HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme: Build Your Own HighLevel SaaS Agency with MarketerM8

What if, instead of simply using HighLevel for your own business or clients, you could build a business around HighLevel itself?

That’s the opportunity behind the HighLevel SaaS agency model.

HighLevel allows agencies and entrepreneurs to create client accounts, white label the platform, package its CRM, marketing automation and AI functionality into their own offering, and charge clients an ongoing subscription.

HighLevel provides the technology. You build the business around it.

But there’s an important distinction.

Simply opening a HighLevel Agency account doesn’t give you a business.

You still need to decide who you’re going to sell to, what problem you’re going to solve, how you’ll package your offer, what you’ll charge, how you’ll find clients, how you’ll onboard them and how you’ll support them.

That’s why we created the MarketerM8 HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme.

It is designed to help people move from:

“I’ve heard I can resell HighLevel.”

to:

“I have my own HighLevel-powered business, my own clients and a model I can develop and scale.”

And if you open a qualifying HighLevel Agency account through MarketerM8, there is currently no separate fee to join the core programme.

Book a Discovery Call with Julian

Can You Really Start Your Own Business With HighLevel?

Yes.

One of the less obvious aspects of HighLevel is that it isn’t simply a CRM that agencies use for their clients.

HighLevel also provides the underlying technology for you to operate your own agency or software business.

Depending on the HighLevel Agency plan and business model you choose, you can create client accounts, package HighLevel functionality into your own proposition and potentially white label the software under your own brand.

This means you don’t need to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds developing a CRM, marketing automation platform, appointment system, funnel builder, reputation-management platform and AI functionality from scratch.

The underlying technology already exists.

Your challenge is to turn that technology into something businesses actually want to buy.

And that’s where I think the real opportunity lies.

What Is a HighLevel SaaSpreneur?

HighLevel uses the term SaaSPRENEUR for entrepreneurs building software businesses using its white-label Agency model.

I’ve written a separate article explaining the terminology in more detail:

Read: What Is a SaaSPRENEUR?

The simplest explanation is:

A HighLevel SaaSpreneur uses HighLevel as the underlying technology for a recurring-revenue business.

Rather than developing the software themselves, they concentrate on the commercial side.

Who is the customer? What problem does the system solve? How should the offer be packaged? How will it be marketed? How will customers be onboarded? What should it cost? How do you retain customers?

HighLevel provides the technology. The SaaSpreneur creates the proposition and builds the business around it.

You Don’t Have to Build a Pure SaaS Business

This is something I think gets overlooked when people first investigate the HighLevel opportunity.

There isn’t one single way to build a business around HighLevel.

I see at least six possible models.

1. Traditional HighLevel Agency

You can run a conventional marketing, CRM or automation agency and use HighLevel as the platform behind the services you provide.

The client may primarily be paying for your expertise, implementation and marketing services rather than access to software.

This is closest to the traditional agency model.

2. Hybrid Agency

This is a model I particularly like.

You provide services, consultancy or implementation while also charging clients an ongoing fee for access to the system.

Instead of completing a project and then starting again looking for the next piece of work, you begin building a base of recurring clients.

The service and software support each other.

3. HighLevel SaaS Agency

Here, the software subscription becomes much more central to the proposition.

You create your own branded proposition and sell ongoing access to clients.

You might still charge for onboarding, implementation or additional services, but you’re deliberately building recurring software revenue.

4. Niche HighLevel SaaS

This is where things become particularly interesting.

Instead of selling:

“Our CRM has pipelines, workflows, calendars and forms.”

You create a system for a particular market.

• A lead management and patient follow-up system for dentists.
• A marketing and sales system for accountants.
• An enquiry and quotation follow-up system for tradespeople.
• A lead nurturing and booking system for consultants.

The underlying technology may still be HighLevel.

But that’s not necessarily what the customer is buying.

They’re buying a system designed around their type of business.

5. Digital Franchise

You can take the idea further still.

What if you package your knowledge, processes, marketing, automation, CRM and potentially AI into a repeatable business system?

I’ve written about this separately as the Digital Franchise model.

Read: The Rise of the Digital Franchise: How HighLevel Agencies Are Packaging AI-Powered Business Systems

And if you already have a proven business methodology:

Read: Is Your Business Suitable for Digital Franchising With HighLevel?

This moves beyond simply reselling CRM software.

You’re packaging a way of doing business.

6. HighLevel for a Traditional Franchise

We’ve now taken this concept into a conventional franchise environment too.

A franchisor can potentially create a standard CRM, marketing and sales system and provide that system to its franchisees.

Rather than telling every franchisee to find their own CRM and work out their own marketing processes, the system itself can become part of the franchise package.

We’ve recently been involved in building this type of HighLevel system for a childcare consultancy franchise.

Read: HighLevel for Franchises: Build a CRM, Marketing and Sales System for Your Franchisees

All six models use HighLevel.

But they are six quite different businesses.

That’s why I think it’s important to work out the business model before becoming obsessed with the technology.

What Are You Actually Selling?

This may be the most important question in this article.

A weak proposition might be:

“I’ll sell you access to HighLevel.”

But why should a business owner care?

Most business owners don’t wake up in the morning thinking:

“I really need more CRM functionality.”

They have problems.

• Enquiries aren’t being followed up.
• Sales opportunities are slipping through the cracks.
• Nobody calls leads back quickly enough.
• Appointments are being missed.
• Past customers are being ignored.
• Reviews aren’t being requested.
• Marketing is inconsistent.
• Staff are spending hours performing repetitive administrative tasks.

A stronger SaaS proposition solves one or more of those problems.

For example, don’t sell a plumber:

CRM + workflows + missed-call text back + reputation management.

Sell them:

A system that makes sure missed calls are followed up, quotations don’t get forgotten and happy customers are asked for reviews.

Same underlying technology.

Very different proposition.

Sell the Outcome, Not the HighLevel Feature

HighLevel has an enormous number of features.

That can actually make it harder to sell.

If you start listing CRM, workflows, funnels, websites, calendars, social media, reviews, SMS, email, courses, communities and AI, the prospect may simply become overwhelmed.

Instead, consider what those features enable you to achieve.

For a dentist:
Enquiry → consultation → reminders → treatment follow-up → review request.

For a consultant:
Lead magnet → nurture → discovery call → sales process → client onboarding.

For a trades business:
Missed call → response → enquiry → quotation → follow-up → job → review.

Now you’re selling a business process.

That’s much easier for the customer to understand.

And once you’ve developed a good solution for one type of customer, you may be able to adapt and reuse much of that knowledge for the next similar customer.

That’s where the leverage starts to appear.

Why Recurring Revenue Changes the Agency Model

I’ve been involved in marketing for many years, and one of the perennial challenges with service businesses is that you can find yourself constantly having to sell the next project.

Complete the project.

Invoice the client.

Then find another project.

A SaaS or hybrid model changes the economics.

If a customer continues using your system, they continue paying for it.

Ten clients paying you monthly becomes a recurring revenue base.

Then 20.

Then 50.

Obviously, customers will leave. You have costs. They need support. You need to continue delivering value.

But you’re building something different from a business entirely dependent upon selling your time.

You’re building monthly recurring revenue.

Is a HighLevel SaaS Agency Passive Income?

No.

And I think it’s important to say that clearly.

There are plenty of online videos that can make SaaS businesses sound like:

“Set it up once, collect subscriptions forever.”

That’s not how I would approach it.

You’ll need to market your business. You’ll need to sell. You’ll need to onboard customers. You’ll need to help people use the system. You’ll need to keep up with HighLevel. You’ll need to manage cancellations. You’ll need to improve your offering.

And sometimes something will go wrong at exactly the wrong moment.

This is a business.

The opportunity isn’t passive income. It’s leverage and recurring revenue.

If you create an effective onboarding process, you can use it repeatedly.

If you create good training, you can reuse it.

If you solve a common problem for one particular market, you can offer that solution to more businesses with the same problem.

Your work can increasingly compound rather than starting completely from scratch with every customer.

Do I Need to Know How to Code?

No.

You can achieve an enormous amount in HighLevel without being a software developer.

As your requirements become more sophisticated, technical knowledge and integrations can certainly become useful.

But you don’t need to become a programmer before starting a HighLevel agency.

In fact, I’d argue that understanding marketing, sales and business processes is often more valuable.

The technology is the tool.

You need to understand what to do with it.

Do I Need to Be a HighLevel Expert Before I Start?

No.

But you do need to become competent enough to support what you sell.

You don’t need to understand every HighLevel feature before getting your first client.

HighLevel is too broad for that to be realistic anyway.

Instead, understand the parts relevant to the solution you’re selling.

You can broaden your expertise as your business develops.

Our weekly HighLevel workshops are designed to help with exactly this.

Which HighLevel Agency Plan Do I Need?

HighLevel offers different Agency plans, and the right one depends on what you’re trying to build.

You don’t automatically need the most expensive plan simply because you want to start an agency.

Read: What Is the Difference Between the HighLevel Starter, Unlimited and Pro SaaS Agency Plans?

If you’re unsure, that’s also something we can discuss before you open the account.

What Does a Real HighLevel SaaS Agency Look Like?

MarketerM8 itself is an example.

We don’t simply teach people how the HighLevel Agency model might work.

We operate it ourselves.

MarketerM8 operates on the HighLevel SaaS Pro plan and now has more than 100 sub-accounts.

Those accounts represent real businesses using HighLevel for CRM, marketing automation, sales processes, communications and other business systems.

Alongside operating our own HighLevel agency, we’re currently assisting more than 25 other HighLevel agencies on their own journey.

Some are at the beginning.

Others already have clients and are working out how to improve their proposition, onboarding, support and recurring revenue model.

That gives us an interesting perspective.

We’re not only learning from our own HighLevel Agency.

We’re seeing the questions, opportunities and challenges that repeatedly arise as other entrepreneurs build theirs.

That’s the experience behind the MarketerM8 HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme.

What Is the MarketerM8 HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme?

The MarketerM8 HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme is designed to help people build their own HighLevel-powered agency or SaaS business.

It isn’t simply HighLevel software training.

The objective is to help you understand the opportunity, establish your Agency account, get started with your own business, onboard your first clients and then continue developing from there.

We’ve structured the programme into four stages.

Stage 1: Foundation

The first stage is understanding what you’re actually getting into.

How does the HighLevel business opportunity work? What could you sell? Which HighLevel plan might you need? Are you building an agency, hybrid business, SaaS proposition or niche system? Who might you sell to?

Before spending weeks configuring software, get clear on the business you’re trying to create.

Stage 2: Ignition

Once you’ve opened your qualifying HighLevel Agency account, we help you get started.

This includes one-to-one support from the MarketerM8 team to help you establish your HighLevel Agency.

We help you get your own business operating within HighLevel and, importantly, assist you with onboarding your first client.

That’s where theory starts becoming a real business.

You can also join our weekly HighLevel workshops to continue developing your practical knowledge.

Programme members can attend our fortnightly SaaS Entrepreneur Zoom calls, giving you somewhere to ask questions, discuss challenges, keep up with important HighLevel developments and meet other people building similar businesses.

Stage 3: Pro

Getting your first client isn’t the end of the journey.

It’s the beginning.

Once you’ve established your Agency and started building a roster of clients, the challenge changes.

How do you improve onboarding? How do you reduce unnecessary support? How do you package your offer? How do you improve retention? Should you specialise in a niche? How do you make the business less dependent on you personally?

At the Pro stage, members can continue attending our weekly HighLevel workshops and fortnightly SaaS Entrepreneur calls.

We also keep members updated as HighLevel continues to evolve.

Stage 4: Ascend Mastermind

As the business develops further, the problems change again.

The Ascend Mastermind is our application-only group for more established HighLevel SaaS entrepreneurs who want to focus on strategic growth.

At this stage, the conversation isn’t simply:

“How do I create this in HighLevel?”

It’s more likely to be:

“How do I build a better business?”

That means positioning, scale, recurring revenue, systems, owner dependence, niche strategy and developing a more valuable business asset.

Ascend brings together committed HighLevel SaaS entrepreneurs who are facing similar challenges and can learn from each other’s experience.

Explore the HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme

How Much Does the HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme Cost?

There is currently no separate programme fee when you open a qualifying HighLevel Agency account through one of the MarketerM8 affiliate links.

You’re still paying HighLevel for your HighLevel Agency subscription.

But you’re not paying us an additional membership fee simply to join the core SaaS Entrepreneur Programme.

Why Join HighLevel Through MarketerM8 Rather Than Sign Up Directly?

You can go directly to HighLevel and open an Agency account.

You don’t need MarketerM8’s permission.

But if you’re going to pay HighLevel for the Agency account anyway, why not open it through somebody who will help you get started?

When you join through MarketerM8, our interest isn’t simply in getting you to open the account.

We want you to actually build something with it.

We help you get established.

We assist with your first client.

You can attend the workshops.

You can join the SaaS Entrepreneur calls.

And you become part of a growing group of other people going through the same process.

Remember, MarketerM8 itself has 100+ HighLevel sub-accounts, and we’re already assisting more than 25 other agencies.

We’re travelling the same road. We’re simply further along it.

Is Everything Included for Free?

No, and I want to be clear about this.

The core programme provides guidance, training, group sessions and support designed to help you establish and develop your HighLevel business.

For many entrepreneurs and smaller projects, that may be all the support they require.

But there is a big difference between helping somebody develop their HighLevel business and doing a substantial bespoke project for them.

If you need significant strategy, custom development, complex integrations, migrations or hands-on implementation, that may become a separate paid consultancy or implementation project.

We’ll discuss that with you before any chargeable work begins.

There shouldn’t be any surprises.

Why MarketerM8?

I didn’t arrive at HighLevel because I watched a video about making money from SaaS.

My background is marketing.

I’ve been involved in direct-response marketing since the 1990s, working with CRM and marketing automation since 2009, and operating a HighLevel Agency since 2023.

Before HighLevel, I spent many years working with Infusionsoft and Keap.

What attracted me to HighLevel wasn’t simply the ability to resell software.

It was the breadth of what could be delivered from one platform and the opportunity to build recurring-revenue businesses around it.

Today, MarketerM8 operates on the HighLevel SaaS Pro plan with more than 100 sub-accounts.

We’re also helping more than 25 other HighLevel agencies develop their own businesses.

So we’re not teaching the model purely from theory.

We’re doing it ourselves, and we’re helping other agencies do it too.

UK-Based, But Not UK-Only

MarketerM8 is based in the UK.

That can be particularly useful for UK SaaS entrepreneurs because so much HighLevel information online originates in the United States.

UK businesses have their own considerations around pricing, VAT, communications, GDPR, payments and how services are sold.

But the SaaS Entrepreneur model isn’t restricted to the UK.

HighLevel is an international platform, and the principles of finding a market, solving a business problem, packaging a system and building recurring revenue apply internationally.

Should I Choose a Niche?

You don’t have to.

But there can be significant advantages.

Compare these two propositions:

“We provide an all-in-one CRM and marketing automation platform.”

and:

“We provide a lead follow-up and patient conversion system for independent dental practices.”

The second is much easier to understand.

A niche allows you to learn the common problems in a market.

Your proposition, onboarding, training and marketing can increasingly be built around solving those problems.

Instead of reinventing everything for every client, you begin developing something repeatable.

This doesn’t mean every customer will be identical.

But the more you can standardise without compromising the outcome, the more scalable the business can become.

From Software to a Business System

This is where I think the HighLevel opportunity becomes much bigger than simply reselling software.

You can start by selling access to a system.

Around that you can develop training, processes, onboarding, templates, marketing materials, niche expertise, support, AI, integrations and operating procedures.

Now you’re getting closer to a business system.

That might become a specialist SaaS proposition.

It might eventually develop into a Digital Franchise.

Or the same principles can be used by an established franchisor to provide a proven CRM, marketing and sales system to every franchisee.

Build something that works. Then make as much of it repeatable as makes sense.

Who Is the HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme For?

• A marketing consultant who wants to develop recurring revenue
• An existing agency wanting to add a software proposition
• A freelancer who wants to build something less dependent on billable hours
• A HighLevel user considering opening an Agency account
• An entrepreneur who has identified a niche that needs a better marketing or CRM system
• A software reseller looking for a white-label platform
• A consultant who wants to package expertise into a repeatable system
• An established business considering a Digital Franchise model
• A franchisor exploring a standard CRM and marketing system for franchisees

You don’t necessarily need to know exactly what the final business will look like before you speak to us.

That’s part of what the Foundation stage is intended to help clarify.

Who Is It Not For?

This programme probably isn’t for you if you’re looking for a get-rich-quick scheme.

It isn’t a magic business in a box where you switch something on and money appears.

HighLevel gives you an extraordinary amount of technology for the investment.

But it doesn’t find your customers for you.

It doesn’t automatically create your proposition.

It doesn’t conduct your sales conversations.

It doesn’t understand your chosen niche better than you do.

And it doesn’t remove the need to provide customers with value.

You’re still building a business.

The advantage is that you’re building that business on top of an established technology platform rather than developing the underlying software yourself.

What Happens When I Get My First Client?

Celebrate.

Then learn.

Your first few customers are likely to teach you more about your business than months of planning.

What questions do they ask? Where do they get confused? What do they actually value? What takes too long during onboarding? What support issues keep appearing? Which outcomes matter most?

That information should feed back into your business.

Your onboarding improves.

Your training improves.

Your proposition improves.

Your pricing may change.

Your understanding of the niche improves.

This is how the business evolves.

How Do You Scale a HighLevel SaaS Agency?

Don’t confuse adding more customers with building a scalable business.

If every new client requires huge amounts of bespoke work, your SaaS business can quickly turn back into a conventional service business.

The aim should be to identify what can sensibly be standardised.

Your niche. Your offer. Your sales process. Your onboarding. Your training. Your support. Your billing. Your customer communications.

The more repeatable these become, the easier it becomes to add customers without increasing workload at exactly the same rate.

That doesn’t mean removing the human element.

It means using systems where systems make sense.

What Could Your HighLevel Business Eventually Become?

That’s one of the things I find most interesting about this model.

You may start with one client.

Then five.

Then a niche begins to emerge.

You improve your onboarding.

You create better training.

You develop your own brand.

You begin adding recurring revenue.

Perhaps you eventually have dozens or hundreds of clients.

Perhaps the business becomes a specialist platform for a particular industry.

Perhaps you build additional services around it.

Perhaps you develop a Digital Franchise.

Perhaps you use the same underlying principles to create the CRM and marketing infrastructure for a conventional franchise network.

You don’t need to know the final destination on day one.

You need to start building something customers value.

Want to Build Your Own HighLevel Agency?

If you’ve been researching HighLevel and wondering whether you could build your own agency, SaaS business or niche-specific system around it, the best first step is to understand the opportunity properly.

You don’t need to start by becoming an expert in every HighLevel feature.

First work out:

Who are you going to help?

What problem are you going to solve?

What will you actually sell?

Then we can look at the HighLevel technology needed to deliver it.

Book a Discovery Call with Julian

Or explore the MarketerM8 HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme

Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a HighLevel SaaS Agency

Can I resell HighLevel?

Yes. HighLevel’s Agency model allows agencies to provide HighLevel-powered systems and services to their own clients. The precise white-label and SaaS capabilities available depend on the HighLevel Agency plan you choose.

Can I white label HighLevel as my own software?

HighLevel provides white-label capabilities for agencies. The level of white labelling and SaaS functionality depends on your Agency plan and configuration.

What is a HighLevel SaaS agency?

A HighLevel SaaS agency uses HighLevel as the underlying technology for a recurring-revenue software or hybrid service business. Rather than developing a CRM and marketing platform from scratch, the agency builds its proposition on HighLevel.

What is a HighLevel SaaSpreneur?

A SaaSPRENEUR is HighLevel’s term for an entrepreneur building a white-label SaaS business using the HighLevel platform.

Do I need to be a developer to start a HighLevel SaaS agency?

No. You can achieve a great deal with HighLevel without being a developer. Technical knowledge becomes useful for more advanced projects, but it isn’t a prerequisite for starting.

Do I need previous agency experience?

No. Previous marketing, sales, consulting or business experience can help, but you don’t need to have operated an agency before.

Is a HighLevel SaaS agency passive income?

No. A SaaS agency still requires marketing, sales, onboarding, customer support and ongoing development. The attraction is the opportunity to build recurring revenue and increasingly repeatable systems, not passive income.

How much does it cost to start a HighLevel agency?

Your main initial platform cost is the HighLevel Agency plan you choose. You should also allow for the normal costs of running and marketing a business, plus any communications or additional services you use.

Which HighLevel plan should I choose?

That depends on your intended business model. Someone starting with a small number of clients may have different requirements from somebody planning a more automated white-label SaaS proposition.

Do I need HighLevel SaaS Pro to start?

No. MarketerM8 operates on SaaS Pro because of the scale and model of our own Agency, which now has 100+ sub-accounts. That doesn’t mean somebody starting their first HighLevel business automatically needs the same plan.

Can I start a HighLevel agency in the UK?

Yes. MarketerM8 is UK-based and operates its own HighLevel SaaS Agency from the UK.

Can I sell HighLevel internationally?

Potentially, yes. HighLevel is an international platform. You should consider the normal commercial, tax, legal, communications and data requirements of the markets in which you operate.

Should I choose a niche for my HighLevel agency?

You don’t have to, but a niche can make positioning, marketing, onboarding and systemisation considerably easier. Instead of selling generic CRM functionality, you can build a proposition around problems common to a particular industry.

Can I create my own CRM for a particular industry using HighLevel?

Yes. HighLevel can provide the underlying technology while you design the processes, marketing, onboarding and proposition around a particular niche.

Can HighLevel be used to build a Digital Franchise?

Potentially. A repeatable HighLevel system can form part of a broader package containing processes, training, marketing, automation and expertise.

Can HighLevel be used by traditional franchisors?

Yes. A franchisor can potentially use HighLevel to provide franchisees with a standard CRM, marketing and sales system. We’ve recently been involved in building this model for a childcare consultancy franchise.

Read the complete HighLevel for Franchises guide

How much does the MarketerM8 HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme cost?

There is currently no separate programme fee for qualifying participants who open their HighLevel Agency account through one of the MarketerM8 affiliate links. You remain responsible for your HighLevel subscription and other costs associated with running your business.

Does the free programme include unlimited consultancy and implementation?

No. The core programme includes training, guidance, group sessions and support intended to help you establish and develop your HighLevel business. Substantial bespoke consultancy, development, integrations, migrations or implementation may be separate paid professional services.

How experienced is MarketerM8 with the HighLevel SaaS model?

MarketerM8 has operated as a HighLevel Agency since 2023, runs on the SaaS Pro plan and has more than 100 sub-accounts. We’re also currently assisting more than 25 other HighLevel agencies as they build and develop their own businesses.

What support does MarketerM8 provide?

The programme currently includes support during the early Agency setup process, assistance getting started and onboarding your first client, weekly HighLevel workshops, fortnightly SaaS Entrepreneur calls and ongoing programme support as you develop.

What is the Ascend Mastermind?

Ascend is the application-only advanced stage of the MarketerM8 programme for more established HighLevel SaaS entrepreneurs who want to work on strategic growth alongside other committed SaaS agency owners.

How do I join the HighLevel SaaS Entrepreneur Programme?

Start by learning about the programme and deciding which HighLevel Agency account suits what you’re trying to build.

If you’re unsure, book a Discovery Call before signing up and we can discuss your idea.

Book a Discovery Call with Julian