“Automate what stands in your way”: How a web designer grew revenue by 4x with Make

Ever since high school, web design has been Ann’s passion. So much so that three years ago, she turned that passion into Diggiehippie – her side business. As a fresh solopreneur, however, Ann faced a problem every business owner knows too well. 

Juggling all the responsibilities by herself, she didn’t have enough hours in the day.

There was social media to post on every day, and sales follow-ups that often slipped through the cracks. Leads went cold because Ann was too busy to respond quickly enough. And she was doing all of this while working a full-time job.

"I already spend eight to ten hours a day on my full-time job. And if I have to wear all the hats in my business, it wouldn’t fit the 24 hours in a day." 

It became impossible to manage. And to grow, something had to change. But hiring wasn't an option. 

"I thought of hiring someone, but then I took a look at my wallet. I didn't have the money for it."

So Ann did something bold: she decided to automate everything that stood between her and growth. One year later, she had quadrupled her revenue. 

The challenge: When vision meets reality

Ann had a clear vision of what she wanted to achieve. Her challenge was to make her vision a reality. 

How do you grow a business when you're already stretched impossibly thin? When you're competing against large, well-resourced agencies?

Too many hats to wear

Between her full-time job and running Diggiehippie, there was no breathing room. Web design, the work Ann loved, became squeezed between all the tasks she had to do to keep the business running.

Social media was a particular pain point. 

The solution: Reclaiming her time

The tension was clear. Social media consumed roughly ten hours of Ann's week. She needed to be seen, but this was also a time she desperately needed for client work or business development. 

"In business, everyone says the same – you have to be on social media, you have to post every day. I didn't have time for that. I was already working 25 hours in a 24-hour day.” 

She thought about automation and signed up for a free Make trial account. 

To start, she tried out something playful: a fully automated social media profile for a fictional stray dog traveling through Belgium, predicting the weather for every city it passed through. The dog "posted" content, engaged followers, and rapidly built a following.

From this experiment, Ann built a fully automated social media system with Make for her business.

"I hate social media, I lose too much time on it. That’s why I was so excited when I realized how much time I can save with Make.

Sales automation: From cold leads to closed deals

If social media was a time drain, sales were Ann's nemesis. She despised it, and it showed in her results.

Ann often missed out on leads because she didn’t respond in time. Opportunities went cold because Ann wasn’t able to keep on top of her inbox.

“When I used to do it myself, I would send a message late or forget about it completely, and the lead would go cold. They never answer again.”

Since she couldn't hire a salesperson, she built one with Make. Her automation now evaluates leads instantly, handles email and WhatsApp follow-ups while prospects are still interested, and generates agreements and invoices automatically. 

Hours of chasing leads and paperwork now happen automatically and without delay.  

"I think one of the main reasons I quadrupled my revenue is that the follow-ups are better."

Hitting the growth wall

Two years into running Diggiehippie, Ann had her internal processes running smoothly, but hit a growth wall. Lead generation had stalled. 

It was frustrating, but also a wake-up call. The market was changing, and she needed to offer more than just a web design. 

"The leads weren't coming in, and I was thinking, okay, maybe I have to do something differently. Add something to my services."

She could see the energy shifting. Her own automations were getting attention. 

Within thirty minutes of sharing her automated social media experiment, someone had contacted Ann wanting an automated social media profile for their business. This lead became a sale.

The social media system became a product Ann could sell widely to other entrepreneurs facing the same time crunch.

She knew she had a stellar opportunity in her hands.

Ann shifted focus to offering her powerful automation solutions to clients. An AI-powered system that manages the entire client journey from lead to invoice; a budget app that helps entrepreneurs track spending; variations of her social media system customized for different industries.

Time to think, build, and iterate

Once she’d developed a core automation solution, modifying it to the specific client’s expectations was simple. She was able to serve clients quickly. 

"When I think about something that I want to build, I can really do so with Make. Nothing is too wild. Anytime a customer comes to me saying, 'I want this or this,' I know I can build it. Nothing is impossible."

With social media and sales management out of her way, Ann had something she'd never had before: mental space to test ideas and time to build new products. Which she was confident she could do with Make’s visual platform. 

"I have ADHD. My brain is all over the place, and now I can finally see these ideas come to reality." 

The results: 4x revenue and a business that scales

Ann quadrupled her revenue in one year, but the transformation goes deeper than that.

Doing more without doing more

This is the paradox of automation: Ann is doing more than ever – more client work, more product development, more revenue-generating activities – but it doesn't feel like she’s doing more. The exhausting, draining tasks are gone. 

What remains is work that energizes her.

"Now I see that I have much more free time to spend on web design or with my dogs. I found my rhythm."

From one revenue stream to multiple

Ann started as a web designer. Now she's a web designer who also sells AI automation systems, builds custom solutions for clients, and creates digital products. Make unlocked entirely new revenue streams she hadn’t considered before.

She’s found a market supporting others like her. The social media system Ann built as an experiment became a sellable product within 30 minutes of posting about it. The sales automation she created out of necessity is sought by entrepreneurs, solving their own follow-up nightmares.

"All web designers have to realize that things are gonna change. They're already changing, and I think you really have to pivot to remain relevant. AI and automation are the way!"

Automate what stands in your way

Ann's approach was bold. Identify what's draining time and energy, automate it, and redirect that capacity toward evolving her business.

Ann's advice to other solopreneurs wondering if automation is right for them is simple: 

Just start!

"It was actually really quick to fall in love with Make. One day, I recreated an automation I came across, and I was like, damn, this is it. This is gold! After two weeks, I was already making my own automations."

In Ann’s own words, if you're bold enough to automate what's holding you back, there are no limits to what you can achieve. For her, that meant quadrupling revenue while working a full-time job, evolving her business in a changing world, and freeing time for her passions, whether web design or walking her dogs.

"I can just go and relax and explore. I really enjoy life now."

Because when you confront and automate what holds growth back, that's when you make it happen!