Cyril saw a trust gap in the local business market.
Most small business owners in Belgium were tired of predatory marketing agencies offering the same generic packages. To fix this, he introduced a subscription model that allows clients to cancel at any time, making professional marketing feel "safer and lighter" for local shops.
Based in Belgium, Cyril balances this venture with his 9-5 sales job at a digital company in Leuven.
After nine years of buying and selling websites, he noticed a recurring pattern: his customers didn't just want a website; they wanted someone to handle the headache of maintaining it.
From Custom Chaos to Productized Success
The turning point for Cyril was realizing that flexibility can actually be a burden for the customer.
Initially, he let clients keep their own hosting and various tech stacks, but he soon found that this made his job impossible to scale.
"I realize that I should productize everything and make it easy for them to pick," Cyril says.
By taking full control and offering a "done-for-you" service, he allowed his clients to stop worrying about tech and start focusing on their businesses.
This shift toward productization is what allowed him to build a stable €2,000 MRR business while still working a full-time job.
The Lean Side Hustle Stack
Cyril’s stack is a masterclass in efficiency for service-based startups. He uses Spp.co for client management, Stripe for recurring payments, and Google Drive for deliverable storage.
This simple, low-maintenance setup ensures that he spends his time on sales and fulfillment rather than debugging code. It is a "no-code" approach that prioritizes revenue over technical complexity.
Avoiding the Fiverr Trap
When asked about his early mistakes, Cyril is blunt about the dangers of cutting corners on talent. His advice for founders is simple: avoid hiring cheap on Fiverr.
He learned that while low-cost freelancers might seem like a win for a side hustle's budget, the lack of quality often leads to more work for the founder in the long run. Quality control is the only way to maintain the reputation required to charge subscription fees.
Cyril is a big fan of productization in service offerings, and is eager to share how narrowing your focus can actually broaden your profit margins.
You can follow his journey at DareToCloud.com or connect with him on LinkedIn at @CyrilVanneste.
