How to Gain Hands-On GTM Engineering Experience Using Free Tools Before Approaching Agencies

Hi all, Sania here. I'm coming with 3+ years in sales and marketing (including being a cold emails copywriter with emails that opened conversations that closed 5-figires worth of projects) It's been almost 3 weeks that I've switched to upskilling with this new skill - GTM engineering... And I feel like I'm spending wayyy too much time consuming content, learning and watching videos (GTM session recordings by Kaveria Shah - the 2025 Clay Cup champion, YouTube videos, Clay University) It feels productive but that's not my end goal atm. I want REAL, hands-on experience working on real projects. I feel like investing in Clay and other tools right now is way too much to begin with (I've already invested in Claude PRO) I wanted to ask if we can start building workflows and portfolios with the free versions of all the tools necessary for building the infrastructure. Also what's the minimum skill level necessary before I can actively reach out to people (specifically those running GTM agencies to learn UNDER them) for work?