Introduction
Discover the remarkable solopreneur business strategy that transformed Brett Williams from a 9-to-5 graphic designer into the owner of Design Joy, a $1.8 million per year business operating with zero employees and contractors. Working just 6 hours a day, Brett has perfected the art of building a profitable business without the traditional overhead of scaling a team. In this exclusive interview, Brett reveals the five key steps that took his business from a simple idea to an extraordinary success story.
Founder Success Story QnA
How did you get started with Design Joy?
I started like any normal guy working an average 9-to-5 job for years. I was a graphic designer working on landing pages, logos, brand designs – simple work that paid the bills. But like any aspiring entrepreneur, deep down I was thirsty for something more, something I could truly own. Then one day, everything changed when I came across a peculiar website. It was a subscription service offering unlimited graphic design for businesses. Instead of charging by the project or by the hour, this agency charged a recurring flat subscription fee for unlimited graphic designs. By the looks of it, they were doing really well – they even had a brick-and-mortar location with a few employees. This was the moment I got my business idea. I decided I would do the same thing – start my own agency but instead of getting on sales calls with clients, they could just purchase my services directly on my website. Most importantly, instead of building a whole team, I would just do it myself as a side project to earn a little extra income.
What was your first step when launching Design Joy?
Twelve hours and $29 later, I put up a simple landing page and called it Design Joy. Within 24 hours, I got my first paying client. That’s pretty fast, right? Well, that was the first key step in my playbook – demand-based pricing. The hardest thing to do in business is get your first paying customer. For most people, it takes months to finally get that one person to hand their money over to you, and honestly, most people quit before they even get their first customer. But I skipped this whole problem by making one key decision – I grossly undercharged for my service. When I threw up that landing page, I set my price at $449 a month. Yes, you heard that right – unlimited design requests for $449. This price was too good to be true, but guess what? It got me my first customer in less than 24 hours, and that’s the genius behind it.
How did you evolve your pricing strategy over time?
Of course, this business wasn’t scalable at that price point, but I understood the power of speed and momentum when you’re starting a business. Instead of waiting around for months for someone to pay me $5,000 a month, I just threw myself into the fire. This is where I succeeded where most others fail – I was willing to put my ego aside so I could put in thousands of reps, even though I was basically working for free. These reps were the ones that eventually turned me into a world-class designer. My niche started to notice, and then my services became more in demand. When the demand increased, I raised my prices. I went from $449 to $1,000 a month, then to $3,000 a month, then to $5,000 a month, and now I even charge $8,000 a month per client. Today, I only need 16 clients paying $5,000 a month to make about a million a year, and this is all because I was willing to undercharge for my service initially and willing to do the work.
How do you manage being a solopreneur with multiple clients?
At one point, I had put in the reps and raised my prices, and now I had customers coming out of my ears. But this was actually a problem because I’m a one-man band. I found myself working 16-hour days on the verge of burnout. The solution would be to hire more people, right? But I didn’t want to hire people – I wanted to be a solopreneur. So I came up with a creative solution. I decided to break the rules by creating two boundaries. Number one, clients must submit design requests asynchronously via a Trello board. Number two, clients can only have one design request at a time. No calls, no meetings – all client requests must be defined in writing. Once the client has submitted an active request, they’re not allowed to change it or submit another one. This gives me a few days to deliver the work, and once completed, then the client can submit another request. Because of this, clients spend more time making sure their requests are fully fleshed out and complete, which actually leads them to sending fewer requests. It saves both of us countless hours of meetings.
What types of clients do you target for Design Joy?
There are two types of clients: $500 clients and $5,000 clients. $500 clients are cheap – they’ll waste your time with nagging requests, ask for refunds, and they don’t make much money themselves. $5,000 clients are rich – as long as you deliver, they won’t bother you much, you’ll always get paid, and they won’t churn after one month. When I started my business, yes, I attracted $500 clients, but once I paid my dues, I quickly moved to $5,000 clients. These clients are businesses that wouldn’t blink twice if they saw a $5,000 per month invoice. They see my service as a steal. When looking for graphic design talent, these companies have a few options: hire a $200,000 per year graphic designer on payroll (which takes months and they might turn out to be lazy), spend a bunch of money on a fancy agency that will charge a per project fee that might be in the range of $30,000 to $40,000, or sort through hundreds or thousands of cheap web designers on platforms like Upwork or Fiverr and find a needle in a haystack. Or they could hire me – a proven graphic designer who will turn around work in 48 hours, all with the simple click of a button. At $5,000, this is a no-brainer for them.
What makes your productized service so profitable?
Productized services are amazing because you get paid for your output rather than your time. But the truth is, productized services will not work for every kind of service. The reason I make millions when most other people make nothing has to do with one word: profit. On the revenue side, I’m doing great because I provide a service that is high impact. A website is often the first impression that a customer will get of a startup, and a really beautiful website might be the difference between success and failure – for example, a high or low conversion rate. Companies must make sure they get this right, and that’s why they’re willing to pay me a ton of money for my service. On the expenses side, I’m also crushing it. I have almost zero actual dollar expenses because I’m a solopreneur. My only real expense is my time, but I only work 6 hours a day, which isn’t bad considering I have over 16 clients at any given time. That’s mostly thanks to my years of experience, but also because website design is one of those things that you build once and you don’t really have to touch it for a while. That is the reason Design Joy is so profitable – I picked a service that is both high demand and low touch.
How have you diversified your income beyond client work?
The only problem with a productized service is that no matter what, you’re still essentially trading your hours for dollars. If you want to truly get rich, you need to find a way to scale those dollars without scaling your time. This is the final key move of my playbook. In 2019, I spent 6 hours putting together a product called Scribbles. It’s a downloadable collection of templates that other designers can use to spice up their projects. I priced it at $4.99, and it got downloaded over 25,000 times. I had been spending years building up my bank of knowledge and experience both on how to design amazing websites and how to build a great productized service. I found a way to monetize this by turning my knowledge into a purchasable product that other designers can use to improve their own business. Then a few years later, I took it to the next level by creating a course called Productize Yourself that helps other designers start their own productized services. I charge a lot more than five bucks for this one. Today, these info products make up 29% of my income, and I don’t have to trade my hours for these dollars because I’ve already put in the work. This has not only diversified my income but has allowed me to work less and probably sleep better at night.
Brett Williams Business Stats
Brett Williams has built an impressive business empire with Design Joy, generating $1.8 million in annual revenue while maintaining a solopreneur lifestyle. His business model focuses on high-value clients and efficient processes that allow him to work just 6 hours a day. Below are the key statistics that showcase the success of his solopreneur business strategy.
- Annual revenue of $1.8 million with zero employees
- Works only 6 hours per day serving 16+ high-value clients
- Started with pricing at $449/month, now charges up to $8,000/month
- 29% of income comes from info products and courses
- Async workflow system eliminates meetings and calls
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Yearly Revenue | $1,800,000 |
| Monthly Revenue | $150,000 |
| Number of Clients | 16+ |
| Hours Worked Daily | 6 |
| Team Size | 1 (solopreneur) |
| Client Price Range | $3,000 – $8,000/month |
Brett Williams Method
Brett’s success isn’t accidental – it’s the result of a carefully crafted method that combines smart pricing, strict boundaries, strategic client selection, and efficient service delivery. His approach to building a solopreneur business focuses on maximizing revenue while minimizing workload, creating a sustainable business model that scales without requiring employees.
- Demand-based pricing – starting low to gain traction, then increasing as demand grows
- Strict boundaries with clients – async communication only, one request at a time
- Targeting high-value clients who appreciate quality and don’t waste time
- Focusing on high-demand, low-touch services that can be delivered efficiently
- Diversifying income with digital products that generate revenue without time investment
Brett Williams Tools
Brett leverages a minimal but powerful set of tools to run his six-figure solopreneur business efficiently. His tech stack is designed to streamline communication, project management, and product delivery while minimizing overhead and complexity.
- Trello – For managing client requests asynchronously and maintaining workflow boundaries
- Design software – Professional design tools for creating high-quality website and branding assets
- Website platform – Simple landing page to showcase services and enable direct client signup
- Payment processing – Automated subscription billing for recurring revenue
- Digital product delivery – Platform for selling templates and courses to other designers
Key Notes
Brett Williams’ journey from graphic designer to million-dollar solopreneur offers valuable insights for anyone looking to build a service-based business. His success demonstrates that with the right strategy, it’s possible to achieve significant revenue without the traditional path of hiring employees and scaling overhead.
- Starting with low prices helps gain initial traction and valuable experience
- Setting strict boundaries with clients is essential for maintaining work-life balance
- Focusing on high-value clients reduces churn and increases profitability
- High-demand, low-touch services offer the best profit margins for solopreneurs
- Diversifying with digital products creates passive income streams and reduces reliance on client work
Get Started in Just 5 Steps
Building a successful solopreneur business like Design Joy doesn’t happen overnight, but following Brett’s playbook can significantly accelerate your journey. Here are the five key steps you can take to implement this solopreneur business strategy in your own venture.
- Start with demand-based pricing – set your initial price low enough to attract your first customers quickly, then gradually increase as demand grows
- Establish clear boundaries – implement async communication systems and limit client requests to maintain control over your time and workload
- Target high-value clients – focus on attracting customers who value quality over price and who won’t waste your time with endless revisions
- Choose a high-demand, low-touch service – select a service offering that delivers significant value to clients but requires minimal ongoing maintenance
- Create info products – develop templates, courses, or other digital products based on your expertise to generate passive income and diversify your revenue streams
Conclusion
Brett Williams’ success with Design Joy demonstrates that the solopreneur business strategy can lead to extraordinary results without the need for employees or excessive work hours. By implementing demand-based pricing, setting clear boundaries, targeting high-value clients, focusing on high-demand low-touch services, and diversifying with info products, Brett has created a business that generates $1.8 million annually while allowing him to work just 6 hours a day. His playbook offers a valuable roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to build profitable businesses that provide both financial success and personal freedom.