#89 · How a nobody hit #1 on the Skool Games (not even close!)
What you’re doing now isn’t moving the needle, so the best next step is a curriculum that covers 80 % of AI automation basics. Watch the short 8‑minute video I linked, then check out the Make.com guide and start building simple automations, then create an Upwork profile or join Maker School to apply for projects.
Start with the "80% Automation Basics" video – it's about 29 minutes and covers the high‑level concepts. Then watch the "How I Made $100,000 a Month as an AI Solopreneur" video for a concrete example. After that, check out the "Build a Profitable AI Business in 2025 for Beginners" video. Once you have the basics, you can dive into the NAND course or the Make.com tutorials to learn how to actually build software and automation solutions, and also watch the "How to Build and Scale an Automation Agency" video for agency‑specific guidance.
I can’t walk you through every detail, but here’s a practical roadmap. Start with the Make.com playlist I’ve created – it’s a simple no‑code builder that introduces automation basics. Watch the first 12‑13 videos, then move on to live builds. After that, join Maker School, my day‑by‑day accountability program where I guide you through tasks and check in multiple times a day. Once you’ve got the basics, set up an Upwork profile. Upwork lets you see what clients actually pay for and what problems they need solved, turning you from an academic into a real‑world business person. Browse job listings, apply to those where you have at least a 50 % chance of success, and be prepared to send out 20‑30 proposals before landing a bite. Your first gigs will likely pay $30‑$50 an hour (adjusted for your region). Use the work to understand client needs – usually simple connectors between platforms, data duplication, or dashboards. Keep applying consistently, experiment with the platforms, and schedule calls with potential clients to solidify the work. This approach – Make.com basics, Maker School accountability, then Upwork for real client work – is the fastest way to launch an AI agency as a beginner.
I’d start with the 80 % of AI automation basics in under 30 minutes—watch the ‘AI Automation Basics’ video. Then move on to my full Naden course or the Make.com Nick’s Archive playlist. Those will teach you the automation skills you need. The 80/20 approach gives you the basics quickly, and remember that automation is just a business like any other; once you learn how to build an AI automation business you’ll do most of the work with a few simple tools.
He recommends starting with make.com, not worrying about the complexity of NAN and AI. Watch five to six hours of his introductory Make.com course on his main channel, then go to make.com for people wanting to make real money and watch the first five videos to learn how the tool works. It's valuable for real estate investing because you can automate large portions of the formula work for the underwriting process, such as hooking up make.com to scrape deals and run them through a formula that calculates dollars per square foot, applies multipliers for multifamily or bedroom count, etc., to produce a short list of properties to follow up on.