4 things I wish I knew when I started my web design agency

Summary

The speaker recounts their journey from a trapped senior web designer to financial freedom, emphasizing the importance of creating recurring income and specialization in web design services. They share insights on building a business, the value of professional services like marketing, leveraging white label partnerships, and the necessity of a lead generation system. The summary also touches on the importance of offering various service packages to cater to different client needs and the challenges of client acquisition.

Takeaways

• 😔 Feeling Trapped: The speaker felt trapped in their dream job as a senior web designer and developer, despite having a window for sunlight and decent pay.
• 🚀 Taking the Leap: Despite initial success with a few referrals and clients, the speaker decided to quit their job and start their own business, aiming for independence.
• 📉 Struggling to Start: After quitting, the speaker faced a period of six months with no new clients, feeling directionless and overwhelmed by the reality of running a business.
• 💡 Importance of Recurring Income: The speaker emphasizes the importance of creating recurring income streams through monthly services for clients, which is key to financial stability.
• 🔧 Leveraging White Label Partners: For those not wanting to learn advertising, using white label partners can be a way to offer services while generating recurring revenue.
• 🛠 Specialization Benefits: Becoming service-oriented and specializing in a particular industry can lead to longer client relationships, higher client satisfaction, and more revenue.
• 🤝 Networking for Growth: Attending local business networking events can be an effective way to generate leads and secure web design projects.
• 📈 Systematic Lead Generation: Having a systematic approach to lead generation is crucial for consistent business growth and meeting potential clients.
• 💸 Targeting $10,000 per Month: The speaker suggests that reaching $10,000 per month is a significant milestone that can greatly improve one's quality of life and business outlook.
• 📦 Offering Multiple Packages: Having both high and low ticket packages allows for flexibility in client acquisition and ensures that no potential business is left untapped.
• 🔗 Follow-up Resources: The speaker offers further in-depth guidance on their channel for those interested in learning more about sales and lead generation.

Q & A

What was the speaker's initial job and how did it make him feel?

The speaker was a senior web designer and developer, which was his dream job. However, despite having the job he wanted, he felt trapped and empty, even though he was well-paid and had a window for sunlight.

What motivated the speaker to quit his job and start his own business?

The speaker was motivated by the desire to go 'all in' on himself. He had a few referrals and some clients paying him a hosting fee, and he believed life would only get more complicated with age and more responsibilities.

What was the speaker's experience after quitting his job and attempting to build his business?

After quitting his job, the speaker found himself without a clear plan for his business. Six months later, he had no clients, was struggling with time management, and had to get a job again due to financial pressures.

What was the embarrassing situation the speaker found himself in with his girlfriend?

The speaker picked up his girlfriend without telling her they were going to Subway because he couldn't afford anything nicer. This was embarrassing because she was dressed up for a fancier outing.

How did the speaker eventually achieve financial freedom?

The speaker achieved financial freedom by understanding and implementing certain principles related to creating recurring income, operating as a real company, and offering valuable services to clients.

What is the importance of creating recurring income in a web design business according to the speaker?

Creating recurring income is crucial as it provides a stable cash flow. The speaker emphasizes that professionals in the industry understand the need to offer services that clients are willing to pay for on a monthly basis, ranging from simple to advanced services.

What is a 'white label partner' and how can it benefit a web designer?

A 'white label partner' is a company that a web designer can pay to handle advertising services for their clients. This allows the web designer to offer advertising services without having to learn the skills themselves, generating a service fee from the client.

Why did the speaker transition from being a generalist web designer to a service-oriented one?

The speaker transitioned to become more service-oriented because it led to longer client relationships, happier clients, and higher monthly payments. By understanding and servicing specific industries, the speaker was able to offer more tailored and valuable solutions.

What strategies did the speaker suggest for a web designer to find new clients?

The speaker suggested attending local business networking groups like BNI or Chamber of Commerce meetings, which can lead to consistent and substantial web design projects.

Outlines

00:00

😔 Struggle in a Dream Job

The speaker reflects on their experience as a senior web designer and developer, feeling trapped in a cubicle despite having a dream job. Despite earning a decent salary, they felt empty and overworked. The speaker was motivated by a beach background on their phone, symbolizing their initial aspirations. Eventually, they decided to quit their job to pursue self-employment, but after six months, they struggled to gain clients and had to return to employment due to financial constraints. The narrative highlights the challenges of transitioning from a steady job to an uncertain entrepreneurial path.

05:01

🚀 Transition to Financial Freedom

The speaker discusses their journey from financial struggles to achieving financial freedom, making over $20,000 per month. They emphasize the importance of creating recurring income streams, such as monthly hosting fees or advertising services, and the benefits of operating as a professional company rather than a freelancer. They also mention the option of partnering with white label companies for advertising services, allowing them to generate recurring revenue without needing to master the skills themselves. The speaker's transformation from a generalist web designer to a service-oriented professional is highlighted, as they began to focus on understanding and solving their clients' specific needs.

10:03

🤝 Building Client Relationships and Growing Business

The speaker shares insights on how to improve client relationships and grow a web design business. They advise becoming specialized in certain industries to better understand client needs and offer tailored solutions, such as an automatic appointment generation system for landscapers. The speaker also talks about the importance of joining local business groups for networking and generating referrals. They stress the need for a systematic approach to lead generation and sales, suggesting that having a consistent flow of meetings is key to a successful business. The speaker encourages setting a goal to reach $10,000 per month as a significant milestone for life improvement.

📈 Diversifying Services and Pricing Strategies

The speaker discusses the importance of offering multiple service packages at different price points to cater to a wider range of clients. They recount their own mistakes of only offering high-priced custom websites and missing opportunities for recurring revenue from smaller projects. They suggest that having both high-ticket and low-ticket plans can maximize the potential of every client meeting and ensure that no opportunity is wasted. The speaker also provides a link to another video for further insights on sales and client conversion strategies.

Keywords

💡Cubicle

A cubicle is a workspace enclosed by walls, often found in offices. In the video's context, it symbolizes the feeling of confinement the speaker experienced despite having a dream job. The script mentions, 'I remember sitting in my cubicle with, these three walls around me feeling, trapped,' illustrating the contrast between the physical space and the mental state of the speaker.

💡Web Designer and Developer

This term refers to a professional who designs and develops websites, focusing on both the visual aspects and the technical functionality. The speaker identifies as a senior web designer and developer, indicating a high level of expertise in creating websites. The script states, 'I was a senior web designer and developer,' highlighting the speaker's professional background and the job they were passionate about.

💡Recurring Income

Recurring income is a business model where customers pay a subscription or a regular fee for ongoing services. The video emphasizes the importance of creating recurring income streams for web designers, as it provides financial stability and growth. The speaker mentions, 'you have to create recurring income,' and discusses various ways to achieve this, such as charging monthly fees for hosting or marketing services.

💡White Label Partner

A white label partner is a company that provides services or products under another company's branding. In the script, the speaker explains that web designers can collaborate with white label partners to offer advertising services without having to learn the skills themselves. The concept is exemplified by the statement, 'you can also find a white label partner,' and further explained with the idea of outsourcing advertising tasks for a service fee.

💡Service Oriented

Being service oriented means focusing on providing excellent service to clients, often by anticipating and exceeding their needs. The speaker describes becoming more service oriented as a way to improve client relationships and increase revenue. The script includes, 'the more service oriented I became around my clients,' showing how the speaker's approach to client service evolved to offer more tailored solutions.

💡Lead Generation System

A lead generation system is a set of strategies or tools designed to attract and convert potential customers into actual sales. The video discusses the necessity of having such a system for web designers to grow their business. The speaker says, 'you need to have a system that will automatically put meetings on your calendar,' which illustrates the concept of automating the process of finding new clients.

💡BNI Meetings

BNI, which stands for Business Network International, is an organization that facilitates networking among local businesses. The speaker mentions attending BNI meetings as a way to generate leads and secure web design projects. The script refers to, 'I've seen people go to these BNI meetings,' indicating that these networking events can be a valuable source of business opportunities.

💡Custom Websites

Custom websites are websites that are specifically designed and developed to meet the unique needs and preferences of a client. The speaker contrasts custom websites with cheaper, copy-paste alternatives, suggesting that while custom sites can be more expensive, they also offer greater value and potential for higher revenue. The script mentions, 'if you want to sell expensive custom websites,' highlighting the business decision involved in offering such services.

💡Baseline of Income

A baseline of income refers to a consistent and reliable level of earnings that a business can expect to receive regularly. The speaker suggests that having a baseline of income from clients paying for hosting and other services can provide financial stability. The script includes, 'you can build an amazing Baseline of income,' to emphasize the importance of establishing a steady revenue stream.

💡Multiple Packages

Offering multiple packages refers to providing a range of service options at different price points to cater to a variety of client needs and budgets. The speaker advises having both high-ticket and low-ticket packages to maximize the potential of every client interaction. The script states, 'you want to have multiple packages in your web design business,' illustrating the strategy of accommodating different client requirements and financial capacities.

💡Financial Freedom

Financial freedom is the state of having enough income and savings to cover one's living expenses without being tied to a traditional job for income. The speaker shares their journey to financial freedom as a result of understanding and applying certain business principles. The script mentions, 'I was completely financially free making over $20,000 per month,' which encapsulates the end goal the speaker achieved through their business endeavors.

Highlights

The narrator felt trapped in their dream job as a senior web designer and developer, despite having a window for sunlight.

Despite being overworked and feeling empty, the narrator was motivated by a beach background on their phone, representing their initial business aspirations.

The decision to quit the job was influenced by having a few referrals and clients, and a desire to take control of one's life.

After quitting, the narrator faced a reality of not knowing what to do next and ended up without clients for six months.

The realization of the importance of reoccurring income in the web design industry came after struggling financially.

The narrator emphasizes the need for professionals to understand how to create reoccurring income through services.

Mistakes made early in the business included not having a clear direction or understanding of how to build a client base.

The importance of specialization in web design to better serve clients and increase monthly revenue is highlighted.

Networking through local business groups can be an effective way to generate new clients and projects.

The narrator shares personal experiences of embarrassment due to financial struggles, emphasizing the motivation for change.

Financial freedom was achieved by understanding and implementing principles of recurring revenue and business operation.

The narrator discusses the benefits of having a white label partner for advertising services, allowing for skill outsourcing.

The transition from a generalist to a service-oriented web designer led to better client relationships and higher income.

The importance of creating a lead generation system for consistent business growth is emphasized.

The narrator suggests aiming for a minimum income of $10,000 per month as a significant life and business milestone.

Having multiple packages in a web design business can cater to a wider range of clients and budgets.

The narrator shares insights on the importance of converting meetings into paying customers through effective sales strategies.

Transcripts

I remember sitting in my cubicle with

these three walls around me feeling

trapped but I did have one window out in

the distance which gave me the only

sunlight that I saw all day but the

crazy part is this was my dream job even

though it sounds like a prison this is

the job that I wanted I was a senior web

designer and developer I was writing

code I was even getting paid pretty

decently well but I felt so empty I was

over worked but I remember having a

beach in Thailand as my background on my

phone to motivate me and show me why I

even got started in this business in the

first place and look one day I decided I

had enough and I wanted to go all in on

myself so what do you think I did I quit

look I had a couple referrals I made a

couple thousand that month I felt pretty

good about myself and I even had a

couple clients paying me $100 per month

as a hosting fee I thought to myself if

not now than when life is only going to

get more complicated as I get older with

more responsibilities and I was so

excited to leave that job and Branch out

on my own and guess what happened as

soon as I sat down the very next day and

I decided it's time for me to build my

business I opened up my laptop and I

realized I had no idea what to do and

long story short if we fast forward 6

months I got zero clients I absolutely

sucked and I didn't know what I was was

doing I spent random time on my phone

Doom scrolling or wasting time and just

procrastinating only to get nothing done

and making excuses in the meantime so I

had to get a job again I had no

reoccurring income and honestly I had

bills to pay and I was tired of being

broke in fact I remember picking up my

girlfriend at her house and she looked

good dude I'm talking heels everything

and it was only then that I realized

that I forgot to tell her that we're

just going to Subway I couldn't afford

anything nice or fancy or any of these

expensive places and as you can imagine

that was quite embarrassing I can't take

care of the people around me let alone

take care of my mom or my other family

and now if you fast forward a couple

years in my journey I was completely

financially free making over

$20,000 per month from my business being

able to pay my mama salary travel

wherever I want live out of airbnbs and

it's only because I understood some of

these principles that I'm going to be

sharing with you here today so let's

dive in so look if you are going to be a

web designer you're going to deliver

websites for your clients and sometimes

they are going to look at that website

and say okay thank you now what what do

we do now with this website how do we

actually get more traffic how do we

actually turn this into new business how

do we turn this into money and that is

why the real Professionals in this

industry under understand that you have

to create reoccurring income now I notic

some people that's an evil word they

don't know how to get clients to pay

them anywhere from $1 to $200 per month

for simple Services all the way up to2

or $3,000 per month for more Advanced

Services like marketing and advertising

now the real professionals that I have

seen in my life that make 20 30 40

$50,000 per month plus all have their

own teams and have staff in place that

are able to do this for them they

operate their web design business or

their agency business as a real company

they're no longer this freelancer this

oneman show and if you don't want to

learn advertising services like Google

ads or Facebook ads you don't have to

you can also find a white label partner

and the way that works is you

essentially pay a company $3 or $400 per

month and they take care of all the

advertising for for that client so if

you charge a client $11,000 per month

for advertising which is cheap we charge

$2,000 per month and that's our service

fee but let's just keep it simple you

charge 1K and you pay $300 that's still

means you're making

$700 per month in recurring revenue and

this white label partner that you have

is running all of the ads for you so you

don't have to learn the skills I

literally remember clients asking me if

I run Faceook Facebook ads or Google ads

because they want more business and I

said no look at all this money I was

leaving on the table and I'm not going

to go super far in depth into these

recurring Services because I have a ton

of other videos if you want to see

exactly what we offer you can watch my

other video on my Channel about how we

make over

$21,000 per month from my agency after

this video look in the beginning I

viewed myself as this generalist web

designer and I would service anyone that

would freaking pay me the more service

oriented I became around my clients and

I kept asking what else what else can I

do for you what else can I solve for you

the better I became and as I kept

leveling up and evolving and offering

more to my clients I realized they

stayed on for longer they were much

happier and they paid me more every

single month than any other clients and

the reason for this is because you

genuinely

become a better option for that business

owner if let's say you have a bunch of

clients that are landscapers and you

start to understand that industry a

little bit you start to understand what

it's like for them to deal with their

customers and so now you're building a

website that isn't just any generic

website but you're building something

that allows them to get more estimates

meaning more quotes meaning they can

make more money and not only that but

now you are beginning to understand that

they actually don't want more phone

calls they they say they do but what

they really want is more booked

appointments and so now when you talk to

a client you all of a sudden can offer

them an automatic appointment generation

machine because you're not just

delivering random website leads to them

but now you're actually booking them

appointments and even following up with

those appointments automatically using

automations and Ai and all of this now

imagine your client is telling you hey

we're getting too many website form

submissions how can we filter from the

lowquality ones and the high quality

ones and you give them that solution

because you've built it before you have

this quote estimator form that you can

plug into their website and people that

are on their website can get an

automatic price based on their

specifications and how big their lawn is

or their property and now you can

deliver that for the client and if you

compare that web designer with someone

that's generic we build websites for

e-commerce stores and then for flower

shops and then for CrossFit Gyms and

they have this massive portfolio they

won't be able to help this Landscaping

client that you're working with as much

as you and you'll be able to charge five

times more with the other web designer

charges let's talk about getting clients

if you're anything like me you probably

have no idea how to actually generate

new clients no one ever taught you that

maybe you've even tried to read some

sales book or some negotiation book but

it doesn't help you at all there's no

tangible advice and so you're left kind

of scurrying around and hoping that

someone reaches out to you hoping that

you get a referral maybe you've even

tried code calling a couple businesses

from Google or from a phone book but

nothing seems to be working consistently

now over the years I've met a ton of web

designers I've seen people go to these

BNI meetings these Chamber of Commerce

meetings and actually get some pretty

decent siiz website projects from these

local business groups in fact there's

one guy in Vegas that I met and that's

all he did when I lived there he told me

all he did was go to these local

networking groups and he had a multi6

figure per year web design business so I

know it works but the problem is you

can't necessarily Crank that up you

can't just say I want more referrals

today and most web designers completely

avoid this because they just don't want

to focus on sales they don't want to

focus on getting new meetings they want

to be web designers you would probably

rather sit there and look at different

templates and design different things

than actually reaching out to clients

and tell telling them about your

services and that's fine that was me as

well but the only way that you're

actually going to grow your business is

if you have a system that will

automatically put meetings on your

calendar so you can wake up and you just

have people to talk to every single day

about your services this is the only way

you're going to build a life that you

actually like the only way you'll be

able to go to restaurants and not even

look at the price of any food this is

the only way you'll be able to retire

your family or retire your mom and pay

them a salary like I did having this in

place allowed me to buy my first Rolex

has allowed me to travel the world

anywhere I want live out of airbnbs and

know that I'm going to be okay because I

have unlimited meetings that I can book

on my calendar honestly you need to get

to $10,000 per month ASAP and that's

when your life will shift the most going

from10 to $20,000 a month even though

yes you doubled your income your

happiness and your quality of life does

not go up you just might be flying

business class now you might be eating

slightly fancier food or slightly

fancier restaurants and over tipping and

overpaying for things but you don't

actually care it doesn't matter as much

as going from zero to 10,000 per month

and I know me saying this might upset

some people but honestly I just want to

motivate you and tell you what's on the

other side once you actually put this

all together and once you figure it out

because it will be tough and you're

going to need that motivation in the

back of your mind of what's waiting for

you when you push past all the difficult

moments and the challenges that you're

going to have and all the rejection that

you're going to face when you're

pitching your services but no one wants

to sign up so focus on creating a lead

generation system and then go all in I

have countless of other videos on my

channel where I go super in-depth into

all this Click by click I show you click

here click there this is how you do it

so if you want to learn more about how

to do that you can check those out after

this video and last but certainly not

least you want to have multiple packages

in your web design business I did this

completely wrong I've done so many

meetings with businesses and Pitch them

a $4,000 $5,000 website Knowing damn

well that they are not going to be able

to afford it not every client's going to

be a good client and yet still I could

have Downs sold them a cheap copy paste

website that would have taken me 10

minutes to do and I would have had

monthly recurring Revenue this is not

the ideal situation if you want to sell

expensive custom websites however you

can build an amazing Baseline of income

if you just have a bunch of people

paying you $150 a month for hosting and

you don't have to stick in that $4 to

$6,000 range I've seen other web

designers charge $10,000

$155,000 per project but that's not

going to be for everyone in fact I used

to work at a big Dental marketing agency

and all of their websites were more

expensive than that but all in all the

hardest part about this business is

getting people interested in your

company and then getting them to show up

on zooms you can actually pitch your

services if you don't have a high ticket

plan and a low ticket plan you are

wasting a lot of time and a lot of

meetings you've already put in all the

energy to book the meeting you've put in

all the time you've set a time Block in

your calendar that you're going to be

speaking to this person so it doesn't

make sense to just let them go and not

have a cheaper plan a cheaper package

for them that they can actually move

forward with and I've just found that a

lot of times clients are cool with just

a copy and paste website if they have

nothing up because I'm sure you and I

can both agree that them having

something and a place to put some of

their portfolio and having a place to

Showcase a couple of their reviews is

still better than zero and not being

found online at all so if you want to

learn more about sales and you want to

learn about how to not only get clients

on meetings but actually convert them

into paying customers I'm going to link

up a video right here