The reality is, every business has slow periods. It’s not unique to web design. It’s at these low points where your true perseverance and determination has an opportunity to shine. At this point, you have two options: Quit and go home Make the most of your spare time to further your web design business The choice is yours. If you choose option #2, I’ve got some ideas for you. In fact, I have 16 of them... Sign up for Launchers here! Read the blog post here Watch the YouTube video here...
Mar 18, 2019•16 min
*Don't worry, there are zero references to Taylor Swift within* It's scary to create things for a living. Whether you build websites, write books, share your thoughts online, or craft handmade cup warmers, creating something original and sharing it with the world is daunting. And it doesn't matter how many times you do it either. Every time you release your new baby to the world you've got butterflies in your stomach. In the end, it comes down to fear. Fear of judgment. Fear of not being good en...
Mar 15, 2019•6 min
Time is a finite resource, one that we treat far too casually. Do you look at spending time the way you think about spending money ? Time is a currency, and each day we pull chunks of minutes out of our time wallets, handbags and purses and buy things with our time. What’s the last purchase you made? You make a budget for your financial resources (if you don’t, you have failed at adulting), so why shouldn’t you do the same with your time? When’s the last time you performed an audit on how you’re...
Mar 13, 2019•12 min
We live in what is considered to be the Golden Age of television. There have never been more high quality shows on TV. The storytelling and production value found in most shows today would have been Best Picture nominations decades ago. Companies like Netflix have played a big part in that. And yet, a few years ago, I slowly weaned myself off of my favorite streaming services, culminating in the cancellation of my Netflix account a entirely. Here’s why I did it, and why I have zero regrets . Sig...
Mar 09, 2019•8 min
I don’t want you to think I’m preaching a defeatist attitude. Far from it. I think we live in an exciting time. The internet is affording so many people the opportunity to build a successful business and design their own lifestyle. I’m simply commenting on what seems to be a very common theme in the online business world... Sign up for Launchers here! Read the blog post here Watch the YouTube video here...
Mar 06, 2019•8 min
After three years of hard work, I’ve managed to build a successful web design business that allows me to craft my ideal lifestyle. Namely, one that involves a lot of traveling, volunteer work, and not having to sit in a 9-5 cubicle in the sky for 67% of my life. Lately, I’ve been getting more questions from friends, colleagues, and random internet friends about how I managed to do this, and how they can do it too. In the process of explaining to them exactly how I did it, I noticed a disturbing ...
Mar 03, 2019•12 min
Last week, I did something I never thought I’d do. I started this podcast. “ Fantastic. Another random dude who thinks he can do a podcast because he listened to an episode of Serial and bought a Blue Snowball microphone on Amazon Prime Day. ” – You, probably I hear ya. I’ve even said the exact same thing in the past. It certainly feels like everyone and their mom is starting a podcast these days. I’ve been closely watching the market over the past year and, after careful research and deliberati...
Feb 28, 2019•11 min
A great brand crafts a story. A narrative that people can, want and even need to connect with. A brand with vision and purpose. One that goes beyond simply making money. In this episode, we're going to discuss The B4: Bulletproof Brand-Building Blueprint . B4 you start digging holes, laying foundation and erecting walls, we need to have a complete blueprint of our overall plan. (HA, see what I did there? B4? Eh? Eh?) A successful brand has 5 key elements: Backstory Values Purpose Vision Strategy...
Feb 26, 2019•11 min
So you want more web design clients, eh? I mean, who doesn’t? There are a lot of different methods to go about getting these clients, but I’m willing to bet you’ve tried most of them already. “Set up an Upwork profile!” “Ask your friends and family for referrals!” “Engage your professional network and tell them about your new web design business!” “Hire a teenager to sign-spin your company’s logo in front of Staples!” These aren’t bad strategies. Many of them can pay off handsomely. (let me know...
Feb 18, 2019•6 min
Recently, someone who was interested in my web design services expressed her (all too common) frustration to me: “I just don’t know how to do this. One guy is quoting me $400, you’re quoting me $1,500, and this other guy is saying it’s gonna cost me $10,000 ! How the heck do I decide which one is worth my money??” Pricing your web design services can be difficult. As it is for any digital trade. You can try to explain all of the work that goes into building a website. The keyword research, navig...
Feb 18, 2019•11 min
Getting your website to load blazingly fast has never been more important. With each progressive algorithm update, Google is prioritizing high quality content and stellar user experiences. Website performance is a crucial part of offering that stellar user experience. In fact, the average user backs out of a website if it takes longer than just 3 seconds to load. If you’re still making keywords the main priority of your website’s SEO strategy, you’re in for a rude awakening over the next 1-2 yea...
Feb 17, 2019•9 min
You’re starting a web design business. You have the skills. You have the motivation. You have the passion and patience to see this through to the end. But you don’t have customers. And you want some. Nay, need some. Badly. Well, I have good news and bad news. Good news! I have some ideas for you that will pay off. Bad news… 95% of you won’t even bother attempting them And that’s because they’re not easy. But, for the other 5% of you who are all-in , this can pay off big time. I’ve been in your s...
Feb 17, 2019•9 min
In my research for this episode, something became abundantly clear to me. There is a lot of misinformation about what skills you need to have in order to design websites. Most of this information included things like “HTML!”, “CSS!” and “Javacript!” C’mon guys. This isn’t 2002. You don’t need to know any of that stuff to build great websites. Or even to build your very own web design business. There are, however, some really important skills that you must know. Crucial skills that I believe are ...
Feb 17, 2019•18 min
Building my own web design business is the most fun I’ve ever had while working. It was also a ton of work. There is nothing easy about building a business, and the same goes for building your own web design agency. It takes skill, commitment, persistence, courage and consistency. Through hard work, patience and a ton of trial and error, I carved my own path to web designer success. Of course, I had a ton of help along the way through various support channels, including random internet people wh...
Feb 17, 2019•20 min
Feb 16, 2019•51 sec
