily an AI automation agency. If you think about it, many people don't realize that as a beginner, most of your work as an agency owner is actually just freelancing—being a consultant, sole proprietor, independent contractor. So I would start there, providing services as an individual, and worry about building an agency that provides services later. Because actually doing the thing, getting good at the business, then building the business, hiring, managing, tracking time, payroll—those are two fundamentally different things. Get good at delivering business insights and knowledge, then building systems, and afterwards you can worry about scaling and hiring people.