"How do you even know all this? I could never have worked this out."

That's what Karolina said after we launched her photo retouching business in three weeks.

Professional brand. Website live. CRM configured. LinkedIn presence. Instagram active. Thirty qualified leads researched. Complete outreach system ready to go.

Here's how we did it - and what I learnt along the way.

The Client

Karolina is a talented photo retoucher who's worked on high-end projects for many years with designer Matthew Williamson. She trained in graphic design and illustration in Poland before moving to Spain in 2016.

But when her daughter was born in February 2023, she deliberately scaled back to minimal work. Nearly three years later, she felt ready to return properly - but there was a problem.

She had the same handful of long-term clients she'd always had. Regular work, but limited. When it came to growing beyond that:

• No website

• No professional email (just regular Gmail)

• No LinkedIn presence

• No social media strategy

• Most importantly: no idea how to find new clients

She'd tried posting in local Facebook networking groups and had an Instagram showcasing her work. Nothing produced leads.

The challenge wasn't fixing what was broken - it was building what didn't exist.

The Brief

Karolina wanted to:

• Increase her rates to match high-end photo retouchers with her experience level

• Build a larger client base (less vulnerable to one client reducing work)

• Fill a full-time working week with meaningful projects

Her constraints weren't budget or time - they were not knowing where to start.

Like many creatives, she's happiest doing client work. The business side doesn't appeal, but it's necessary. And this is particularly important: she doesn't just do this for the money. She gets real satisfaction from the craft.

We had three weeks.

Week 1: Brand & Foundation

The Brand Decision

We wanted the brand minimal and elegant - so her clients' work could shine. The photos needed to pop, not compete with a busy identity.

Using Claude AI, we explored three different colour palette options. Karolina chose a green palette we called "Tramuntana" (after the mountainous region where she lives).

Why AI for this? Because Claude is exceptionally good at creative iteration. We fed it ideas, refined through several rounds, and landed on colours, positioning, and fonts much faster than traditional design processes.

Platform Choices

For hosting and the website, we chose Hostinger's Business plan: €43 for 12 months, including:

• Website builder (or WordPress if she wants to migrate later)

• Custom domain (a .com free for first year)

• Five email addresses

• Professional hosting

This was my first time using Hostinger's website builder (I've used Squarespace, Wix, and Framer before). For a simple site that needed to be online quickly? Absolutely brilliant.

The Email Pivot

We started with Hostinger's included email but quickly realised the limitations when setting up CRM integration. Fast decision: switched to Google Workspace (€8.10/month, 20% off first three months).

Worth it for seamless HubSpot integration alone.

I also walked Karolina through the website builder so she could make ongoing updates herself - particularly adding before/after images to her gallery.

Week 2: Build & Setup

The Website

Built in Hostinger's website builder over 3-4 days. Multiple iterations, but we kept moving.

Karolina had a specific vision for displaying before/after images. That required custom code, which we generated using AI tools and inserted. Now she can reuse that code block every time she adds new work.

Good enough and live: The gallery launched with only a handful of images. She's been adding more ever since.

The Infrastructure

Set up Google Workspace with signatures for desktop and mobile. Configured HubSpot's free CRM - remarkable what you get at zero cost.

Created a detailed one-page price list in Google Docs, and exported it as a PDF she can send to prospects and customers.

LinkedIn & Instagram

Built out her LinkedIn profile completely: headline, about section, experience, services. Positioned her as a high-end specialist, not a generalist.

Refreshed her Instagram to be more professional and strategic.

Quick wins:

• Website live and looking professional in days

• LinkedIn profile complete and ready for networking immediately

• Professional communication systems in place

Week 3: Go-to-Market

Researching Target Clients

Karolina's potential clients fall into two groups:

• Direct clients: Photographers, designers, architects, e-commerce brands

• Creative agencies: Where she works on their client projects

We used Claude AI to research specific target groups for email outreach. The depth and quality were stunning - and fast.

The Outreach System

We wrote eight different template emails, each with a personalisation field for the specific recipient. We also created follow-up sequences and timing plans, with variations for email vs. LinkedIn outreach.

Here's what surprised me most:

I assumed Karolina would need to visit each prospect's website or social to find personalisation details. Instead, Claude AI had researched a sample group of professional photographers and suggested three personalised opening sentences for each one.

The level of detail AI can now deliver in this area is phenomenal. It's moving fast.

The Content Plan

Mapped out months of LinkedIn and Instagram content. Karolina started posting before we even finished the project - she was ready to go.

Launch Strategy

We decided to get the website and LinkedIn live immediately. Even without active outreach, having professional presence matters. Everything else came together around them.

The Tech Stack

• Hosting + Website + Domain: €43 ÷ 12 = €3.58/month

• Google Workspace: €8.10/month

• HubSpot CRM: Free

• LinkedIn & Instagram: Free

• AI tools (Claude, ChatGPT): Free tier

Total ongoing cost: ~€12/month (roughly £10)

For comparison, she could easily have spent thousands on a website alone with an agency. These choices saved her the equivalent of the sprint fee before she even started.

Time Investment

• My time: 46 hours over three weeks

• Karolina's time: ~14 hours (30% of mine, while also doing client work)

This fits within an Essential Launch Sprint (5-6 days intensive, over 3-6 weeks).

How we actually worked

Here's the honest truth: I don't know a huge amount about photo retouching or high-end creative markets.

What I do know is how to research and learn fast, make effective use of tools, and reach out when specific expertise is needed.

We used AI extensively:

For creative writing and outreach planning, we compared ChatGPT and Claude AI outputs. Overall, we favoured Claude - but for critical content, we'd use both, plus our own input, to get the best result.

Karolina now has her own Claude account (free plan) with a folder containing all our research. I think she'll use it daily from now on.

We also reached out to humans:

I contacted someone in a similar field who's very successful and asked for feedback on Karolina's website and gallery. Real expertise when it mattered.

Fast decisions that worked: Ditching Hostinger's free email quickly when we realised Google Workspace's HubSpot integration was worth the €8/month.

Things we agonised over (probably too much): The colour palette choice. We spent more time on this than needed.

Things we shipped before "perfect": The website with only a handful of gallery images. It was good enough. What website is ever perfect anyway?

The fun part

The project was comprehensive and fast. We focused on getting things live and working - not frozen in theory.

We made quick decisions on platforms and tools because Karolina trusted my judgement. The collaboration worked because we were both excited about what it could mean for her business. There was genuine energy around achieving so much in such a short time.

I handed off systems as soon as they were ready. Once the website was live and I'd shown her how to add gallery images, she continued building it herself.

Her time commitment was manageable: Probably two full days across three weeks - but she actually started her ongoing work (posting content, connecting on LinkedIn) before we finished.

What Karolina has now

Systems in place:

• Hostinger website builder (she can update herself)

• Google Workspace for professional communication

• HubSpot CRM for outreach management

• Claude AI and ChatGPT for research and content

• LinkedIn and Instagram content calendar planned months ahead

Her ongoing process:

Contact 10-20 potential clients per week using AI-assisted research, managing everything through HubSpot (much easier than spreadsheets). Regular LinkedIn and Instagram content. Follow-ups tracked systematically.

What she can do now that she couldn't before:

Everything. Not because she wasn't capable - she just didn't know these tools and systems existed. Now she's updating her website, posting content, and using AI + HubSpot to generate new business relationships.

She's gone from "I don't know where to start" to completely self-sufficient in three weeks.

The results

We finished the project last week. Her outreach campaign starts this week. But here's the thing: she's already taken on a new client from her LinkedIn profile - before active outreach even began.

The plan now: 10-20 new contacts per week, follow-ups tracked systematically, with milestones and targets. All planned out several months ahead. She should reach her desired revenue run rate within six months, at which point outreach shifts to maintenance mode.

What made this work

1. Speed over perfection

We launched the website when it was "good enough" - not perfect. We chose tools quickly rather than researching endlessly. We iterated as we went rather than planning everything upfront.

2. Keeping costs absurdly low

Karolina was understandably hesitant to commit significant fixed costs with uncertain returns. By choosing platforms carefully - Hostinger, HubSpot Free, Google Workspace, free AI tools - we kept her monthly overhead to about £10.

She avoided an expensive agency website build and ongoing IT support. Her needs aren't complex; the tools just needed to be right.

3. Hands-on collaboration with clear handoffs

I didn't just advise - I built systems and then taught her to maintain them. She learnt by doing, with support when needed. By the end, she was running independently.

4. Practical over theoretical

We didn't overthink the colour palette (though we did agonise a bit - my fault). We didn't wait for the perfect number of gallery images. We prioritised shipping over perfecting.

What I learnt

I really enjoyed the detailed AI research into target client groups - and learnt new things myself about what's now possible.

The level of detail was extraordinary. When I expected Karolina would need to research each prospect manually for personalisation, Claude had already done it: researched specific details about their work, and suggested three relevant, personalises opening sentences for each photographer. All in a matter of minutes.

Quite phenomenal.

What surprised me: Just how rapidly AI capabilities are advancing - and the potential they offer to people who embrace them.

What I'd do differently: For the sake of a few euros per month, I wouldn't have bothered with limited email hosting. Google Workspace from day one.

Why I love this work:

Working with a professional in a field I'm not familiar with. Getting lots done while also learning myself. The speed of transformation - going from nothing to a professional brand in weeks. Seeing tangible progress at every stage.

It reminded me why variety matters. Different businesses, different challenges, different solutions - but always the satisfaction of shipping real work.

A note on this project

Full transparency: Karolina is my former partner and she didn't pay for this sprint - she got it because of our connection. But the work itself - the scope, approach, timeline, deliverables - is exactly what I offer professionally as an Essential Launch Sprint. I've been doing this kind of work across different businesses; this project just happened to be for someone I knew well.

The results are real. The systems work. This approach worked for Karolina, and it works for other professionals who are stuck on the business side.

View her website at karolinakuc.com

If this resonates

If you're brilliant at your craft but drowning in the business side, this is exactly the kind of work I do.

No six-month projects. No strategy decks. Just intensive sprints to get you unstuck and moving.

No-Nonsense Business Sprints:

• Essential/Enhanced/Extensive options

• £5,500 to 9,500 depending on scope

• 3-10 weeks depending on pace

Interested? Learn more about No-Nonsense Business Sprints