Hi, I'm Chris Johnson.
I help web design agencies unlock their potential and free up more time by massively improving efficiency on all levels — so they can consistently get past $20k/mo, $50k/mo and $100k/mo.
It took me 12 years and over 20,000 hours of running my own web design agency to figure this out the hard way.
The honest version.
I started my first web design agency in 2007. For years I thought working from home would be a dream — but in reality I rarely spent time with my family, and when I did, my mind was still on work.
The pain, unpaid bills and stress just kept mounting. I'd missed family vacations and birthdays for "one last thing" for an angry client. Near my lowest point, I remember working through Christmas for a large demanding client while my wife and kids were out enjoying the holidays.
I finished that one client's site, and he decided something wasn't quite right. Rather than discussing it with me — or paying what he owed so I could cover December and January — he reversed the initial deposit from two months earlier.
That single action wiped me out. My company was already in serious debt with back taxes owing. I couldn't pay my mortgage. Everything collapsed. My marriage ended. I lost my wife, my kids, my house, my purpose. I sat with $38k of debt and couldn't find the will to work for the next twelve months.
That was rock bottom. As good as I thought I was at business and web design, I simply didn't know what I didn't know. If I wanted to pursue my dreams, I needed to change my life.
There were only three things 99.8% of web design agencies were doing wrong.
These weren't design problems. They were structural — and they were preventing every agency owner I met from reaching their real potential.
Agency mind blocks
Two mental patterns sabotage most owners — organizational issues, procrastination, inconsistent motivation, failed goals. The way out isn't following more gurus. It's transforming how the owner operates.
Sales leverage
Owners are stuck because budgets are inconsistent and sales is bursty. When they focus on sales, the rest of the agency suffers. The fix is leverage — the most efficient ways to land sales without it eating the week.
The treadmill effect
The faster you run, the more everything falls apart. There isn't enough time, money or energy. You have to drastically increase time leverage so you can grow and still have a life.
A long arc.
- 2007Starts first web design agency.
- 2018Begins mentoring other agencies full-time.
- 2019Upscale Method becomes publicly visible.
- 2020Private mastermind active; community grows past 3,000 agency owners.
- 2024Publicly reports having helped 70+ agencies.
- 2026Ongoing publishing of public-sector and corporate project opportunities.
I can't help every web designer out there. I'm willing to help a few.
If you'd rather get ahead of your competition in weeks instead of decades, apply below and we'll see if it's a fit.