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How I Built a $5K-Worth Full-Stack Digital Marketing Strategy in One Afternoon

🏷️ Case Study ⚡ AI Workflow
Published:

⚠️ Transparency Note

This is a methodology demonstration inspired by Coach Derrick Lim, a real Singapore swim coach. Observable public signals (~30K TikTok followers, 5.0★ Google rating) are real. All financial projections are AI-generated. No deal has been closed — the value is in the reusable workflow.

📋 Executive Summary

  • Industry Analysis: PESTLE + Porter's Five Forces for Singapore private swim coaching
  • Business Audit: Business Model Canvas + Pro Forma Financials + SWOT/TOWS
  • Strategic Recommendations: 4-pillar transformation plan with timeline + costs
  • Deliverables: 20-page strategy document + Interactive pitch deck website
  • Time: ~4-5 hours (one afternoon)

The Setup

I spotted Coach Derrick Lim on TikTok — 30K+ followers, 5-star Google reviews, clearly competent at his craft. Classic profile: strong organic reach, but weak conversion infrastructure. Great at coaching, but no funnel, no packaging, no monetization system.

I decided to use his public profile as inspiration for a demo case study. Not because I had a client — but because I wanted to stress-test a question:

How fast can I go from "zero context" to "pitch-ready strategy" using an AI-augmented workflow?

The answer: one afternoon.

Table of Contents

Part 1: The Methodology Stack

Strategic analysis isn't magic — it's a sequence. Each framework feeds the next:

Layer Framework Purpose
1. Macro Environment PESTLE What external forces shape this industry?
2. Industry Structure Porter's Five Forces Is this a good industry to compete in?
3. Business Model BMC + Financials How does this specific business make money?
4. Strategic Position SWOT/TOWS What are the strategic options?
5. Recommendations Roadmap + Costs What should they actually do?

This stack isn't novel — any MBA or consulting bootcamp teaches it. The difference is execution speed.

Part 2: What I Actually Built

Two artefacts, both live:

📄 The Strategy Document

  • PESTLE analysis of Singapore private swim coaching
  • Porter's Five Forces breakdown (working hypothesis: crowded, undifferentiated market)
  • Business Model Canvas with estimated financials
  • SWOT/TOWS matrix with strategy derivation
  • 4-pillar recommendation set (Digital Storefront, Product Pivot, Traffic Engine, Venue Strategy)
  • 90-day execution timeline with costs
  • ROI projections with scenario comparison

View the PDF →

🖥️ The Interactive Pitch Deck

  • 5-slide navigable website (keyboard arrows work)
  • Dark mode, animations, mobile-responsive
  • Built-in AI demo modal for TikTok scripts and objection handling
  • Hosted on GitHub Pages (zero hosting cost)

Note: For an actual client, a PDF + Loom walkthrough or WhatsApp voice note would suffice. The interactive deck took ~5 minutes with Gemini — not as over-engineered as it looks.

View the Live Deck →

Part 3: The Time Breakdown

Here's how the afternoon actually went:

0:00 - 0:45 — Industry Research

PESTLE and Five Forces. I provided Singapore-specific context (coach registration requirements, local parenting culture, condo facility rules). The AI structured it into frameworks. We iterated back and forth — this wasn't "punch in a prompt and AI does all."

0:45 - 1:30 — Business Audit

Business Model Canvas, estimated financials, SWOT/TOWS. Financials are projections based on visible pricing and industry benchmarks — not actual data. These would vary significantly coach to coach.

1:30 - 2:15 — Strategic Synthesis

This is where human judgment matters. The AI doesn't "know" that the adult learner segment might be underserved or that outcome-based pricing tends to beat hourly rates. I articulated hypotheses based on TikTok comments and Google reviews; the AI structured them.

2:15 - 3:00 — Recommendations + Timeline

4-pillar strategy, 90-day roadmap, ROI projections, risk matrix. This is synthesis, not generation.

3:00 - 3:05 — Presentation Layer

Built the interactive deck as a standalone HTML page. Since all the strategic work was already done, the AI generated this in ~5 minutes. The hard work was already completed.

💡 Key Insight

This wasn't "human types prompt, AI does all the work." We went through each component step by step together, with multiple iterations. I provided the ideas, context, and judgment; AI provided structure and speed.

For actual business purposes: a Loom video + PDF + payment link would close the deal. The interactive deck was for my portfolio.

Part 4: Data Sources & Verification

Since the red-team asked: where did the Singapore-specific claims come from?

📚 Sources Used

  • NROC Registration: Coaches in Singapore can register under the National Registry of Coaches (NROC) via Sport Singapore. NROC membership is required to coach at ActiveSG pools and some condo facilities, though not universally mandatory for all private coaching.
  • ActiveSG Pool Usage: Per ActiveSG Circle, swimming coaches need a valid NROC certification and Usage Permit to coach in ActiveSG facilities.
  • Condo MCST Rules: Under the Building Maintenance and Strata Management Act (BMSMA), MCSTs can establish by-laws governing common facilities. Many condos require external coaches to register with management, limit coaching to residents only, and restrict session times — though policies vary by estate.
  • "Kiasu" Culture: A widely-used Singaporean term meaning "afraid to lose," describing competitive parenting behaviour, particularly around enrichment activities.

⚠️ Verification Note

These are based on publicly available guidelines and common industry knowledge. For a live engagement, I would verify specific regulations with the relevant authorities (SportSG, specific MCST management offices) before making recommendations.

The financials are estimates. Revenue, margins, and student counts are educated guesses based on visible pricing and industry benchmarks — not actual data from the business. In any real pitch, these would need validation.

Part 5: The "Junior Marketer" Question

The obvious comparison: "How long would this take without AI?"

The honest answer: the process changed for everyone.

It's not about "senior + AI beats junior." That's an unfair comparison — you're stacking experience AND tool advantage. The real insight is that both seniors and juniors get a speed boost. The differentiator shifts from "who can grind through research faster" to "who has better judgment and verification skills."

The New Junior Role

Here's the uncomfortable truth and the opportunity:

  • Old model: Junior spends 10 hours on research, compiling tabs, formatting PPT
  • New model: Junior directs AI on what to research, then reviews and verifies

The grunt work isn't eliminated — it's compressed and restructured. A junior marketer with good prompting skills and a critical eye can now produce equivalent output in a fraction of the time.

This doesn't destroy the learning curve. It accelerates it. Instead of spending a week learning "how to compile industry research," you spend a day learning "how to verify AI-generated industry research." The meta-skill (critical evaluation) is actually more valuable.

💡 The Training Ground Shift

If you're a junior: your job isn't to open 100 tabs anymore. It's to direct the AI, verify the output, and add the judgment it can't. That's a more valuable skill set — and it develops faster.

Part 6: What This Doesn't Prove

Let me be explicit about the limitations:

🚫 What This Case Study Does NOT Demonstrate

  • That the strategy is validated: I haven't interviewed actual parents or swimmers. In a real engagement, Day 2+ would involve calling 5-10 customers to validate assumptions.
  • That the financials are accurate: All numbers are educated estimates, not verified actuals. These would vary significantly business to business.
  • That the pitch converts: This is a demo, not a closed deal. No money has changed hands.
  • That AI replaces strategic thinking: I provided the judgment calls and hypotheses; AI provided structure and speed.
  • That agencies are obsolete: Good agencies provide QA, liability protection, primary research, and domain expertise that this demo lacks.

The key gap is primary research. But these hypotheses can be tested through real-world signals: running ads, uploading content, testing product offerings. Then we iterate again based on actual data.

💡 The Principle

Work with AI, not have AI work for you. Human judgment + AI speed = leverage. AI alone = expensive first draft.

What it does demonstrate:

  • The production speed of strategic artefacts has collapsed
  • The barrier to creating pitch-ready drafts is now hours, not weeks
  • The value differentiator shifts from "production capacity" to "strategic judgment," "validation rigour," and "execution follow-through"

Part 7: What You Can Steal

The Research Stack

Use this sequence for any industry analysis:

  1. PESTLE — Macro forces (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental)
  2. Five Forces — Industry attractiveness (New Entrants, Buyer Power, Supplier Power, Substitutes, Rivalry)
  3. BMC — Business model of the specific company
  4. SWOT/TOWS — Strategic position and options
  5. Recommendations — What to actually do

Each layer feeds the next. Don't skip the sequence — the TOWS is meaningless without the SWOT, which is meaningless without the BMC, which is meaningless without understanding the industry.

The Workflow Pattern

  1. You provide context: Industry-specific knowledge, local regulations, cultural nuance
  2. AI provides structure: Framework templates, synthesis, formatting
  3. You provide judgment: "This insight matters," "This recommendation is actionable," "This number smells wrong"
  4. AI provides speed: First drafts, iteration, presentation
  5. You provide verification: Fact-check sources, validate with cursory competitor research, flag what needs customer interviews

The Output Stack

Don't stop at a PDF. Build something the client can experience:

  • Interactive website (even if over-engineered for the context)
  • Working prototype
  • Demo they can click through

This shifts the conversation from "here's my recommendation" to "here's what it looks like." Concrete beats abstract.

The Bottom Line

One afternoon produced:

  • A complete industry analysis
  • A strategic audit with estimated financials
  • A 4-pillar recommendation set
  • A 90-day execution roadmap
  • An interactive pitch deck

Is it as rigorous as a 3-week consulting engagement with customer interviews and validated financials? No.

Is it good enough to start a conversation and demonstrate capability? Yes.

Why "$5K-worth"? Agency discovery phases (industry analysis + business audit + strategic recommendations) typically cost $2,000-$5,000 for comparable scope. By collapsing the drafting phase, I produced equivalent deliverables in one afternoon.

The leverage isn't "AI does my thinking." It's "AI does my grunt work, so I can generate more value in a compressed timeframe."

If you can produce $5K worth of deliverables in an afternoon instead of a week, would you not want that?

View the Coach Derrick Pitch Deck →

Download the Full Strategy PDF →

Download the Slide Deck PDF →

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