Build With AI

Grab Adam's free build guide for building, packaging, and selling your first AI knowledge base: https://corey-ganim.kit.com/a49b7bd19dAdam Sandler from Viable Edge is back on the pod, and this time he walks through the full blueprint for selling AI-powered knowledge bases as a service. The pitch to clients is simple: I will clean up all of your company knowledge, organize it, structure it, and turn it into a living asset that powers every AI tool you use going forward. No Obsidian, no RAG, no vectors. Just markdown files on a local machine. Adam builds the whole thing live on screen using Claude Code with a fictional company, shows the seven note types every knowledge base needs, and breaks down the pricing tiers from a $750 audit to a $4,700 premium build. The real insight is that the knowledge base is not the end product. It is the foundation that opens the door to every future engagement with that client.Join our AI Operator Academy Community where we help entrepreneurs start and scale a profitable AI services business: https://www.skool.com/aioperatoracademy/aboutTimestamps 01:18 – Why Adam leads with the knowledge base on every engagement02:55 – Knowledge base as a tripwire offer, same concept as the AI audit04:12 – The pitch: clean up your company knowledge and make it a living asset04:57 – You don't need Obsidian or RAG to start, markdown files are enough06:12 – Why a provider-agnostic knowledge base protects clients from platform risk07:00 – Token cost savings as a selling point for teams and enterprise08:45 – Anthropic enterprise going to pay-as-you-go and why that matters09:34 – The seven durable note types every knowledge base needs13:19 – How the seven types simplify the what do I include question14:13 – The spine concept: one foundational schema everything ladders up to15:58 – Module-by-module walkthrough of Adam's mini course16:58 – No client needs to touch Claude Code, this works in Cowork18:06 – Coaching moments as value-adds during the build18:29 – Live build: establishing the foundation with discovery prompts20:16 – The discovery questions mapped to the seven note types22:00 – Applying structure: from raw answers to schema25:31 – Summary of the build process so far27:01 – How to maintain the knowledge base after the initial build27:38 – Pricing: audit, core build, and premium build tiers29:09 – The knowledge audit as a foot-in-the-door offer30:10 – Positioning options: department-by-department builds for larger clients30:52 – The first knowledge base files and the index file34:50 – Three layers of context: hot, durable, and disposable35:47 – Setting up Cowork global instructions to recognize the knowledge base38:33 – The ingest skill: automating information intake from multiple sources39:47 – The curate skill: weekly health checks on the vault41:26 – Provider portability as a major selling point42:18 – Handling sensitive client information43:41 – Upselling from the knowledge base: let the data tell you what to build next46:16 – Light bulb moment: the knowledge base recommends its own next project47:08 – Value-add opportunities: competitive insights, call transcript analysis48:25 – Why solo practitioners can compete with startups in this space50:09 – Second brain as a service is going to be one of the hottest AI offers51:58 – Where to find Adam and the free guideKey PointsThe knowledge base solves the foundational problem every AI engagement runs into: where is the client's information and how is it organized? Starting here sets up every future project to succeed and gives you a reason to keep working with the client.There are seven durable note types that form the starting schema for any client: snapshot, people and contacts, ongoing conversations, preferences and rules, project history, decisions and rationale, and open loops. This framework answers the question of what to include and what to leave out.The spine is the one foundational piece of data everything else ladders up to. For most clients, it is their annual goals or objectives. Every other note in the knowledge base should be traceable back to it.No fancy technology is required to start. The entire build runs on markdown files. No Obsidian, no RAG, no vector databases. You can add sophistication later, but a simple implementation still delivers massive value and is easy to sell because there is zero technical friction for the client.The sales flow mirrors the AI audit model: a $750 knowledge audit maps where the client's information lives and what the schema should look like, then upsells into a $3,500 core build or $4,700 premium build. The audit fee gets credited toward the build.Two skills keep the knowledge base alive after the initial build. The ingest skill automatically processes new information from sources like Gmail, calendar, and an inbox folder. The curate skill runs weekly to flag stale notes, contradictions, open items, and gaps.The biggest upsell comes from the knowledge base itself. Once all of a client's context is in one place, you can query it for the top opportunities to implement AI next, and the client does not need to be sold because the data is making the case.If this episode was valuable to you, it would mean a lot if you left a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more entrepreneurs find the show.FIND ME ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: https://x.com/coreyganim Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreyganim/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyganim/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coreyganimFIND ADAM ON SOCIAL YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@viableedge

LIMITED bonus from Hyperagent: First 1,000 people get $1,000 in free Hyperagent credits. Claim yours: https://www.hyperagent.com/coreyI brought on Alex McDonnell from HyperAgent, which is the new agentic platform built by the team at Airtable, and we walked through a full business model for selling AI services to local brick-and-mortar businesses. The play is simple: use agents to find businesses with great reviews but terrible or nonexistent websites, have HyperAgent build them a new site automatically, then lead with that as a free tripwire offer. We go deep on the real upsell, which is revenue-driving systems like speed to quote tools for landscapers and mechanics that close deals faster. By the end of this episode, you'll have a complete offer structure you can take to any local business owner this week.Join our AI Operator Academy Community where we help entrepreneurs start and scale a profitable AI services business: https://www.skool.com/aioperatoracademy/aboutTimestamps 00:00 – Intro00:43 – What HyperAgent is and the business model concept02:19 – Why this outreach wasn't possible before AI agents05:16 – The command center for managing agent-built prospects07:59 – Website before and after: Veslo Family Restaurant10:36 – How HyperAgent judges website quality on its own15:10 – Speed to quote system for a landscaping business19:53 – Why zero landscapers in your city have this yet22:55 – Pricing the offer: $5-10K setup plus monthly retainer26:14 – Live build: speed to quote for CS Automotive27:35 – Plan mode vs execute mode in HyperAgent30:39 – Running agents on a Kanban board in Airtable33:30 – Selling the agent itself as the product37:03 – Agent marketplace and the compute markup model38:05 – Live result: the CS Automotive quote tool finishes42:20 – Static artifacts as lead gen, always-on agents as the upsellKey PointsThe tripwire offer model works because agents can now build a full website for a local business in under an hour for about nine dollars in compute, turning what used to be a paid deliverable into a free lead gen tool.HyperAgent doesn't just find businesses without websites. It has the judgment to recognize that a business has a website but it's bad, which is a much harder problem that most agentic tools couldn't solve even a few months ago.The real money is not in the website. It's in upselling always-on revenue systems like speed to quote tools that help businesses close deals faster, priced as a $5-10K setup fee plus a monthly retainer of $200-1,000.The landscaping speed to quote example is the standout: a customer submits a photo of their yard and gets back three design variations with toggleable features, live pricing, and financing options, all generated by an agent.Every skill Alex builds for HyperAgent demos gets published for free on X and GitHub, so you can grab the landscaping build, install it, and take it to a client without building from scratch.HyperAgent's long-term vision includes an agent marketplace where creators publish agents and earn a markup on compute costs, making distribution feel free to the end user while the builder still gets paid.Airtable - System of record for managing agent workflows via Kanban boards - https://www.airtable.comIf this episode was valuable to you, it would mean a lot if you left a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It helps more entrepreneurs find the show.FIND ME ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://x.com/coreyganim Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreyganim/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyganim/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coreyganimFIND ALEX ON SOCIAL X/Twitter: @hyperagentapp

Grab the full mini assessment playbook in Notion for free, including the first-call script and the second-call prep checklist: https://corey-ganim.kit.com/0cea7ca381In this solo episode, I hand over the complete free AI mini assessment framework I use to turn business owners into paid clients in two 15-minute calls. I walk through the three levers of ROI, the five questions to ask on the fact-finding call (including the ROI anchor and my favorite, the magic wand question), and how to pick the one bottleneck that sits at the intersection of high frequency and high friction. Then I break down the prescription tree, when to recommend an off-the-shelf tool, Claude Cowork, or a custom Claude skill, and the exact three things you bring to the follow-up call. By the end, you'll be able to run this assessment confidently in about 15 minutes and ask the money question that converts 30 to 50% of free assessments into paid work.Join our AI Operator Academy Community: https://www.skool.com/aioperatoracademy/aboutTimestamps00:00 – Intro00:14 – The lens: one bottleneck, one tool, one upsell00:30 – The three levers of ROI00:57 – Meeting one: the 15-minute fact-finding call01:25 – The forking question01:43 – The repetition question01:58 – The friction question02:10 – The ROI anchor question02:45 – The magic wand question03:35 – Closing call one and booking the follow-up03:55 – Between meetings: frequency and friction research04:43 – Meeting two: prescribing the one solution05:15 – Finding off-the-shelf tools in AI directories06:20 – Claude Cowork vs. a custom Claude skill07:08 – The three things you bring to call two07:40 – The money moment and the upsell questionKey PointsEvery prescription has to pull one of three ROI levers: effectiveness (more revenue), efficiency (hours back in their week), or quality (happier customers). Let the owner pick the lever, then weight everything back to it.Meeting one is pure discovery. Prescribe nothing. Ask the five questions, listen, and close by naming the one bottleneck with the highest opportunity back to them.The ROI anchor: get the owner to quantify the pain in their own words. Two hours a week at $200 an hour is $400 a week they could get back, and that number does the selling for you.The bottleneck worth fixing sits at the intersection of high frequency and high friction. That's the one you prescribe. Everything else stays in your back pocket.The prescription tree: common tasks get an off-the-shelf tool, tasks involving judgment, writing, or research get Claude Cowork, and repeatable workflows unique to their business get a custom Claude skill.When prescribing a custom Claude skill, tell them the what, not the how. That gap is your upsell.Come to call two with three things, the name of the tool, what it costs, and the first step they could take this week, then ask the money question: hand it off, build it with you, or build it for you? 30 to 50% of the time, they say build it.Free Notion template with the full mini assessment playbook, first-call script, and second-call prep checklist - [ADD NOTION TEMPLATE LINK]There's An AI For That - AI tool directory searchable by industry to find off-the-shelf fixes - https://theresanaiforthat.comFuturepedia - another AI tool directory for matching tools to client pain points - https://www.futurepedia.ioClaude Cowork - the prescription for tasks involving judgment, writing, or research - https://claude.comFIND ME ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://x.com/coreyganimInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreyganim/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyganim/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coreyganimClick to enable keyboard move mode.

In this solo episode, I walk through seven ways to land clients for your AI services business — starting with the method that personally got me seven qualified leads in about two hours of total effort. I cover everything from hosting a local AI meetup to knocking on doors to LinkedIn outreach to building agency partnerships, and I break down exactly what to say and do at each step. Every method ties back to one simple foot-in-the-door offer that converts cold strangers into paying clients. By the end, you'll know where to start, what to prioritize first, and how to stack these methods to build a real pipeline fast.Join AI Operator Academy where we go even deeper on selling AI services, finding clients, and building an AI Operating System: https://aoa.community/https://app.excalidraw.com/l/4z8Z2Lyybfg/jhXBCxthrX Timestamps00:00 – Intro00:00 – Method 1: Host a local AI for small business meetup02:24 – The follow-up that makes the meetup worth it02:50 – Method 2: Door knocking local service businesses04:47 – Method 3: LinkedIn outreach without being spammy06:30 – Method 4: Free audits for people in your network07:10 – Documenting wins and building early testimonials08:10 – Method 5: Partnering with agencies, coaches, and consultants09:35 – Method 6: Hosting AI office hours at a co-working space11:56 – Method 7: Posting your wins on LinkedIn13:30 – Where to start: the three methods to do first Key Points Hosting a local AI for small business meetup is the single best method to start with. Find a free venue (library, co-working space, or a realtor's office), set up an Eventbrite or Luma page, give a 20-minute talk on basic AI tools, and capture every name, phone number, and email at the door. The magic is in the follow-up within 24 hours. The foot-in-the-door offer that powers every method on this list is a free 15-minute mini AI assessment. You're not selling anything upfront — you're prescribing one simple AI tool specific to their business. That assessment is what converts conversations into paying clients. Door knocking local service businesses is the lowest-hanging fruit if you want a client today. One person went into 30 businesses, got five appointments, and landed two paying clients. If you do 10 walk-ins a week consistently, you will get clients. Partnering with marketing agencies, coaches, and consultants is the highest long-term value method on the list. These partners already have your future clients as their clients, and most of them have no good answer when those clients ask about AI. You become their go-to AI resource and offer a cut of any work they send your way. One good partner can send you 50 to 100 leads over the course of a year. Hosting AI office hours at a co-working space gives you free marketing and free exposure while positioning you as the local AI expert. You show up for two hours, answer member questions for free, and document every single question — those become your social media content and your client pipeline. Every free audit, every question you answer, every text message that says "wow, I didn't know that" is an early win and an early testimonial. Screenshot all of it. These are your case studies for landing the next client and building toward charging $999 for a full paid assessment. LinkedIn is the best platform for landing AI services clients. Post three to five times a week mixing wins, answers to common questions, and real education. Stay top of mind so that when someone needs an AI expert, you're the first person they call. Luma - Event registration platform for hosting and promoting your AI meetup - https://lu.ma Eventbrite - Free event pages to get attendees registered and confirmed - https://www.eventbrite.comAI Operator Academy - https://www.skool.com/aioperatoracademy/about FIND ME ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://x.com/coreyganimInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/coreyganim/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreyganim/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@coreyganim