Discover the complete plan from idea to your first client, from anywhere with wifi, and why one skill and one good conversation take you further than a perfect logo.
Max from Remote SkillsWorks from Portugal and builds in public
my-remote-business
This week
My remote business
Direction chosen
Skill practised
Offer in one sentence
First client spoken to
📩New requestCould you start next week?
Why this guide
Before we start
Max from Remote Skills · works from Portugal
Many people think you need to know everything before starting a remote business: websites, taxes, tools and a perfect logo. I thought so too when I started. The opposite turned out to be true.
What you need is one skill a business is happy with, linked to what you can already do. Your experience, the way you work and your feel for people simply come along. Combine that with a valuable AI skill and you are stronger than you think.
In this guide you see how to link what you can already do to one new skill, how you earn with it and how you find your first clients. With a fill-in canvas and a route map, in the order I would follow if I started over tomorrow. First a plan, then the skills, then the rewards.
Max
For whomFor anyone who wants to run a location independent business and does not know where to start.
At a glance
What you will discover
Four questions this guide answers, plus your route map. Tap a topic to jump there.
Before we start: what are you doing it for? Pick everything that speaks to you, there is no wrong answer. Your choices end up on your canvas later.
What matters to you?
Let us be honest
What is in your way right now?
Everyone runs into something, that is part of it. Pick what applies to you, even if it is more than one thing. It goes on your canvas, so you see what your next step needs to be about.
What is holding you back right now?
Your head start
Why you do not start from zero
Many people think you first have to become someone new to run a remote business. I see it the other way around: you already have things businesses are waiting for. You just need to learn to see them.
🧠
Work experience
Every job you had taught you how a business works on the inside. That is where your offer starts.
💬
Holding conversations
You can listen and ask follow-up questions. That is how you discover what a client really needs, before you build anything.
❤️
Interests
What you dig into in your free time is often a world you understand better than others. That is where clients are.
🌐
Network
Family, former colleagues, the business owners in your street. You know more people with a business than you think.
🤖
AI as your assistant
What used to take a whole team, you now do with AI at your side. You do not have to be able to do everything yourself.
🧭
A fresh pair of eyes
You see what piles up in a business, precisely because you have not been in the middle of it for years.
✦ The formula
📚What you bringWhat you can already do
Your work experience, your hobbies and the things people always call you for. Much of what feels obvious to you is exactly the hard part for someone else.
+plus
🛠️What the skill addsOne new skill
One skill businesses are asking for right now: visibility, clients, time savings or custom work, with AI as your assistant. You pick one and learn it well, the rest comes later.
=equals
✦What it deliversAn offer that works
Together it becomes an offer that solves a concrete problem. Clients are happy to pay for that, because they see straight away what it brings them, and you deliver it from anywhere with wifi.
You do not have to know everything first. You link what you can already do to one new skill, and with it you solve a problem a business has right now. You learn the rest along the way.
Exercise
What can you do, and who benefits?
Grab a cup of coffee. Write down what you can do, from work, study or hobbies, and next to each line put who benefits from it. Your answers are saved on this device and come along when you save the guide as a PDF.
What I can do, from work or lifeWho benefits from it?
→
→
→
→
🗺️
Your starting cardIncluded when you save the guide as a PDF.
Fill in something above and your starting card appears here. Pick your skillset further down and it is added too.
What I bring
What I am proud of
My skillset
Next step
Pick your skillset, look at the earning models and tick off the route map.
The four skillsets
Which skill suits you?
There are four kinds of work businesses are looking for help with right now, and each one solves something different. You only need to pick one to start. Choose the skill you like the look of most, not the one you think you should choose.
🎨AI CreatorCreative
Brings visibility and attention
Suits
For people who like to write, tell stories, take photos or come up with ideas, and enjoy making something beautiful.
What you mean to others
You make content for business owners who want to be visible, from your laptop wherever you are. With AI you turn one idea into a week of posts, emails and visuals.
What it brings you
A steady place with a few clients who count on you every week, with work you can put your creativity into.
📈AI ScalerCommercial
Brings clients and revenue
Suits
For people who are results driven, like goals and enjoy it when something actually happens.
What you mean to others
You set up websites, funnels and follow-up that bring businesses new enquiries. All delivered online, so from anywhere with wifi.
What it brings you
Work with a result your client sees straight away, and therefore clients who like to keep working with you for a long time.
⚙️AI OperatorSupportive
Gives people their time back
Suits
For people who like to help, keep things organised and are happy with a tidy workplace, a digital one included.
What you mean to others
You let AI take over the manual work of business owners: customer questions, follow-up, scheduling. They get time back, you deliver everything remotely.
What it brings you
Grateful clients and recurring work, because nobody wants to lose a system that saves them time.
💻AI VibecoderAnalytical
Builds custom apps and software
Suits
For people who like puzzles, think logically and enjoy figuring out how things work.
What you mean to others
You build tools and apps for business owners with an idea, by telling AI what you want. You steer, AI writes the code, and you work wherever you like.
What it brings you
The finest custom projects. It is the most advanced profile though: expect a bit more steering, that is part of it.
💡 Max's tip
Torn between two? Start with the skill you feel like doing most. You combine later, once the first one runs well.
Earning models
What you can earn with it
What you earn depends on your offer, your clients and your effort, so I make no promises about that. I will tell you how to set it up smartly. Roughly speaking there are four ways to sell your work.
⏱️
By the hour
You charge for every hour you work.
Pros
Easy to start with
Fair and simple to explain
Cons
You only earn while you work
Work faster with AI and you earn less
📦
Per project
You agree a fixed price for a clearly scoped result.
Pros
Your client knows where they stand
Work smartly with AI and you keep time to spare
Cons
After every project you look for the next job
Your income goes up and down per month
🔁
Subscription
Your client pays monthly for a service that keeps running.
Pros
Predictable, month after month
Every new client stacks on top of the last
Cons
Harder to start with before you have proven results
You keep delivering every month
⭐⭐ Our favourite
Project plus subscription
You build something custom for a fixed price. After that your client pays monthly for use, maintenance and improvements.
Pros
A solid start and an ongoing base
Your client stays helped, you build something up
Cons
Needs an offer that keeps working after delivery
⭐
Why this is our favourite: every client you help, stays. Your base grows month after month and you need to chase new jobs less and less. That is where the freedom is.
Finding clients
Four routes to your first clients
You do not have to start with strangers. Pick one route, do it well, and add another one later.
🤝01→ Start here
Your existing network
Who do you know with a business? Former colleagues, family, friends, the business owners in your street. Make a list of ten names and send a short, honest message. You are not selling anything, you ask what they run into.
✍️02
Online content about one topic
Share what you learn about one topic, on one channel. Show what you build, even while it is still small. That way you build trust before anyone needs you.
📞03
Contacting businesses directly
Pick one industry and approach businesses personally, with one concrete idea for their situation. A short example or a before and after says more than a long pitch.
📢04⭐ Our favourite
Advertising
Once you have a good product and know who your audience is, advertising is the fastest way to grow. It takes a small investment, but you no longer depend on luck or on your calendar.
Your route map
From first idea to your first client
Ten stops, in this order. Tick off what you have done: your ticks are saved on this device.
0 of 10 done0%
🚩Start
✓Your first client
💡 Max's tip
Do not start with a logo, a website or a company name. Start with one conversation with someone who can use your help. The rest follows from what you hear there.
Your goal, what is in your way, your experience, your skill, your earning model, your client route and your route map in one overview, with a conclusion that writes itself from your choices. Save it as a PDF or stick it on your fridge.
01
02
03
04
05
✓
What next
Which route suits you?
We have several concepts: a training programme, a business in a box, ready-made apps to license, implementation programmes and coaching tracks. Which one suits you depends on your goal, so we would love to talk that through with you.
Want to taste in practice which skillset suits you best and set up a first plan straight away? Then choose the tasting, the AI Starter programme.
Want to build seriously, or do you already have something running that you want to scale? Then the Founder or Builder track probably fits, and it is good to talk briefly about which route helps you most.
Remote SkillsFree · Step by step plan
Max from Remote SkillsWorks from Portugal and builds in public