Hardest year ever. 8.5 years and I’m not sure we will make it.

★★ signal-medium r/smallbusiness · ↑ 292 · 💬 180 · 2025-05-20 · kw: hours every day · open on reddit ↗

Tool

Issue

UX firm with 8.5 years history and prestigious clients has zero new business for 6 months despite extensive LinkedIn outreach, conference talks, and industry visibility; dependent on single client for survival with team hours scaled to near-zero.

Cost

Revenue down to near-zero (6-month pipeline dry); team hours scaled to minimal; company at collapse risk

Recommendation

Improve LinkedIn outreach targeting (study characteristics of best past customers rather than broad outreach); focus on niche/vertical targeting; build warm relationships before pitching

Date context

as of 2025-05-20; comments reference 18-month downturn; UX/tech industry contraction noted as ongoing

extracted with

anthropic/claude-haiku-4.5 · 2026-05-08

Body

We are a specialized ux firm that has done some amazing work for some of the largest companies on earth. We have one client keeping us alive. They say they will grow this year but if not I really don’t know what to do. My team has scaled their hours to almost zero. We are just servicing some debt and paying only hours worked. I’m on podcasts, write ebooks, nation wide head of professional organisations, giving talks at conferences. Everything I know how to do. We need just any small project and we’ve had nothing. No new business for six months. I just don’t know what to do differently. Tons of LinkedIn outreach. All of our clients have been thrilled with our work and we charge fair prices. We have so much impact on the businesses we help, how are we at the edge of collapse?! Edit: you all are freaking amazing. It’s very heartening to heard I’m not alone and found a community of people who are smart and give a shit. If I can even help any of you just reach out. You all got me through a tough day. Might even have a few leads from you amazing people. Thank you. Edit: well all your good will has been waking up the universe or something. A guy I bought a bowl of noodles over two years ago called with an urgent project, starting tomorrow. Not a huge margin but this now the EVP of a fortune 50 company (I had no idea he had this new job!). Maybe rumours of our death were slightly exaggerated. I’m not slowing down on processing and implementing most of your recommendations. You are all hero’s and your help has done so much for me as a man alone in this fight. You guys reach out of if I can help you. I’ll do what I can!

Top comments (7)

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[score=132] SharpTool7

So many places are scaling back waiting for the other shoe to fall. I know so many people in tech that have been laid off in the last 6 months. See if you can hang in there until things pick up again.

[score=50] [deleted]

I've gone from 16 weeks of orders in the shop to none. It's bad. This started 18 months ago. People are afraid to spend. But, we have survived. My business carry's no debt. Enough work has come in to keep us going. I am grateful we have kept our life simple and our burden light. My best advice? [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVcSib3xKgM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVcSib3xKgM)

[score=19] Jess_GTM

Tons of LinkedIn outreach is a good start, but also could be totally meanginless if the list was poor. Targeting beats everything in 2025 outbound, hands down. Why did your best customers come to you/agree to meet with you when they did? What made them buy when they did? Go and look for other companies like that, send an insightful message without pitching, try and start a conversation. It is simple but not easy.

[score=16] certainkindoffool

I feel you. In my 8th year and revenue is down about 65% from last year. These are strange times.

[score=15] Fofire

I'm in dentistry which is kinda on the fence between necessity and luxury. From what I see it's very regional and sectoral at the moment. All my friends in dentistry in California are getting hit hard mostly I'm hearing down 20-30%. California is getting ting hit because tech that's not focused on AI is getting hit hard. Those that can't make it are leaving. In the south it's mostly people in the film industry. They're sucking it because the film industry itself is 1 metamorphosing into something completely new and what could be filmed in regular studios is being moved to other cities states and countries. When I speak to other dental offices in other parts of the country the response tends to be much more mixed. Some places like the Midwest tell me it's never been better.

[score=14] EntrepreneurLong9830

Im a UX Designer with over 10 years of experience. UX was a hot ticket for awhile there, everyone knew they needed it but no one knew what it was. Its still an occult science to most organizations. That partnered with the bootcamp boom, lots of noobs with no real practical skills selling UX didn't help. Now with the advent of the Product Designer, UI Designers who know just enough UX to get by, why pay for the bookworms? "Just enough" UX is the coin of the kingdom these days. Now you know and I know it's some bullshit but the industries don't care. The UX box is checked, they saved some money and they've got their asses covered. Even the UX OG's have shifted to shilling AI these days. Have you seen Jakob Nielsen's LinkedIn posts lately? Cringe as the kids say. Cynical take? Yep. But it seems to be right on the money. Best of luck with your business, it sounds like you're doing great work! Hope to see you succeed in the future. </ux rant>