The complete n8n breakdown (what, why, how)

"I just made $25,000 in 4 months doing... what exactly?"

That's what I thought when I saw this Reddit post last week.

Some random person claiming they built a side business that hit $25K monthly revenue in just 4 months, using a tool I'd never heard of.

My first reaction? "Yeah, right, another crypto scam."

My second reaction? "Wait... what if it's real?"

So I dug deeper. And what I found blew my mind.

There's an entire underground economy of people making serious money with something called "workflow automation."

We're talking $500-$2,500 monthly retainers. Per client.

And the craziest part is that the tool they're using just got valued at $270 million and tripled its user base to 230,000+ people in three months.

How did I miss this?

Today, I'm sharing everything I discovered. But first, let me tell you how I accidentally stumbled into this goldmine...

P.S. - By the end of this, you'll understand why some guy just quit his $120K job to do this full-time.

Spoiler: the math is insane.

📈 The Numbers That Made Me Do a Double-Take

A few weeks ago, I was drowning in work because my teammate decided to ghost us for a "soul-searching journey" in Bali (good for her, terrible for my sanity).

I was pulling 14-hour days and still falling behind.

While stress-scrolling at 2 AM (don't judge), I discovered this automation space is worth $24 billion globally. And growing fast.

One company in particular caught my attention: n8n.

In just three months, they went from unknown to powering automation for over 3,000 enterprises, including Vodafone and Delivery Hero.

Their valuation is $270 million.

And I'd never even heard of them.

P.S. - Wait until you see what their users are actually doing with this thing. The income reports are... eye-opening 👀 

So there I was, drowning in repetitive tasks, when I stumbled across n8n (pronounced "n-eight-n").

Turns out, it's basically like having a digital assistant that never sleeps, never complains, and costs way less than hiring another human.

It's an open-source workflow automation platform that connects all your apps and services.

Think of it as the ultimate digital matchmaker; it makes your tools talk to each other so you don't have to play middleman anymore.

Here's What Makes This Thing Actually Work

The whole system runs on nodes - little building blocks that each do one specific job:

• Trigger Nodes: Start your workflows (like "when I get a new email" or "every Monday at 9 AM")

• Action Nodes: Do the actual work (send a Slack message, update a spreadsheet, create a calendar event)

The beautiful part…

You just drag and drop these nodes together visually. No coding required (though you can code if you're into that).

Behind the scenes, four main components work together:

• A web interface where you design everything

• An execution engine that runs your workflows

• A database that stores your automations

• A queue system for handling multiple tasks

Your Options (From Broke to Baller)

Free Self-Hosted (What I started with):

• Install on your own computer/server

• Unlimited everything

• Complete data control

• Zero monthly fees

Cloud Plans (For the "just make it work" crowd):

• Starter: $20/month for 2,500 executions

• Pro: $50/month for 10,000 executions

• Enterprise: Custom pricing for unlimited everything

P.S. - The free version is actually better than most paid tools.

But there's a reason people are paying anyway... I'll explain why in a minute.

My 3-Day Transformation (From Chaos to Calm)

Day 1: Built my first automation, contact form submissions automatically create CRM entries, send welcome emails, and add follow-up tasks to my project management tool.

I saved 30 minutes immediately.

Day 2: Created a social media scheduler that takes blog posts from our content calendar and auto-posts across LinkedIn, Twitter, and Slack.

Another hour saved daily.

Day 3: Built an invoice tracker that monitors payments, sends gentle reminders, and updates accounting spreadsheets in real-time.

This one felt like magic.

Felt like I got my life back. And something else happened...

P.S. - Day 4 is when I realised this could be more than just a time-saver. Much more.

While I was celebrating saving a few hours, other people were building actual businesses with this stuff:

The E-commerce Optimiser: Auto-syncs inventory between Shopify, Amazon, and warehouse systems. Reorders stock automatically. Monthly retainer: $1,800.

The Content Machine: YouTube uploads trigger auto-posting to 12 social platforms, email sequences, and analytics updates. Monthly retainer: $1,200.

The Lead Generation Master: Form submissions flow through qualification, CRM entry, email sequences, and sales rep assignment. Monthly retainer: $2,500.

The Data Pipeline Builder: Connects customer data across 8 different business systems with real-time syncing. Monthly retainer: $3,200.

Each of these took 2-4 weeks to build initially. Now they run on autopilot while generating monthly recurring revenue.

P.S. - The margins on these are insane. One guy told me his costs are basically zero after the initial setup. We're talking 70-80% profit margins.

Your "Holy Shit, This Actually Works" Action Plan

Step 1: Pick Your Target 

What repetitive task makes you want to throw your computer out the window? Start there. (Email sorting? Data entry? Social posting?)

Step 2: Get Your Hands Dirty 

Sign up at n8n.io. Start with their cloud version - it's foolproof.

Step 3: Build Something Stupid Simple

• Trigger: "New Gmail email"

• Action: "Send to Slack"

• Connect accounts

• Test it

• Watch the magic happen

Step 4: Let It Marinate 

Don't overcomplicate. Let your simple automation run for a week. Feel the relief.

Step 5: Scale Your Ambition 

Add more steps. Sort emails by sender. Auto-save attachments. Forward VIP emails to your phone.

P.S. - Most people quit after Step 1 because they try to automate their entire business. Don't be that person. Start small, think big.

Also, here is a collection of n8n 1000+ workflows you can go through

The Three Types of People Who Win Big

After studying dozens of success stories, I found three distinct paths:

Type 1: The Problem Solver

• Builds custom automations for specific businesses

• Charges $1,000-$5,000 per project plus monthly maintenance

• Works with 5-15 clients max

Type 2: The Template Builder

• Creates reusable workflows for common problems

• Sells on marketplaces and through content marketing

• Scales through volume (hundreds of customers)

Type 3: The Educator

• Teaches automation skills through courses and consulting

• Builds audience through social media and content

• Monetises through multiple streams

All three work. Pick the one that matches your personality.

P.S. - There's actually a fourth type emerging, but it's so new that most people don't even know it exists yet. I'll save that for next week's newsletter.

I'm not saying n8n will solve all your problems (it won't fold your laundry or walk your dog).

But if you're tired of being a human copy-paste machine, spending precious time on tasks a robot could handle, this might change everything.

The opportunity breakdown:

• Personal use: Reclaim 5-15 hours per week

• Side hustle: Build $2K-$10K monthly income streams

• Full business: Create a $100K+ automation agency
  

Before You Go

If you try this and save yourself some time, shoot me an email.

I love hearing success stories. And if you get stuck, I'm happy to help, we automation builders gotta stick together. ❤️

P.P.S. - Next week, I'm sharing the "fourth type" of automation entrepreneur I mentioned earlier.

It's so simple and profitable that I can't believe more people aren't doing it. Stay tuned.

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