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Web Design Business 0 to 5k

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

being.simon

Contributor
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Apr 1, 2019
36
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I'm 21 and I'm currently after complete financial independance and the freedom to travel and work where ever I want in the world.

Quitting for 90 days:
- porn
- useless youtube binges

Cultivating:
- discipline
- focus
- gratitude

Daily habits:
- short meditation
- gratitude journal (3+ things)
- rolfing (scoliosis exercises)
- one journal entry every day (what did I do, what am I grateful for, did I make mistakes?)

Weekly habits:
- gym
- a walk in nature

The Main One:
- sit down at my laptop every day and work on either a website or client acquisition
 
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Ninjakid

Platinum Contributor
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Jun 23, 2014
1,936
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Buddy Guy Eh
It's good that you know which habits you want to cultivate.

Do you have a plan for growing your Web Design business?
 

Monkeycom

Bronze Contributor
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Aug 20, 2019
183
177
UK
I found that the best way to boostrap a B2B business is via email marketing.
In fact, I built few services businesses (anything from SEO to design and consulting) just doing that, and outsourcing the work.

Feel free to pm me if you have personal questions, I'd love to help - working in the B2B field is richly rewarding!
 

NMdad

Gold Contributor
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Aug 6, 2017
612
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New Mexico
It's good that you know which habits you want to cultivate.

Do you have a plan for growing your Web Design business?
And what specific actions you'll take to acquire clients? (As well as who specifically those prospective clients are, the problems they have that you'll solve, how you'll reach them, etc.).
 
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being.simon

Contributor
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Apr 1, 2019
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Wow didn't expect anyone to tune in, thanks. I appreciate any support. Tbh I know that deep down, I still have some doubts, I don't 100% believe this is possible, too good to be true etc...so interacting with other forum memebers that have made it should be really good for me.

It's good that you know which habits you want to cultivate.

Do you have a plan for growing your Web Design business?

Yes. I already have one job for 500€. I'm gonna make them a website for their bottle shop. Then I'll have 3 websites (that one plus 2 mockups I've already made - almost) on my portfolio. Then I will begin emailing and / or calling up small businesses like therapists, lawyers and dentists. For this, I'm not sure where I'll find them yet. Google maps? Google search? Which area? I'm still unclear on that. Then I'll pitch them a better and more modern website. That's my plan for this month.
@NMdad

Nice. You might want to subscribe to the Agency Trailblazer podcast too.
Thank you, I'll check em out. What do you like about them and where to start, any in particular? I see its over 200 episodes.
 

being.simon

Contributor
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Apr 1, 2019
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Day2:
:xx: meditation
:check: journal
:check: rolfing
:check: post here
:xx: 1 hour of youtube instead of starting work, bullshit recommended tab threw me off

- Only about one hour of work done, but atleast im finally sitting down to it every day now. Thankful for that. Still working on my second portfolio piece and the Elementor guide. Going for 2 hours tomorrow to wrap it up.
 
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being.simon

Contributor
User Power
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89%
Apr 1, 2019
36
32
Day 5:
Think I experienced a "F*ck That" Event.

A friend dragged me out to the club last night to pick up chicks. I had already told myself I would stop Game and focus fully on business now, but I wanted to go out an socialise.

I almost pull this one cute chick but I F*ck something up and it doesnt work out, the next hours are fruitless. We leave at 5am, and I decide to F*ck around on an escooter outside the club. I do a silly jump and break my F*cking wrist. Yup. I then paid a 20 euro taxi home and spent the whole of today in hospital, where once again I realised my only F*cking focus in life must be business. Nothing else matters, and look where other pursuits have gotten me. So I spent a bunch of money, now my arm is in a cast. Cancelled a bunch of dates. Typing is really difficult and annoying, so work is slower.

F*ck THAT

Im reminded that shit happens, life aint fair, and you just gotta man up, stay in your lane, and double down on getting and achieving the shit you want to achieve, F*ck everyone else.
 

being.simon

Contributor
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Apr 1, 2019
36
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Also need more work on my logistics, as in website blockers, schedulers, statistics etc.

Read a useful thread here while at the hospital about a guy dog-training himself with chocolate treats to build new neuropathways. Im gonna try that out. Ill start with 20 minute pomodoro blocks or something, gonna think about it. Also got a blocker software that shuts down my laptop at 1:30am for earlier nights. Which has been a huge sticking point my entire life: going to bed early. I suck at it.

I have pomodoro blockers that block out facebook, youtube etc when activated. Youtube is a bit iffy because I feel I might need it every now and then for tutorials. But its too risky to be kept unchecked.
Youtube and reddit are my biggest timewasters.

Reddit offers a literal endless supply of memes, funny or interesting gifs and videos etc, and every single comment section offers yet more jokes, gags, and links to new, similar subreddits to do it all over again. Its literally endless.

Kinda same thing with YouTube, the recommended tab. I already turned that off with an extension, and my subscriptions are clean. So its better.

Im watching 2 anime atm released weekly which is fine.
Sometimes I get cravings to watch a movie with my dinner. Once here and there is fine for me, I love good movies. But certainly not every night, that would be terrible. So watching out for that.

Porn seems to be under wraps, no cravings whatsoever so far. I was gonna have a girl over tomorrow night for the real deal, but my fat cast has F*cked things up. Whatever, porn just needs to be an sbolute nogo for 90 days.

I need to reset as much dopamine as possible.

Facebook and instagram are two others. I spend about an hour a day on each. Instagram feed scrolling for memes, Facebook for a mastermind group on Game. I might exit that. And I might clean up my IG too. Make it more boring. Unfollow all the meme sites.

Those are the logistics
 
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being.simon

Contributor
User Power
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89%
Apr 1, 2019
36
32
Day 5 cont.
Went straight to hospital after getting up so
:xx: meditation
:xx: gratitude journal
:xx: rolfing
BUT I turned a shit day into a good one. Starting working when I got back, I did 25m Pomodoro followed by a reward (positive self talk + victory pose + nuts and berries) I think 3 or 4 sessions, so 1.5 hours of FOCUSSED work. It worked really well. It was EASY.

Got my first website done following a guide.: shiftintosource.com
I now know my way around Elementor and am confident I can build a good website.
Onto my first real project now.

Also sorted more logistics: I track work time with clockify, I use a pomodoro extension for focussed work. I have my laptop shut down at 1:30am. I started getting ready for bed at 2am, which I guess is still crazy late for most people here, but a huge improvement for me. And I love the night, the solitude, going for a late night walk listening to music. I get so introspective and inspired. I also get the appeal of early mornings, getting to work and getting shit done before anyone ekse, being finished early, its great too. But I dunno. Its a tradeoff. Im such a nightowl which isnt inherently bad, I think Ill stick with 1:30 which means at the latest after a walk, some music and meditation and this journal here, its lights out by 3am max.

Also proud of myself for getting to work and getting the most focussed work so far done with a freshly broken arm! Instead of watching a movie. Thats phenomenal for me. The old me would never have done that, I would have felt sorry for myself, got chips and movie binged. Boom. F*ck THAT. Honestly, I deserved some more hardship in my life again, so Ill take it and bear it.
Man up and get the shit done, despite anything and everything.

From a socially anxious, bullied, videogame addicted teen, I systematically fixed every single area of my life one by one. Videogame addiction. Diet. Spirituality and mental health. Social skills. Sex life. Financials is the last unfixed domain left. Once I get this one fixed, I will have absolutely won. I'm aiming to be nothing less than the most holistically developed 22 year old on the planet, and money is the foundation. Once I have this sorted it will be free sailing.
 

being.simon

Contributor
User Power
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89%
Apr 1, 2019
36
32
Day 6:
F*ckin amazing day. I worked over 3 hours! Made phenomenal headway into my next project.
+meditation
+rolfing
+journal
+visualisation
+3hrs work

Day 7:
eh, the backlash. got up late and fell into youtube. cleaned up my instagram. got invited to a business seminar tomorrow. watched a movie. decided to set my shut down software to 1:30 am as of now.

-meditation
-rolfing
+journal
-0hrs work

Ill be back on the grind tomorrow
 

Pawel Kata

New Contributor
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Jan 27, 2014
5
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I'd up your meditation game. Thanks to it you'll see distractions long before they overpower you and you'll have the choice to dismiss them. I think if you made a habit to do mindfulness breathing tracking exercise for 10-15 minutes every day it it would help you immensely. Wish you all the best!
 
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being.simon

Contributor
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89%
Apr 1, 2019
36
32
This actually works great for Web Design
View: https://youtu.be/VNYRWRXuQo0


I got 81% openrate on 27 emails, 1 meeting, and 5-6 responses.

Good luck! :)

Thanks for this, looks promising! Will watch later.

Isn't it spam if you don't have explicit opt-in (they have not agreed to give you their email)? I tought buying lists and sending stuff could get your account suspended.

Also interested in this.

Woops, fell off the daily journal again. But I'm still here.

Day 11( yest):
I took the whole day to meet up with friends I hadn't seen in a while.

Day 12:
Got up feeling really shitty and finished watching a show I had started. Afterwards, I completely resetted with a shower, food, stretching and relaxing exercises. I don't think I've ever managed that before, fully successfully resetting a day after starting it with entertainment. It's fantastic, I've shifted.

I all but completed the contract for 5before, but I can't complete it as they are waiting on material which is annoying. I must now make my own homepage, and then finally I'm gonna have to suck it up and start lead generation.

There's also yet more logistical upgrades to do. I need software to shut down the browser on my phone after 1am as it continues to keep me up, and I want a better way of tracking my daily habits. A calendar hanging in my room, for example. I must think of that the coming week.

Now: decide on a name, create the domain, start building my own website

Edit: setup phone shut down
 
Last edited:

being.simon

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
89%
Apr 1, 2019
36
32
Day 16

I'm onto client acquisition now.
I sent out 10 cold emails to Berlin law firms with shitty websites yesterday.
Today, a friend informed me cold emailling in Germany is not legal since the new GDPR regulations. I'll either continue, switch over to cold calling only, or go international. I also want to try just selling pure leads.

So I'm in a bit paralysis by analysis situation now.

  • cold email or cold call?
  • mass email generic, or smaller volume very personalized?
  • berlin, london, US, or where?
  • law firms? therapists? target by business type, or target by date created? find a registry and go for the newest businesses?
Some of the questions I'm facing while I action fake

Ill probably just collect a few more leads, send out some emails and call it a day and sleep on it
 
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Tubs

Starting fresh
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Apr 5, 2019
258
711
VA
Working on progressing similarly in the self improvement department.
A book I recommend is "The miracle morning for entrepreneurs" it gets you focused and energized at the very beginning of the day which I've found causes the rest of my day to be extremely productive. Real life changing stuff.
 
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Boab

New Contributor
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Aug 17, 2017
16
15
46
Scotland
My understanding is GDPR legislation is based on how you store and process personal information not the sending of emails.

- Emails should be personalised as much as possible and any sales or content should be suitable to the recipient company. Not stuck in a 10 email funnel.
- How you hold the data should be GDPR compliant
- The email has some sort of opt-out so they can ask you to remove any data you hold.

So don't think there is any reason why a B2B couldn't send an email without opt-in as long as certain rules are adhered to. Would be a strange world if you could only send an email if the other side agreed you could beforehand
 

being.simon

Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
89%
Apr 1, 2019
36
32
Day...50?

Logistics: tightened. Phone and Computer blockers now allow me 30min of reddit/youtube/facebook etc, and only from 2pm to to 10pm

Lifestyle: better. 3 therapies for my scoliosis that take time and energy, but its helping. Going to bed earlier. 12pm. Working that up to 10pm now. Means im getting up earlier finally, 9am. Working that up to 7am.

Business: opened a bank account. Still waiting to finish up my first project, the owners have not sent me the final material yet. After that I will receive my first check. Still procrastinating a little on finding new clients. Looking for networking event now. Created a mockup for a potential new client, sent him. Discovered my email was F*cked the past weeks so i never found out if any of the lawyers replied. Decided to risk it and resend explaining myself but telling them I would not contact them again if they ignored.
 

peteranalytics

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
50%
Oct 30, 2019
6
3
Atlanta, GA
Web design is a very crowded market. Very risky as well, clients will change their mind, nickle and dime, and generally act blissfully ignorant. Make sure to map out the whole flow and devise PROCESSES and procedures. Also, always take a significant % of the project cost up front.
 

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