In this podcast, I sit down with AI automation and chatbot expert, Abdullah Yahya, who shares his journey from non-tech to AI automations, how he builds custom chatbots for business clients that deliver tangible ROI, and his honest advice for folks interested in launching AI automation agencies.
Watch Abdullah's tutorials on Voiceflow and automations
See what others say about working with Abdullah
Below, I expand on a couple topics we discussed.
How do you build confidence and skill in AI automation when you start with ZERO tech, sales, and marketing background?
Abdullahâs path has been amazing to watch.
Early on, I could tell heâd be successful, despite having ZERO experience in tech, sales, or marketing.
First, he won my vibe coded Vampire Security Checkpoint game, which is how we ended up on a call. Whenever he asked for my advice, heâd actually implement it, share with me what he learned, and keep going. I notice these things because most people donât implement advice I give them.
And like many others, Abdullah felt overwhelmed and confused at the start, drowning in too many opportunities in AI.
So if youâre feeling overwhelmed, just do what Abdullah did:
Pick 1 platform and commitâŠ
Donât get distracted by every shiny new tool
Ship one simple automation/tool, no matter how small
Leverage your network and offer âfreeâ to startâŠ
Abdullah started by building bots for family and friendsâ businesses for free
You gain hands-on learning, a portfolio, plus most importantly you gain self-confidence from each win
Last, use AI for feedback and improvementâŠ
Abdullah recorded his sales calls, then fed transcripts to ChatGPT to get feedback on how to do better next time
You can do this with your automations too: export your Make/n8n json and ask ChatGPT what could be improved.
You donât need a tech degree, $5k masterminds, or paid courses to get started.
Abdullah is proof.
But you do need toâŠ
ACTUALLY SPEND HOURS BUILDING STUFF!
(not just reading or talking about it)
Case Study: $16,000+ ROI in 30 Days from ONE Custom Chatbot
Abdullah rolled out a custom AI chatbot for a moving company.
In 1 month, it captured and converted leads so effectively that the business earned $16,000+ USD in profit, directly attributable to the AI chatbot automation.
Hereâs how it worked:
The bot instantly reached out to every new lead via Whatsapp and SMS, so the company was always the first to respond. This is important because sales/marketing studies show that reducing time-to-reply to a hot lead dramatically improves conversion rate.
Every outreach was tailored to that companyâs unique process and offer, integrated with their existing systems.
Now the crazy part:
Multiply $16k profit per month
âŠby 12 months
âŠby 3 years (software lifecycle)
$576k expected profit for ONE business from ONE custom AI chatbot.
Weâre not even talking about the 10+ other automation opportunities that probably exist in that single business.
If youâre launching an AI automation agency, what are some realistic expectations?
Your first projects will take way longer than you think.
Youâll spend hours troubleshooting, fixing issues, banging your head against the wall, and learning as you go.
Thatâs normal.
Every project (even failed ones) builds skill. Your initial builds will take you days or weeks. Your 10th build will be much faster.
However, not every automation will deliver dramatic results in a short timeframe. Youâll realize a project wasnât well-scoped out with clear metrics upfront. Youâll realize a project is much harder than it initially seemed due to legacy systems, disorganized data, and other limitations. Often, youâll need to iterate and adjust many times before the system works.
Donât compare your first projects to course hypesters bragging.
Ultimately, real value comes from aligning AI automation with real business problems. If you automate the wrong process or chase âshiny objectâ tools, you risk wasted effort.
Building expertise and confidence in anything takes a ton of repetition and reflection.
I personally believe VOLUME is the most severely underrated hack for beginners.
For example, when it comes to creating content, I donât believe someoneâs serious until he/she has made 100 posts.
And honestlyâŠ
If youâre only in it for the money and you donât genuinely enjoying building and debugging stuff, you probably wonât succeed.
Need More Help? đ
1/ Free AI courses & playbooks here
2/ Free AI prompts & AI automations
3/ I built Blotato to grow 1M+ followers in 1 year
It is so calming to know that someone did it before you, and for whatever your reasoning is behind it, consistency and sticking with one idea first, Actually gets you amazing results
Thank you for your honesty, and the reminder of sticking with one thing, along with ignoring the shiny objects. Great read!!