My name is Fanus Marais, and Iām from Cape Town, South Africa I started my journey as a qualified Architectural Technologist, but I quickly realized the 9ā5 life wasnāt for me. I wanted time, location, and financial freedom. So, I pivotedāfirst into video editing, then SMMA, and now, I run an AI Automation Agency specializing in AI Chatbots and AI Voice Agents for businesses. These AI Agents handle customer support, lead capture, appointment setting, and FAQs, and now Iām diving even deeper into AI Voice Agents. But let me be realāat first, I struggled to find clients. Not because there werenāt any, but because I wasnāt doing the work. I was building complex, custom solutions and barely reaching out. My outreach was slow, and I wasnāt getting anywhere. So, I made a huge pivot. I moved into sales, landed a job at a well-known fitness company (canāt mention the name due to NDAs), and was making $2K/month. But after two months, I left. Why? The values didnāt align. I had traded a 9ā5 for an even worse grindā12-hour shifts from 4 PM to 4 AM, doing something I hated. Thatās when I doubled down on AI Chatbots again. And this time, I went furtherāI got into AI Voice Agents. At my new job, I became the top appointment setter and was asked to step up as a closer and team leader. But with everything happening, I also wanted to build my personal brand and master AI Voice Agents. Then it hit me: document the journey. So, I started a daily series sharing my processābuilding my brand while working full-time (8+ hours a day). After 16 days of consistent posting: ā
A huge marketing agency wants an AI appointment setter. ā
A website & software company wants one too. ā
A gym wants a digital receptionist. All from showing up every day and putting in the work. Iām still not at the āhighs,ā but Iām making progress. From this I'm hoping to land a great high ticket sales job and grow in the sales field. If youāre thinking about starting somethingāstop thinking, start building.