#73 · How I'd Start an AI Automation Agency With $100

youtube ↗Niches

What are the best niches to target for a lead generation qualification nurturing offer in the Middle East, or should it be more general? Is that a good start?

I don't really think that whether you're doing it in the Middle East or somewhere else matters; it's more about human psychology. I understand there are slight cultural differences in how offers are received, but geography shouldn't slow you down—it's often just an excuse. People sometimes say, 'Everything works in your country but not in mine,' and assume you're American, but I'm English and work in the American market, which is a competitive advantage. However, you don't need to be American to make a lot of money; the same approaches that work in American markets work elsewhere because they rely on human beings and psychology, which are similar everywhere. I've already answered this question before, but hopefully that gives you some context.

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Related answers

youtube ↗Pricing

Nick says Princeo I'm planning to start my cold outreach. I just had one doubt. I'm an Asian, specifically Filipino, and I know without a doubt that also affects how people from US or UK view us. How can I confidently quote around 2,000 American dollars to them? So far, with my experience on Upwork, those who are more successful are those from US countries. When people know I'm from Philippines, they immediately lower the ceiling of the quote that I send them. What are your thoughts on this? And so on and so forth. Do you have any student wins that are from Asian countries who are successful with cold outreach? Would help a lot. Thank you.

Anyone who tells you where you are in the world doesn't matter is not being entirely truthful. If you're selling primarily to a United States audience where offshoring has a negative connotation for quality but a positive one for affordability, they'll apply that stereotype to you wherever you are. I'm not saying this to give you limiting beliefs, but because sometimes hearing a harder truth is better than hearing a nice perfect story that says location doesn't matter. Yes, you can make it, but there are tactical things you can do to improve your chances if you're from Southeast Asia or Indonesia selling to a Western audience. First, understand the cultural norms there. I've worked with people worldwide and lived in the Philippines for a few weeks; I learned that in more collectivist Asian cultures, people often avoid pointing out mistakes or speaking up about negative changes for fear of losing face or job security. In contrast, Americans and the British Commonwealth generally reward you for providing information that helps them make better decisions. A minor cultural difference like this is worth implementing across the board. There are also superficial tactics to improve your ability to land higher-paying jobs in American markets: speak with an American accent, adjust your name (e.g., shorten 'Sandep' to 'Sam' to avoid immediate offshore associations), and reduce your accent to align with the target market. These aren't about denying your identity but about communicating effectively. I wish we lived in a world where people were judged by character alone, but that's not the case right now. Aside from that, I've been experimenting with a faster podcast format—doing minimal prep and diving in—to cut runtime from 35‑40 minutes to 20‑25 minutes. Maker School now has about 2,500 members and is growing slowly. I'm also curious about the unfiltered channel's reception and have looked at beard‑shaving videos for any odd patterns, though it's likely just coincidence. Thanks for watching.

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youtube ↗Lead Generation

As someone in India, can I serve global clients and earn in dollars, or should I focus on local Indian businesses? Should I target tier‑one countries for higher pay despite saturation?

Local Indian automations are more affordable but the market is price‑sensitive and less familiar with AI, so earning in dollars is harder. I recommend targeting tier‑one (English‑speaking) countries because they pay the most per unit time, even though they’re more saturated. Success in the program comes from focusing on those markets, using cold email, Loom videos, and lead generation, while recognizing that response rates depend on how many others are contacting the same audience.

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youtube ↗Niches

Is niche-specific knowledge required to start in automation, and which country is currently best for entrepreneurship, especially for someone in a third‑world country with no prior experience?

No, you don’t need to have knowledge of a specific niche or market to get into automation. I do have experience in some of the niches I show in my videos, but for others I don’t. What I do is go into a bunch of communities, read through all the pain points and problems people are talking about, and then use those pain points to formulate my offers. The process takes me a couple of hours, and anybody can do it—you don’t need to understand too much. As for the best country for entrepreneurship, hands down it’s the United States. Labor productivity there is about 1.5 × that of most of the developed world, let alone the undeveloped world. That means if you could sell a $10,000 project in Canada, you could sell the same project for $15,000 in the US. The reason is that people in the US work more and have systems that enable them to be more productive with their time, plus regulations that are very business‑forward. That’s also one of the reasons why the US is one of the hardest countries in the world to immigrate to. I’m bullish on the US; even if the age of American imperialism is coming to an end, the numbers show it won’t be anytime soon.

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youtube ↗Niches

If I'm starting an AI automation agency today from a third-world country (Tunisia), with extremely limited capital, zero technical skills, no clients, and no portfolio, what niche and offer would you advise, and what should I learn or build first? Are niches different in developing nations versus developed ones?

Yes, optimal niches for a market like Tunisia will be very different from the optimal set of services for, say, North America. But you don't have to sell to people in your local target country — that's really the whole promise of the internet: you can sell into a market that's already well-established with clear, well-understood solutions to needs, the kind talked about and demonstrated on channels like mine. There's nothing that necessitates selling to your local market. If you're in Bangladesh, you don't have to sell only to your local Dhaka market — you can go global. The tradeoff as you go further away is cultural norms and time zones become less familiar. As long as you control for those two variables — either by offsetting your own schedule, or by consuming a lot of media from your target country to understand how people there think, which, keep in mind, is quite similar to how people in your own country think (human beings are human beings, 99.99% the same DNA, just some superficial design tweaks like CSS on an HTML website) — you'll be fine. You can follow the exact standard playbook and achieve good results wherever you are.

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