Hey everyone, I’m reaching out because I’ve hit a massive wall and could use some honest advice from those who have successfully landed their first few clients. I started my AI Automation journey in August 2025. I’ve been grinding for 6 months now, but I haven't been able to land my first client or make any money yet. It’s been a tough road with no testimonials or case studies to show. Here is what I’m currently doing: - Niche: Construction / Independent Management Consultants. - Outreach: personalized Instagram DMs and cold Emails. - Offer: Automating invoice data entry (Gmail to Google Sheets) and AI-powered email handling. - The Problem: Most people either don't see the message, or they say they are "too small" for automation and want to wait until they hire employees. I recently started offering to do the work for free just to get a case study/testimonial, but even then, I’m getting "I’m okay for now" as a response. I’d love your advice on a few things: 1. If you were back at zero with no portfolio, which outreach method would you go all-in on? 2. Is Instagram the wrong place for construction? Should I pivot to LinkedIn or Cold Email? 3. How do you convince a "one-man show" that automation is worth their time before they scale? Really appreciate any feedback or "brutal honesty" you guys have. I’m committed to making this work, I just need to find the right door to knock on.

A few months ago, I think I really started with n8n in August. At that point, I hadn’t made money with any of the things I’d tried up to then. Then I randomly came across n8n and started getting into it. And damn, that changed everything. Since then, I’ve managed to get 21+ clients, landed a few retainers, and built a steady flow of jobs. In fact, I’m now saying no to more jobs and constantly raising my prices so I can get into the $1,000 range per job. So what changed? I started pitching to more people and actually applying. And because of that, I started getting more jobs. The funny part is that the people I talked to when I started laughed at me when I told them I made $20 on my first gig. But when I look at them now, they’re still stuck in the same place, having not made a single dollar yet. Meanwhile, I’m turning down contracts that are too low for me to even consider. Here's the lessons I learned after a while. 1. You can start making money pretty fast. But building automations are harder than what you might think. 2. A lot of the things that I see on YT are things I barely see people order. 3. A lot of people suck at this and are slow. If you're fast and good, people will keep coming back and buy more. I had one client give me a 2 week deadline, I completed the project within 4 days, and I made a new order right then and there. I don't know if I can say keep pushing or keep going, because looking back on my own journey. They're certain actions if done right will lead you to the place you want to. But if you do the wrong actions it won't really work. So you kinda need to figure out what the right actions are fast. GL and enjoy the year!

Hey everyone, just joined! 👋 I’m Aveer, I’ve been grinding on AI automation for a few months now, but if I’m being honest, I haven’t landed a single client yet. It’s been a bit discouraging, but I’m not giving up. After seeing @Duy Bui success with Invoice Automation, I realized I might have been too broad. I’m deciding to pivot and go ALL IN on this specific workflow (extracting data from PDFs to Sheets/Accounting software). I’d love to tap into the expertise here for my "Day 1" of this new path: 1. Outreach: For those selling backend automations like this, do you find Cold DMs/Email work better, or is it better to join niche communities and post value or anything else? 2. Niche Selection: I’m leaning towards Construction or Logistics because of the paper mess, but I’m curious—where have you guys seen the quickest "wins" for invoice processing. Ready to finally break this dry spell. Any pointers would mean the world! 🙏