A broke 23-year-old grad tried ecomm, freelance, and websites. Nothing stuck.
Then he tried an experiment he saw on Reddit…
He writes…
Make 100 short ai ad concepts for local businesses and send them directly to the owners… Just make the actual thing first and send it.
No pitch. Just the finished ad, made with AI, sent cold.
He targeted med spas, gyms, and dentists – they already run promos but their creative is weak.
The funnel from 100 sends 
- 19 replied
- 8 asked the price
- 2 bought
- 2 became monthly retainers
First month: $850. He charges $150–250 per ad, or $400–750/month for a batch of 4–6.
What surprised him: local businesses replied way more than ecommerce brands 
His biggest lesson though – stop leading with “AI”…
When I said “AI ad,” people either ignored it or treated it like some cheap gimmick. When I said “short-form ad concept,” they understood it immediately.
Build something useful, show it first, and don’t make the tool the headline.
Run this play in any local niche with money and weak ads 