What should I track when running both an AI automation agency and a home‑services business?

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What should I track when running both an AI automation agency and a home‑services business?

When you’re just starting a business, lead generation is the biggest bottleneck, so the most important thing to track is all of your lead‑gen activities. Keep a daily minimum for each channel—cold calls, Loom videos, LinkedIn DMs, cold emails, Upwork applications, etc. Create a master Google Sheet with columns for each activity and a date column, and each day record how many you performed. Consistently hitting reasonable daily numbers will drive results for both your AI agency and your home‑services business.

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youtube ↗Agency Operations

What's my plan if automation advances make my automation business redundant—what should I pivot to?

I haven't thought about that in detail, so I don't have a detailed backup plan. I expect the core work of running an automation agency to remain viable for at least three to five years. Over that period the work will evolve—no‑code AI tools like pre‑draft generators will make many tasks more efficient. That doesn't mean you won't be able to run an agency; agents and other services will start to infiltrate the business model soon, but the model itself remains sound because the same shift will happen across the industry.

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youtube ↗AI & Automation

How do you develop AI‑based automation systems that businesses will actually pay for, and what process do you use to identify and build them?

Lead‑generation and client‑onboarding systems make up roughly 70% of my revenue, so I focus on those bottlenecks first. The flow is: generate leads, close the sale, onboard the client, fulfill the work, then retain the client with follow‑up. AI agents are getting better, but the real money comes from solving concrete bottlenecks, not fancy chatbots. My process is simple: look at an average business’s pipeline, identify the biggest bottleneck, and ask how you can do that step faster or better. I often reference the Theory of Constraints (see "The Goal" by Eli Goldratt) to frame this. Most bottlenecks are at the top of the funnel—lead generation—so start there. For each bottleneck, map what’s currently being done and brainstorm ways to automate or accelerate it. Specific tools help, but the core is understanding the pipeline and continuously removing constraints.

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youtube ↗Agency Operations

If you're running a marketing agency, what does your thought process look like and how do you structure systems to manage teams and projects?

All agencies share the same fundamental shape: lead generation at the top (via ads, cold emails, cold calls, etc.), which funnels into a sales event (typically a discovery or closing call). From there you onboard the client, fulfill the promised service, and manage the client—checking in on progress—before delivering the project, possibly with a revision cycle that leads to another transformation event where you resell them. I’ve documented this shape in the three automation agency sales flows and a roadmap to $25k/month automation that you can download for free. The real key to success isn’t becoming a top AI or automation specialist; it’s becoming a good business person who understands the container (the agency model) and what you put inside it. This mindset can be learned in a couple of weeks, and you don’t need to be expert at the specific service you’re offering.

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Which businesses should I target for my AI automation agency, ideally high‑ticket, online‑focused companies, and what else should I consider?

You want three things. First, target niches with high lifetime value (LTV). The higher the LTV, the more you can spend to acquire a client and still make a profit. For example, a shoe‑shine service might generate a few hundred dollars per year, whereas a personal injury firm could bring tens or hundreds of thousands. Second, choose industries where the prospect data is easily scrapable or digitally acquirable—LinkedIn Sales Navigator, keyword searches, etc.—so you can find decision‑makers who can sign checks. Third, consider compliance: heavily regulated sectors like healthcare or government‑related services are hard to automate with AI and carry legal risk. Also avoid platforms that could ban you if you automate them. In short, focus on high‑LTV, digitally reachable, low‑regulation niches.

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