I'm a complete beginner in high school trying to learn automations, but I don't understand how to set them up without knowing the business's internal systems. Should I start selling now or spend more time learning?
If you're in high school, you have a solid technical foundation, but you may face credibility challenges. I suggest first watching a few of my videos to get comfortable with the platforms, then start learning the specifics of how businesses operate. Once you have that knowledge, begin selling—still engage with customers to understand their needs, but make sure you’ve practiced the automation setups on your own first.
Yeah, that's fine. My recommendation is to join my school if you want to learn how to make money with this stuff. Start with the Make.com playlist I put together—it’s over 60 hours of video guiding you from start to finish, even if the audio is a bit rough. Walk through the first dozen videos to get comfortable, then keep going. If you’re still unsure, consider joining the school and putting yourself in front of customers; the more you do that, the faster you’ll learn.
Great question. I would watch all of my own tutorials—like the 'make money with make' playlist and the NAN full course playlists I've set up. Not exactly playlists, but compilations. The simplest and easiest way to get up and running with the technical skills is to watch those. I'd also watch a few of my business videos, like the 80/20 summary of automation basics in less than an hour. I watch that, and a prompt engineering video—those together form the 80/20 curriculum I'd recommend. Once you know that, you actually get out there and start making Upwork applications, sending emails, sending cold DMs, reactivating your network if you're running a previous business, making community posts, and so on. Basically, you need to put yourself in front of customers as much as humanly possible. It doesn't even matter what your skill levels are.
Avoid reels and short-form content; instead, send personalized Loom DMs to influencers you admire, offering a quick 30-second solution to a problem they may not even know they have. Focus on minimizing friction, not making their life too easy. Check out my main channel and the 'How to start an AI automation agency in 2025' playlist for business fundamentals that help high schoolers launch quickly.
Here's exactly what I recommend: go to nicksmake.com/playlist. It will take you to Make.com, a no‑code platform that's the simplest and easiest to get up and running with—just drag and drop modules across the screen. You already know what Make.com is, so I won't explain it. My playlist walks you through everything you need to know to actually make real money with the platform, not just academics but how to take the various tools and sell them. That's where I'd start. A couple of key things to be familiar with: I also recommend a video called '80% of automation basics in less than 30 minutes' (though I misspoke earlier; it's actually '80% of automation AI basics'). In that video I cover the main concepts: using APIs, webhooks, prompt engineering for AI, and test‑driven development. If you get those two resources, you'll probably be good. I don't recommend watching all 60+ hours of my Make.com videos; just the first 10‑15 should suffice.