From zero to your first retainer — in 90 days, on $17.
The Collective’s phased plan for launching Mokoro as a live, revenue-generating automation agency without taking investment, hiring a team, or paying for any tool that isn’t strictly necessary. Use this page as your operating system for the next 90 days.
$17/month. Everything you need.
Every tool listed here is either free-forever or free-tier. No trials. No credit-card-required landmines.
| Layer | Tool | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Frontend | Next.js on Vercel + Cloudflare Pages | $0 |
| Automation Engine | n8n Community self-hosted | $0 |
| Server | Hetzner CX21 / Oracle Cloud Free | $0–$5/mo |
| Database | PostgreSQL (self-hosted) | $0 |
| Deployment | Docker Compose or Coolify | $0 |
| SSL | Let’s Encrypt via Caddy | $0 |
| Monitoring | UptimeRobot free tier | $0 |
| CRM | HubSpot Free / Notion | $0 |
| Scheduling | Cal.com | $0 |
| Payments | Stripe via Gumroad/Lemon Squeezy | 5–10% per sale |
| Resend free tier / Gmail | $0 | |
| Invoicing | Wave / PayPal invoicing | $0 |
Four phases. Ninety days.
Phase 1 is deliberately small. Don’t skip phases. Don’t build templates before you have at least one paying client.
- Self-host your automation engine via Docker Compose on Hetzner (~$5/mo) or Oracle Cloud Free Tier
- Set up PostgreSQL, Let’s Encrypt SSL, UptimeRobot monitoring
- Pick ONE niche from our Solutions menu (specialisation beats generalisation)
- Build 2 demo workflows for that niche — these become your portfolio
- Set up free CRM (HubSpot), scheduling (Cal.com), invoicing (Wave)
- Offer 5 free automation audits to businesses in your niche (screen-share, not email)
- Publish your first 8 LinkedIn posts (2 per week) — screenshots, not essays
- Join 3 relevant communities and start contributing value (answer questions, don’t sell)
- Complete your Upwork/Fiverr profile with niche positioning — launch pad, not home
- Close your first Starter-tier project ($500–$1,200)
- Deliver the first project flawlessly with full written docs + Loom
- Collect a testimonial + before/after metrics
- Write and publish your first case study
- Propose a retainer to your first client (always attach monitoring)
- Close 2–3 more Starter/Growth projects
- Begin reaching out to potential referral partners (CRM consultants, web agencies)
- Convert at least 2 clients to monthly retainers
- Raise prices for new clients (you now have proof)
- Templatise your most common workflow — the seed of Mokoro Templates
- Begin building your SOP library
- Target: $2,000–$5,000 MRR (conservative; many operators hit this faster)
The death traps (and how to avoid them).
We’ve watched enough operators stall in month 3 to write this list from memory. Print it. Stick it on your wall.
Sell the product by BEING the product.
When a prospect books a call, their confirmation email is written by AI, routed by automation, logged to your CRM, and sent to you on Slack — all before you’ve even seen the booking. When they ask how it works, you say: “the email you just received was built on the same engine I’ll build for you.” That demo is worth more than any slide deck you’ll ever write.
The contact form on this very site? It posts to a webhook that triggers an automation. We drink our own champagne.
Start day 1 today