i stopped using upwork and fiverr in 2025 and i think you should as well. i watermarked my upwork and fiverr potfolio with my full name and hashtag #hiredirect. when customers see my profile, my proposal, my portfolio they can find me directly and save money by hiring me direct. i found freelance platforms to be overpriced and unworthy of high commissions.

Please share the experience you have in testing various compensation and business models in the AI automation space. Below is the poll, if your approach is not listed share your business model in the comments.

I’m giving away 2 free n8n Cloud Starter Plans (1 year, $240 value each) to 2 lucky members! How to enter: 💬 Drop your favorite meme about AI or Nate Herk in the comments below. 🕒 I’ll pick my 2 favorite memes and announce the winners on Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. CT. Let’s see who’s got the funniest take, time to get creative! Cheers, Nate

Hey guys, Michael here My agency stoneclad is hiring Elite AI automation engineers I know that most of these hiring posts sound the same: “We’re growing. We need help. DM us.” This isn’t that. At Stonecladwe’re building a world-class AI agency—designed for scale, excellence, and solving real problems with AI. We’re not looking for beginners or people “dabbling” in automation. We’re looking for battle-tested automators who have already been in the trenches and know how to deliver serious results. Who You Are: - You’ve already built advanced automations. - You think in systems, not just tasks. - You get excited about finding leverage points inside businesses. - You can take ownership—no handholding required. Who We’re Not Looking For: - People who “just started learning” AI tools last month. - Folks who only know how to connect ChatGPT to Slack and call it an automation. - Anyone afraid of high expectations. What You’ll Get: - Generous pay. We believe top talent should be paid like top talent. - A chance to build on a team that’s serious about becoming the gold standard in the AI agency space. - Collaboration with other high-performers—iron sharpens iron. - Freedom to think, create, and push boundaries. What We Expect: - Excellence in execution. - Problem-solvers who go beyond templates and “cookie cutter” workflows. - People who care about building something bigger than themselves. If you’ve been waiting for the chance to work with a forward-thinking team, where both the pay and expectations are high, this is it. 👉 Drop a comment or DM me directly if you’re ready to step into a role where your skills actually matter. Let me know your expertise, and we'll chat about what you're capable of. Cheers -Michael p.s. If you don't meet the requirements above then please don't waste your time or mine.

Hey guys, Michael here.🤙 One of the biggest challenges I've had in growing my AI agency is figuring out what niche to focus on. It’s really tempting to say “we can help anyone,” but the truth is that usually means you help no one (at least not at a premium). So after a lot of trial and error I found that this really helped for narrowing down and creating a niche that businesses actually pay top dollar for: It's a simple 3-Part "Value/Niche" framework. It may seem simple, and maybe you're already using some of the steps. But when you actually focus on all 3 relentlessly, that's when you'll break through. 1. High-Pain Problem: Look for an area where businesses lose time or money every single day. Example: missed leads, manual data entry, etc. 2. High-Value Industry: Not every market is worth the effort. Go after businesses where solving the problem ties directly to revenue. 3. Focus on the front end: This is where the business actually makes money. Think Lead-Gen, Sales, Onboarding, Customer Acquisition. If you can help them automate something that directly makes them money (i.e. close even 1 more sale) then you can charge a premium. When those three align, you’ve got a niche that’s: Valuable to the client Easy to communicate Sellable at a premium That’s been a game-changer for us. And I actually built an entire comprehensive plug/play system for this that takes the guesswork out of finding your offer. Curious for those of you already working with clients: What niche or workflow have you found that businesses are willing to pay premium prices for? -Michael