What Will You Do When AI Takes Over? Here’s What I Did
How many of us have felt the rumble of change in our careers lately? I certainly have. But for me, it was more than just a change - it was an upgrade.
About a year ago, I started noticing unsettling trends in my industry: instability for businesses and employees alike. I found myself asking, “What will my job in advertising look like in five years?”
The answer? It might not even exist.
A close friend recently told me that his company was bought out, resulting in the layoff of 130 highly qualified employees - only to relocate and rebuild the team in Sri Lanka. That hit close to home. I realised I needed to take control of my future
Being a big fan of Udemy and Coursera (I’ve probably bought over 100 courses!), I stumbled upon a program that introduced me to a small mastermind group focused on AI Automation. After just one hour of diving into the lessons, I knew I had found not just the next chapter of my career—but the next chapter of my life.
So, I took the leap and said, “No more corporate grind!” This was my moment to build something of my own, on my own terms.
For the next three months, I worked 10-12 hours a day, every single day - learning, testing, and preparing to bring real-world solutions to my first clients. Ok, maybe not that hard but close!
Fast forward a few months, and I found myself building something I never imagined - my own CRM software (Keynamix) and recently managed to integrate Chatbots and Voice AI features. What started as an experiment quickly became a game-changer and AI Automation Systems was born.
I admit. The name is not very original…
Anyway, I dove deep into new AI courses (nothing too technical), spending long nights developing no-code automation scenarios that could streamline key business functions like marketing, sales follow-ups, and client onboarding.
The turning point was a live demo for my first client. My database reactivation Chatbot managed to handled customer inquiries, booked appointments, updated customer details in the database and even helped to process payments.
It’s incredible how much AI automation can take off your plate - newsletters, blog posts, automated outreach, conversational analysis, Instagram DMs, and more...Well, almost everything! Actually, my very first project was to create a Health Check Report for businesses to suggest automation ideas, create a roadmap and produce market research...all of that in less than a minute sent to your inbox.
Landing my first few clients through my network came fairly easily, but the real challenge? Keeping up. You start questioning everything - whether you’ve made the right choice, whether your offering is strong enough. It’s a constant process of repositioning and refining.
Hence, I joined new communities to find answers by interviewing a dozen of successful business owners. And you know what? I copied, learned, and adapted their ideas to fit my style - and it worked!
After a series of small contracts with local businesses, I’ve just landed my first 5-digit deal by partnering with an AI Automation agency in Toronto.
The client feedback? They hadn’t seen solutions like ours from other agencies before. That felt incredible.
There’s a saying: “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” AI Automation is a blue ocean right now - full of untapped potential.
It’s still a long way but I hope it can motivate others to dive in too. I’m currently developing a training program to teach AI and no-code Automation so feel free to reach out and catch up.
If you're around Vancouver area, I’ll be hosting a workshop with Small Business BC next month - come say hi!
Here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way:
Dedicate time to learn something new without distractions!
Find an online community - you’ll need accountability and mentors to push you forward.
Value every interaction. Don’t try to do it all alone; you’re not an island