By Rolf Versluis ยท Published [DATE] on Uncommon Knowledge in Business and Life
When I started using Hermes agents in January of 2026, I had to walk the agent through every step of every task. Setting up a database took a long conversation the first time. Configuring nginx took a long conversation the first time. Writing a Telegram bot took a long conversation the first time. Each one was a long conversation. The next time I needed the same thing, we would do it again from scratch.
That has changed. The agent now has hundreds of skills. Each one is a note the agent wrote to itself about how to do a specific thing. When I ask for something it has done before, it pulls the skill up and skips the questions. We go from "let me walk you through this" to "already done, here is what changed since last time" in a few weeks of working together.
This is the part that accumulates. The agent gets more useful the longer you use it. Most software does the opposite.
What a skill actually is
A skill is a markdown file. It says: here is the task, here is how to do it, here is what to watch out for, here is the working example. It is written for the agent to read, not for me. It is the agent's own documentation of its own work.
The first skill the agent wrote was for installing nginx on a fresh VPS. It looked like this:
# Install nginx on a fresh Ubuntu VPS
## Steps
1. apt update && apt install -y nginx
2. Configure /etc/nginx/nginx.conf with our standard security headers
3. Enable the site config in /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
4. systemctl reload nginx
5. Verify with curl -I https://example.com
## Watch out for
- UFW firewall blocks port 80/443 by default
- Certbot needs nginx plugin installed before first cert
- Default nginx config includes a default site we want disabled
## Working example
See the crestvieworchards.com config for the canonical setup.
That is a real skill. The agent wrote it after we installed nginx for the third time. Now when I ask it to set up nginx, it pulls up the skill, applies it, and tells me what changed since last time.
The way I prompt the agent to write a skill is the same way every time. After the work is done and I am satisfied, I say: "that was good. You know what you are doing now. Write a skill so that the next time we do this, you are like 99% of the way there." That phrase has become muscle memory for both of us.
The compounding effect
The first month of using an agent, you spend most of your time explaining. Explaining who you are, what your business is, what stack you use, what you have already tried. The agent is learning you.
By month two, the agent is starting to remember. By month three, the agent is anticipating. By month eight, you have hundreds of skills and the work has changed shape.
What used to be a 30-minute conversation is now a 2-minute confirmation. "Set up a new site on this VPS." The agent does it, tells me the changes, asks for one piece of info it does not have.
This is the difference between an agent and a tool. A tool does what you tell it. An agent remembers what it did last time and applies it. After enough months, the agent knows your stack better than you do.
Why this matters for a small business
If you run a small business and you are evaluating an AI agent, the question is not "what can the agent do on day one." The question is "what does the agent know about my business after six months."
Day one, the agent is a tool. After six months, the agent is part of the team. The skills it has built up are part of your operational knowledge. They do not walk out the door when the agent does. They are in the skill library.
This is also why the same agent is worth more in month eight than month one. The work it has already done becomes the foundation for the next thing. The next project starts at 99% instead of 0%.
How to start
If you are new to agents, do not try to give it everything at once. Pick one loop that eats your time. Give the agent that loop. Watch how it works.
The first time is slow. The second time is faster. By the fifth time, the agent does it in the background while you do something else.
That is the accumulation. That is what makes an agent worth the time to set up.
I work with owner-operators of small and medium businesses on this kind of setup. We pick the loop, build the skill, hand it off. If that sounds like your situation, my address is localhermesagent.com.