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Nomads

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This could be great!

“Who already has your customers.”
(Jay Abraham)

Yes - super excited. We have really been trying to connect with owners of FB communities related to the service industry. There are a lot of shady players in these groups spamming "Websites & SEO for $300" and the outcome always leaves customers very disappointed.

This seems to have made a lot of people apprehensive to partner up in any way. This has been our first yes out of probably 50 groups we contacted.
 
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Andy Black

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Yes - super excited. We have really been trying to connect with owners of FB communities related to the service industry. There are a lot of shady players in these groups spamming "Websites & SEO for $300" and the outcome always leaves customers very disappointed.

This seems to have made a lot of people apprehensive to partner up in any way. This has been our first yes out of probably 50 groups we contacted.
I often get invited into groups to be the resident expert … by the group owners. Have a think why that happens.
 

AppMan

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Been floating around these forums for a long time now without contributing much, but absorbing lots. I've decided it is time to change that and document my process to detach myself from my current location in the cold barren wasteland called Canada.

I currently run a service-based (seasonal) business from March through October. While I've had great success with this business the location I am tied to has steadily begun to frustrate me more and more. I find the winters difficult and find myself longing to be away from the cold. This hatred for the cold was made even worse when I decided to move to Hawaii for the winter of 2019/2020 and experienced what it was like to not live in freezing temperatures 6+ months of the year. The cold & lack of sun really take a number on me and it seems to only affect my health and wellness worse each year.

Thus, my struggle to detach myself from my current business and location began.

I built and run my own website for my current business and have had a lot of success with it - ranking on the first page of Google for all my target areas. This skill developed during my winters off (could not bring myself to sit around and do nothing all winter so I taught myself to code & build websites) has opened up an opportunity I never thought imaginable. This past winter I launched my own web agency (design, dev, SEO & management) and have had some success, especially with others in service businesses approaching me and appreciating my knowledge of it. I learnt more and recreated the same process I used for my own website and was able to help quite a few others as well.

I plan to use this thread to thoroughly document my process & execution as I take this business on until it is stable enough for me to either sell off/or hire someone to run my other business. I will then continue to build this business in the warmth of Portugal. Thankfully, my fiancee is a citizen of said country and we can move there at will.

I will also document my progress as I work with multiple programs/tools to assist me in taking this business to the next level. The two I am starting with will be:

@Fox Web School - while I am familiar with the web development & design side of things I am excited to learn from someone who has had so much success on the sales & outreach side where I have struggled.

@Black_Dragon43 and his B2B Lead Generation System. I am looking to automate and try to be as efficient as possible with lead generation as this has been the biggest issue I have had so far. Excited to see how I can put this system to use.

I will escape the cold.
Can you provide your website address?
I think posts like these, assuming they are authentic need to provide some data to benefit others , example , how did you perform your research , how long it took you to start generating income , etc.
 

Andy Black

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Can you provide your website address?
I think posts like these, assuming they are authentic need to provide some data to benefit others , example , how did you perform your research , how long it took you to start generating income , etc.
There can be negative consequences when forum members share their website or business details.

Also, not sharing website or business details allows people to share more behind the scenes details.
 
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srodrigo

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Has she told you how F*cking cold the winter in Portugal can feel? Most places don't have heating so even if you're in the south you'll freeze at home. In Canada, at least when you're at home you can be toasty warm.
Another poor soul who got fooled by the Southern Europe "warm" countries myth :D

I'm from a 35-degrees-in-summer city. In winter, only a few minutes of sun hits the flat, you freeze your balls off in there, dressing link a penguin.
 

AppMan

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There can be negative consequences when forum members share their website or business details.

Also, not sharing website or business details allows people to share more behind the scenes details.
That can be true when you are in very initial page, but once you achieve the success I don't see what prevent someone from sharing their business name like it happen in other startups forms. I am not saying this guy is fake, but what prevent anyone from posting a topic saying he is now a multi millionaire without providing any evidence , or even any experience that we can benefit.
 

Andy Black

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once you achieve the success I don't see what prevent someone from sharing their business name
There's an argument that the potential downside is bigger the more successful your business is.

what prevent anyone from posting a topic saying he is now a multi millionaire without providing any evidence , or even any experience that we can benefit.
Nothing. It's up to us to not accept everything at face value, to do our own due diligence, and to take the correct action on whatever we learn.
 
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Nomads

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Signed & receiving payment for another new website tomorrow.

A huge opportunity presented itself as well for website building. Found a way to essentially get businesses set up with a new website for free through some government programs that will cover my fees, and cost the customer nothing. Seems like outbound sales are about to get a lot easier. :happy:
 

Paul David

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How long are you legally allowed to stay in Portugal for if you go?

For us Brits as somebody else mentioned above it's harder to move somewhere permanent now in the EU. We can only stay 90 days out of last 180.

Brexit voting idiots but thats for another day.
 

Simon Angel

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Signed & receiving payment for another new website tomorrow.

A huge opportunity presented itself as well for website building. Found a way to essentially get businesses set up with a new website for free through some government programs that will cover my fees, and cost the customer nothing. Seems like outbound sales are about to get a lot easier. :happy:

Just the fees? And yeah, this is an easy sell now but remember that your main priority should be to add value to your clients' businesses and get paid for your contribution. They should see paying you $1000, $2000, $5000, etc as a steal for the results you've brought them.

But if you already are adding immense value, NEVER do it for free.
 
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Nomads

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How long are you legally allowed to stay in Portugal for if you go?

For us Brits as somebody else mentioned above it's harder to move somewhere permanent now in the EU. We can only stay 90 days out of last 180.

Brexit voting idiots but thats for another day.

Forever thankfully. My fiancee is Portuguese and we actually pick up her citizenship documents this Wednesday! So I will have to do some work but can get my residency, etc.

Just the fees? And yeah, this is an easy sell now but remember that your main priority should be to add value to your clients' businesses and get paid for your contribution. They should see paying you $1000, $2000, $5000, etc as a steal for the results you've brought them.

But if you already are adding immense value, NEVER do it for free.

By fees, I meant exactly what I am charging them - I'm losing no money, they just don't need to dig deep into their own pockets. There is a cap on how much the program permits them but it more than covers a simple website, and anything more advanced would come at an additional cost of course. The key is to use this as leverage to make what is an otherwise difficult sell much easier. I'm adding value by helping local businesses get a website, but also offset the costs for them.

I have a feeling once I get a foot in the door with these businesses most of them will go towards more of an advanced website at an additional cost as it will be easier to swallow with some assistance.
 

Simon Angel

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I'm adding value by helping local businesses get a website, but also offset the costs for them.

You don't add value by getting them a website. Just having a website will do nothing. You add value by getting them a website that brings them more business.

So how will your websites do that?

I have a feeling once I get a foot in the door with these businesses most of them will go towards more of an advanced website at an additional cost as it will be easier to swallow with some assistance.

if they paid $0 for the "basic" website, I guarantee you that it will be very difficult to sell them on an "advanced" website.
 

Nomads

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You don't add value by getting them a website. Just having a website will do nothing. You add value by getting them a website that brings them more business.

So how will your websites do that?

The websites provide plenty of value. I don't just build a website and throw it at my customers. I optimize each and every website I build to help them attract paying customers and build their business. I accomplish this through website design focused on UX, specific CTA usage, SEO optimization, analytics tracking and more. I've had great success in this with my previous customers, all of whom are very happy with what they received and the results the website provided.

if they paid $0 for the "basic" website, I guarantee you that it will be very difficult to sell them on an "advanced" website.

I disagree, but I guess we will just have to find out. A lot of business owners are already on the fence about paying for a professionally built website. This opportunity allows them to further advance their business with minimal risk. It also allows me to get my foot in the door and build trust with them. I'm quite confident once I do so, I will be able to upsell them.

Either way - I will be making good money even if I don't get the upsell.
 
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Nomads

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@Andy Black coffee & diesel pays off again.

Mentioned casually what I was doing to an acquaintance who often uses my services from my other business.

He promptly connected me with an industrial manufacturer in search of a new website. $10,000 website deal closed.

The website is a little intimidating, but I'll get it done.
 

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@Andy Black coffee & diesel pays off again.

Mentioned casually what I was doing to an acquaintance who often uses my services from my other business.

He promptly connected me with an industrial manufacturer in search of a new website. $10,000 website deal closed.

The website is a little intimidating, but I'll get it done.

What is intimidating about this website?

And well done! That's a pretty significant deal for the amount of time/effort you spent closing it. I'm curious what this business produces since I used to cold call a ton of industrial manufacturers - most notably companies that produced graphite brushes for electric motors, and, unfortunately, I never got to close a deal because they would almost always say they already had "too much" business (B2B obviously).

Oh, and is this using the opportunity you talked about above with the government grant?

Awesome progress.
 
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Simon Angel

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Awesome.

Bear in mind you can do diesel and coffee over Zoom as well. It’s not quite the same, but does enable you to chat to people you’d otherwise not meet in person.

He keeps writing it in reverse - Coffee & Diesel. I'm guessing Canadians use coffee as fuel and diesel as a nice, warm beverage to invigorate the senses..

Or they do actually meet up for coffee, but then he takes them for a joyride while discussing helping them with their business and the adrenaline helps to close the deal.

Anyway..

@Nomads How are you going to utilize this strat in Portugal? Zoom calls or learning Portuguese and doing biz with the locals?
 
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Nomads

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What is intimidating about this website?

And well done! That's a pretty significant deal for the amount of time/effort you spent closing it. I'm curious what this business produces since I used to cold call a ton of industrial manufacturers - most notably companies that produced graphite brushes for electric motors, and, unfortunately, I never got to close a deal because they would almost always say they already had "too much" business (B2B obviously).

Oh, and is this using the opportunity you talked about above with the government grant?

Awesome progress.

Just a bit out of my comfort zone! The majority of my customers are service-based businesses (carpenters, window washers, plumbers, etc) whereas this business is different and they also want a database w/ catalogued items for sale updated quarterly. Their main goal here is a better experience for existing customers that use their website.

An excellent opportunity to push myself further and learn more.

The company sells construction materials testing equipment to civil engineers.

They will be taking advantage of the grant, but that was just a bonus for them.

Thank you! :)

He keeps writing it in reverse - Coffee & Diesel. I'm guessing Canadians use coffee as fuel and diesel as a nice, warm beverage to invigorate the senses..

Or they do actually meet up for coffee, but then he takes them for a joyride while discussing helping them with their business and the adrenaline helps to close the deal.

Anyway..

@Nomads How are you going to utilize this strat in Portugal? Zoom calls or learning Portuguese and doing biz with the locals?

:rofl:

Woops, honestly it throws me off as I keep wanting to write gas & coffee as diesel is a lot less common around here.. trying to stay true to the term as it was coined and I manage to do it backwards.

A little bit of both when we move to Portugal. We are learning the language 100%, but we will also be returning to Canada probably for 2-3 months spread out through each year.

I have a pretty vast network in Canada that I plan to continue building during this time.
 

Nomads

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With such a high price point, maybe look into https://www.wpallimport.com/ to compliment their new website.

They seem to offer good tools for just that

Thank you! This may actually be the exact solution I end up using.

This will allow me to keep the maintenance contract price lower and entice them into it as it will be significantly less work than uploading each product.
 
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Nomads

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The big deal mentioned in a previous post seems to have fallen through - haven't gotten a response from the business owner since we agreed on the deal. As many have said here before, don't celebrate until the money is in your bank account! I broke that rule. I was informed by a mutual connection that the individual who I met with and made the deal with is known to overcommit and has been struggling with some mental health issues. There is still a possibility I could still hear back apparently as he hasn't said no, but only time will tell!

As much as the deal falling through sucks, we have been doing amazing with our other approach. My fiancee has been doing an amazing job with sales by going into businesses, explaining how they can update their website with a grant, and closing deals. We have 6 closed so far with 10+ more in the pipeline. Easily gets another 1-2 every time she goes out.

Just yesterday I fractured my ankle putting me out of commission temporarily for my other business which was winding down from the busy season anyway.

So now I've got a ton of time & lots of websites to build! :smile2:
 

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The big deal mentioned in a previous post seems to have fallen through - haven't gotten a response from the business owner since we agreed on the deal. As many have said here before, don't celebrate until the money is in your bank account! I broke that rule. I was informed by a mutual connection that the individual who I met with and made the deal with is known to overcommit and has been struggling with some mental health issues. There is still a possibility I could still hear back apparently as he hasn't said no, but only time will tell!

As much as the deal falling through sucks, we have been doing amazing with our other approach. My fiancee has been doing an amazing job with sales by going into businesses, explaining how they can update their website with a grant, and closing deals. We have 6 closed so far with 10+ more in the pipeline. Easily gets another 1-2 every time she goes out.

Just yesterday I fractured my ankle putting me out of commission temporarily for my other business which was winding down from the busy season anyway.

So now I've got a ton of time & lots of websites to build! :smile2:
Great bounce back!

So she's going into businesses on foot? Kudos.
 

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Great bounce back!

So she's going into businesses on foot? Kudos.

She is! She started off extremely nervous but we figured this would be a really good way to build rapport and show we are serious. From day one she has been absolutely killing it. Dealt with a few condescending & rude people but has taken it in stride and we've had a ton of success with this approach.

We also do cold emailing but the success rate is significantly less.
 
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Nomads

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The grant opportunity we have been offering customers has started to pay off immensely. We have almost 40 people in the pipeline as solid leads, with about half of them already in the application to receive the grant & pay us for our services.

The amount of people who have horror stories about interactions with web developers is eye-opening.

The common story we have to fight against is unskilled, half-assed "web developers" coming along and ripping business owners off for generic Wix/Squarespace templates that they half finish after taking the customer's money. This leaves busy business owners trying to fiddle around with programs themselves, while also leaving them apprehensive to trust another web developer.

We've set ourselves aside by offering advice and guidance to every single person we make contact with. My fiancee makes contact with them in person, establishes rapport by actually listening to their issues, and we help them find a solution. I look into their current website and give them honest feedback for free and explain how they can fix it, even if they want to do it themselves.

The vast majority make the decision to go with us, do the grant application and sign up with us for ongoing management & development.

It's unfortunate that people in this industry abuse customers so often, but we're happy to be able to help our customers out and leave them happy.
 

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A lot has changed in a year!

Took the plunge and moved to Portugal. 3 months ago. Lisbon was miserable, stressful, & cold... people were quite tense overall and it was definitely not the vibe we were looking for at all. Great vacation spot, but not so great for living. I struggled to keep positive in this environment and this carried over into business.

Moved down south into the Algarve and it was like a weight was lifted immediately The sun, the heat, the people, and the beach assisted in every way as I got my mind back on track and got focused. Business immediately increased following this shift in environment & mental space.

We tried out a few spots throughout the Algarve and just bought a condo 15 minutes walking distance from a world-famous beach.

Working from our home office with a beautiful view for the first time in 3+ months instead of at some AirBnB kitchen table.

The Algarve is stunning... hard to find anything negative about it. Affordable (expat wise at least), great entrepreneur community, beautiful weather, the list goes on...
 
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A lot has changed in a year!

Took the plunge and moved to Portugal. 3 months ago. Lisbon was miserable, stressful, & cold... people were quite tense overall and it was definitely not the vibe we were looking for at all. Great vacation spot, but not so great for living. I struggled to keep positive in this environment and this carried over into business.

Moved down south into the Algarve and it was like a weight was lifted immediately The sun, the heat, the people, and the beach assisted in every way as I got my mind back on track and got focused. Business immediately increased following this shift in environment & mental space.

We tried out a few spots throughout the Algarve and just bought a condo 15 minutes walking distance from a world-famous beach.

Working from our home office with a beautiful view for the first time in 3+ months instead of at some AirBnB kitchen table.

The Algarve is stunning... hard to find anything negative about it. Affordable (expat wise at least), great entrepreneur community, beautiful weather, the list goes on...
The Algarve has been on my radar for a while. It seems like you've found your little utopia. Congrats.
 

Nomads

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The Algarve has been on my radar for a while. It seems like you've found your little utopia. Congrats.

100% suggest checking it out. There is a strong expat / digital nomad community and the sun never stops shining!

I've seen a lot of FTEs that have this common denominator of "cold." Interesting sincebmy country has all 4 seasons.

It seems to be a common event in North America. A lot of northern areas experience 4 months of nice weather followed by 8 months of cold, dreary, dark weather.

I actually do love the variation in seasons, but I couldn't stand how long winter felt. Going weeks without seeing the sun is not something I get along well with.

When I have a rough day and need to destress I kick off and go to the beach. It clears my mind and rejuvenates me so I can keep on pushing forward with my business pursuits.

That was hard to do in a country where the weather is far into the negatives for a good chunk of the year.
 
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The amount of people who have horror stories about interactions with web developers is eye-opening.

The common story we have to fight against is unskilled, half-assed "web developers" coming along and ripping business owners off for generic Wix/Squarespace templates that they half finish after taking the customer's money. This leaves busy business owners trying to fiddle around with programs themselves, while also leaving them apprehensive to trust another web developer.
This is why any time someone on this forum says, "going into digital marketing is for retards!" or "digital marketing is such a trap! You're stupid!" I laugh my a$$ off while closing their thread.

There are 100 billion "digital marketing agencies" in existence but 99% of them are pure shit and aren't legitimate competition. They simply had the balls to say, "F*ck it, let's go for it."
 

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Going weeks without seeing the sun is not something I get along well with.

When I have a rough day and need to destress I kick off and go to the beach. It clears my mind and rejuvenates me so I can keep on pushing forward with my business pursuits.

That was hard to do in a country where the weather is far into the negatives for a good chunk of the year.
Fully agree with this.

The UK is grey, cold, and wet most of the year. After a 3-month trip to Cyprus a few years back, I was grateful for the cooler reprieve upon my return, but the lack of sunlight and blue skies is a mood/productivity killer.

At least for me, that is.

There are plenty of folks who love the cold. Hell, one of my best mates rejoices every time winter returns.
 

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