I’m a fresh software engineering graduate trying to start an AI automation agency, but I’m struggling to figure out what to sell. Starting a startup has always been my dream. I want to build something of my own, get my first clients, and eventually turn it into a real business. I decided to explore AI automation, targeting local businesses in the US, particularly HVAC companies. But the more I research, the more confused I get. Here’s what I’m struggling with: Most HVAC businesses already use tools like ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, and others. These platforms already offer scheduling, follow-ups, customer management, and many other automations. So what am I supposed to sell them? - Lead follow-up automation? - Missed-call recovery? - AI receptionists? - Automated booking and customer communication? - These sound useful, but established software already handles many of these problems. I’m struggling to find a genuine gap where I can provide real value instead of rebuilding something that already exists. I’ve been researching businesses, looking for problems, and building demos to show potential clients. But sometimes, I feel like I’m building solutions that businesses don’t actually need. And convincing a cold prospect to buy something they don't think they need feels almost impossible, especially through cold emails and DMs. Here’s a little about my background: I’m a fresh software engineering graduate. I can build full-stack applications using technologies like FastAPI, PostgreSQL,, LangGraph and more. I use AI coding tools heavily, but I understand the code, architecture, and systems I’m building. I’m not limited to basic no-code automations. I can build custom AI agents, backend systems, and complete applications if there’s a real problem worth solving. So, I have a few questions for people who are already doing this: 1. Am I approaching the AI automation business model the wrong way? 2. Are basic automations actually selling well, or are people just hyping them up online? 3. How do you find problems that businesses will genuinely pay to solve? 4. Should I stick with AI automation, explore custom software development, or combine both?

The AI Partner Blueprint goes live tonight at 7pm EDT. That's 12 hours from now. We’ll explore how professionals are turning the industry experience they already have into AI consulting work. Including three people who went from employment to running their own thing, and exactly how each of them landed their first client. If you've been wondering what that work actually involves, and whether your background fits, this is the session to be in. It's live, it's online, and there's time for questions. That last part is the reason to show up rather than catch it later: you can ask about your situation, not somebody else's. 12 hours. Then the doors close. [Save My Seat →]

Over the past two years we've sold tens of thousands of dollars' worth of AI workshops at Morningside. They're the easiest way we've found to get in the door with a larger company. You're not pitching. You're in the room, teaching their exec team, building trust before anyone talks about a project. 75%+ of the organisations we run these with end up bringing us in on AI adoption work afterwards. Last Friday I ran a session inside the Accelerator breaking the whole thing down: why companies buy workshops, how we deliver them, and what's on every one of our 60+ slides. The agencies in there loved it, so I filmed a version for you too. I walk through the deck slide by slide. At the end you can grab the full Executive Workshop template, yours to keep. Same deck we use to run workshops companies pay thousands for. If you're working with larger organisations, or you want to see how we get executive teams to actually move on AI, this one's for you. → Watch the video and get the template Talk soon. Josh.

Three minutes of bad news in the morning can drag down your whole day. Researcher Michelle Gielan and entrepreneur Arianna Huffington tested this. They found people who read three minutes of negative news at the start of the day were 27% more likely to call their entire day bad by the time they clocked off. Three minutes did that. Now think about what you've been feeding your head lately. The deal that died. The client who went quiet. Everyone online saying things are getting harder. Your brain gives bad news more weight than good. Give it enough negative and it quietly decides your effort doesn't change much. So you push a little less. Pitch a little less confidently. And you get a little less back in return. That costs you real money. Gielan studied over 25,000 professionals. She found the ones who believed their actions mattered were 40% more likely to get promoted within a year, and five times less likely to burn out. Other research found optimists outsell pessimists by 37%. Important note: you can't fake your way there. Forced positivity actually makes burnout worse. What actually works is simpler. When something goes wrong in your day, just don't stop your sentence at the bad part. You lost the deal. OK. What are you fixing on the next call? Your outreach isn't working. OK. So what are you changing in your messaging? You had to start over on a project. OK. What will you do differently this time around? Bank managers at UBS who learned to treat stress as fuel using this technique had 23% fewer stress symptoms during a crisis, and performed better. Same pressure. Different perception. So comment below one thing that went right today. Your brain builds a story from whatever you notice. So give it better material. Some weeks are just hard. You don't have to pretend otherwise. But what you do next still counts. So, what's gone right for you so far this week? Comment one thing below (doesn't matter how small)👇

Y'ello everyone - another newbie here joining to learn and become proficient in Claude Ai