Growing a productized service to $10k MRR in 18 months with no audience or network

Brad Adkins quit a frustrating job as a designer to start a productized design service called Designfly. Within a month, he was fully booked. And within 1.5 years, he crossed the $10k MRR milestone.

Here's Brad on how he did it. 👇

Taking the leap

I started Designfly in May of last year after quitting my in-house design job. I didn't have any revenue, but I was frustrated with my job and I had savings that could serve as a safety net for the first few months.

The idea came when I saw a similar service and thought, “If he can do it, so can I.” With 10+ years as a designer, I knew I had the skills to achieve similar success.

I took a course called Productize Yourself by Brett, the founder of designjoy.co. It offers a private community of founders running productized services, and it's a great place to get feedback and insight.

Then I started my business. It was definitely a leap of faith. It was nerve-wracking, but I was motivated by my desire for more freedom, control, and the opportunity to build something of my own.

Plus, back when I did door-to-door sales, I always asked homeowners what they did, and I noticed the nicest homes were always owned by business owners. I wanted to be a business owner too.

Structuring a productized service

Designfly is a productized design service offering unlimited UI/UX design for SaaS startups. I'm currently at $10k MRR.

I generate revenue through monthly subscriptions. I offer two plans: One with 1-day delivery per deliverable and another with 2-day delivery. I also have an upsell with Webflow development.

I chose that structure based on one of my strengths — how quickly I work. I can usually complete each deliverable within 1-2 hours. Of course, I can't offer 1- or 2-day delivery on larger projects like websites, so I break them down into multiple deliverables until the project is finished.

This structure keeps things manageable, allowing me to serve around 8-10 clients at a time.

You really have to be fast to have a successful productized design service. And the key to my speed is experience — I’m fast at what I do because I’ve developed a system over my ten years in the field. I know exactly where everything is and how to get things done efficiently. This level of expertise is essential.

Having good taste in design also plays a huge role too. It means I can make quick, confident decisions without second guessing.

Pricing a productized service

Right away, I realized that I needed to lower my prices to attract my initial clients, even though it went against my initial instincts. If you're just beginning and haven't secured clients yet, a lower price point is the way to go.

This strategy helped me onboard my first clients quickly, gain valuable experience, and understand my capacity and client expectations. An irresistible offer can also generate hype.

Remember, it’s easier to raise prices later than to lower them.

And that's exactly what I did — I began raising my prices as demand increased. Now, I'm at $1,750/mo for the 2-day delivery tier. And I'm preparing to raise my rates again soon. I allow my current customers to keep their existing rates, which means I don’t see any loss of clients when I increase prices. This helps me maintain a steady flow of income while actively seeking higher-paying clients.

Growing with no network or capital

You don't need a marketing budget to succeed as a service-based business. Quality work, smart online positioning, and utilizing social media can go a long way

I had limited network and limited capital when I started out. So right away, my priority was making sure my website and portfolio were super polished.

Then, I validated the idea by offering an affordable $1k/month plan in a private group of business founders. I was fully booked within a month.

After that, I started engaging in online communities like Indie Hackers, Twitter, and some private Discord groups. I shared updates along with helpful advice about my wins and failures.

I also shared my work and asked for feedback. This got me in front of more people, generating more leads. I've noticed that the more I post and share, the more leads I generate.

Beyond that, I launched my site on launch platforms like Product Hunt and design inspiration sites like onepagelove.com.

And I try to provide an exceptional client experience to drive referrals

What I don't do is cold outreach. Personally, I think cold outreach is a bad look. I just delete and block those emails.

Generating leads via side projects

One other thing is that I launched a successful design roasting service called Roasti. It generates some revenue, but it's mostly a lead-gen tool for Designfly.

The roasts demonstrate my expertise and help break the ice with potential clients. After delivering the feedback, they’re usually so impressed that they want to hire me, which leads them to Designfly.

It’s also a fun way to engage with people.

Tax advantages of S corps

I wish I knew the importance of setting up an S corporation when I started. It would have saved me roughly $6k in taxes during my first year in business. That was an expensive lesson.

An S corp is often a better choice than an LLC because it’s a pass-through entity, meaning it doesn’t pay corporate taxes. Instead, profits and losses are passed directly to shareholders and taxed at their personal income tax rates, which can be more tax-efficient. With an LLC (and sole proprietorship), owners often pay self-employment taxes on all profits.

How to succeed with productized services

If you're looking to start a productized service, here's my advice:

• Make sure the service you’re offering is something you're highly skilled and efficient at.

• Keep your pricing simple and accessible.

• Focus on delivering top-notch quality.

• Be open to feedback.

• And always look for ways to improve.

That's what I'm trying to do. Up next, I aim to launch productized design templates and grow to $20k MRR.

You can follow along on Twitter, or check out Designfly and Roasti.