How to Build a 6 Figure Business with AppSumo [Case Study]

Meet Doc Williams, a serial entrepreneur who runs a 6-figure business.

Doc is a man of many interests and found his entrepreneurial spirit early in life. How early in life, you ask? Well, at the age of 7, he was running his first business, trading baseball cards; at 12, he was a wedding DJ; and at 14, he became a club DJ (yes, 14. We can thank his wise eyes and the club’s lax enforcement of policies for that gig). He’s also been a massage therapist, a physical therapist assistant, owned a crime scene clean-up company, and opened his first gym…all by the time he was 23! Not too bad for someone who didn’t speak until he was 5 and read until he was 9, eh?

Now, Doc runs The Toolkit Agency, which is a branding and marketing agency for fitness professionals.

How to Build a 6 Figure Business with AppSumo: Doc Williams’ Journey

Doc’s Story Starts Here…

After opening two gyms in his twenties, Doc found himself burnt out from gym ownership and decided to pivot his career. He knew he wanted to stay in the fitness industry, but didn’t know which career path to choose. At this point, he began taking courses on copywriting to expand his skill set. (Fun fact: One of those courses was the Kopywriting Kourse by Neville Medhora, a founding employee of AppSumo.) With his newfound copywriting skills, Doc landed at a job at ESPN, took on many side jobs, and eventually became a webmaster for various companies and personalities in the fitness industry.

As word-of-mouth spread, more and more people began seeking out Doc to help improve their branding and marketing. It was at this point that Doc realized he needed to start an agency to house all of this work…and thus, The Toolkit Agency was born.

At the Toolkit Agency, Doc works with fitness influencers to ‘hone their super-powers.’ He works with people to help them understand what their unique talents are and helps them develop signature products to expand their personal brand.

How Doc Grew His Agency to 6-Figures

When Doc launched The Toolkit Agency, he was charging his clients $125/mo. to build their brand and manage their website. But even with a handful of clients, Doc couldn’t afford the software that would automate and streamline his business, so he was doing everything manually and losing a ton of time — time he needed to grow his business.

Luckily, Doc discovered AppSumo. AppSumo allowed Doc to purchase affordable tools that, in turn, helped him expand his agency offerings. In just over two years, Doc went from charging $125/mo. to $5,700/mo. Doc says, without AppSumo, he would likely still be at a 9-to-5 job.

Here are some of the ways that Doc uses AppSumo tools to grow his business:

Book Like A Boss (Appointment-setting and service-selling software — Purchased on AppSumo for $39; regularly $300/year)

Doc uses Book Like A Boss to set up phone calls with prospective appointments. His personalized booking page gives him a professional look that builds trust in his service right from the start.

Paperform (Customizable form software — Purchased on AppSumo for $39; regularly $348/year)

The next stop in Doc’s process is sending potential clients an intake form that he created with Paperform. Paperform integrates with his email service provider and easily sends notifications.

Dubb (Personalized video software — Purchased on AppSumo for $59; regularly $480/year)

Once the client has filled out the form and is officially a client, Doc will send them a personalized ‘welcome and thank you’ video using Dubb.

Notejoy (Notetaking software — Purchased on AppSumo for $49; regularly $249)

Running a remote business can get hectic. That’s why Doc and his team use Notejoy to communicate and stay on the same page with tasks, duties, and clients.

How Doc Is Helping Others

Doc isn’t just using the tools he’s found on AppSumo to grow his own business; he’s also using these tools to help his customers grow their own businesses. For example, Doc was working with an influencer who had a YouTube channel and was really struggling to get views and subscribers. Because Doc had purchased TubeBuddy from AppSumo, he was able to find the right angle to grow his client’s YouTube channel. With the information gathered from TubeBuddy, his client put out a video that garnered over 1 million views and over 10K new subscribers within the first month! This was life-changing for the client and a true testament to Doc’s success.

And if you think Doc is just in it for money (although, it is a nice perk), you’re wrong. Doc’s goal is to accumulate enough capital to start a passion project (does this man ever sleep?) that will help entrepreneurs with disabilities, specifically, dyslexia, break into the business. The desire to undertake this project stems from being late to the talking and reading party as a child and from a college professor who held up his paper and said, “That guy is the worst writer I have ever read in my life.” (Not nice, Professor Meanie.)

Want more?

If you are interested in learning more about Doc and his business, watch the full interview below: