Launchers - Build A Successful Web Design Business

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

*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 enough. Fear of looking weird. Fear of standing out. Fear of being alone in your thoughts and ideas. And fear of haters. Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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 spending your most valuable resource; your time? Sign up for Launchers here! Read the blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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. Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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

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 amount of recurring excuses that found their way out of their mouths. So, rather than respond to each one individually as they come up, I’ve decided to write a post about it. I won’t lie to you, it’s… honest.

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 deliberation, here’s why I’ve decided to jump into  the podcasting game with Launchers – Build a successful web design business. Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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 Let’s go through each of these one by one. Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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 how that sign-spinning goes, I just came up with that off the top  of my head) But, they’re not as effective as using Google Maps. That’s right. Google. Maps. Here’s how you can use Google Maps to acquire new web design clients... Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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, navigation planning, sitemap structuring, search  engine optimization, graphic designing, performance optimizing, yada  yada yada… But your client’s eyes are going to glaze over real quick. Then there’s the downright shadiness of the web design industry as a whole. Sketchy web designers who make dubious claims are everywhere. And what about those guys from overseas who low-ball their competitors by offering to build entire websites for $200? All of this combines to make things confusing fo

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 years. Let’s try to avoid that, shall we?

 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 shoes before. I know what you’re feeling. It sucks. But  that means I also know what it takes to get web design clients when you  have no portfolio to show for it. And I’m here to share my experience with you. Let’s dive in. Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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 not discussed enough. Some of these may even be surprising to hear. But hey, that’s why I’m here.

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 who helpfully wrote advice  for me to find through Google. And now it’s my turn to return the favor. In this episode, I'm giving you a 13-step plan to follow to build your very own web design business in just 24 hours. Yep, you heard right. 24 hours. Sign up for Launchers here! Read the full blog post here Watch the YouTube video here

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