How many SaaS companies on here currently operate an "agency" on the frontend as well to cover costs of bootstrapping?

I can't see myself using a lead generation tool because my clients come through word of mouth. (See my reply to @PotentialAthlete1.)

But I can still give some help from the business side of things.

If you want a lifestyle business, then I'd stay away from managing a team of virtual assistants. You're already building and marketing a product, so adding another piece to that could make the business much more complex. Off the top of my head, you'd need to consider:

• How many clients can one VA handle at a time and still do good work? (This would vary from VA to VA.)
• What happens when a client cancels? Can you get a new client in time, or are you now losing money on the VA?
• How stable is your employment for VAs? Instability could make it hard to attract high-quality VAs. It could also contribute to higher turnover, which will cost you more money in training.
• Generally, a higher-tiered plan should create more profit for your business. How much do you need to charge on this plan to cover your time managing the VA program, and a VA's training, their employment, etc. costs? Could your customers afford it?
• What are the client's expectations, and can your VAs deliver on them?
• Will you have enough time to continue marketing and developing your product while training and managing VAs?
• What happens if the VA leaves, gets sick, goes on vacation, goes on maternity leave, etc.? Can you keep a buffer of VAs to cover for them? How much would this cost?

All of that being said, you could overcome most of this by limiting the number of available seats on your "Account Manager" tier. Allow a single company to sign up, refine your systems, and then move up to 3 companies, then 5 companies, and so on. If it turns out to be profitable, move forward with it; if not, cancel the tier.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

Hey Utkarsh, that's a great question!

I'm not a fan of traditional networking (mixers and conferences stress me out). When I started my agency, I contacted one of my old employers and told them what I was doing. I met with them a few times for free, discussed what their problems were, and came up with some really creative solutions. Everything since has happened through word of mouth. I do good work and then ask for referrals.

Some other ideas:

1. Tell everyone you know that you build websites/design apps/etc. Your family, your friends, your old teachers, your previous employers, your barber, your eye doctor... While they might not know anyone who needs your services right away, they'll could meet someone in a few weeks or months.
2. Build a cool free project, put it on Product Hunt/IH/Hacker News, and just add a floating "hire me" link to the bottom corner.
3. You could find high-revenue startups on IH and reach out to them directly with a problem + solution. Example: "I noticed your landing page breaks on mobile. Here's some CSS that fixes it (attached)." Then ask them if they need help with anything else, as you have a reasonably-priced boutique agency.

I'd be happy to help if you have any other questions!