Could you make a video about how to start from zero? I'm confused about terms like onboarding and lead generation, and I want to organize myself with all the information available.
To make a long story short, onboarding is just the process of getting somebody that just paid you acquainted and up and running with your business as quickly as possible so you can maximize the quality of the project you deliver. Lead generation is turning people from strangers who have never heard about you or your product into people interested in working with you—these are prospects. Whether or not you turn prospects into clients is a separate matter (that's sales). But lead generation is simply moving people from not knowing you to knowing you.
You’ll have to land your first client just like any professional—by proving you can deliver results. Even without a traditional résumé, you can show proof of generated outcomes. A quick way to bootstrap is to market yourself through free channels such as LinkedIn DMs, Instagram DMs, X (Twitter) communities, schools, etc. Build a system that consistently gets interested prospects, then sell that system to others. For instance, run a LinkedIn outreach funnel that generates about five qualified leads a week (a booked meeting). You may not close those leads yourself, but you can guarantee lead generation for clients.
Building an agency from zero is doable but very hard. Starting with no money makes the job about 50× harder than if you had even $50. If you want to try the challenge, you can scrape leads manually using tools like Appify and Apollo, pulling 100 leads at a time (you’ll need to repeat this to reach around 10,000 leads for the first month). Alternatively you can spend about $26 using a discount code (Nick30) to get 10,000 leads instantly. A small investment in lead‑generation tools (Appify, Upwork apps, cold‑email services) can give massive returns. Focus on getting a few paying clients first—maybe $100 from a client—to fund the tools. Use cheap or free channels like cold DMs, LinkedIn DMs, community posts, and the occasional paid cold‑email blast. The key is to secure paying clients early and reinvest that money into lead generation.
I’ve actually recorded a video that answers that exact question, and I’ve been publishing a new video on the topic every day for the past six days. Right now I’m focused on funnel‑building and trying to reach as many people as possible, so you’ll see a lot of repeated content. Think of it as me consolidating the most important points you need to know to be successful in this niche, rather than just shouting at you. Check out the recent videos for a step‑by‑step guide on launching an automation business as a solo agency owner.
Sure. I walk a new client through their entire customer pipeline, starting with the very first touchpoint—whether that’s a referral, a PPC ad, a Facebook lead form, or another channel. I ask them to map out each stage their customers go through, from the initial contact to the final sale. Once someone opts in, we immediately send an email and an SMS, aiming to follow up within about 15 minutes. Quick response is critical; getting back to a prospect within a minute can boost your close rate three to four times. I then diagram the lead‑generation channels—cold email, PPC, referrals, trade shows, etc.—and outline how each feeds into the sales process. After the lead is qualified, we move into onboarding and service fulfillment, breaking down each step (creative, copy, Q&A, client approvals, retention) so the client knows exactly what to expect. I usually sketch this pipeline on a whiteboard during the call so we both have a visual reference for the entire workflow.
client onboardingpipelinelead generationresponse time