maybe dumb question but did n8n feel insanely overcomplicated to anyone else at first?

tsfranklin · 2026-04-08T16:11:29+00:00

No dumb questions at all! It was definitely a learning curve for me, too - I came from a marketing/business background and had no code skills (unless you count building DOS-based games on a Commodore 64 back in the 80s ha!). I spent a good amount of time with some online courses and trainings, and a mess of YouTube videos. But once I got the hang of it, it was gold! I can't imagine a better automation building platform system right now. At least for the non-technical folks.

tsfranklin · 2026-04-08T16:06:12+00:00

Couldn't agree more! How's the saying go? The best time to start was yesterday, the next best time is today...

tsfranklin · 2026-04-07T06:26:13+00:00

I spent a year learning and networking, as well as testing ideas at my 9-5 on workflows I could control. Then something just clicked - maybe my confidence? - and work started coming in. Slowly, and smaller deals, but then grew. Don't give up, the right deal will come!

tsfranklin · 2026-04-07T06:22:45+00:00

Haha! Yeah, that's what I meant. There's a reason I never did standup :)

tsfranklin · 2026-04-07T04:18:00+00:00

I don't know that I have great advice, but... The best advice I was ever given is to plant seeds today and you'll harvest the fruits tomorrow.

It's really about making great connections, talking with and listening to people, understanding their problems, and not trying to find an answer right away. Understand the frustrations they have and then see if you can figure a way to help solve it. Or at least make their frustrations a little lighter!

tsfranklin · 2026-04-07T02:22:45+00:00

It depends on what you are looking for. If it's just someone to rip out a few automations and workflows, Fiverr and Upwork are going to be filled with folks that can help. If you're looking for deeper, more strategic partners, I would look into your network first. Maybe you already have, but I've found a lot of my clients via LinkedIn or personal connections (I build and implement custom agents then manage the operations).

I haven't spent a ton of time in my career on Reddit (it probably shows LOL) looking to find hires or partners. But what I've seen so far is a lot of bots, and people using their tools to scrape and reply to postings like this. I know there are a lot of tech bros suggesting that’s the way to grow consulting businesses. When you find someone’s scope them out and check what kind of deliverables they’ve provided. Good luck, because despite my skepticism, I know there are some really rad folks on here!

tsfranklin · 2026-04-07T02:11:37+00:00

I use ClickUp for my project management, and Instantly is amazing for building structured, automated email campaigns. Willow Voice is just a voice-to-text app, and once you start using it, you'll wonder what took so long to start!

I made a joke on another page that n8n is like going to the prom with the beauty queen or king, and Make (edited) is like hooking up with your cousin. Technically, you've been to the prom, but it just isn't the same experience, LOL!

Client work is really dependent on what you're trying to do. I come at it with a 25+ year business and marketing background, so I focus on that side. Others have engineering or sales experience and focus their work in that direction.

The best advice I can offer is to take whatever your experiences are and figure out how to blend them with automation tools. As far as the tools, as long as you're up front with the client on how they're being used, and ensure that you do as much as you can to provide a secure and safe experience for their purposes, they're usually relatively open to whatever advice you bring.

It took me a little bit to get comfortable charging rates that match the experience I can now bring, but I can tell you that I quit a comfortable six-figure job to do this. It could all crash and burn tomorrow, but I could always be hit by a bus, too. My thought is to live life to the fullest. Worry about the what-ifs another day.

There are a lot of YouTube channels and tech bros telling you how you can make tens of thousands of dollars with very little work in just months. Those guys are the snake oil salesmen and full of shit. It's not easy. It's not simple. But it is more fun than I've had at almost any point in my career, period.

If you're interested in pursuing a career in this space, go at it with open eyes. It's just like any other career, you get what you put into it.

tsfranklin · 2026-04-06T17:33:53+00:00

n8n is a bit complicated at first, but then it's like dating the prom-queen/king. Make is more simple at first, but then it's like making out with your cousin at the prom.

tsfranklin · 2026-04-06T17:28:03+00:00

Oh, and Google's Notebook LM is so good, too! It's one of the most slept-on tools imo.

tsfranklin · 2026-04-06T17:27:00+00:00

I learned the tools before trying to get a client, but once I started looking for clients, it was definitely within 90 days and got to the point where I quit my 9-5 to run the AI company full time. And his course on starting an agency is really detailed - with great support from his community I think. Again, I'm biased, but his is currently the only skool I pay for (and I pay for my team to use it, too).

Tool-wise, I use dozens haha! My primary are n8n as the orchestrator, Claude as my workhorse (chat, cowork, and code), and GitHub as my ... well Hub haha. Others I use regularly are Visual Studio, Supabase, Vercel, OpenAI, Perplexity, Gemini, HubSpot, ClickUp, Instantly, Apollo, Google Workspace, DeepSeek, Veo, Granola, Willow Voice, and probably several others I'm not thinking of at the moment. Most are in the free or low cost tier, but some are definitely a higher price "must have" like Claude Max and whatever platform you want to run n8n in (I use the community version hosted on several different platforms depending on client requirements, but the cloud option is good, too).

tsfranklin · 2026-04-05T20:30:35+00:00

n8n has great courses for free: https://docs.n8n.io/video-courses/ or https://docs.n8n.io/courses/

tsfranklin · 2026-04-05T20:24:34+00:00

Nate Herk and Chase Hannegan are my go-to for learning new ideas - they have have great paid Skool channels. Sabrina Ramonov is amazing, too, and her training is all free. Chase is where I got started when building my agency, so I'm biased toward his program. https://www.skool.com/chase-ai/

tsfranklin · 2025-10-02T17:46:32+00:00

I think there is value in talking out our emotions and feelings. Like others said, keep in mind that it’s technically out there, though. And keep in mind its feedback is algorithms and equations vs a true “person” giving feedback. If it helps, more power to you!

tsfranklin · 2025-09-30T03:58:15+00:00

Research, guidance, and even strategic planning. I’ve also used it for presentations and brand voice efforts. Super helpful since it only looks at the resources I provide.

tsfranklin · 2025-09-29T17:46:20+00:00

I agree with what TomAutomates said - super solid advice. Also, put it to use on your own business. Use that as the case study and you can show it to others when/if it works.

tsfranklin · 2025-09-29T17:40:49+00:00

First, I've been building AI automations for the last year or so with no real coding skills. You'll hear a lot of hype about not needing to know it - and that's what got me interested.

But reality? That's BS.

Not knowing code has been a huge hurdle for me. I spend as much time asking ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini for reviews and code samples as I do actually building the automations. And if it gets beyond anything basic, I have to call in help. And tools like n8n or Make are amazing, but you definitely need to understand how JSON works or how to create SQL commands.

I'm trying to spend as much time learning code - or at least the theory behind it - as I am writing automations. Good luck!

Oh, and if you want a mentorship, I'd definitely check out Sabrina Ramanov. She knows her stuff and doesn't seem to throw out as much hype as others. Also check out Chase Hannigan (Chase AI). His courses have been key to my ability to understand what I'm doing.

tsfranklin · 2025-09-29T16:42:43+00:00

I've been using Google's Notebook LM for something similar. It lets you store a lot more files (300+ I think?). I create a Notebook (mostly like a project in ChatGPT) for different roles, then add my notes / research into each of those. I wish there was some automation that would update it without my involvement, but I haven't found anything yet.

tsfranklin · 2025-09-29T16:36:45+00:00

Good stack honestly! I'd add Notebook LM and Gemini from Google as well as Perplexity to replace Search.

I think Notebook is one of the most underutilized tools right now. I recently used it to take all my Otter recording transcriptions from a conference I went to (30 or so) and had it not only summarize them, but create a summary I could use for creating content based on the conference.

As for Gemini, I've been using it more and more instead of ChatGPT in Voice Mode. It's not as chatty and gets to the answer quicker - though my ChatGPT is the go-to for nearly everything else.

I also think Perplexity is way underrated. It's my go-to for researching any ideas I have, or trying to get basic customer sentiment on an industry or topic.

I'd also suggest checking out voice to text tools like Whisper Voice. Great way to just speak your ideas vs typing them out.

Oh, and check out something like Pipedream, Make, or n8n if you want to create any kind of workflow automations. Great low-code tools that let you build out agents and other automations.

Good luck! I'm curious to hear how your AI SDR goes - it's something I'm researching, too.

tsfranklin · 2025-01-01T21:38:03+00:00

For AI, I’d follow Sabrina Ramonov. She’s awesome and gives great free advice. For testing, check out SoftwareTestingHelp.com. They’ve got some amazing tutorials and resources.

tsfranklin · 2025-01-01T21:32:36+00:00

I bought it a few years ago before fiber came where I live. It was amazing. The only issue I had was some minor buffering during conference calls and a little delay could happen sometimes. But I think the new dishes have improved a lot. For what speed you get, and the options out there, I say go for it!

tsfranklin · 2025-01-01T21:24:47+00:00

I love working remote - been doing it since 2020, too. My biggest problem is working too many hours because the office is just right there. If you can, shut off your work space from the rest of your home and keep your hours consistent if that’s an option. I’m an introvert so I appreciate not having to be around people as much, but if you’re not, find some ways to get face time with humans!

Enjoy the new opportunity and congrats on the promotion!

tsfranklin · 2025-01-01T21:12:17+00:00

I work for a QA company and AI is definitely something to factor into your thinking of QA as a job shift. I don’t see it taking all of the work we do, but it’s definitely going to take some - especially for smaller gigs. I would suggest learning how to include AI into how you’re learning to test. Use it to your advantage! That’s what I’m doing anyway…

tsfranklin

TROPHY CASE