Meet Sam 👋
CEO of Web Design & SEO Agency Thencan Designs and founder of Local SEO Academy.
But back in 2022, this wasn't the case. He was working a "soul-sucking" 9-5 job, desperate for time and financial freedom.
This is his story of how he went from Beginner to Pro, and $0 to $350,000 in revenue, in just 3 Years.
Sam is one of our highest-performing Web Designer Pro members and all but set a record for someone who starts with ZERO experience and works their way up to a multi-6-figure business in this amount of time. But as you'll see, Sam's commitment, work ethic, and "ready, fire, aim" mentality are what's behind his fast trajectory.
Web Designer Pro gave him the path, but man did he have the fuel!
Here's a quick overview of his journey before we dive into the full story 👇
Now, I could write a Harry Potter-sized book about Sam's journey so far but I've tried to condense it to the most important highlights and points that are going to help YOU as a web designer who's looking to grow to 6-figures in a year or two and build a business around your lifestyle freedom goals, ideally with a small but mighty team, to support you.
And everything we'll cover here, including revenue, stats and data, Sam has given full permission to share. It's all information taken from the video above, his first appearance on my podcast (ep 342) where he shares how he grew to 7k MRR, Sam's second appearance (ep 399), where he shares how he 10X'd his revenue from 25k in year one, to 250k in year three and several private coaching call appearances and DM's inside of Web Designer Pro.
Because Sam has been a Coaching Tier member since joining Web Designer Pro in January 2023, I've had a front-row seat watching his success, which we'll unpack...NOW!
Before Joining Pro 😔
Back in 2022, Sam was working a draining, 9-to-5 job and struggling just to get time off to see family. While on a walk on the side of a mountain in Bend Oregon, he discovered my show The Web Design Business Podcast, and after getting so much value, inspiration and practical tips from the podcast, he then dipped his toe into Pro.
He started with the courses tier but quickly upgraded to the coaching tier, even though, by his own admission, he couldn’t really afford it at the time:
“I joined Pro at the coaching tier when I couldn’t afford it. But I couldn’t afford not to. And who knew how much value I’d get out of it? I’ve built real relationships in Pro that changed my life and business.”
He hadn’t even built his own website yet and knew “almost nothing” about web design. At the time, he admitted, joining something called Web Designer Pro felt intimidating because it seemed like it was “only for pros.” I'll work on that...
But deep down, Sam had urgency to make this business happen, and happen fast. He wanted the kind of lifestyle where he could be his own boss, spend time with family when he chose, and build something bigger than himself.
Shortly after he jumped up to the coaching tier, Sam said...
“It was maybe the best decision I ever made.”
Introduction message to Sam when he joined Pro in January 2023
How Pro Helped Sam 💪
💻 Courses & Training
Sam wisely dove into the courses first and discovered what he calls “Josh’s gift to the universe”: the Web Design Business Course that lays out SOPs to run a professional web design business. Alongside that, he picked up technical training (like DNS, site build process, and website design) along with more business training about building recurring revenue and scaling his business to a small team. All, he says, gave him confidence and clarity to build sites that he could charge several thousand dollars for and a path to follow for getting clients and growing his business.
Sam found a particular interest in SEO after going through the SEO Course, which would soon lead to his biggest money-making service...Local SEO
🛟 Community Support
As noted, after making his way through the courses, he jumped up to the coaching tier which gave him access to EVERYTHING in Pro. Including the community. Sam has publicly said...
"I've tried other web design communities and nothing...NOTHING, compares to Web Designer Pro. Pro is THE BEST web design community on the internet."
Right away, Sam found himself surrounded by web designers at every stage of the journey—some brand new like him, who we call "builders", and others crushing it at a high level, who we call "growers or scalers." That mix created an environment that, he says, you can’t get from free Facebook groups or other online spaces.
I've personally learned, as a web design professional and online entrepreneur, it's ideal to have:
- Peers learning with you
- Cheerleaders supporting you
- And a coach challenging you
Sam got all three by investing in the coaching tier. And that was the true key behind his fast trajectory.
🚀 Coaching & Mentorship
Having direct, private access to me meant he could ask hard questions, get feedback, and share struggles in real time. I was able (as he says) to guide him through:
- Transitioning from freelancer to web design & SEO agency owner.
- Adding a growth service (local SEO) to create recurring monthly revenue.
- Building confidence as an expert-leader and “webpreneur.”
And because Sam was open to sending videos and unafraid to put his face out there, I encouraged him to start a YouTube channel, which has grown to nearly 2,000 subscribers at the time of writing this!!
Eventually, despite my recommendation to wait 😅, Sam couldn't help but share how he's finding so much success with Local SEO and Web Design that he started his own Local SEO Academy where he now teaches others specifically how to learn and make money selling Local SEO on top of any web design model.
Sam summed it up:
“Josh has not only helped me grow my agency… He also helped me become a webpreneur.”
Sam's Local SEO Academy has become a "little brother" community to Web Designer Pro and I'm a proud affiliate and partner. People come to Web Designer Pro to learn how to build and grow their web design biz but for those who specifically want to dive deep into Local SEO, Sam's on the cutting edge, so we have many overlapping members.
One thing I teach inside of Pro is to build "win-win-win" relationships between you, your partners and your customers. That's what me and Sam have going!
Sam's Local SEO Academy is now an official Pro Partner & Affiliate
Current Stats & Wins 📈
So in short, and in under three years, Sam has:
✅ Generated over $350,000 in top-line revenue.
✅ Built a multi-figure micro SEO agency with a team around him.
✅ 10X'd his revenue (from 25k in 2023, 125k in 2024 and projected to surpass 250k in 2025)
✅ Helped dozens of clients both locally and beyond.
✅ On track to bring home nearly $100,000 USD in net income in 2025.
✅ Become THE Local SEO expert with his YouTube channel and Local SEO Academy.
But the result of those wins is what's more important, because Sam has found freedom. No more begging for time off. No more wondering if this dream was possible. In fact, he recently let me know that he was able to take a true vacation, a completely disconnected week off, and everything was fine. Projects got done, business moved forward, revenue came in – all while he was "off the grid."
“The goal wasn’t to be Josh’s biggest success story. The goal was to get the freedom and lifestyle that I love… and I feel like we’re right in the middle of that right now.”
3 Reasons Sam Recommends Pro ⏰
As Sam states in this video, here's why he recommends joining Pro RIGHT NOW:
- You don’t need to be a pro to join – Beginners and seasoned designers alike find value in the community.
- The courses cover everything you need – From the basics of building a site to scaling an agency.
- Direct access to Josh – Coaching calls and private DMs give you access to someone who's been collecting THE BEST strategies and proven processes for years, from hundreds of Pro members, podcast guests and industry experts.
- And as a bonus, Sam raved about WDPCON 2025 (aka PRO CON) the annual in-person event where Web Designer Pro members meet, connect, and grow together.
Sam joins me and all the Web Designer Pro members who joined us for our first in-person conference
WDPCON 2025 was just as transformative for Sam as it was for me personally. It's one thing to have a close coaching/mentor relationship with someone online, but when you meet them in person, you really get a sense of gratitude and genuine emotion, thankfulness, and sincerity that's hard to really get virtually.
So, needless to say, when Sam said "it was wild meeting in real life," that goes both ways!!
Sam and I meeting in-person for the first time at WDPCON2025
And to top it off, we had a speaker cancellation just a couple weeks before the event and Sam offered to fill in!
Literally last minute, he packaged up everything he could about building MRR through Local SEO into a workshop that he presented live and KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK.
The replay is currently available inside Pro.
Sam presenting live at WDPCON2025
🙏 Final word from Sam
“As I always say...all glory to Josh. Honestly, I wouldn't be here without you and the Web Designer Pro community and I can't thank you enough.” - Sam Sarsten
Connect with Sam:
- Sam's Web Design & SEO Agency thencandesigns.com
- Sam's Local SEO Academy (affiliate link)
- Sam's SEO YouTube Channel
- Sam's LinkedIn
Links mentioned:
