#249 – The Keys to Making $1M/Year as a Solo Founder with Brett Williams of DesignJoy

What It Covers

Brett Williams explains how he built DesignJoy into a $1M+ annual revenue solo design agency, serving 40-50 clients simultaneously through unlimited subscription-based design work at $5,000+ monthly rates.

Key Questions Answered

• •Productized service pricing: Charge fixed monthly subscriptions ($4,995-$5,500) instead of hourly rates to shift client perception from buying time to buying business outcomes, enabling premium pricing and predictable revenue without scope negotiations.
• •Zero meeting policy: Eliminate all client calls and manage everything through Trello boards and asynchronous communication. This allows serving one client per hour weekly while maintaining quality, as meetings consume time that could complete three to four client projects.
• •Price increases control demand: Double prices when overwhelmed rather than hiring, as higher rates attract better clients and reduce volume to manageable levels. Each price increase historically increased rather than decreased demand, contrary to founder fears about pricing out the market.
• •Skill velocity through repetition: Build superhuman execution speed by processing thousands of similar requests over years. Williams handles 40-50 concurrent clients by developing pattern recognition and workflow efficiency that typical designers lack without equivalent volume experience.