$500/MRR 1 Month After Launch (Here's How)

Hi IndieHackers,

Long term lurker here. Decided to start documenting how I'm building my new SaaS (www.reviewcircle.io) from $0/m to $10,000/m.

I wanted to share how I was able to go from $0 to $500 MRR in just about a month of launching using a concept i call the "umbrella business."

Some context:

I've been running a digital marketing agency for a few years, working with local businesses (mostly helping them with their paid ads and SEO).

Naturally, I've been able to identify recurring problems that my clients have that can be solved with software. This gave me a clear vision on what software to build without having to do any guesswork.

This led to the birth of a review generation software which fits neatly as a software product that my existing clients can purchase and use.

What i've come to realize is that if you have an existing business, it's much easier to build and sell software that your clients already need than to start a software in a brand new industry.

That's why I call it an "umbrella business."

You can build multiple companies under one "umbrella" that all serve the same customer (and industry). You can leverage your existing customers, case studies, testimonials, content, brand, etc. There's not much work needed to get a new customer since you can up-sell existing customers to new offers.

This is how I've been able to quickly get a few paid users for my SaaS. Every new customer for my agency is also a potential customer for my SaaS.

The alternative is to start a business in a new industry each time, meaning you're essentially starting from zero, which is tough.

Here's my plan (so far) to build an umbrella business:

Lead For Professionals - SEO Agency
Review Circle - Google Review Software
Personal Brand - Coaching, Memberships, Courses

If you'd like to follow more frequent updates on how I'm building all of this out, feel free to follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/prasadmahes