How to make Money with AI in 2026: 7-Step Blueprint

Introduction

Exactly what I do. It’s the same proven process that I took all my AI companies through over the last year. And three of those companies are already at a million dollars in revenue in less than 12 months. So, if you’ve been thinking about building an AI company or already have one and want to scale past the million, this article is your blueprint.

Now, if at any point in this article you think to yourself, I can’t do this, you might not be cut out to make a million with AI. But if you’re one of the select few that are willing to do the work, this article is for you.

Step 1: Sell Before You Build

Let me tell you the fastest way to go broke with AI. Spend the next 6 months building a tool, then find out nobody wants it. You actually got to flip it. You need to sell it first, then build it. I call it pre-selling.

How Pre-Selling Works

The first thing is we have to find 10 potential customers and ask them for advice. I’m going to give you the question to make this really easy. Because I learned a long time ago, if you talk to a potential customer and ask them for money, they’ll just give you advice on why maybe you’re not ready. But if you ask for advice, they give you feedback and then they sell themselves into buying from you.

So the question you want to ask them is, what has been hard about your business that if you could automate with AI, you would love to get that set up for yourself, right? Just ask them those questions. And when they give you the answer, then you create the offer.

Create Your Pre-Sell Offer

Which brings us to step two. That’s usually when people say, “Well, how much should I charge?” My rule is is whatever you would charge for the year, give them a 50% discount. And the reason you’re giving the discount is because you’re going to ask them for a case study. But what they’re giving you in return is the permission to use their name to then use that when you go talk to other customers.

And finally, you have to decrease the first time to value for your customer. Meaning, you have to build a plan that goes from like they gave you money to they got something as fast as possible. That’s pre-selling and it’s easier than you think.

But now that you understand you have to pre-sell, how do you find the people to sell to?

Step 2: Pick a Boring Market

Which brings us to step two. I have a rule. I don’t like to sell to hot, exciting, flashin the pan industries, things like marketing and technology, right? Crypto, ecom, course selling. And I’m not saying they’re an absolute no. The problem is is that when you get into these shifts in fads, the fad could go away and you build a whole business against something that won’t be there in three or four years.

Why Boring Markets Win

We have to pick a market that’s easy to get into that’s going to value innovation. It’s like Jeff Bezos. He said, “Look, I don’t care about what’s new. I care about what’s true. What are customers going to care about in 10 years, 20 years that’s not going to change?”

Because if you can find these boring markets that don’t have a lot of competition, those are the ones that typically have high margins and they’re ripe for disruption and innovation.

How to Pick a Boring Market

So, how do you pick a boring market? Well, first ask AI. You can type, “Show me 20 boring industries with high average deal sizes where operations are still manual.” Okay? Why? Because AI will help you automate those manual processes. See what I did there? And then the high deal size means that they’re going to pay a lot, not too much, not too low because people that have money are great to sell to.

Find a Pain They Actually Have

So once you’ve got the boring market, how do you actually know what to sell? The second within that market, we got to find a pain that they actually have. So for an electrician, maybe it’s the fact that they have missed calls that they’re always getting and they’re losing jobs because those calls are coming in after hours. See how that could be painful for somebody’s trying not to be tied to their work or when they’re working they’re actually getting paid and they don’t have time to answer a call.

Figure Out the Benefits Needed

The third thing is we have to figure out the benefits that are needed. If the person has these problems, what are the key things that you’re going to solve for them? So, for example, if it’s that they’re not available to take calls, then you can use an AI software like your Atlas and actually get paid to set it up for them so that it answer, it qualifies, and it schedules calls while they’re on a job being an electrician. But you get paid by setting that up for them.

See, the cool part is in this world we live in, you can make money using AI tools that other people built, but you’re the person in the middle that sets it up for these business owners.

But if I had to make a million dollars with AI this year, again, I wouldn’t start with an idea. I would start with the boring market.

Step 3: Pick Your High Margin Model

So now that you know the market you want to be in, next we have to lock in the math that keeps you rich, not just busy.

Now margin is a weird word. A lot of people don’t understand it, but it’s very simple. If I sell a product for $5 and it cost me a dollar to make, my margin is $4. The challenge is most people focus on revenue and it’s a vanity. How much money did you make last year? Oh, I made 100 grand. Well, if it cost you a million to make a h 100red grand, it’s not a business you want to be in.

And unfortunately, most people don’t understand how to build the business in a way that can make them a lot of profit. And why AI is so powerful for this is that it can take your delivery costs where in the past you’d have to pay somebody to do it and bring it down to almost zero because AI can automate it.

The High Margin AI Model

You want your AI business to feel like that high price, tiny cost. Charge a lot for what you do, very low cost to deliver. And look, I’ve done the research for you. So, here are the highest margin AI business models for 2026.

The lowest one is AI services around 70% margin. The next level up is AI consulting around 80% margins. Then we go to AI digital products around 90% margins. And then the one that I’m in and I love is AI software. A little bit more complicated to do and they have around 95% margins, where I spent personally 93% of my time all week building these companies.

My Recommended Path to 95% Margins

If I had to get rich with AI this year, here’s what I would do. First, I would start with an AI service or consulting. That way, it gets me in the conversation with the customers. I learn the AI to automate, but then I would try to productize it into a light software that takes the workflow that I’ve documented, systematized, and packages it into a software that other people can buy without me even talking to them. That’s how we get to 95% margin.

So now we’ve got a boring market figured out and a high margin model so you can make some profit. Now you need to find the right person to sell it to.

Step 4: Create a High Cash Flow Offer

Most people sell AI, but truth is nobody wants AI. A business wants customers. A business wants productivity. A business wants to reduce its cost. It doesn’t care if that’s AI or freaking a thousand people. As long as what they’re paying and what they’re getting, there’s an ROI.

Understanding Cash Flow vs Margin

Just so we’re clear, margin is the profit potential. Cash flow is how the money flows through the business. For example, if I sell you a $1,000 solution that you buy from me, but then I got to put out $500 of my own money because by the time I send you an invoice and then your finance team gets it and they pay it, I got to put money out before I get money back. That’s where cash flow is important.

Four Steps to Avoid Cash Flow Crunch

These are the four steps to avoid making the mistake of creating a cash flow crunch in your business before you even get started.

Sell One Specific Benefit

The first thing we have to do is when we’re selling, we have to sell one specific benefit. You can’t try to sell anything they want. So, for example, if I’m selling to electricians, I’m saying that I can get them 10 more customers per week without answering a single phone call. See how that’s one specific result or outcome.

Package Pricing for Upfront Payment

The second is we have to package our pricing so that we get paid as much as we can upfront before we incur any costs. So, for example, maybe your service you’re selling is $1,000 for one month, but you might be willing to give them a discount if they go 6 months upfront and you give them a discount to $4,000.

So, that first conversation and transaction is now four times more than the initial for 1 month, but you’ve committed for a longer term. The beautiful part of this is it reduce your potential churn, meaning customers that cancel and it increases the amount of cash in your bank account early and upfront.

Implement Scarcity

Then we have to implement scarcity because the truth is is we have to give people a reason to buy cuz if they won’t, they’ll just put on to-do list and think about it later. So I like to say that we’re opening up 10 founding spots. After that, the price is going to go up cuz you say, “I only got 10 spots. I don’t have all the time in the world. It’s just me right now and I only have so much capacity.” So you can use that to create scarcity and get the person to make a decision versus them just sitting on their hands and waiting.

Add a Bonus That Kills Objections

And lastly, we want to add a bonus so that we give them a reason to make a decision today. But the best bonuses kill objections. So for example, maybe they’re like, “Hey, I want to do this, but I’m worried that my team doesn’t have time to actually implement what you’re selling.” You say, “Cool.” Well, because you’re one of our first 10 customers, we actually have a bonus we want to add where we come in and we train your staff. Normally people are going to invest $5 to $10,000 to do that, but because you enrolled at the sixmonth level, we’re going to do that for free. See how it’s a bonus that deals with their objection.

Do that every time and you will get more deals.

Sell Results, Not Hours

If you want to get rich with AI or business in general, you just can’t sell your hours. When you sell the result, then you’re motivated to become more effective at getting the result. And anytime you can improve with automation or AI or training your staff better, the improvement you keep.

Step 5: Build Your AI MVP

So, you have an offer. Now what you need to build your product.

So MVP stands for minimum viable product. Essentially, most people hear product and they think, “Oh, now I have to go hire a bunch of engineers and developers and build a bunch of stuff.” And guess what? You don’t. There’s a bunch of tools you can use to build the product I’m going to teach you about in a second. But the idea is for it not to be perfect and not beautiful, but for that it just works.

Don’t Overbuild Your MVP

It’s like this guy was talking to an event once. He was showing me his product, okay? Fancy, beautiful, mobile, all the bells and whistles. And I was like, “Well, how did you build it?” He’s like, “I hired an agency and it cost me $100,000.” And I’m like, “Cool. Is anybody using it? Customers yet?” “No, not yet.” And I’m like, “You spent all your time on functionality to make it look good, but never asked, “Does it actually deliver value for the customer?”

So, what I want to share with you is how to build an MVP that actually gets results, not just looks good. Best part is you only have three options. The last one’s the most advanced, but it’s where I spend most of my time.

Three Options for Building Your MVP

Option 1: No Code Platforms

The first is a no code platform. When you look into these tools like a Zapier or a make.com or nadn essentially, you can take any manual process using AI and automate it. There’s even tools like go high level that are CRM and funnel builders or things like lovable where you can just type to it and it’ll build apps that solve problems for customers.

The key is spend the least amount of time configuring your automation so that it gets a result for a customer. If you have to do it manually first so you just even learn the steps of how it needs to be automated. That’s probably a better place to start than to just pay somebody to come in and build you something super custom and coded.

Option 2: AI Assisted Code Platforms

The second option is to use an AI assisted code platform. What’s called the Gentic programming. Those are tools like Replet or Cursor or Google’s anti-gravity platform. It’s not as simple as just prompting like a lovable, but it’s way more configurable. Every one of my engineers in my venture studio uses one of these platforms to write the code.

Option 3: Hire an AI Developer

The third option is a hire an AI developer to build it for you. Now, most people get burned because they hire somebody. They say they can build the thing. They give them all their money and then all of a sudden the product they get back is crappy, buggy, or just doesn’t work.

The best way to test for this is if you’re going to hire a developer, give them a tiny test project first. I like to look on upwork.com or call my local college.

The Key to MVP Success

The key is is the MVP not only has to be simple, but it has to add value. If you don’t show it to a customer and they go, “Oh, that’s cool.” Then it doesn’t work yet.

So now you have an MVP. your AI system works either through automation or custom code. But the next problem is if you don’t automate the delivery after you sell a customer, you will drown in client work.

Step 6: Automate Delivery

The biggest mistake that happens for entrepreneurs is not being prepared for success. One customer, no problem. Three customers, I can get it. Five to 10, now I have to use project management software. I have to have a support email, maybe a support phone call. And if you don’t get ahead of it to automate it, that pressure can actually take you out of business.

Turn Your Business Into a Machine

Here’s my rule. Automation can turn your business into a machine, one that works while you sleep. So, here’s how you map your four-step delivery system.

Step 1: Purchase

First is the purchase, the moment somebody checks out. Okay? So, you’re probably going to use Stripe to accept payment. That kicks off a notification.

Step 2: Access

The second is once you get that purchase, okay, and you can do it manually or you can ask them to click a link and buy from you, that’ll trigger access into your software or even into your community. My brother sells houses and as soon as somebody puts a deposit, it sends an email to add them to the project management software that the client’s going to use to pick all the options for their custom home. So, it works for any industry.

Step 3: Onboarding

The third step is onboarding. Think I bought something. Now, what happens next? Well, ideally, you give them the software you just built or you might give them the ability to schedule some time with you so that they can schedule a review of how the software needs to be set up, right? and that whole process is automated.

Step 4: Support

The fourth step is support. Think about all the questions that they’re going to have for you.

So, if you want to get rich this year, you can’t be manually onboarding clients over time. You have to build a delivery system that feels like a vending machine and it’s automated and it works every time.

Step 7: Get Long-Term Greedy

So, now you’ve done everything. You’ve got the business model, you got the product, you got the customers, you’ve automated your system. This is how we scale in 2026. But you have to be careful because if you’re too greedy or worse, not greedy enough, it might be all for nothing.

Which takes us to a hidden step that very few people consider.

Short-Term vs Long-Term Greed

A long time ago, one of my mentors, this guy named Steve, said there’s two types of greed. There’s short-term greedy, and then there’s long-term greedy. Short-term greedy might get you what you want today, but it stops you from getting what you want long term.

What he was trying to say is that I could ask for the investment terms I wanted today and people will pay for it, but then I’m going to have investors that I might not need for the long-term journey. Where he said, if I’m long-term greedy, then I’m going to give my investors the right terms to capture the right investors so they support me over the long term.

You can only get rich this year by wanting to build an empire for the next 50 years. If you don’t fall in love with the idea of making money over a long period of time, then your desire to find the flash in the pan will actually be your kryptonite.

The Three S’s of Wealth

That’s why being long-term greedy is always broken down into the three S’s of wealth.

The First S: Sell

The first S is sell. This is the skill you need to develop. You get your first client, you start to get the machine turning. Okay.

The Second S: Scale

The second S is scale. Once you get dozens of customers, then you have to scale it up. You have to tighten your systems, which stands for save yourself time, energy, money, and stress. You raise your prices because you’re adding more value. You improve your offer. You work on your team. You get to a place where it almost feels easy.

The Third S: Stack

But that’s where we go to the third S, which is stack. Once you have one machine working really well, which every business can get to a place where it’s producing cash, you can now add other offers or other products on top of your service either through partnerships for things that you like or you build yourself or you could even buy other AI companies to sell into your existing customer base.

That is the goal is to build an empire. It’s to create a life of unlimited creation you never have to retire from.

The Power of Scale

Most people that start businesses are very creative people and they think the bigger I get, the harder it’s going to be. And the opposite actually happens at scale because the bigger you get, the more resources you have to invest in really smart people that are going to come in and help you co-create that future with you and make your life easier.

Conclusion

So, here’s the deal. Anybody reading this can do what I just shared. It doesn’t require any special schooling or a trust fund or anything. You just have to talk to customers. But what it will teach you along the way is to strive to become your 10.0 self, the best version of yourself. That is one way of being successful.

But if you want to live a life of fulfillment, yes, 10.0 self is what you’re after. But the other side of that is to give yourself away. Share your strategies with the world like I’m doing here.

Now, I don’t want you to just read this. I want you to do something with it. Build an offer that you can start selling this week. Find the customers, ask the questions, be curious, but I need you to win this year. 2026 is your year. AI is still early and the companies are out there waiting for your call.