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#190 · How to Build $1M+ Social Proof As A Total Beginner In 21 Days

youtube ↗Agency Operations

I'm going strong on my automation journey and starting cold outreach. Should I be stuck between building the systems myself and selling them, or should I be more of a middleman? The middleman route means more time for generating leads.

Now that I'm sitting on the other side of this business model, the whole leverage of it is that no-code significantly shaves off the time needed to build technical solutions that are still reliable, robust, and maintainable. Instead of having to specialize in computer science and become a programmer, which would take years and split your attention, you can maintain skills on both sides — technical and sales. If you deprive yourself of the technical side and triple or quadruple down purely on sales without any technical experience, that's kind of silly and loses the whole point of the business model, which is being someone who knows enough automation to be dangerous while still spending most of your time selling. So no, I wouldn't recommend going pure middleman.

business modelno-codemiddlemantechnical skills

Related answers

youtube ↗AI & Automation

How does one even start to think like an automation developer? I can never come up with the ideas for automations on the spot.

Never say never. I've been in agencies for about 10 years — I got out of school and started a marketing agency, sent hundreds of proposals, talked to thousands of people, and basically seen the same business model pitched a thousand different ways. When you see something that many times, you start picking up on the trends. My recommendation: don't try to think like an automation developer, think like a business person in general. Every business is basically a pipeline: there's a customer, you pay some money to get that customer, your business adds value to what the customer wants (a project, knowledge, a product, whatever), and at the end you get a higher-quality thing you can charge more for. So there's a multiple on the value of the raw good versus the finished thing. That gives you three or four places to optimize right off the bat: lead gen and sales, fulfillment, and retention. Think of every business through that lens and the automation opportunities become obvious.

automation ideasbusiness fundamentalsmindset
youtube ↗Lead Generation

What's the best way to get leads for AI automation service? Should I choose one niche, one automation, or go multiple niches and automations? I did Upwork, got two clients, total of 60 bucks. I guess the competition is higher there or I'm just a lazy person.

It's not that the competition is really high or that you're lazy. Realistically, it's a combination of multiple factors, but you're missing that you're not applying the right effort at the right place—being strategic with your effort. It's not that you're lazy if you don't get the results you want; often you simply haven't applied your high levels of willpower in the right tactical place.

lead generationai automationnicheupwork
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.

agency structurelead generationfulfillmentclient management
youtube ↗Agency Operations

Nick, I'm 18 and live in a country where small and medium‑sized businesses are far behind with AI and automation; they don't know Zapier or Make. Is it smart to build an automation agency here now to make money during the lag period and level up systems thinking before the window closes?

He says yes, it's smart to start an automation agency now to capture the lag, but you should focus on delivering strategic outcomes and consulting rather than just selling tools. You can still make money with tools, but the real value is in helping clients achieve business results. He also notes that if you're not making $10k/month yet, focus on reaching that income first, and that many traditional businesses (web design, clay pottery) still thrive, so it's not all black‑and‑white.

automation agencylag marketsystems thinking