The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Moved to Scottsdale, Growing a Web Design Firm

NMdad

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
224%
Aug 6, 2017
612
1,370
New Mexico
The manager of the comedy talent agency said "do right by us with this client and we'll make sure you have plenty of work in the future".
These kind of opportunities are what boosted my technical service business.

Think: who has access to the kind of clients I want? How can I help them so they'll refer me to those prospects?

I've built relationships with salespeople at 2 software companies. Now, those companies' salespeople end up being like my sales team. The prospects I get through those pipelines are super warm, and have a high conversion rate. Waaaay easier than cold calling.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey All,

Here's a quick update of what's going on so far in 2019:

Being Persistent with a Potential Huge Deal:

Last summer at a networking event I had a conversation with a manager of a commercial real estate firm (10-20 employees) that's looking to completely redo their site.

This would be a HUGE budget (quoted them at $12k - 18k) and they told me the owner is looking to spend around $15k.

Definitely have learned to expect curveballs owning a business... I had fantastic rapport with the employee responsible for managing this project and she told me she told the owner I was a great fit but they were collecting quotes.

So I went to email her and it turns out she's no longer with the company. After a few other attempts to find a new contact there didn't work out, I just called up the general number today and explained the situation.

Luckily enough, I was speaking to her replacement (new marketing coordinator). She asked me to resend the proposal email to her and that they didn't pick someone to redo the site yet (I was worried I might've missed the boat) and that she'll let me know what the founders say.

I'm going to follow up if I don't hear back by next week to push hard for an in-person meeting.

All of the Corporate America nonsense has made me really really good at in-person meetings at building rapport and I want to get to that next level where they can put a face to a name.

I want to be aggressive to start this year and lock down a huge contract like this to really get some more solid momentum.

Will let everyone know how it goes when I have updates!
 

NMdad

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
224%
Aug 6, 2017
612
1,370
New Mexico
Cool!

Next suggestion: Although it can be tempting to wait until you get a green-light on that big project/client, it's important to keep doing things to fill your funnel of prospective projects. That way, you're not dependent on any 1 project or client. And you'll care far less if you lose any project/client, since you'll have a bunch of other prospects in the pipeline. More prospects = less risk (and shorter time to generate revenue).
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Cool!

Next suggestion: Although it can be tempting to wait until you get a green-light on that big project/client, it's important to keep doing things to fill your funnel of prospective projects. That way, you're not dependent on any 1 project or client. And you'll care far less if you lose any project/client, since you'll have a bunch of other prospects in the pipeline. More prospects = less risk (and shorter time to generate revenue).

Hey man,

Completely agreed, this was just one of the highlights I wanted to share haha I've been tracking all of the prospects in my CRM and have been speaking with multiple businesses.

Definitely don't want to expose myself to that kinda risk where I hold out for one big deal!
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Another quick update - the fashion designer's website is all finished and I just cashed the remaining 50% ($2,250) check into the business account.

Not sure how to track that for my 2019 $100k challenge but I figure if it's income I'm reporting for this year and the work was done this year (finished early Jan) I'll count it.

That puts me at the following so far:

2019 Challenge: $6,250 Revenue / $100,000 Goal
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey Everyone,

A few quick updates since I last posted:

1. Did some follow up work for the fashion designer client. They asked how much my hourly rate was so I had to do some research and speak to some experts in this space. I ended up charging $90 / hour (which seemed crazy to me originally and honestly made me uncomfortable) but if there's one thing I've learned is that we all seem to have this built in guilt or shame for charging a fair price for what we're worth.

They didn't even flinch and said that sounded great. Just finished up the edits and did a total of 14 hours of work so that's another $1,260!

2. Huge potential deal that I just sent out the proposal for. A financial services firm in the US I originally cold emailed... the CEO got back to me (he laughed on the call and said the only reason he did was because I saw in his profile he used to work for the huge investment bank I did and I mentioned that as my opening line).

They're not looking for an updated website, but they badly need someone to help with an overall marketing strategy, SEO work and a few other services.

After running it by @Fox and some others, I decided to pitch them $5,000 per month for 3 months and then going month to month from there.

Will keep everyone posted how that goes. Besides that... I've been filling the pipeline with other potential clients too and just trying to be as efficient as I can with my time. Finished up a few different client projects too that will launch soon.

2019 Challenge: $7,510 Revenue / $100,000 Goal
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey All,

One more quick update - been a busy day.

Just finished up and launched another client site and sent him over the invoice for the remaining 50% of the contract (will be $750 for the final half).

Definitely way less than I'd usually accept but it was a very very simple project (3 pages) and the business owner is a pleasure to work with so I knew it would be quick and wouldn't come with any hassles. Additionally, he's a great guy to network with so I figured it could lead to much more work.

So to update the tracker:

2019 Challenge: $8,260 Revenue / $100,000 Goal
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey All,

A few big proposals that I sent out, mostly in the space of bringing in more monthly recurring revenue, as I discussed in my original goals for 2019:

Personal Training Gym SEO Package:

Happened to be chatting with the owner of a personal training gym I've been going to by my place and mentioned I offered web design / SEO and he said he was looking into SEO.

I took the initiative and did a free SEO audit and sent him over some huge issues I found. He seemed concerned and had me have a call with his wife who co-owned the business (she dealt with more of the biz side).

We had a great call and she asked for a proposal that I just sent over today.

Proposed $1,500/month for SEO and got some really good experience pitching these services so we'll see what they come back with.

Investment Management Firm Marketing/SEO Package:

Referenced this a few posts ago, but a cold email got me in touch with the CEO of a successful investment mgmt firm that deals with ultra-high net worth clients in the US.

Probably because I've dealt with these types for 4 years in my Corporate America days, I created some great rapport for the few calls we had and the CEO even said how impressed he was with me and that they were looking to really bring someone on as a marketing consultant partner (looking to outsource it to a business like mine).

Last week I sent them over a proposal that included a lot of services (marketing consultant, monthly SEO, web design guidance and suggested edits, analytics breakdowns, etc).

This one was pitched at $5,000 / month (starting with 3 months locked in and then month to month after).

Using my email tracking I saw that they opened it up but haven't responded yet (they've been pretty slow throughout the process so not surprising). Going to send a friendly chaser email in a few days if I don't hear back.

Will keep everyone posted!

Next Steps:

Start with the easiest leads (current clients, friends/family, previous networking relationships, etc) and work my way down the businesses that I've interacted with this past year to offer them my new service of monthly SEO.

Goal for Feb is to bring on my first monthly SEO client and I'm going to work hard to make it happen.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,076
169,488
Utah
$8,000/mo, living in sunshine, setting your own hours, killing your own work... thread updated to GOLD. Congrats man, sorry it took me awhile to catch up on your progress.

I've so freaking excited for ya.

And hearing the family coming around as well is great news. Talk is cheap, done is expensive. And you've done done. ;-)
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
$8,000/mo, living in sunshine, setting your own hours, killing your own work... thread updated to GOLD. Congrats man, sorry it took me awhile to catch up on your progress.

I've so freaking excited for ya.

And hearing the family coming around as well is great news. Talk is cheap, done is expensive. And you've done done. ;-)

Thanks so much MJ! End of Feb will mark a year since I moved out here... it's been quite the amazing experience so far.

Not just challenging myself with the business, but taking more chances making lots of great new friends and just making it all work out here starting out from nothing.

Going to keep pushing myself and working smart to bring the business to the next level this year!
 

InspireHD

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
243%
Dec 9, 2014
516
1,254
Dan, you mentioned doing SEO for a personal training gym. Do you have a recommendation for a course that you use and like? I just finished a site for a friend who does personal training and he doesn’t believe he will get any traffic. I’m trying to prove him wrong and set him up with some good SEO.

Even an online resource would be great. I was searching around yesterday but wasn’t coming up with anything substantial. I also didn’t have a lot of time.

Thanks.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Dan, you mentioned doing SEO for a personal training gym. Do you have a recommendation for a course that you use and like? I just finished a site for a friend who does personal training and he doesn’t believe he will get any traffic. I’m trying to prove him wrong and set him up with some good SEO.

Even an online resource would be great. I was searching around yesterday but wasn’t coming up with anything substantial. I also didn’t have a lot of time.

Thanks.

Hey man,

The one I went with was pretty pricey but it was highly recommended and even one SEO deal would make the course pay for itself 10x over.

If you don't want to break the bank you could look into some starter ones in Udemy. I'd just filter by top rated ones and go with one that isn't too pricey as a good intro.

There's a lot of moving parts so I think it's key to put in the work to cover things like how to do keyword research, on page SEO, off page SEO, etc. Feel free to send me a private message and I can explain a little more.
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey All,

In order to hold myself accountable, I want to put down in writing another goal that I was speaking with @Fox about last week as I'm putting all of my efforts into getting monthly recurring revenue SEO clients this year (and will also continue to bring on web design clients as one-off projects too, just will be putting most of my outreach efforts into SEO):

In addition to my goal of hitting $100k in 2019 of revenue, another goal I'm going to work to achieve and make it happen:

Hit $10k / month in recurring revenue by June 30th, 2019 with SEO clients

Here's where I currently stand with recurring rev clients with some quick updates on a few proposals that I sent out last week:

1. Financial Services Firm: Pitched them $5k/month for SEO, in-depth marketing and a bunch of other services. Sent a quick chaser email as I hadn't heard back (not surprising, they have been pretty slow to move throughout this process).

The CEO got back to me and said they are traveling across the country to work their team in California and haven't had a chance to review/discuss my proposal. They will review in mid Feb and get back to me from there.

2. Personal Training Gym:
Pitched them $1.5k/month for SEO. My tracking extension in my business Gmail tells me that they've viewed it, but I'll give it at least a full week before sending over a quick chaser email.

Their SEO is currently really rough so I know I could add huge value and help them out.

3. Other Pipeline: I realized that all of last year with all of the outreach I did for web design... this represents a huge opportunity to sell SEO services to those same businesses.

I've basically been building out a list on an Excel spreadsheet of businesses to reach out to (starting with the most likely candidates) and doing an SEO audit of all the companies to have concrete facts when I call them and bring this up. Basically reaching out to the following businesses (from easiest to toughest to sell):

A. Current web design clients
B. Personal businesses I've been a client of (dentists, doctors, etc)
C. Close networking business owners I know
D. Business owners that were friendly/responsive but didn't need web design services

Will keep everyone posted, but I have a really good feeling about this - now it's time to take massive action and make it happen.
 

Mr. Wick

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
38%
Sep 19, 2017
8
3
NYC
Hey @GuitarManDan,

Really inspirational thread - keep killing it out there in Scottsdale. I was born and raised in Queens (still living here) and quit my high paying law firm job to start an SEO/PPC business (I'm actually 27 as well - maybe we can grab a drink the next time you come back).

Could you share your process for finding contacts to cold email? (i.e. How did you find the financial services firm). For instance, I'd like to target all solar installation companies across the U.S. - is there any method to the madness that you can recommend?

Also, what CRM are you using?
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Great progress, congrats! Looking forward to regular updates. Best of luck!

Thanks!

Hey @GuitarManDan,

Really inspirational thread - keep killing it out there in Scottsdale. I was born and raised in Queens (still living here) and quit my high paying law firm job to start an SEO/PPC business (I'm actually 27 as well - maybe we can grab a drink the next time you come back).

Could you share your process for finding contacts to cold email? (i.e. How did you find the financial services firm). For instance, I'd like to target all solar installation companies across the U.S. - is there any method to the madness that you can recommend?

Also, what CRM are you using?

To keep it simple, it's just choosing a niche (like you've already done) and then finding potential clients where you could add value.

Honestly, I really am not a fan of cold emailing, I probably sent out 500-600 (from my tracking in 2018) and I closed 1 client (would be 2 if I close this financial services firm). It's not efficient and really scalable.

I'd recommend networking which has worked well for me and cold calling (wasn't a big fan of that too but it did work once I really got into it).

The best has to be personal connections of people that really know you know. For a CRM, I got a Gmail add on called Streak that's super simple and was actually made originally as a way to track emails but it also has a simple CRM functionality to it that works well for me.
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,076
169,488
Utah
Honestly, I really am not a fan of cold emailing, I probably sent out 500-600 (from my tracking in 2018) and I closed 1 client (would be 2 if I close this financial services firm). It's not efficient and really scalable.

Another strategy that used to work for me is to become a customer of your target...

For instance if you hired a plumber to fix the toilet and their website stunk, you'd have a "IN" to make a proposal. "Hey, I'm your customer and I noticed that..."

I remember this worked for me way back in the day...

If you eat at any restaurant, you have this "IN"... "they other day I ate at your restaurant and ..."
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Another strategy that used to work for me is to become a customer of your target...

For instance if you hired a plumber to fix the toilet and their website stunk, you'd have a "IN" to make a proposal. "Hey, I'm your customer and I noticed that..."

I remember this worked for me way back in the day...

If you eat at any restaurant, you have this "IN"... "they other day I ate at your restaurant and ..."

Hey MJ - that’s actually what I’ve been doing too this year.

Trying to think of any business I’m a customer of and that gets me an easier in with the owner.

I’ve been reaching out to doctors, dentists, accountants, etc that I was/am a customer of who have awful SEO where I know I can add value and giving them a quick rundown of where they stand and what their top competitors are doing.

Figured this way my chances improve as I’m not some random guy reaching out and I’ll be way more efficient with my outreach.
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey All,

Quick update from my side in terms of where I currently stand as an overview for the business so far:

Outstanding Projects:

1. CPA Website Redesign in Scottsdale - probably roughly 90% completed, it's busy tax season and he wanted to edit some of the copy for the site so once I get that back then it's just ensuring everything transfers over smoothly.

2. Financial Services Firm in Chicago - provided the first draft months ago but he's been super busy and said we may have to push it until April to get things going again. He also mentioned that he's very particular about the graphic design aspect so he asked if we can bring in a graphic designer for this project.

Current Proposals

1. Personal Training Gym in Scottsdale - quoted $1,500/month for SEO services. The owner got back to me and said it was out of his budget but I plan on following back up in 6 months as you never know and we had good rapport.

2. Financial Services Firm in Austin - quoted $5,000/month for a bunch of services (mainly around SEO and Overall Marketing). The owner mentioned they are getting back from a work trip this week so they will get back to me sometime later in the week I'd assume.

Pipeline Projects

1. Current Fashion Design Client - saw a huge opportunity as this client is very wealthy and really is putting a lot of time investment into the site I built for them. They're all really happy with my work so I'm going to draft up a proposal for SEO/general strategy work for them today and then create maybe 3 tiered pricing (all including SEO). Need to really focus on this one and get a solid proposal together as I really see a lot of areas I could add value and they know the quality of my work already and have enjoyed working with me.

2. Doctor's Office - Networking Connection - went to a BNI group as a guest and one of the doctor's actually reached out to me. They just started their practice and their website and SEO are really rough so he wanted to learn more about my services and how I may be able to help out.

Already did an audit for them of their SEO, website, and their top competitors in the area that I'm going to go over with the owner over coffee tomorrow and then follow up with a proposal for most likely SEO (if it's a good fit).

Will keep everyone posted but really excited that big things are happening soon.

Goal Check-Ins:

Current goals for 2019 and their statuses

1. $100k Revenue (currently locked in around over $8,000 in Jan and still have $3,500 outstanding with other projects)

2. $10k/month locked in monthly recurring revenue by June 30th, 2019 - lots of huge potential proposals out there and will be sent out this week but nothing set in stone yet

3. First monthly recurring SEO client locked down in Feb - TBD, but still waiting on proposals and a few other pipeline clients.
 

Alex123

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
43%
Feb 12, 2019
7
3
New York
Well done. Definitely following this. I'm currently interested in starting my own SMMA and am reading through threads like this to learn the best ways to acquire customers!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
Hey Everyone,

Wanted to share a quick update as we're almost near the end of February. I've spent this month almost entirely building out SEO and monthly recurring revenue client leads reaching out to my network of people that I've built up over the past year or so (past clients, past networking connections, etc).

Last time I had this feeling, I went on to close those two huge web design deals in the same week... but I just know I'm so damn close to a huge breakthrough right now with my business.

These are all of the pending pitches that I have sent out and with some quick feedback on each unique case.

Pitched SEO/Monthly Client Pitches:

1. Doctor's Office from Networking - $500/month SEO
- met with the owner, got some background on his business. He doesn't have the budget as he's just starting out for a lot so I reduced the scope and offered him $500/month for a 12 month contract.

2. Retirement Planning Firm, Previous Web Design Client - $1,200/month SEO - I met with him in person as I was back home visiting family. He really liked the pitch and really wants to work with me again, but he asked if we could do the SEO stuff later and for now work together to focus on more short term goals (mainly, building out more content on his blog which helps with SEO anyway and basically getting the systems in place so that he can handle the increased volume of customers that would come with SEO work).

3. Financial Services Firm, Previous Contact - $5,000/month for Marketing and SEO - CEO just got back from a business trip. Trying to decide when I should send a friendly chaser but obviously don't want to appear to be desperate or anything like that. Will probably wait till the end of the week.

4. Fashion Designer, Previous Web Design Client - $2,200 to $6,000/month for SEO and other Monthly Services (gave different packages) - they're still reviewing as they have a crazy busy week (the designer's new book is coming out soon and they're gearing up for that). Haven't heard back yet on this one.

I don't want to ramble on so I won't get into more specifics but I also have some organic web design leads coming in too which is great (since I can place all of my outreach focus on the SEO monthly recurring contracts).

On top of that, still attending around 2 networking events per week and still doing some client work here and there for current clients and edits (that I'm charging for) for previous clients.

The revenue number collected is still the same but I will invoice for around $600-800 for additional edits on one client site (I'm getting a great hourly rate and they are a pleasure to work with so I don't mind).

Goal Setting

This year I really want to be sure that I'm not just putting my head down and grinding away at the work and not seeing the big picture.

I want to think bigger, I want to make the most out of this amazing opportunity and I want to really blow the business up this year.

I still think reaching $10,000 per month locked in by June 30th of this year is solid because when I do that, I can reevaluate and set goals even higher for what monthly recurring revenue number I want to hit before the end of 2019.

Other Fastlaners in Scottsdale

Most importantly, this year I want to take advantage of the fact that I live in such an amazing area for being an entrepreneur and even on these forums alone there are so many amazing entrepreneurs who I'd have so much to learn from.

I know @Eskil does a great job of bringing people together so I want to make sure I really put the effort and time in to meet a lot more people out here and learn all that I can from their stories and experiences of successes and challenges.
 

BlackMagician

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Jul 18, 2018
560
1,322
Mumbai, India
Hey Everyone,

Wanted to share a quick update as we're almost near the end of February. I've spent this month almost entirely building out SEO and monthly recurring revenue client leads reaching out to my network of people that I've built up over the past year or so (past clients, past networking connections, etc).

Last time I had this feeling, I went on to close those two huge web design deals in the same week... but I just know I'm so damn close to a huge breakthrough right now with my business.

These are all of the pending pitches that I have sent out and with some quick feedback on each unique case.

Pitched SEO/Monthly Client Pitches:

1. Doctor's Office from Networking - $500/month SEO
- met with the owner, got some background on his business. He doesn't have the budget as he's just starting out for a lot so I reduced the scope and offered him $500/month for a 12 month contract.

2. Retirement Planning Firm, Previous Web Design Client - $1,200/month SEO - I met with him in person as I was back home visiting family. He really liked the pitch and really wants to work with me again, but he asked if we could do the SEO stuff later and for now work together to focus on more short term goals (mainly, building out more content on his blog which helps with SEO anyway and basically getting the systems in place so that he can handle the increased volume of customers that would come with SEO work).

3. Financial Services Firm, Previous Contact - $5,000/month for Marketing and SEO - CEO just got back from a business trip. Trying to decide when I should send a friendly chaser but obviously don't want to appear to be desperate or anything like that. Will probably wait till the end of the week.

4. Fashion Designer, Previous Web Design Client - $2,200 to $6,000/month for SEO and other Monthly Services (gave different packages) - they're still reviewing as they have a crazy busy week (the designer's new book is coming out soon and they're gearing up for that). Haven't heard back yet on this one.

I don't want to ramble on so I won't get into more specifics but I also have some organic web design leads coming in too which is great (since I can place all of my outreach focus on the SEO monthly recurring contracts).

On top of that, still attending around 2 networking events per week and still doing some client work here and there for current clients and edits (that I'm charging for) for previous clients.

The revenue number collected is still the same but I will invoice for around $600-800 for additional edits on one client site (I'm getting a great hourly rate and they are a pleasure to work with so I don't mind).

Goal Setting

This year I really want to be sure that I'm not just putting my head down and grinding away at the work and not seeing the big picture.

I want to think bigger, I want to make the most out of this amazing opportunity and I want to really blow the business up this year.

I still think reaching $10,000 per month locked in by June 30th of this year is solid because when I do that, I can reevaluate and set goals even higher for what monthly recurring revenue number I want to hit before the end of 2019.

Other Fastlaners in Scottsdale

Most importantly, this year I want to take advantage of the fact that I live in such an amazing area for being an entrepreneur and even on these forums alone there are so many amazing entrepreneurs who I'd have so much to learn from.

I know @Eskil does a great job of bringing people together so I want to make sure I really put the effort and time in to meet a lot more people out here and learn all that I can from their stories and experiences of successes and challenges.

First of All, Congratulations for your success buddy.
You are very much live example of how to build a business from scratch. Glad to read about your hustle.

As i read, you could be getting many SEO related work which will be monthly basis. so, have you hired/made a team to handle this or you will be doing it yourself?

What will you advice a fellow like me who is hustling in the same business, working 9-5 along with that. I have some success, many failures as of now in my 4 months efforts. The difficulty i am facing is being Consistent. Being there. Daily.

Family, Job, comes in between way too much and i get distracted. Though, making all the efforts to sail through all this. I am just going slowly and steady pace.

If you shed some light on my progress thread and skim through it and give some feedback and suggestions to do it better, i will appreciate. I will ask to skim through only last two months progress because early posts are just fillers.

Thanks for reading. I will be following you progress!
 

GuitarManDan

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
678%
Feb 28, 2017
481
3,262
NYC
First of All, Congratulations for your success buddy.
You are very much live example of how to build a business from scratch. Glad to read about your hustle.

As i read, you could be getting many SEO related work which will be monthly basis. so, have you hired/made a team to handle this or you will be doing it yourself?

What will you advice a fellow like me who is hustling in the same business, working 9-5 along with that. I have some success, many failures as of now in my 4 months efforts. The difficulty i am facing is being Consistent. Being there. Daily.

Family, Job, comes in between way too much and i get distracted. Though, making all the efforts to sail through all this. I am just going slowly and steady pace.

If you shed some light on my progress thread and skim through it and give some feedback and suggestions to do it better, i will appreciate. I will ask to skim through only last two months progress because early posts are just fillers.

Thanks for reading. I will be following you progress!

Hey man,

Thanks for the kind words - and yep, still just prospects but I'm so close to a huge breakthrough with the monthly contracts.

I will be handling everything myself for SEO. Similar to way I did it with web design, I want to become an expert first with SEO before I really outsource (as then I would know what to look for with good vs. bad SEO contractors).

Of course if this blows up more than I can handle as just myself I would definitely outsource parts that were simpler, but I want to keep it all in house for now as I really learn and grow.

I'll take a look at your progress thread but I really wouldn't want to give generic advice (ex. definitely quit your job or definitely go into XYZ business) as everyone's situation is unique.

It was EXTREMELY difficult for me to quit my job and move out when I had such a "good" setup from outside perspectives. It's amazing how comfortable we all get in bad situations just because they're familiar.

Looking back, it seems like a miracle that I made it out of that toxic environment. "I can't move away from my family"... "what will people think"... "what if I fail?"... "what if I regret this for the rest of my life?"... "it's really not that bad".

After months and months of convincing myself it was the right thing to do, I was surprised how dramatic people were (I always thought maybe it was just all in my head). I know I've said it before, but I always crack up looking back now at all of the people saying I was "throwing my life away". And look, I'm not at the point where I can sit around on the beach all day but I have my freedom and I know I'm going to make this work and make way more than I ever did at my old jobs.

Even after some moderate success, those same people have been saying "I didn't think you'd get this lucky" or "how can I do what you're doing?"

Point of my rambling is that whatever choice you make isn't going to be easy, I didn't have a family depending on me and it was still extremely difficult for me, so you have to figure out what you really want and make the best decision for your situation.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

huseyin

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
100%
May 10, 2016
2
2
27
hey man, I'm already inspired by your journey and would like to start my own. I have a question tho, are you doing everything yourself (webdevelopment/design) or do you hire someone? if you do it yourself, which courses do you recommend to learn the stuff that is needed.

I would really appreciate your help and advice.

warm regards
 

BlackMagician

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
236%
Jul 18, 2018
560
1,322
Mumbai, India
I'll take a look at your progress thread but I really wouldn't want to give generic advice (ex. definitely quit your job or definitely go into XYZ business) as everyone's situation is unique.
Thanks Man. Do have a look and give your feedback there. (Progress Thread)
Yes, my situation is quite unique.
Looking back, it seems like a miracle that I made it out of that toxic environment. "I can't move away from my family"... "what will people think"... "what if I fail?"... "what if I regret this for the rest of my life?"... "it's really not that bad".
Bingo! But my questions are little weird. "I don't want to move away from my family and work somewhere else"..."what if i fail"..."what will happen of my family if i don't succeed?"... and so on.

Even after some moderate success, those same people have been saying "I didn't think you'd get this lucky" or "how can I do what you're doing?"
Haha. I am not there yet. But started hearing from others "Your current job is very easy that's why you can work on side business"... "you have skills of website/seo/digital marketing/ so its easy for you to do business without money" ... "we have pressure in our life, you don't".

Point of my rambling is that whatever choice you make isn't going to be easy, I didn't have a family depending on me and it was still extremely difficult for me, so you have to figure out what you really want and make the best decision for your situation.

I know, it's difficult. I have family who is dependent on me. Parents, sis, brother and there studies. I am the oldest son, being 25yrs old now.
Here in India, our tradition is to stay in one family. Very very difficult to leave the job and work on something foreign and have 'risk' because of scripted mindset here. That's why i am trying to achieve some moderate success and recurring clients till the end of the year to assure my family and myself that i can do better on my own instead of typical 'Job'.

Waiting for your helpful reply in my thread. Right now, working with consistency is the major issue. or so called 'Habit'. Reading Atomic Habit and trying to implement the actions.
 

Wiezel

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
109%
Oct 15, 2018
152
165
29
The Netherlands
@GuitarManDan What skills do you recommend the most if you want to start from scratch?

Reading the thread I would go with HTML - CSS - SEO and know how to sell (sales). Anything to add to it?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

The Abundant Man

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
150%
Jul 3, 2018
1,428
2,140
@GuitarManDan What skills do you recommend the most if you want to start from scratch?

Reading the thread I would go with HTML - CSS - SEO and know how to sell (sales). Anything to add to it?
VigilantLegalHind-size_restricted.gif
 

The Abundant Man

Gold Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
150%
Jul 3, 2018
1,428
2,140
hey man, I'm already inspired by your journey and would like to start my own. I have a question tho, are you doing everything yourself (webdevelopment/design) or do you hire someone? if you do it yourself, which courses do you recommend to learn the stuff that is needed.

I would really appreciate your help and advice.

warm regards
There are so many courses. A lot of them are really good too. Here's the first two that I started. You really don't need any more unless if you want to go really hardcore with web development and making applications


https://www.udemy.com/the-complete-web-development-bootcamp/

https://www.udemy.com/design-and-develop-a-killer-website-with-html5-and-css3/

Here are some other helpful threads for you:
GOLD! - How to Learn Code, Start a Web Company, $15k+ per month within 9 months

WEB SCHOOL - Fox's 2019 Make $100k Starting Web Design from Scratch Challenge

There's another thread by Fox but I forget what it's called and I don't have it bookmarked
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top