From $5k projects to a $5m exit: An actionable plan

Stop selling your time.

Are you a trading your time for money?

I certainly am. But it’s not my endgame. And it shouldn’t be yours either.

Trading your time for money builds income.

But building assets creates wealth.

Let’s talk about how to turn your income into wealth.

The “fast money” trap

When I first started building apps with no-code I was 100% focused on trying to build a successful SaaS product. I could afford to because at the time I also had a day job and a salary to pay my bills.

Then I made the decision to go full-time as a no-code maker.

And this was where I fell into the trap.

In order to pay my bills, I needed cash every month. Building successful SaaS businesses is a notoriously slow process, so that wasn’t going to cut it.

So I did what most people do - I started taking on freelancing and coaching jobs.

This generates immediate income, but it’s what entrepreneurs call “fast money” - it’s cash that comes in quickly but leaves just as fast.

It’s akin to a salary. I get paid each month but that money just goes straight out on costs.

The real path to wealth requires a strategic shift.

We need to find the “slow money” - this means creating assets that can earn money while we sleep.

We need to remove ourselves from the day-to-day work and build a real scalable, sellable business.

But why do we want to sell a business?

Why selling a business beats earning income from it

Simply put, selling is a far more efficient and faster way to build wealth.

To understand this, let’s look at a UK example. It will be different if you’re outside the UK, but the same principles hold true.

Let’s say Sally runs a successful UK digital agency making £1M in profit. She has two options:

Option 1: Take the profit as dividends

Sally pays around 40% in tax

From her £1M, she keeps £600K

Government gets £400K

Sally isn't thrilled 😢

Option 2: Sell her business

Thanks to Business Asset Disposal Relief (BADR) in the UK, she pays just 10% tax

From her £1M, she keeps £900K

Government gets £100K

Sally is dancing 💃

But here's where it gets interesting...

Most businesses sell for a multiple of their profit. Let's say Sally sells her business for 5x profit (£5M):

She pays 10% tax on first £1M (£100K)

20% on the remaining £4M (£800K)

Total tax: £900K

Sally keeps: £4.1M 🎉

So as you can see, building a business to sell can be WAY more tax-efficient than taking regular dividends. Plus, you get the benefit of a larger lump sum to reinvest.

Quick note: This is simplified maths and based on UK figures (also the disposal relief tax is increasing to 18% in 2026). In the US I believe you don’t have disposal relief but your capital gains taxes will still be lower than income taxes.

The key point is: building to sell > taking dividends.

So how do you do it?

In the roadmap below I’m going to use the example of no-code freelancers because that’s what I know best.

But you can apply a similar plan and logic to almost any situation where you’re trading your time for money.

A 5-year roadmap to go from no-code freelancing to selling your business

Year 1: Mastering sales

The goal for this year is to learn sales, and this requires a mindset shift.

Stop thinking of yourself as a “no-code developer” and start being a “sales executive officer” who happens to build with no-code.

Work on your freelancer portfolio site

Hone your client pitching process

Create case studies for successful projects

Build a systematic outreach process

Consciously aim for high-ticket projects rather than small builds

Of course you’ll have to spend a lot of your time actually building, but the important part is you’re thinking like a salesperson.

Real-life example: Bubble freelancer Tife Olayinka built a stunning portfolio website and is making a name for himself showcasing his excellent design skills.

Year 2: Building marketing systems

The goal for this year is to focus on marketing. That doesn’t mean just posting on X.

Learn copywriting, this will be a hugely valuable investment of your time

Create educational content around your builds

Build in public to showcase your process

Package your knowledge into templates and guides

Hopefully you’ll now be earning some passive income from your templates and guides, as well as building a following online.

Real-life example: Mark Bowley is a freelance designer but also packages his knowledge into courses like Tiny Design Lessons.

Year 3: Productise (or Productize if you’re in the US)

The goal for this year is to transform your services (building apps for clients) into scalable products.

Once you’ve turned what you do into a repeatable process, you can start extracting yourself from the equation.

Create templates with your best apps

Build micro-SaaS products using your templates and sell them

Package your knowledge into repeatable “productised service” offerings e.g. instead of offering to “build any app”, offer “1-month MVP for $10k” packages.

Real-life example: I turned my experience building SaaS products into the Bullet Launch template which now generates a significant part of my monthly income (did I mention it’s currently 40% off?!).

Year 4: Build teams and processes

The goal is to transform from a person-dependent business into a valuable, scalable asset that can operate without you. Every decision in Year 4 should be made with this end goal in mind.

Hire other no-code developers to handle your projects

Hire virtual assistants to handle the day-to-day admin work

Form partnerships with agencies and earn client referral fees

Focus on building systems rather than doing the work

Real-life example: JJ Englert has switched from freelancing to building No-Code Alliance, an education platform and no-code job board.

Year 5: Position for exit

By now you’ve got a business where the majority of the work is either handled by your team or automated. You’ve spent time figuring out the systems that work.

The goal now is to position your business for acquisition.

Document all processes and systems

Build a strong management team

Create multiple revenue streams

Keep clean financial records

Network with potential acquirers

Real-life example: Ben Tossell built Makerpad, a no-code education platform, and then sold it to Zapier for 7-figures.

Remember, even if you never sell, building a business that could be sold makes it more valuable and sustainable. It also equips you with valuable skillsets which you can apply in later businesses.

And you’ve successfully extracted yourself from the day-to-day.

Congratulations! You now own your most valuable asset: time.

Action steps for Monday morning

Figure out where you are in this journey

List 3 ways you can productise your work

Block 2 hours for sales and marketing

Start thinking about your own 5 year plan