Nov 5 • Wins 🌟
Client paid an agency $8k to "optimize" their workflow. I rebuilt it from scratch in 11 minutes. It's 3x faster now.
Client paid an agency $8k to "optimize" their workflow. I rebuilt it from scratch in 11 minutes. It's 3x faster now.
Here's what happens when agencies prioritize billable hours over actual solutions:
THE SETUP
Client: "Our invoice processing is too slow"
Agency: "We'll optimize your existing workflow"
Me: "Can I see what they're optimizing?"
Client: *shares their n8n workflow*
Me: "This is... impressively overcomplicated"
THE AGENCY'S "OPTIMIZATION"
What they quoted:
- Workflow audit: 1 week
- Optimization plan: 3 days
- Implementation: 2 weeks
- Testing phase: 1 week
- Total timeline: 6 weeks
- Investment: $8,000
Their audit findings (22-page PDF):
- "Suboptimal node placement"
- "Inefficient data transformations"
- "Missing error handling protocols"
- "Requires architectural restructuring"
Translation: They made it sound worse to justify the price.
WHAT THEY ACTUALLY DID
Week 1-2: Meetings and documentation
Week 3-4: Moved some nodes around
Week 5: Added 3 more nodes "for resilience"
Week 6: Testing (aka fixing what they broke)
Result:
- Original processing time: 45 seconds
- "Optimized" processing time: 38 seconds
- Cost: $8,000
- Improvement: 15%
Client: "Is this worth $8k?"
Agency: "Enterprise optimization is an investment"
THE REAL PROBLEM
I looked at their "optimized" workflow.
67 nodes.
For invoice processing.
It had:
- 4 different parsing methods (only needed 1)
- Redundant validation steps
- Multiple database calls that could be batched
- Error handling that created more errors
- Comments like "legacy node - don't remove"
This wasn't optimization.
This was justification for billable hours.
MY APPROACH
Client: "Can you actually fix this?"
Me: "I'm not going to fix it"
Client: "Oh..."
Me: "I'm going to rebuild it properly"
Opened Skada AI
Described what they actually needed:
"Extract data from incoming invoices, validate required fields, check for duplicates, update accounting system, send confirmation email, flag exceptions for review"
Generated the workflow.
11 minutes total.
THE NEW WORKFLOW
8 nodes.
Clean logic.
Zero redundancy.
Processing time: 12 seconds.
Down from 38 seconds (agency version).
Down from 45 seconds (original version).
That's 3.75x faster than the "optimized" version.
Client tested it immediately.
Processed 50 invoices.
Flawless execution.
Average time: 11 seconds.
THE BREAKDOWN
Agency's 67-Node Monster:
- Parse attempt #1 (often failed)
- Error handler for parse #1
- Parse attempt #2 (backup)
- Error handler for parse #2
- Parse attempt #3 (backup backup)
- Validation node #1
- Validation node #2 (why?)
- Database check #1
- Database check #2 (duplicate logic)
- Transform data #1
- Transform data #2 (redundant)
- API call with retry logic
- Another API call (could be batched)
- Error notification system
- Slack alert (separate from email)
- Email alert (separate from Slack)
- Logging node #1
- Logging node #2 (duplicate logging)
- [49 more nodes of pure bloat]
My Clean 8-Node Workflow:
- Trigger
- AI extraction
- Validation
- Duplicate check
- System update
- Confirmation
- Exception handling
- Done
CLIENT REACTION
"This is what we asked for 6 weeks ago"
They pulled up the original requirements.
Word for word match.
Agency added 59 nodes of complexity.
For what?
Client: "Why did they make it so complicated?"
Me: "Complicated workflows justify expensive retainers"
Client: "That's..."
Me: "Yeah"
THE MATH
Agency Optimization:
- Time investment: 6 weeks
- Cost: $8,000
- Speed improvement: 15%
- Maintenance complexity: High
- Future changes: "Requires consultation"
My Rebuild:
- Time investment: 11 minutes
- Cost: $0 (included in existing arrangement)
- Speed improvement: 275%
- Maintenance complexity: None
- Future changes: Regenerate in minutes
THE AFTERMATH
Client processed 10,000 invoices in the first month.
Old system: 450,000 seconds (125 hours)
Agency "optimization": 380,000 seconds (105 hours)
My rebuild: 120,000 seconds (33 hours)
Time saved vs agency version: 72 hours/month
That's nearly 2 full-time employees.
Client sent the metrics to their agency.
Agency response: "Speed isn't everything"
Client: "It is when we're processing 10k invoices"
THE PATTERN I KEEP SEEING
Agency workflow: 40+ nodes
My rebuild: Under 10 nodes
Performance: 3-5x faster
Cost difference: $8k vs minutes
It's the same story every time.
Agencies profit from:
- Complexity they create
- Optimization of their own overcomplicated solutions
- Maintenance contracts for unmaintainable systems
CURRENT PROJECT PIPELINE
7 clients with "optimized" workflows.
All built by agencies.
All ridiculously overcomplicated.
All scheduled for rebuilds.
Average agency workflow: 53 nodes
My average rebuild: 9 nodes
Average performance improvement: 340%
One client's workflow had 89 nodes.
I rebuilt it with 7.
It runs 4x faster.
THE QUESTION NOBODY ASKS
"If you can rebuild it better in 11 minutes, why did the agency need 6 weeks?"
Because the business model depends on you not asking that question.
Who else is running "optimized" workflows that are somehow slower than they should be?
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6 comments
Client paid an agency $8k to "optimize" their workflow. I rebuilt it from scratch in 11 minutes. It's 3x faster now.
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