Hey everyone, I wanted to share a bit of my background and ask for some advice from people who are already running AI automation agencies. I’ve been working as a freelancer for a while, mainly building AI automations and voice agents. On Upwork I currently have a 100% Job Success Score with 5-star reviews, and most of my projects have involved building automation systems and AI-based solutions for clients. Recently I also started a YouTube channel where I showcase the systems I build (voice agents, automations, workflows, etc.) so people can see the actual implementations. Now I’m planning to start my AI automation agency next month. Initially, my main focus will be AI voice agents for clinics (AI receptionists, call handling, appointment booking, etc.), because it’s easy for businesses to understand the value. After that, I plan to gradually expand into other automation areas like lead generation systems, workflow automation, and content automation, since I also have experience with those. Right now my main questions are around pricing and infrastructure. Until now as a freelancer, I’ve always built systems directly on the client’s platforms (their Twilio, Vapi, OpenAI, etc.) and just charged a setup fee. But now that I’m moving toward an agency model, I’m wondering what the best approach is. A few things I’d really appreciate advice on: • Do you usually build on the client’s platforms or run everything on your own infrastructure? • For someone starting an agency, would you recommend continuing with client-owned accounts for the first few clients, or moving to agency-owned infrastructure from the start? • How do you typically structure pricing setup fee only, or setup + monthly maintenance/retainer? Another thing I’m unsure about is monthly maintenance. If I charge a monthly maintenance fee: - Is that something you keep indefinitely as long as the client stays? - Or do you structure it like a limited support period or contract (e.g., 3–6 months)?

Hey everyone, I wanted to share a win that might help anyone here struggling with missed appointments or manually qualifying leads. I just finished deploying a custom AI Voice Agent that handles inbound and outbound calls to qualify leads and book appointments directly into the calendar. This highly reliable system runs on a tailored n8n/Twilio flow that connects to the client's CRM. The flow does three key things: 1. Precision Scheduling: Automatically checks Google Calendar availability and handles full booking logic. 2. Zero-Latency Voice: Uses Vapi/Retell to ensure the agent sounds natural and responds instantly. 3. Advanced Integration: Saves client information (name, qualified lead status) immediately to the CRM via dedicated API. It’s been fascinating to build, and it completely frees up the client's sales team. Happy to answer any questions about the flow! Need a custom AI system for your business? See my professional portfolio and service tiers here:https://www.fiverr.com/s/wky1x6A