My Journey Toward My First Client · Data and Ai Automations

My Journey Toward My First Client

Hey, been quiet here, so I wanted to post this as a way to make up for it. These are some of the things I’ve learned along my journey (still haven’t reached my goal yet haha :’)).

I’ve always wanted to work online. The idea of making money from clicking buttons always attracted me. I knew it wasn’t that easy, and I was aware of the noise, overpromises, and inflated outcomes, so I decided to learn from YouTube.

I landed on automation (it was trending haha, and still is). I started with n8n. That’s when I found the Ryan & Matt Data Science channel, and at that time Ryan had just posted the 17-hour course. I watched all of it, and it gave me a really solid foundation.

Then I said, okay, now it’s time to make money lol.

At first, I thought “automation specialist” was enough. It isn’t. It’s too vague to be useful, especially when you’re unknown. That’s when I learned about niches.

I chose to focus on lead handling systems and CRMs. That decision came from digging through discussions on Reddit and also talking with LLMs. Not perfect sources, but enough to start seeing patterns.

Then I built.

I put together a full system inside n8n. I was proud and thought now it’s time to make money. But reality hit. No one shows up just because you built something. I needed to learn how to sell my services.

So I started learning sales, watching tutorials, and discovered people like Alex Hormozi.

I tried cold outreach, then decided to focus on LinkedIn.

That’s when I realized I skipped an important step, validating the niche.

So I went back, asked people, did more research, and rebuilt the whole system again. This time with clearer assumptions, even if they are still assumptions. I also documented everything.

Now I’m trying to build my presence on LinkedIn by connecting with ICPs, posting regularly, learning how to write better posts, and doing targeted outreach instead of mass messaging. Right now it’s simple, just a few connections a day, staying consistent.

At the moment, I’m dealing with a few constraints. I still don’t have real proof since I don’t have clients yet, which makes validation weak. I’m also not sure if the volume of outreach I’m doing is enough, especially when I see people running large campaigns. And my communication skills still need work.

There’s also a tension I’m noticing. I spent a lot of time on marketing, and it slowed down my technical growth. But staying only technical doesn’t bring real feedback either. It feels like I’ve reached a point where improvement will mostly come from real-world work.

Some things became very clear to me through this process. Learning how to learn is probably the most important skill. Sales is not optional, it’s a core skill that needs real time and effort. Having an online presence in the right places matters more than I first thought. Not knowing is part of the process. Failing is also part of it, and actually useful. And being consistent, even if it feels a bit cringe sometimes, is still better than staying invisible.

That’s it. Thanks for reading, and I hope you make it in life.

And Ryan, if you see this, connect with me on LinkedIn… (no pressure haha)

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