Client asked "How much?" I panicked. Said $600. He immediately said yes. I knew I messed up. That sinking feeling when you realize you undercharged. The client was happy. I felt sick. He would have paid double. THE PRICING MISTAKE My first invoice processing automation. Client manually entering 80 invoices monthly. Taking 12 hours. At $50/hour internal cost, that's $600/month wasted. I built the solution in 5 hours. Quoted $600. He said yes instantly. That's when I knew. If someone says yes THAT fast, your price is too low. THE VALUE-BASED PRICING FRAMEWORK Stop thinking about YOUR time. Start thinking about THEIR savings. CALCULATE THEIR CURRENT COST: - Hours monthly on manual work? - Their hourly rate? (Use $40-60 if unsure) - Annual cost = hours × rate × 12 YOUR SETUP FEE: - Setup = 20-40% of annual savings - More complex = higher percentage MONTHLY MAINTENANCE: - Maintenance = 15-20% of setup fee REAL PRICING EXAMPLES INVOICE PROCESSING: Client cost: 10 hours/month × $50 = $6,000/year Your setup: $1,200 Maintenance: $200/month FORM EXTRACTION: Client cost: 6 hours/month × $45 = $3,240/year Your setup: $900 Maintenance: $150/month CONTRACT ANALYSIS: Client cost: 15 hours/month × $60 = $10,800/year Your setup: $2,400 Maintenance: $400/month THE CONVERSATION SCRIPT "Walk me through your current process..." (They explain manual work) "How long does that take monthly?" (They say 10 hours) "What would you estimate your time is worth? $40? $50?" (They usually say $50) "So you're spending about $500 a month on this task. $6,000 annually. My setup fee is $1,200, which pays for itself in about 2.5 months. Then you save $500 monthly going forward. Make sense?" (They say yes because the math is obvious) MY LEARNING CURVE Client 1: Charged $600 (should have been $1,500) Client 2: Learned lesson, charged $1,400 Client 3: Charged $1,800 confidently Client 5: Comfortable with $1,800-$2,400 range Current average: $1,800 setup + $250/month BIGGEST LESSON

Someone DMed me: "I'd love to start automating but I don't know how to code." Neither did I when I started. HERE'S WHAT I ACTUALLY NEEDED TO LEARN: 1. HOW TO COPY/PASTE API credentials (5 minutes) 2. HOW TO TEST a workflow with sample data (10 minutes) 3. HOW TO READ basic JSON (20 minutes) 4. HOW TO USE workflow automation tools (2 hours of playing around) That's it. That's the "technical knowledge" required to build document automation workflows that clients pay $1,200-2,500 for. MY FIRST CLIENT WORKFLOW (zero code): 1. Gmail Trigger - "when email arrives with PDF attachment" 2. PDF Vector Parse Document - "convert PDF to text" 3. PDF Vector Extract Structured Document - "pull out invoice data using this schema" 4. Google Sheets - "add row with extracted data" 5. Gmail - "send confirmation email" NO CODE WRITTEN. Just connected pre-built blocks and configured settings. THE ONLY "CODE" I USE: JSON Schemas (which is just describing what data you want): { "invoice_number": "string", "total_amount": "number", "due_date": "string" } That's not programming. That's filling out a form. TOOLS THAT NEED ZERO CODING: - Make.com - Drag and drop visual builder - Zapier - Step-by-step wizard interface - n8n - Node-based visual workflow (slightly more technical but still no code) ACTUAL "TECHNICAL SKILLS" THAT MATTER: 1. Problem identification - Seeing document pain points 2. Process mapping - Understanding current vs automated flow 3. Logical thinking - If this, then that 4. Testing mindset - Try it, see what breaks, fix it 5. Client communication - Explaining what you built Notice how "write Python code" isn't on that list? THE FIRST WORKFLOW I EVER BUILT: Time: 47 minutes (including watching a YouTube tutorial) Client paid: $800 My "coding": Changed email addresses and spreadsheet IDs in pre-built templates Resources that helped me: - Make.com templates - n8n workflows

I need to share something that's been bothering me for months. I've been part of 10+ automation groups. Posted hundreds of times trying to help people. And I keep getting the same result: deleted posts, warnings, and eventually... banned. Here's what gets me removed: When someone asks "How do I find my first client?" and I share the EXACT messages that worked for me - DELETED. When someone struggles with pricing and I show my actual invoices with real numbers - WARNING. When someone needs templates and I share my Google Drive folder freely - BANNED. The reasons they give? "Too promotional." "Against community guidelines." "Not appropriate content." But here's what I think is really happening: These group owners built their communities to sell courses, not create success stories. They want you consuming content forever, not competing in the marketplace. They're protecting their client base, not helping you build yours. Think about it - if everyone in their 50,000 person group actually started landing clients, who would buy their next course? Who would pay for their "advanced masterclass"? Who would stay dependent on them? That's why I created AI First Client Formula with different rules: ✅ Share everything - templates, contracts, exact pricing ✅ Show real numbers - what you charge, what you earned ✅ Help others compete - even if they become your competition ✅ Celebrate client wins - the bigger the better ✅ No gatekeeping - everything free and open I WANT you to take my methods. I WANT you to land clients. Hell, I want you to charge more than me and build something bigger. Because here's the truth: The automation market is massive. We could have 10,000 successful builders and barely scratch the surface. There's room for everyone. But some groups would rather keep you as a student than see you as a peer. Not here. This is for builders who want to BUILD. For people ready to earn, not just learn. If you've ever had your helpful post deleted, been warned for sharing too much value, or felt like groups want to keep you small - you belong here.