Here's a business model I keep handing to people learning AI web design, because the math is almost unfair. Pick local businesses with dated websites. Build each one a beautiful new site BEFORE they ask, with AI, that's an evening, not a month. Send them the finished link: if you love it, it's $99 a month. Fifty yeses later, you have five grand a month in recurring revenue for maintenance work AI mostly does.
“The worst you could do is they say they don't like it and you give them the money back. There's zero chance of failure.”
Why the model works
- The demo IS the pitch. No proposals, no mockup meetings, they click a link and see their own business looking like it deserves.
- Monthly beats project pricing: a $2,000 one-off ends; $99 a month with hosting, updates, and tweaks compounds forever and builds a relationship that refers.
- The guarantee removes all risk: don't love it after a month? Money back. The worst outcome is a refund on work that took you an evening, there's zero chance of failure.
- When bigger projects come, and they come, anchor high: "I have projects from one thousand to twenty thousand; what range are you looking to invest?" Said with a straight face, and let them answer.
And the proposal for those bigger projects? Record the discovery call, and let AI draft the proposal from the transcript, including the tier they didn't ask for at the top. You're not looking for a job; you're looking for projects. This model manufactures them.
Claire's own numbers
The framework, step by step
- 1
The demo IS the pitch
No proposals, no mockup meetings, they click a link and see their own business looking like it deserves.
- 2
Monthly beats project pricing
a $2,000 one-off ends; $99 a month with hosting, updates, and tweaks compounds forever and builds a relationship that refers.
- 3
The guarantee removes all risk
don't love it after a month? Money back. The worst outcome is a refund on work that took you an evening. There's zero chance of failure.
- 4
When bigger projects come, and they come, anchor high
"I have projects from one thousand to twenty thousand; what range are you looking to invest?" Said with a straight face, and let them answer.
Claire's own framework from this essay, in the order she teaches it.
Source: Claire B. Soares, from her own travel business and live trainings.
Common Questions
How do you sell websites to local businesses?
Build the site before they ask and send them the finished link. The demo is the pitch, and with AI the build is an evening rather than a month.
Why charge monthly instead of per project?
A project ends; monthly hosting, updates, and tweaks compound into recurring revenue and a relationship that refers.
How do you price larger web projects?
Anchor with a range and ask what they are looking to invest, then build the proposal from the recorded discovery call with a tier they did not ask for at the top.
Written By
Claire B. Soares
Claire B. Soares is the founder of Travel AI University, a 6x Condé Nast Traveler Top Travel Specialist, and a Certified AI Consultant with a B.S. in Computer Science. A top 10% enterprise sales executive, she sold $3.4B+ in enterprise software to Google, Microsoft, IBM, Boeing, the federal government, and the DoD, then built $16M+ in luxury travel sales.
About Claire
