Written by Hector Garcia
@hex.garEstimated reading time: 9 min read
5 AI skills you can learn this week and actually charge for
AI Automations for Business Owners
GuidesReading time: 9 min read
Businesses are already paying for these 5 skills: AI automations, AI product photos, AI chatbots, websites built with AI, and AI video ads. Each one has a free tutorial you can finish in a day or two, a small practice project so you have something to show, and the first offer you can sell once you're done. Pick one skill, not five, and give it this week.
The 5 at a glance
| Skill | Tool | Free tutorial | Who pays for it | Cost to start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI automations | n8n | n8n full beginner course | Any business doing the same task by hand every day | Free to self host, cloud has a free trial |
| AI product photos | Nano Banana Pro in Gemini | AI product photos that don't look fake | Online stores, Etsy sellers, local brands | Free tier to start |
| AI chatbots | Voiceflow | Voiceflow for beginners | Clinics, restaurants, service businesses with lots of questions | Free plan |
| Websites with AI | Claude Code | Build and host a website with Claude Code | Local businesses with no site or an outdated one | Needs a paid Claude plan |
| AI video ads | Higgsfield | Higgsfield Marketing Studio tutorial | Online stores that need new ads every week | Paid credits, check current plans |
How to use this guide
Pick the one skill that fits the people you already know. If your friends run online stores, start with product photos or video ads. If you know local business owners, start with websites or chatbots. If you like puzzles and systems, start with automations.
Follow the same 3 steps for whichever you pick: watch the tutorial and build along with it, make one practice project for a real business (even a made up one), then offer it to 5 people you know. Learning only sticks once you've built something with it.
Note: you don't need to be an expert to charge. You need one clear result you can show and a price that makes saying yes easy. Your first 3 clients are about proof, not profit.
1) AI automations with n8n
Every business has a task someone does by hand every day. Automating it is the easiest thing in this guide to sell.
- Watch the n8n full beginner course and build every workflow along with the video, don't just watch
- Practice project: a workflow that takes a contact form submission, saves it to a Google Sheet and sends an instant reply email
- Then add one AI step: have it sort each message into sales, support or spam before saving
- Record a 1 minute screen video of it working, start to finish. That video is your portfolio
- First offer: "I'll set up instant replies for every lead that comes in, so nobody waits hours for an answer"
2) AI product photos with Nano Banana Pro
Photoshoots are expensive, and most small stores use the same white background on every product. You can fix that from a phone photo.
- Watch AI product photos that don't look fake and follow along in Gemini with Nano Banana Pro
- Practice project: take a phone photo of something in your house and turn it into 5 scenes: kitchen counter, outdoors, studio, holiday, lifestyle with a person
- Keep the product exactly the same in every shot. If the label or shape changes, try again with a tighter prompt
- Put the before photo and your 5 after shots side by side in one image
- First offer: "Send me one photo of your product and I'll send back 10 lifestyle shots ready for your store and ads"
3) AI chatbots with Voiceflow
Businesses answer the same 10 questions all day. A chatbot that answers them right, every time, saves real hours.
- Watch Voiceflow for beginners and build the bot from the video in your free Voiceflow account
- Practice project: pick a local clinic or restaurant and build a bot that answers hours, prices, location and how to book
- Load it with real info from their website or Google profile so the answers are correct
- Test it with 10 questions a real customer would ask, including weird ones, and fix every wrong answer
- First offer: "I'll build a chatbot that answers your most common questions 24/7 and sends people to book"
4) Websites with Claude Code
Tons of local businesses still have no website, or one from 2015. With Claude Code you can build a clean one in an afternoon.
- Watch Build and host a website with Claude Code and build the site from the video yourself
- Practice project: pick a local business near you with no website and build them a 1 page site with their services, photos, reviews and a WhatsApp or call button
- Put it online with a free host so you have a real link to share
- Check it on your phone. Most of their customers will see it there first
- First offer: show the owner the finished site first. "I made this for you, want me to put it on your own domain?" lands better than any pitch
5) AI video ads with Higgsfield
Stores need new ads every week and most can't afford a creator for each one. AI video ads fill that gap.
- Watch the Higgsfield Marketing Studio tutorial and follow along in Higgsfield
- Practice project: pick one product you like and make 3 short ads for it, each with a different hook: a problem, a result, and a surprise
- Add captions to every ad, since most people watch with the sound off
- Post your best one on your own page and see how people react
- First offer: "I'll make you 5 new video ads for your best seller every month, so your ads never go stale"
Prompts to go from learning to getting paid
Paste into Claude or ChatGPT, fill in the brackets, and use the answer the same day.
You are a career coach who knows the AI freelance market well. About me: - What I'm good at: [skills, even non tech ones] - People I already know: [for example store owners, clinic staff, creators, nobody yet] - Hours I have this week: [number] The 5 skills I'm choosing between: AI automations with n8n, AI product photos, AI chatbots with Voiceflow, websites with Claude Code, AI video ads with Higgsfield. Task: 1. Recommend the one skill I should learn first and why. 2. Give me a day by day plan for this week with the hours I have. 3. Tell me the first 3 types of people I should offer it to. Output format: Recommendation, then the plan as a list of days, then the 3 types of people.
Help me write a simple offer for my new skill. Skill: [skill] Who it's for: [type of business] The result they get: [what changes for them] My practice project: [what I built] Task: 1. Write the offer in one sentence a business owner understands right away, no tech words. 2. Suggest a beginner friendly price for my first 3 clients and why. 3. Write a guarantee that makes it easy to say yes. Output format: Offer sentence, price with reasoning, guarantee.
Write a short message I can send to people I already know to offer my new skill. Skill: [skill] What I built to practice: [project] Who I'm sending it to: [friend, past coworker, local business owner] Where I'll send it: [WhatsApp, Instagram DM, email] Task: 1. Keep it under 70 words and sound like a normal person, not a salesperson. 2. Mention what I built and offer to do one for them at a low intro price. 3. End with an easy yes or no question. Output format: 2 versions, one casual and one a bit more professional.
By the end of this week
Check these off and you're ready to charge.
Quick links
- Automations: n8n
- Product photos: Gemini with Nano Banana Pro
- Chatbots: Voiceflow
- Websites: Claude Code
- Video ads: Higgsfield
Want more like this?
I break down a new AI skill or tool every week on Instagram @hex.gar. Follow along if you want the next one.
Run a business and would rather have one of these set up for you? Book a free call here.