My One-Man SEO Agency Makes $11K/Month

August 16th, 2025

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About
Business

Benas Leonavicius

Founder, TalkThrive Agency

$11.5K

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

TalkThrive Agency

[email protected]

from Vilnius

started January 2020

$11,500

revenue/mo

Founders

Employees

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Who are you and what business did you start?

I’m Benas Leonavicius, a Lithuanian-born SEO specialist and the founder of a lean, solo-first agency at TalkThrive.

I specialise in helping keynote speakers turn their websites into steady, organic traffic machines to generate more speaking gigs for them.

What makes my business different is how intentionally small and relational it is: I cap myself at a handful of clients, obsess over long-term wins, and let carefully documented case studies (plus a good “vibe” on calls) do most of the selling.

The majority of my clients come from referrals, since keynote speakers are very well contented with one another, my results are quickly shared amongst them.

Today I bring in around $11K in monthly retainers (roughly $130k/year) with 90%+ profit margins.

Benas Leonavicius

How do you come up with the idea for TalkThrive Agency?

I backed into SEO by accident.

More than a decade ago, I was writing articles for pocket money. One client needed those posts to rank, so I taught myself basic on-page SEO and watched the traffic climb.

Seeing those first keyword wins was my “aha”:

I realized I wasn’t just writing. I was moving real business metrics with search.

From there, curiosity turned into obsession. I spent late nights inside Google Search Console, forums, and free tutorials, tinkering with sites like they were puzzles. Even started my own website so that I could learn how SEO works. Later on, some of those sites succeeded, and I sold them for a profit.

Eventually, I saw that packaging this skill as a service, full-stack SEO, not just content, was the most natural move for me. I have a video where I shared my full freelancing story.

How was this different from other business ideas you had?

Before SEO stuck, I tried everything: e-commerce stores, self-publishing books, social media experiments, paid ads (at one point I managed over $900k in Facebook ads budgets), and email marketing. All of those were valuable mini-MBAs, but none combined my love for technical problem-solving, storytelling, and measurable results quite like SEO did.

SEO was the only idea that let me deliver long-term, compounding value to clients, not just one-off wins. That made it worth doubling down. I really enjoy working on something that has a long-term impact.

What is your expertise/background related to your business?

I’ve got 10+ years in SEO, spanning strategy, technical audits, content planning, and link acquisition. I've worked on startups, big SAAS companies, and complex e-commerce sites.

I’m not a giant agency with departments. It’s mostly me, supported by 2–3 specialized freelancers when needed. That forces me to stay hands-on and sharp, which clients appreciate.

My background also includes those early marketing experiments (paid media, email, content), which means I understand where SEO fits inside a bigger growth ecosystem. I can talk with a CMO about positioning just as easily as I can dive into a site’s crawl budget.

How did you know this was the right idea to work on? How did you validate it?

I validated it the old-fashioned way: get a win, package it, repeat. I ran low‑risk pilots that turned into retainers, used Upwork for early volume and instant feedback, and watched those clients refer others. When people stayed six months, a year (some even six years), it proved the offer. I go into a lot more detail about how I build my keynote speaker client list in this video.

How did you launch TalkThrive Agency and get initial traction?

I never had a grand launch, no countdowns, landing pages, or Twitter threads. I “launched” by doing the work. I emailed a handful of prospects with mini audits, polished my Upwork profile with one strong case study, and let friends know I was taking on SEO projects. That was it.

As for the keynote speaker aspect, I found this client via one of the paid courses, kind of by accident, as they were the ones that approached me. After working with them, I realised this specific client has a lot of potential.

How did you tell the world and get the word out?

Early on, it was 80% direct outreach and 20% being present where my clients already hung out. Personalized cold emails and a few cold calls got me my first SEO contracts.

Later, I joined a YouTube course with a community and simply showed up. One genuine conversation there turned into a multi‑year client and more referrals (more about this in this video). Each win became a case study I could reuse, which quietly did most of the marketing for me. More about this in this video.

How did people respond to your "launch"?

Because there wasn’t a flashy launch, the response came one conversation at a time. Prospects appreciated the low‑risk pilots and the calm, no‑hype approach. More than once, I heard, “You’re just easy to work with” - that vibe helped a lot.

Lessons from the launch. What would you repeat or change?

I’d repeat the proof-first approach: ship results, turn them into assets, and use those to open doors. What I’d do earlier is formalize a referral engine and set a rule that no single client should make up more than 40% of revenue. That would have saved me some early anxiety.

The story of your first dollar / first sale

My very first money online came from writing articles for a friend of a friend’s site. It wasn’t glamorous, but seeing someone pay me for words I wrote was electric.

My first true SEO dollar came a bit later from a small e‑commerce shop that hired me for a three‑month audit and on‑page optimization. I still remember refreshing their analytics and realizing, “Oh, this actually moves the needle.”

How long did it take to make your first dollar?

Roughly six months from when I started dabbling seriously. The writing gig paid first, and the SEO contract followed soon after.

How did you attract your first few clients?

Personal network → cold outreach → Upwork → Referrals.

I started with people I already knew, then sent targeted emails offering quick wins. Upwork amplified that momentum, and once I had a couple of wins, proposals started converting faster, and those clients turned into referrals.

What did you learn about yourself or the business in that phase?

I learned I’m not built for the constant “new client or die” treadmill. I crave depth over volume. That pushed me to prioritize long-term retainers, set a cap on client count, and keep the business intentionally lean so margins stay healthy and stress stays low.

What was the growth strategy for TalkThrive Agency and how did you scale?

Case studies plus relationships have done 80% of the heavy lifting.

I’d win a result, turn it into a tight story (with screenshots/metrics), and use that as the hook for the next conversation. I also recorded quick Loom mini‑audits (5–7 minutes) showing exactly what I’d fix. That tiny bit of upfront value opened more doors than any slick pitch deck.

What channels have you used to grow the business, and why?

I cycled through a few, each for a reason:

Upwork for early volume and rapid feedback. It’s noisy, but if you tailor proposals and deliver, it compounds fast.

Referrals & private communities (paid courses, Slack groups, mastermind circles) because trust is pre-installed there.

YouTube & newsletters to share what I’m learning and attract freelancers/creators who resonate with my style.

LinkedIn more recently, to stay visible to operators and founders who live there daily.

A real example of a tactic that worked

I joined a YouTube course (Part-Time YouTubers Academy) purely to sharpen my video creation skills.

Instead of pitching, I just networked with everyone.

One member DM’d me, we started a pilot, and it turned into a multi‑year retainer plus several warm intros. Zero cold outreach. Just being useful where my ideal clients already hang out. At the time, I wasn't particularly targeting keynote speakers.

Why did that work? What can readers learn?

Context + proof + low friction.

I showed up in a space where people already trusted each other, proved competence with tiny, specific wins, and made it effortless to say “yes” (a small pilot, clear deliverables).

Readers can copy this by borrowing audiences: find a room (course, community, newsletter comments) where your buyers gather, be genuinely helpful, and let results (not pitches) start the sales conversation.

Recommendations for aspiring entrepreneurs trying to grow

Prove it once, package it forever. One solid case study can be reused dozens of times.

Lower the barrier to entry. A short audit or pilot beats a 12‑month contract ask.

Engineer referrals. Ask happy clients, “Who else struggles with this?” and make introducing you painless.

Pick one channel and master it. Depth beats dabbling everywhere.

Mind your margins. Growth that destroys profit isn’t growth.

Do those consistently, and you won’t need a giant “launch.” Your pipeline will quietly fill itself.

What were the biggest lessons learned from building TalkThrive Agency?

Early on I said yes to everything, over‑promised, and under‑priced.

I let one client creep past 50% of my revenue and lost sleep over churn. I delayed formalizing a referral process, and I tried to “do it all” instead of doubling down on what worked. I also underestimated how emotionally draining feast‑and‑famine cycles are. Burnout isn’t just about hours, it’s about uncertainty.

Good decisions I’d repeat

Keeping the agency intentionally tiny. Turning every win into a reusable asset. Requiring 6‑month retainers. Tracking margins like a hawk. Joining paid communities where my clients already hang out. Saying “no” faster once my pipeline was healthy. Those choices protected both profit and sanity.

Luck, timing, and trends that helped

Remote work went mainstream, so hiring a solo SEO from Lithuania stopped feeling risky. Upwork’s early algorithm favored fast, tailored proposals, which let me stand out quickly. None of that was in my control, but I was ready when it happened.

Lessons learned (and applied)

Scarcity mindset makes bad decisions. I set a client cap and a “no client > 40%” rule.

Anxiety drops when you have assets: case studies, SOPs, repeatable offers.

Relationships compound like revenue. I now treat every good client like a five‑year friend.

If it’s not measured, it’s a guess. Profit, churn risk, lead sources. Track them.

Helpful habits & skills

Relentless documentation (screenshots, Looms, mini post‑mortems). Short feedback loops (pilot first, then expand). Being genuinely easy to work with, clear comms, no drama. And a bias for “show, don’t tell”: I demonstrate value instead of hyping it.

Non‑obvious tips

Join rooms where your buyers hang out. Paid beats free because noise is lower and the quality of leads is higher.

Package your thinking, not just your doing. Frameworks and checklists signal expertise.

Decide what you won’t scale. Constraints create clarity.

Common mistakes I see others make

Chasing every platform at once. Hiding behind content instead of talking to prospects. Letting one whale client dictate their calendar (and mood). Ignoring delivery while obsessing over acquisition. Growing headcount for ego, not necessity.

Inspire us!

You don’t need a massive team, venture funding, or a viral launch. You need one real win, packaged well, and the courage to repeat it with discipline. Keep the business small enough to love, profitable enough to breathe, and human enough that people want to stick around. The compounding comes faster than you think.

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