Thread by @NoahEpstein_

how regular people escaped their 9-5 using Claude to build $10K/month automation businesses: 🧵

I watched multiple people quit their jobs and build automation businesses.

The crazy part? Most had ZERO technical background.

They just followed this exact blueprint to hit $10K/month within 90 days.

Here's the step-by-step system they all used →

(1/18) Step 1: Find Your Money-Making Niche (10 minutes)

Everyone thinks AI is the future. But old-school businesses still run on spreadsheets and prayers.

Go to Claude and paste this prompt →

(2/18) The Claude Niche-Finding Prompt:

Find profitable businesses that still use manual processes and would pay $500-5K/month for automation.

(Copy the mega-prompt below to find your perfect niche 👇)

(3/18) Step 2: Find Businesses Ready to Pay (Apollo Strategy)

Here's the secret @damianplayer dropped that changed everything:

Search Apollo for NEWLY FUNDED businesses in your niche.

Why? They just got money and need to scale fast. Perfect timing.

(4/18) The Apollo Gold Mine Process:

1. Go to
2. Filter by: Industry (your niche) + Funding Date (last 90 days)
3. Look for companies with 10-50 employees
4. Export the list with decision maker emails

These businesses have cash and growth pressure = dream clientsApollo.io

(5/18) Step 3: Research Like a Stalker (Claude Does the Heavy Lifting)

Take your Apollo list. For each company, paste their website URL into Claude:

"Analyze [URL] and identify their biggest operational bottlenecks that could be automated. Focus on repetitive tasks that waste employee time."

Or even better - check Apollo's enrichment tabs to see company tech stack, recent hires, and growth signals. All the intel you need is right there.

(6/18) Even better: Create a Research System

Build an n8n workflow that:
- Takes your Apollo CSV
- Feeds each company URL to Claude
- Analyzes their pain points
- Generates personalized outreach
- Saves everything to a spreadsheet

One click = 50 researched prospects

(Don't worry if this sounds complex - I'm showing you exactly how to build this in a few tweets)

(7/18) Step 4: The Outreach That Actually Works

Don't sell automation. Sell results.

The easiest entry point? Lead generation. Why? Your pitch becomes "I MAKE you more money" not "I might save you some time."

Use this approach: "I found you with this lead gen system I built. It's currently generating 50+ qualified leads per week. Want me to set it up for your business?"

Then show them their own lead. They see immediate proof it works.

(8/18) The Psychology Behind This:

You're not cold pitching. You're demonstrating money-making potential.

They think: "If this person found ME with automation, they can find my CUSTOMERS too."

Lead gen hits different than other automation. It's not about efficiency - it's about GROWTH.

Conversion rates jump from 2% to 15%+ because you're offering new revenue, not just time savings.

(9/18) Step 5: Building the Actual Automations (Without Coding)

This is where everyone panics. Don't.

There's this insane app called Synta that builds complete n8n workflows from plain English.

Type: "Create a workflow that finds new patient leads for dentists and books appointments automatically"

BOOM. Full workflow ready.

(10/18) How Synta Works (It's Stupid Simple):

1. Go to
2. Describe your business problem in plain English
3. Hit generate
4. Get a complete n8n workflow JSON
5. Import directly into n8n and customize

No coding. No complex node connections. Just describe what you want.synta.io

(11/18) Real Examples I've Seen Built with Synta:

→ Restaurant review monitor that auto-responds to complaints
→ E-commerce inventory tracker with smart reordering
→ Fitness studio booking system with waitlist management
→ Law firm document processor with client notifications

All generated in under 5 minutes. Seriously.

(12/18) Step 6: The Sales Call Script That Closes

"I noticed you're not maximizing your lead generation. I built a system that's currently generating 50+ qualified leads per week.

Here's a demo using YOUR industry..."

*Shows leads from their competitors*

"This would bring you [X] new customers monthly at $[specific amount] = $[total new revenue]"

(13/18) Pricing Your Lead Gen Systems (Think Bigger):

Calculate the revenue they'll generate. Charge 10-15% of that.

Your system brings them 20 new customers at $500 each? That's $10K/month in new revenue.

Charge $1-1.5K/month. They're up $8.5K. You get recurring revenue. Everyone wins.

(14/18) The 90-Day Reality Check (Lead Gen Edition):

Month 1: Learn basics, build your first lead gen system, test it yourself
Month 2: Land 2-3 clients at $1-2K each with lead gen
Month 3: Upsell them backend automation, hit $10K/month

Lead gen gets you in the door. Backend automation keeps you there.

(15/18) Common Mistakes That Kill Automation Businesses:

❌ Starting with "time-saving" automation instead of revenue-generating
❌ Building complex workflows nobody understands
❌ Targeting other techies instead of business owners
❌ Not showing actual leads/revenue generated
❌ Giving up after 5 rejections

(16/18) What Successful Automation Builders Do Different:

✅ Start with lead generation (money in, not time saved)
✅ Show ROI in new revenue, not efficiency metrics
✅ Build simple systems that generate customers
✅ Use lead gen success to sell backend automation
✅ Focus on recurring revenue from Day 1

(17/18) The Truth Nobody Tells You:

You don't need to be technical. You need to understand what businesses actually want: MORE CUSTOMERS.

The tools are free. The opportunity is massive.

(18/18) Your only job is to bring businesses more customers.

Everything else - efficiency, automation, systems - comes after you prove you can make them money.

Start with lead generation. Scale with full automation.

If this thread gave you value, show it some love.

Sometimes the path to $10K/month is simpler than we think.