#57 · how i'm making $2m/yr with AI (full step-by-step breakdown)

youtube ↗Sales

Can you walk me through your first call with prospects, including what you discuss in the 50-minute strategy call and the criteria you look for?

Happy to share. This is my sales script. I won't give the whole script here, but if you want more, head over to Maker School for a month subscription—you'll get assets, including this in month one, and more assets if you stay for months two and three. I also guarantee you'll get your first client in 90 days if you follow the program. I'm pretty lax about the requirements; for example, I once refunded a girl who only did 30 Upwork applications in three months due to financial difficulties. The point is, as long as you're reasonable, there's very little risk. I'll give you the first two sections: I start by building rapport, then I always set the schedule. Setting the schedule is important—I'll say something like, 'You get a ton of cold outreach every day; you probably got 10 emails in the last 5 minutes. What made you want to click on mine? What was the reason we're talking right now? Was it the positioning, messaging, or just right place, right time?' From there, they'll usually tell you how to sell them. You take that insight and use it to proceed with the rest of the process and actually sell them. Definitely check out Maker School if you want more of that. Hopefully that helps.

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Related answers

youtube ↗Other

What’s inside Maker School? Can you detail the program length, content, relationship building, and what’s new?

Maker School includes a 12‑minute video sales letter that walks you through the entire program top to bottom. The core promise is a 90‑day money‑back guarantee: if you follow the steps, you’ll have your first client by the end of day 90. After that, you get an additional three months of daily step‑by‑step resources, templates, outreach recommendations, and custom videos from me. I personally respond to about 90% of every thread posted inside the community, and you also get weekly calls with me plus weekly or bi‑weekly calls with a sales professional for live, hands‑on sales training. The community’s margins are around 98% because I run everything myself—I’m the only one operating it, leading by example, showing up daily, pitching accountability, and providing everything you need to execute the high‑revenue generating activities I teach. In short, it’s a tight‑knit, high‑touch program built around proven, actionable steps.

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youtube ↗Lead Generation

Nick, cold emails versus Upwork. Which one helps move the needle faster to get your first win? Say you got 1K. extremely good skills, unlimited time, 18, a little social proof, and you're starting from scratch. Which of the two would be your go-to method to make a little bit more capital and get the ball rolling?

With $1,000 to bootstrap, go with Upwork. You can submit roughly 200‑300 applications (maybe more thanks to the connects refund policy). In the Maker School community, the average number of proposals needed to land a client is about 40‑60, so you could realistically secure around six clients. If the average revenue per client is around $200, that puts you at $1,200, and you can rinse and repeat. In practice, the average revenue per client is often higher—many close $1,500‑$3,000 deals—so within the first 50 proposals you could reach roughly $6,800 (or about $1,600 after the correction). Consistently scaling up from there will grow your business.

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youtube ↗Client Acquisition

I'm 19, just started an automation agency with two co-founders; we have our setup, portfolio, website, and LinkedIn done, but no clients or revenue. What should we focus on to turn this into a real business?

Well, you guys don’t have any revenue or clients, so you’re really just working on a project. Your first priority should be solving the no‑clients, no‑revenue problem. Don’t waste time building out a product or website—just get something sold. I’d have you and your friends create profiles on Upwork, Freelancer.com, and Fiverr. Each day, pool your school money or whatever you can and submit ten Upwork applications. In those applications, tell prospects exactly what you can do (X, Y, Z) and how you’d approach their project, showing rather than just telling your experience. This avoids the inevitable ‘show me your portfolio’ question because you demonstrate your process. If you do this for three days you’ll have sent about ninety applications, and the odds of landing at least one $200 project are high. Once you have that $200 project, you now have a real business—you’ve made money online and can stop pretending. You’ll learn more from that small project than from hours of my talking. After you land a client, get them on a call and confirm the money is changing hands or there’s a monetary agreement, like escrow on a platform. If I built you a solution that automated all of this outreach and follow‑up, it would definitely save you time and money—that’s the vibe I’m advising. So give it a try.

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youtube ↗Lead Generation

How should I spend $1,000 to start getting clients? I considered buying a bulk of inboxes and a premium instantly plan to increase sending volume, but do you have other suggestions?

If you haven’t had a client yet, allocate part of the $1,000 to Upwork to buy your first job—it’s the simplest way to get started. Also invest in Maker School to learn the automation framework and get the curriculum. With the remaining budget, buy a modest number of mailboxes (around 20–21) and domains (about $50 for domains plus $70 for mailboxes, totaling ~$120). Use leftover funds to purchase leads. This approach lets you cover education, outreach tools, and lead acquisition while positioning you to land your first client through Upwork, provided you stay consistent and follow the program’s advice.

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