From pilot to web designer

[Gabbe18]

My name is Gabriel and I am 28 years old and come from Sweden. I am starting this thread so that you can follow along on my journey, hopefully avoid any mistakes I make and get some value out of it.
If you want get a little bit of a backstory about me you can read this thread I posted a few days ago: INTRO - Better late than never

I am a little bit nervous about this because I have never done anything like this before. Historically though I have usually made the most progress and most good things have happened to me when I have been a bit nervous.

In terms of how many times I post it will be a bit of trial and error based on how much progress I make and how busy I'll be but for now I'll start with once a week and do any additional updates if anything noteworthy happens.

Anyway let's get to the interesting stuff.

So I am currently in the process of starting my web design business and I have never done anything related to web design before. I've been using Fox's YT channel and his 30 step PDF to get me started. Both resources have been really helpful in giving me a starting point and a sense of direction to head in.

I currently have two projects:

1st project:
My first client is a private jet business. The owner's son is a former instructor of mine at my old pilot school and also a captain in their family business. I made a lot of progress in the beginning of the project but unfortunately they have been really busy with managing the business and slow to respond so this project has been dragging along for several weeks now. Also, any changes they want to make have been very specific and has gotten to a point where I have to contact the theme/plugin creators for help or move into the backend of the theme/plugin.

2nd project:
My second project is an ecommerce website for a MMA professional fighter. I haven't started this project yet because he wanted to get some product images and sort out a few things first before I started working on his website. He also mentioned that he wanted to build up his ecommerce business slowly so this is more of a long-term project.

Prospecting:
I have been prospecting for new clients as well, mostly cold emailing businesses I have been using here in Gothenburg. One business that I thought I had a good shot with was law firm that my mother's friend's brother owns however he was not interested. I also asked him if he knew of anyone who has a bad website or might be interested in a new website but he responded with "Relax and have a beer, it's Friday!" so I guess he didn't know anyone.

I also cold emailed a few businesses in Connecticut (the state I was born in) because I thought it would be fun to see if I get any responses. To my surprise after I wrote a follow up email a landscaping business replied and wanted me send over a plan and if I pique his interest he will work with me.

Networking:
I was supposed to attend a networking event tomorrow but it got canceled because one of the host's family members got covid, however he said he might do it online instead but that has not been confirmed yet.
I am planning to sign up for a few more networking events and engage with some groups where potential clients might hang out.

That's pretty much it for the first update.
Have a great day!

 

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[Gabbe18]

Hey guys

So this past week has been quite interesting. I attended an online networking event last week which resulted in me exchanging contacts with one of the other attendees. This guy has a business development company with another guy and they need a new website. So I am right now in the process of building the website for them. Again I am doing this project for free and I know that I need to move to paid projects in the future but I feel like without having a portfolio project my trust is too low to get paid. They also said that they know some other businesses that might be interested in a website so this could be a good transition into some other projects.

Private Jet business:
I talked to the private jet business and because they are so slow with everything I told them that it is better to do this project another time when they have more time. The owner agreed.

Prospecting:
I have contacted about 30-35 businesses this past week. Most were either not interested, didn't respond or told me to remove them from my mailing list, however that means I am one step closer to reaching the business that actually is interested.

Networking:
Networking has been a bit difficult with the covid restrictions because I prefer to meet up in person but there is literally not a single event in town that is in person. I am instead attending an online event on Wednesday and hopefully I can get to know some people in need of a website.
I have also joined a few networking groups on Facebook and started to engage in those groups. I read in some other thread where someone recommended to join a group with potential clients and try to become the "what you specialize in" guy, so in my case I want to become known as the "web design" guy.
I would love to hear where you guys go these days to network.

Enjoy your day!

 

[Simon Angel]

Hi man,

Nobody was taking me seriously until I began charging for my web design services. That's also the reason why your Private Jet Business client is not overly enthused to cooperate and get this project done ASAP - they just don't understand the value it will bring them.

"If this guy isn't even charging for his work, then it probably won't make me a lot of money or even any at all, so why rush?"

 

[Gabbe18]

Hey guys.

Sorry for the long time between updates. I have been focusing on prospecting for clients and forgot about the updates. I have put a lot effort into cold calling and cold emailing. That is what I spend the most of my days with now. I research businesses, collect contact info about them and then cold call them. I occasionally I cold email as well but I try to cold call all businesses because I feel like it is easier to build trust that way.

A few things I have learnt from calling blue collar businesses:
- Try to find the email or number of the decision maker i.e. CEO or president because then you don't have to convince a secretary to get to the person in charge and you save time by talking to the decision maker straight away.
- Call close to or before (after) opening (closing) hours. That way you might avoid the secretary if you don't have a personal number of the CEO. Also, when I called during the day the CEO/president was usually not available anyway because he was busy with other stuff.
- (This surprised me the most) Most business don't answer and never call back. I guess there is not much you can do about that but most calls go unanswered.

By focusing on these things I have managed to get two phone calls booked this Tuesday. Hopefully they lead to something more and if not I'll just continue cold calling every day. I know that with every cold call I make I am one step closer to getting a new client.

I recently finished reading Deep Work by Cal Newport. I have been implementing his advice in my life and my productivity has improved quite nicely. I recommend reading the book if you want to be more productive with your time.

I hope you saw some value in this post.
Enjoy your day!

 

[Gabbe18]

Hey guys,

This a post about some of the darker sides of starting a business and entrepreneurship.

Over the past weeks I have sent, I don’t know how many cold emails and made 100+ cold calls. I have been rejected by all of them or didn’t receive a response even after several follow ups. I did however manage to get two business owners to agree to a sales call on Zoom. Neither of them showed up and when I called them to ask what was going on they told me they were busy and would get back to me. They have yet to call back. In terms of emotions it has been quite the roller coaster, with everything from celebrating like I scored a hockey goal to smashing my fist on my desk and cursing in a way that certainly won’t guarantee me a spot in heaven.

I’ve been thinking about why I can’t get people to work with me and it has to do with trust. They don’t know who I am and therefore don’t trust me. I need to contact and work with people that have some trust for me. For me that means friends and family. I have a portfolio project from the MMA fighter that I can use to show previous work to potential clients. Also I have been asking the MMA fighter if he knows anyone that might be interested in a website or some SEO work.

I am moving in the right direction, I just wish it was going faster. One of my weaknesses is that I am very impatient and want things to happen immediately.

I'll keep you guys posted on any updates.

Enjoy your week.

 

[AceVentures]

They have yet to call back. In terms of emotions it has been quite the roller coaster, with everything from celebrating like I scored a hockey goal to smashing my fist on my desk and cursing in a way that certainly won’t guarantee me a spot in heaven.

I can relate. One way to look at a situation like this is with respect to the concept of the plateau. The questions are: how do you deal with homeostatis? How do you make change for the better easier? How do you make it last?

You might unknowingly sabotage your own best efforts if you slip up at plateaus (doing the deed, staying true to your practice, making the calls, sending the emails), especially following significant highs (your MMA deal).

Best thing is to be aware of plateaus and as a master, to recognize this as a part of the process.

Chin up, keep doing good work!

 

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[Gabbe18]

I can relate. One way to look at a situation like this is with respect to the concept of the plateau. The questions are: how do you deal with homeostatis? How do you make change for the better easier? How do you make it last?

You might unknowingly sabotage your own best efforts if you slip up at plateaus (doing the deed, staying true to your practice, making the calls, sending the emails), especially following significant highs (your MMA deal).

Best thing is to be aware of plateaus and as a master, to recognize this as a part of the process.

Chin up, keep doing good work!

Thanks! I really appreciate the advice. That sounds very reasonable and more sustainable in the long run.

 

[Gabbe18]

Hey guys,

I am sorry for the late update but I have been really busy with getting my little business up in the air. And I got some great news! I got my first client! It’s not for web design but for SEO. Initially I planned on having SEO as an extra skill to increase my market value but I think it’s pretty interesting and fun to learn so I wrote a post about it on Reddit. I only focused on providing value without any links or marketing. Eventually people started asking me questions which then led to my first sales call and client. Since that first client I have had another two sales calls. One of them didn’t work out and the other I haven’t received a yes or a no from yet. So we’ll see how that goes.

The client itself is a window treatment company that has really bad SEO so there is a lot of room for improvement and a great opportunity to deliver some great value.

My next steps are to just over deliver for that client and ensure they are really happy with my services. Hopefully I can get some referrals out of that. I am also going to continue prospecting by being engaged in FB groups and subreddits. I just focus on answering questions wherever I can and giving tips.

I am preparing a cold email campaign as well that I hope will result in some sales calls. I really want to practice those calls so that I can get comfortable having them and increase my conversion rate.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask!

Have a nice day!

 

[flameseeker3000]

How is your journey for now?