AI Agents from Scratch: Building My Agency from Zero

[edanielviloria]

Hello World,

It all kicked off with a simple question I posted here, seeking direction: stick to my web design lane or explore something new to boost my income. See, I'm a web designer, doing the 9-to-5 remotely for a US agency, living comfortably in Latin America. Dollar income goes a long way here, affording a good life and recently, a new apartment shared with my partner. Life is good, but "good" isn't "great," and "comfortable" isn't "financially bulletproof." Moving in together, fantastic as it is, just sharpens the focus on building real, lasting stability.

This isn't a sob story – it's the fuel. I'm not content just trading hours for dollars anymore. I need to diversify, build something mine. So, the research rabbit hole began: forums, internet deep dives, Twitter scrolls, YouTube binges, even Discord chats. And that's where AI Agents kept popping up. These digital assistants, trained on specific knowledge bases to hold natural conversations... that sparked something.

In the LatAm market, digital communication is WhatsApp. It’s the lifeblood of business, and often, the bottleneck. And then it clicked: what if I could build AI Agents to qualify leads on WhatsApp? Not to replace human assistants entirely – those roles are vital. But to empower them. To filter out the repetitive questions, pre-qualify leads, and free up human assistants to focus on high-value interactions. Think about it: no more copy-pasting the same info over and over, answering the same FAQs all day. An AI Agent could handle that initial grunt work, delivering genuinely qualified leads ready for a human touch.

My model? Simple, initially. A monthly membership package, minimum 6-month contract, to keep things grounded. Starting price point: $250 initial setup + $50/month maintenance. This includes credits for roughly 100-200 conversations – enough to test the waters and see real value. Leveraging automation tools like n8n and some other tricks, I've built a system that can handle text, images, and even audio on WhatsApp, responding naturally.

Let me introduce you to Sofia. She's Agent #1, specialized in Real Estate. Sofia's mission: lead generation, appointment scheduling, and providing listing information. She's designed to understand intent in that crucial first interaction, qualify leads, and aim for that property viewing appointment. If a lead is hot and ready, Sofia can seamlessly hand them off to a human agent with all the essential context already gathered.



My priority now is laser-focused: niches with the budget and need for this. I've pinpointed five to start: Car Dealerships, Real Estate, Medical Sector, General Customer Service, and broader Service Industries.

This week's immediate mission is clear:

1. Finalize Sofia (Real Estate Agent). Get her fully tested and ready to deploy.
2. Begin building flows for at least TWO more niche agents.
3. Start outlining a basic marketing strategy. How do I get these agents in front of potential clients?

My initial target is lean and realistic: $500/month recurring revenue. My overhead is incredibly low – practically negligible right now, thanks to existing API credits and minimal server costs (around $10 for initial VPS).

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My Actual Progress

Agents Ready:
- Real Estate Agent: 60%
- Other Niche Agents (Total): 0% (Target this week: +40% on 2 agents)

Revenue Status:
- Monthly Recurring Revenue: $0 / $500

This Week's Demos:
- Demo Inquiries Scheduled: 0-5 (Target: 5 Demos this week)

 

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[AFMKelvin]

Xux vjot tiint qsunotoph. Og zua fup'v nopf vimmoph at xjev duapvsz esi zua op?