I Make $1.3M/Year With One Skill

Brett

• Built Design Joy as a productized design subscription business that makes $1.3 million a year.
• Runs the business alone with no employees, contractors, meetings, or client calls.
• Started the company while working a full-time job and kept that job for 3 and a half years.
• Quit only after Design Joy was making $80,000 a month, then saw revenue double the next month.

Design Joy

• Sells design as a subscription, with packages clients can subscribe to for about $5,000 a month.
• Gives each client a Trello board where they can add design requests immediately after subscribing.
• Handles requests one by one, usually completing a request in 30 minutes to an hour every couple days.
• Runs fully asynchronously so Brett can spend his day on design work instead of calls or chat.

Productized Service Model

• Replaces hourly billing, proposals, and individual project quotes with fixed packages.
• Includes unlimited requests, so clients pay the same price regardless of how much they use the service.
• Creates variable effective hourly rates depending on client usage.
  • Some clients effectively pay $5,000 an hour when they submit one request.
  • Other clients effectively pay about $300 an hour when they submit several requests.
• Works best when the founder packages the specific services they are fastest and strongest at delivering.
  • Brett focuses on branding, product design, and landing page design instead of design work where he is slower.

Launch And Growth

• Took inspiration from another agency that offered a similar model for graphic design.
• Adapted the idea to web design, landing pages, and product design with a higher-quality positioning.
• Built the first version in a day as a one-page Webflow site with a Trello board structure.
• Launched on Product Hunt and got early attention and clients from that launch.
• Later joined communities, built in public, and made Twitter his primary lead source.
• Spent no money on marketing.

Costs And Tools

• Runs Design Joy for exactly $176 a month.
• Uses Figma for design, Webflow for hosting, Adobe, Shutterstock, Trello, and Airtable.
• Keeps costs low by using free versions of several tools.
• Pays $100 a month for Shutterstock, his most expensive tool.

Side Projects And Testing

• Tests ideas by doing the bare minimum possible before investing heavily.
• Launched Design Joy with a simple one-page site and rough visuals.
• Created a course by recording audio files in his car and uploading them.
• Prefers releasing a minimal version quickly to see whether people respond before spending weeks or months building.

Design Skill Development

• Taught himself design without going to school for it.
• Improved by working inside design tools every day and mimicking good design.
• Studies strong design examples, inspiration sites, and other designers to stay current.
• Practiced through fake projects such as rebrands and redesigns.

Life And Work

• Starts his day around 7:30 a.m. and watches his kids until about 10:30.
• Begins work around 11:30 or noon and works until about 4 or 5 p.m.
• Spends the rest of the day with his family.
• Keeps few routines beyond watching the kids, working during his set window, and playing video games with friends and family on Friday nights.

Lessons And Advice

• Advises people to niche down around the work they do quickly and well.
• Encourages founders to bundle their strongest skills into a clear package with pricing that is attractive but worth their time.
• Says he would tell his younger self to believe in himself sooner.
• Felt insecure about whether Design Joy would last, which delayed his full-time leap and added stress.