Hey guys! I'm looking into starting my own small webdev agency. My goal is to find small and simple projects I can quickly design and develop by myself, without hiring anyone. All I need is to start making $2k-$3k per month, and then grow from there. I'm looking for some advice from more experienced people - how would you go about doing that?
What I'd really love to do is to help non-technical startup founders to build MVP web apps (using my React/Node/ Next skills), but there are a few problems with that:
• People who are just getting started don't have any money. • People who are already successful have better options
than myself.
• Big and complex apps have a larger scope than I, as a solo designer/developer, can handle. And I don't know where to find people interested in smaller apps I can realistically build on my own.
So I'm trying to come up with a more realistic plan that I can use to get started. I'm thinking I could start with much simpler projects, build the agency-running skills and portfolio, which I can then leverage to land more interesting SaaS clients. Here's the plan I currently have:
• Find local "boring" niche businesses (gyms, cafes, restaurants, barbers, etc) on google maps and yelp. (Do you know if there are better ways to find your first clients?)
• Make a list of the ones that don't have a website.
• Cold email them and offer my services (that seems like
the most straightforward way to get my foot in the door, are there better approaches?)
• Quickly design and develop simple landing-page style websites for them. Using WordPress, Squarespace, Ghost, or something similar (which tool would you use to make it
easy for non-technical clients to manage the website?) • Charge $1000-$2000 per website (does that price range make sense?). Build 2-3 of those per month.
• Potentially upsell them on setting up the google/facebook ads, so that I'm offering them leads and clients, not just a website (is that a good idea?).
• Build a portfolio of small projects and testimonials, and level up to more interesting projects after that.
This plan also has problems:
• I don't know whether people need this kind of service.
• I'll probably be joining the race to the bottom, since anyone can do this.
• It doesn't sound too fun or technically interesting, I don't know whether it'll result in a good portfolio.
• I don't quite see how I'd grow from there into achieving my dream of building SaaS apps for people.
But that's what I have so far.
Does this strategy sound reasonable, at least in terms of starting a small agency that makes money?
Do you have any tips or advice for me?
Top comments (1)
As a UX design agency with over 10 years of experience, we’ve seen the shift firsthand. In 2025, basic brochure sites have become a commodity. AI tools can generate them in minutes, which makes competing at the $2000 level increasingly unsustainable. If you’re thinking long term, a better path is to focus on solving actual business problems.
Start by choosing a niche where digital workflows are still inefficient. Offer a short, paid discovery sprint to identify goals and friction points. From there, bring in a small team consisting of a UI/UX designer, a UX researcher, a front end developer, and someone who can handle automation to build a lightweight tool that removes a measurable bottleneck. When you deliver real outcomes, five figure fees and long term relationships become much more attainable.
Use a one minute Loom video to pitch prospects with a tailored idea. Price discovery at about 10-15% of the full build. Lean on low code web design tools (Webflow, Framer or Figma Sites) to move quickly, and write case studies that highlight the business impact you helped create. It’s a smarter foundation for growing beyond quick websites and toward more meaningful product work.
Good luck and happy to connect if you ever want to share notes.