Everyone is saying to start an AI business.
That you can start a 1-person AI business (with zero code and zero employees) and make $1M.
That’s true… if you have 40+ hours a week to learn and implement AI.
But what if you don’t?
What if you work a full-time job now and have kids and family commitments?
And at the end of the day, you have maybe 8-12 hours a week where you can work on your ‘side hustle’?
What businesses should you start then?
A Digital Agency.
But not in the way that you think.
Digital agencies are one of the easiest and highest cash-flow businesses to start 2026.
It’s one of the only few online businesses where you can start from zero and turn it into a seven-figure business, or even a multimillion-dollar exit, in 12-18 months.
And today, you’ll hear from Greg from Empire Flippers on why that is, what makes digital agencies so attractive, and where the biggest opportunities are right now. If you want 2026 to be the year you become richer, watch this interview.
The AI Advantage: Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Start a Digital Agency
Here’s something that really caught my attention during our conversation. Greg believes that out of all the business models that can leverage AI, service businesses and agencies benefit the most.
Why? Because agencies have traditionally been labour-intensive operations. Every client requires human attention, human creativity, human hours. But AI is fundamentally changing that equation.
“You might be able to use AI to create a low-level SDR that is qualifying the leads. So your actual sales guy doesn’t have to do that because they all hate that top of funnel work. And then now they’re just focused on people that the AI has already qualified, which opens up massive amounts of leverage.”
This creates what Greg calls “asymmetric growth”—the ability to scale your output without proportionally scaling your costs or team size. For those of you just starting out, this means you can compete with established agencies from day one by leveraging these tools intelligently.
The Hidden Opportunity in Smaller Agencies
Now, here’s where things get really interesting for our community. Greg was refreshingly honest about a dynamic in the M&A world that creates genuine opportunity for savvy buyers.
Smaller digital agencies are harder to sell.
Wait—why is that good news? Because it means you can often acquire them at significant discounts.
“A lot of the times, those profit margins are pretty good, but the reason why they’re so good is because there’s one person. So if there’s only one person, the value of that business becomes really, really hard.”
When an agency is essentially a one-person operation making $2,500 to $9,000 per month, buyers see it as purchasing a job rather than a business. That perception drives prices down to 1x to 2x multiples—meaning you can acquire client books for relatively low investment.
The opportunity? If you have systems in place (or are building them), you can bolt these smaller acquisitions together. You’re getting proven client relationships at discount prices, then applying proper business infrastructure to create something far more valuable than the sum of its parts.
This is exactly the kind of strategic thinking we encourage in our community. Start smart, leverage what others have built, and focus your energy on creating systems that scale.
The Magic Number: $30K Per Month
I asked Greg what milestone our community should be aiming for as a first serious goal, and his answer was crystal clear.
$30,000 profit per month.
At this level, you’re looking at a potential million-dollar asset. Greg was emphatic about this: “In general, a million dollar business starts right around the $30,000 to $40,000 per month in profit.”
Now, if you’re just starting out, thirty grand a month might sound like a mountain to climb. But here’s the reality check Greg provided—that’s roughly 30 clients at $1,000 per month each. Yes, it’s hectic when you’re building up, but it’s absolutely achievable.
In fact, Greg shared an example of a friend whose agency is worth an estimated $5.5 to $6 million—and he only has 26 clients. Higher value clients, proper systems, and the right positioning can get you to significant valuations without needing hundreds of customers.
The Three Pillars of a Sellable Agency
If you want to build a digital agency that commands premium valuations, Greg outlined three critical areas you need to master. Miss any of these, and you’ll struggle to sell—or you’ll sell for far less than your business deserves.
Pillar One: Your Acquisition System
How do you get clients? Is it scalable? Is it repeatable? Is it documented?
Greg has seen agencies where the owner’s “acquisition strategy” involves walking into convenience stores, handing out business cards, and sticking flyers in gas station pumps. That might get you started—and there’s nothing wrong with hustle when you’re building your first few clients—but it’s not a system a buyer will pay premium prices for.
The gold standard? Paid advertising that works without you.
“His acquisition funnel—it’s all ads. He doesn’t post any content, no organic content. The moment he stopped doing that and focused on just building a really good marketing funnel, he went from a low six-figure agency to now a multi-millionaire agency in just two and a half years.”
This friend also has a sales team closing deals and a call centre (or AI nowadays) qualifying leads. He’s not part of the sales process at all. That’s what makes an agency valuable.
Pillar Two: Removing Your Personal Brand
This one might be controversial, but Greg made a compelling case that I think everyone building for an exit needs to hear.
Personal brands are fantastic for getting started. They become a liability when you want to sell.
When you’re building your first clients, being the face of your business creates speed of trust. People buy from people they know and like. Use every advantage you have.
“If a buyer is looking at your business and it’s the Matt show all the time, or the Greg show all the time—it’s like, okay, is this business strong because of Matt or Greg, or is it strong on its own?”
Greg even used Alex Hormozi as an example. When Hormozi sold Gym Launch, he deliberately removed himself from the ads and marketing before the sale. His new personal brand building? It’s specifically designed to create deal flow for acquisitions—and he intentionally keeps his personal brand separate from the businesses he acquires.
The practical advice: as you grow, transition yourself out of the marketing. Put your COO in the ads. Feature your team members. Build a business that isn’t dependent on your face and personality.
Pillar Three: Teams, Systems, and Delegation
This is where the rubber meets the road. You need people doing fulfillment, sales, and operations—and ideally, you want to be completely replaceable.
Greg dropped a contrarian insight here that I absolutely love:
“You don’t need to hire A players. You should hire C players and make A player systems.”
Greg Elfrink
Think about that for a moment. A C player working within an excellent system will produce A-level results. An A player working without systems will produce A-level results too—but when they leave, you’re devastated. And A players often become your competitors.
Focus on building systems so robust that average employees can produce exceptional work. That’s what creates real enterprise value.
The Team Structure That Works
One myth Greg busted during our conversation: you don’t have to offshore everything to the Philippines to build a profitable agency.
He shared examples of friends running multi-million dollar agencies with entirely local teams—people coming into an office, earning good salaries, operating like traditional businesses. One friend even uses “100% American Made” as his marketing angle.
The key insight? Pay people enough that they don’t have to worry about money.
“If you give them enough money that they don’t have to think about food, they don’t have to think about their rent—that frees up so much of their mental bandwidth to do all the other stuff for your business.”
Greg Elfrink
Whether you offshore, hire locally, or do a hybrid approach, the principle remains: take care of your team, and they’ll take care of your clients. That’s what creates the talent asset that buyers are ultimately paying for.
When to Start Planning Your Exit
Here’s advice that could save you hundreds of thousands of dollars: don’t wait until you’re ready to sell to talk to a broker.
Greg recommends reaching out when you’re hitting around $15,000 per month for six months consistently—even though your exit might be 18-20 months away. Why? Because there are specific things you can do in that runway to significantly increase your valuation.
“If you come to me earlier, like at least 12 months in advance—okay, there’s things we can do now that you should be doing over these next few months before you come back to me that can seriously increase your valuation.”
Greg Elfrink
Simple things matter. Greg mentioned one client who had none of his clients on autopay—spending hours on admin work every month that could have been eliminated instantly. These “common sense” improvements get missed when you’re in the daily grind.
The Path from Side Hustle to Seven Figures
What excites me most about this conversation is the clarity of the pathway. Digital agencies can be whatever you want them to be:
- A side hustle generating extra income while you keep your day job
- A lifestyle business giving you freedom and flexibility
- A wealth-building vehicle destined for a multi-million dollar exit
The same fundamental skills apply at every level. Learn how to acquire clients. Build systems that deliver results. Create processes that don’t depend on you.
Greg has a friend who’s built an agency worth an estimated $20 million. He’s created his own family office from the wealth this business has generated. Greg tries to buy it from him every three months—and the answer is always no, because it’s generating too much cash flow.
That could be you. Whether you want to sell for millions or build a perpetual income machine, digital agencies offer a pathway that few other business models can match right now.
Your Next Step
The buyers are out there with billions in capital ready to deploy. The AI tools are making agencies more profitable than ever. The window of opportunity is wide open.
The question isn’t whether digital agencies are a good opportunity—Greg’s data makes that undeniable. The question is whether you’re going to take action while the timing is right.
If you want to learn the same digital skills that help you start a side-hustle and turn it into a 7-figure exit, click here to learn about the WebDev Accelerator course.
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