How Justin built an AI-powered agency of one
Justin's approach began with a practical question: Where was his agency spending more time and money than necessary?
He started by reviewing his business expenses, particularly software subscriptions and engineering costs. Like many agencies, Zao relied on a collection of tools for project management, time tracking, invoicing, communication, and development. Justin wanted to reduce those costs and build a business that could adapt to whatever changes AI might bring to the industry.
His solution was ambitious: Build an AI system capable of running his entire agency.
He began with individual tasks. One of his earliest projects was replacing Loom with a custom video recording system that automatically transcribes recordings, identifies action items, and adds them to the appropriate projects. Once that worked, he moved on to time tracking, invoicing, and other operational processes.
Today, those agents handle responsibilities ranging from client communication and project management to proposals, financial reporting, and development work.
When Justin encounters a task his system hasn't learned yet, he looks for a way to teach his agents to handle it.
In one example, a client used a website management platform that lacked the integrations Justin needed. He had his agents observe the steps involved in completing the work, analyze the interactions, and develop a way to automate the process.
The approach reflects how Justin thinks about his own time.
"Any time I have to spend my time on something, I'm spending time figuring out how to make AI do it," he explained.
His system continues to evolve as he encounters new challenges, with Justin guiding its development and deciding which actions require his approval. The same approach to solving problems has opened up new opportunities for Zao's clients.
Solving client problems that once seemed out of reach
One example involves a longstanding ski industry publication with approximately 60 years of print magazine archives.
The publication faced two significant challenges. It wanted to preserve decades of historical content online, and its small team was spending roughly a week transferring each new print issue into its digital publishing platform.
Zao was already working on migrating the publication's 20-year-old website from Joomla to WordPress. Justin saw an opportunity to address both challenges as part of that work.
For the historical archives, Zao developed a workflow in which a staff member scans old magazines and uploads the PDFs to Google Drive. AI then analyzes the files, extracts articles, identifies authors and images, assigns categories, and imports the content into WordPress.
The process required additional development to handle older layouts, particularly when identifying which images and captions belonged with specific articles.
For new issues, Zao built an application within WordPress that connects to the publication's InDesign workflow. Editors can import articles and images, select featured images, and review categories through a custom interface.
The new workflow cuts the time needed for each issue greatly and helps preserve decades of content.
Justin estimated that a project of this complexity might previously have required a six-figure budget. With AI-assisted development, Zao was able to include the work within a much smaller website migration project.
Client projects that once required extensive custom development may now be achievable within more manageable budgets, creating opportunities for agencies to solve problems that previously seemed out of reach.
The opportunity and challenge of AI consulting
Recognizing those opportunities is one challenge. Helping clients understand what's possible is another.
Cory raised the potential for AI consulting during the interview, noting that clients already turn to agencies for technical guidance. Justin sees the opportunity, though his early attempts to market AI services revealed how difficult it can be to generate interest.
He created industry-specific landing pages promoting AI consulting services and ran paid ads to drive traffic to them. Despite those efforts, the campaigns generated little interest.
Justin believes education remains one of the biggest barriers. People working closely with AI may feel overwhelmed by how quickly the technology is changing, while many business owners are still unfamiliar with its practical applications.
He described a friend in real estate who was struggling to keep up with emails, closings, and administrative work. When Justin explained how he had automated similar responsibilities in his own business, his friend immediately recognized the potential.
Existing client relationships offer a valuable starting point. Agencies already understand many of their clients' businesses and the challenges they face. They can help identify specific problems, explain what's possible, and develop solutions that fit existing workflows.
Justin also cautioned against assuming that AI consulting will remain a specialized service indefinitely. As tools become more accessible, businesses may be able to handle more of this work independently.
For agencies considering AI services, the lasting value may come from understanding client needs, recognizing opportunities, and applying technology to meaningful business problems.
Building the business you want to run
Justin's approach to AI reflects the same emphasis on solving meaningful problems in his own business. After more than two decades in running his agency, one of the problems he wanted to solve was how much of his life the business demanded.
He remembers the long days spent delivering client projects and managing the responsibilities of running an agency.
He wanted to build something different.
"I need to have a life where my work supports the stuff that's important to me," Justin explained.
Justin still enjoys solving technical problems and helping clients. With AI handling much of the operational work, he can focus more of his attention on relationships, identifying problems worth solving, and spending time with his family.
His experience also challenges the assumption that agency success must involve continually expanding a team.
Some agency owners want to build larger organizations, while others prefer smaller operations that give them more flexibility and control over their time.
Justin sees AI as a way to support either goal. A growing agency might use it to improve coordination and reduce administrative work, while an independent owner might use it to handle responsibilities that would otherwise require additional help.
Justin's perspective is particularly relevant for agency owners who have spent years balancing client demands with their personal priorities.
"Live the life you want to live so that you can have the impact in the world you want to have right now instead of 40 years from now," Justin said.
The technology creates new possibilities, and agency owners have an opportunity to decide how those possibilities fit their own goals.
Start with one thing
For agency owners interested in exploring a similar approach, Justin's advice echoes something we've heard from many of the AI experts Cory has interviewed: Start small.
He recommends understanding what you want your business to accomplish, then identifying one problem worth solving.
"Pick your one thing and go," Justin said.
That might mean automating a recurring report, organizing action items from client meetings, reducing the time required to prepare proposals, or improving how you manage website maintenance.
Start by documenting the process as it works today. Identify the repetitive steps, the information involved, and where human review is necessary. Then explore how AI could help.
As the system grows, Justin recommends maintaining a clear vision, documenting how the different components work together, and establishing guardrails to keep everything aligned with your goals.
You don't need to recreate Zao's entire system to benefit from Justin's approach.
Choose one task that consistently takes more time than it should. Consider what could change if you automated part of that process, and what you could do with the time you get back.
The goal is to build an agency that supports the work you want to do and the life you want to lead.