I’m thinking about launching a service that helps businesses streamline their operations through automation platforms such as:
- Make (workflow automation platform)
- Airtable (database management system)
- AI tools like GPT (for content generation, data processing, email management)
My goal would be to help organizations eliminate repetitive manual work by creating custom automated solutions. Examples include automated customer onboarding sequences, automatic report generation, or connecting different software systems to sync information seamlessly.
Basically, I want to create tailored automation solutions that address unique business challenges. I previously developed similar systems at my last job with great results, but I’m unsure about market demand.
Looking for insights from anyone with experience:
- Do businesses actually invest in this type of consulting?
- Which industries or company sizes benefit most from these services?
- Should I price this as one-time projects or ongoing monthly retainers?
Would love to hear from anyone who has either provided automation consulting or hired consultants for similar work!
Market’s solid if you position yourself right. I’ve watched tons of automation consultants crash because they pitch automation like it’s magic instead of solving real business problems.
We’ve hired three different automation consultants. The winners spent time learning our workflows and showed us exactly how many hours we’d save. The losers just threw tools at us.
Target startups under 50 people. They’ve got enough manual work to justify your costs but can’t afford full-time ops staff. We dropped $15K on our first project and saved 20 hours weekly.
Ditch retainers initially. Stick to project work until you prove value. Once clients see results, they’ll come back when they grow or need changes.
Fair warning - don’t chase the flashy AI stuff. Our biggest wins? Boring integrations between CRM and accounting software. Solve real problems, not cool ones.
I’ve been building automation for mid-sized companies, and the demand’s definitely there - just depends on the industry. Professional services and e-commerce are usually the easiest sells since they’re drowning in repetitive work. Manufacturing and logistics companies are also interested, especially for inventory and order processing stuff. For pricing, hybrid works best in my experience. I charge upfront for setup and design, then offer monthly maintenance if they want it. Most clients hate the idea of ongoing fees at first, but they change their tune fast when their processes change or something breaks. The trick is showing them real ROI numbers - actual hours they’ll save, not vague promises.
yea, there’s good demand! i’ve been doing automation with zapier for a while now, and i’ve noticed companies def enjoy it. just show them the benefits, and they’ll often want ongoing support after a project. healthcare and real estate seem to really need this kinda help!