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For a client overwhelmed by Upwork applications, I delivered an end‑to‑end n8n workflow. It pulls new applicants via the Upwork API, scores each with Groq AI, logs results in Google Sheets, and pushes qualified candidates into their CRM while scheduling interviews automatically. Notifications are sent to Telegram, so they only intervene when a strong match appears. Stack: n8n, Webhook, HTTP Request, Upwork API, Groq, Google Sheets, Telegram. The solution cuts roughly 20 minutes of manual review per applicant.
Follow for more: https://go.phonezait.de/
Scoring each applicant with Groq before anything reaches the CRM is a nice way to cut review time. How do you handle borderline scores: do they go to Telegram for a manual look or get auto-rejected?
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Connect with clients, get discovered, and run your business 100% commission-free
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A video brief rarely arrives complete. The client leaves out the deadline, or the video length, or the budget, and the quote waits while someone writes back to ask.
I run an AI video business, so I built an n8n workflow for this step. I am submitting it to the n8n template library next.
How it works:
A client emails a brief. The workflow reads the email, the attached PDF and up to three reference images.
OpenAI pulls out the number of videos, their lengths, the deadline and the budget.
If anything is missing, a reply asking only for that is saved in your Gmail drafts. When the client answers, the quote carries on.
Plain code prices the job from your rate card in Google Sheets: volume discount, rush fee, minimum order and deposit. The AI never sets a number.
You approve the price on Slack. A PDF quote is saved to Google Drive, and you approve again to send it or save it as a draft.
Each morning it checks for replies and drafts a follow-up after 3 quiet days. On Mondays you get a short report.
Nothing reaches a client until you press Send it.
The first image is the whole workflow. The second is the middle of it: the AI reads the brief, code checks what is missing, and the price waits for your approval.
If you quote creative work by email and want this running in your business, send me a message.
I built an AI-powered workflow that helps real estate professionals turn property details into polished listings for websites, property portals, and social media. Using Gemini and n8n, it generates the content, highlights key selling points, and flags missing information. Before anything is saved to Airtable, the listing is sent via WhatsApp for approval.
Tools: n8n, Google Gemini, WhatsApp Business, Airtable
this is a real outcome for a business
How to back up n8n workflows and credentials, and the two things that break the restore.
Most guides stop at "export your workflows". Here is what my self-hosted n8n template saves every night, checked against the n8n docs:
What to save
• The database (PostgreSQL here). Workflows, credentials and execution history live in it. The dump is kept only after it has been read back in full with pg_restore -f /dev/null. pg_restore --list only reads the table of contents.
• The encryption key. n8n generates it on first launch and stores it in the ~/.n8n folder, unless you set N8N_ENCRYPTION_KEY. Credentials are encrypted with it. Restore the database with another key and you get "Credentials could not be decrypted", and only the original key fixes it. Put the key in a password manager on day one.
• The ~/.n8n data folder, as a tarball next to the dump.
Only need the workflows? n8n export:workflow --backup --output=backups/latest/ writes one JSON file per workflow. export:credentials --decrypted writes every secret in plain text, so treat that file like a password.
Two restore surprises
• The CLI import deactivates every imported workflow by default. A database restore doesn't: workflows come back active, and on a test server with internet access, schedules can send yesterday's emails again. That's why the restore drill in my template starts n8n with no internet access.
• A backup you never restored is a hypothesis. Quick test on the restored copy: open one credential. If its fields load, the key matches.
What does your n8n backup cover today: the database, the key, or only exported JSON?
