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cocoy
02-03-2009, 12:52 PM
How did your business start up?

Did you already have customers and then built your business or did you start out "cold" and depended on advertising and marketing to land those first customers?

vangogh
02-03-2009, 01:03 PM
When I started I was kind of working for someone else and kind of freelancing. While I was doing that through a family member I find my first real client, who's still a client today. Not too long after I figured it was time to build myself a site and start getting the word out about what I did (web design and development)

One of the first things I did was join a few forums; the old version of this one and a webmaster forum. The webmaster forum never resulted in clients, though I didn't expect it to. That forum was more about building relationships with others in the industry. Where business is concerned those people recommended me and linked to my site improving its search ranking.

A few months after posting on the old version of this forum some people started contacting me about work. Sometimes they became clients and sometimes they didn't. Over time I picked up more clients and clients who had been with me awhile sent me new leads through their recommendation.

Fast forward a few years and I've gained clients from all sorts of source. People have found me through a forum, they've found me through a search, they've found me through word of mouth, they've found me through a listing with a local Chamber of Commerce, they've found me through my blog, through Twitter, etc.

Essentially what I've done since the beginning is participate on the web and offline and little by little I built a client list. The more you put yourself out there, whether it's online or offline, the more people will know you exist and the more opportunity you have to gain new clients and customers.

Steve B
02-03-2009, 03:47 PM
I started out Cold - very cold. Since I have no repeat business, it feels like it's always that way. As soon as one job is over, I have to hope to get another customer to take the place.

billbenson
02-03-2009, 04:53 PM
VG, out of curiosity, how long before you started did you try to learn web design and how did you pick up web design?

Me, I bought a dreamweaver for dummies book and conned my way into a job doing web design.

billbenson
02-03-2009, 05:06 PM
Company I worked for was a distributor that went bankrupt. When they went bankrupt they had a lot of debt but there were a couple of product lines that were current. I already had a web site dedicated to that product line. I decided to promote it through AdWords. I slowly built up the business strictly through online sales. The owner of the failed distributorship still has control of the product line.

So I guess you could say I was forced into self employment. This happened during the 2000 ish recession and there were no jobs.

vangogh
02-03-2009, 05:43 PM
Bill this is technically my second business doing mostly the same stuff. I started teaching myself html sometime toward the end of 2001 and then in 2002 I took a few continuing education classes in web design and development, at which point I really started teaching myself design, css, javascript, php. The classes weren't so much for learning as they were me thinking a certificate would help in landing a job.

Late 2003 I started the first business with a friend. It didn't last too long. Less than a year really.

Sometime during the fall of 2004 I started freelancing as I mentioned in the post above. Spring 2005 is when I picked up the client through family and late 2005 I finally built a site for myself.

The answer to your question really depends on which point in my business life are you asking about. I guess about 2 years after first starting to learn html I went into business as a web developer, but the current business really started 4 years after I first started learning html.

billbenson
02-03-2009, 06:11 PM
That makes sense Steve. There is a pretty big learning curve for this stuff. It's not that its that difficult, but there is a lot to know from html, php, seo, to the basics like ftp and who not to host with. I'm horrible at the artistic side which is why I would never put a site up for review :)

vangogh
02-03-2009, 06:16 PM
The learning curve is never ending too. I know a lot more now than I did 5 years ago, but back then I still knew enough to build a pretty good site. I can easily list all sorts of things right now that I want to learn and by the time I learn most of it I'll have an even longer list.

Every answer leads to two new questions that beg to be answered.

rezzy
02-03-2009, 07:43 PM
Every answer leads to two new questions that beg to be answered.

And if you ever get to the point where you stop asking questions, you are in the wrong field.

billbenson
02-03-2009, 08:01 PM
on the other side of the fence, the internet and web sites is an under utilized technology today. As the kids coming out of college today mature that will change. Very few IMO business managers understand web marketing. That presents a great opportunity for those that do.

That doesn't mean you need to become a web designer. It does mean that you can increase profits in most cases by understanding the basics of web design so you can properly hire a designer. You might say 3k or whatever figure is expensive for a web site, but what does it cost you for a store front per month.

The problem is, frequently business owners or manager don't know what a web site can do and how.

My suggestion is to make a hobby web site and get it to rank well in google. If you can do that, you can properly manage a web designer.

huggytree
02-03-2009, 08:34 PM
i started out with no customers. I invested tens of thousands in a van and equipment. All brand new with no work.

I started out part time and planned to go full time in 3 months. 9 months later i was still part time and got fired. So I was forced to go full time.

I always recommend part time to start out. work part time until you are working so much that you can ease into full time....it would be perfect if it worked that way..im sure it does for someone.

As a plumber i decided to latch on to contractors and let them find the customers. The problem i have had is I never get to know many customers and referrals are coming much slower than expected because 1/2 my customers i never meet. that is the big flaw in my idea.

cocoy
02-04-2009, 09:22 AM
You work more as a sub contractor instead of a homeowner/call 1-800 plumber type?

orion_joel
02-04-2009, 10:55 PM
I started out kind of warm. I was working for a wholesaler, of IT products, and at the time my father was working for a company that needed to buy those sort of products, so i was buying them from work and selling them on. It worked well, because they were a retail customer, and the company i worked for only sold to wholesale accounts.

This sort of changed over the time though, to expand beyond this i had to do some marketing, but i never did enough to make the business big enough to keep rolling, at the moment it is making a small small profit consistently, on a couple of sales every now and then but nothing to great.

Paul Elliott
02-10-2009, 12:22 AM
As a plumber i decided to latch on to contractors and let them find the customers. The problem i have had is I never get to know many customers and referrals are coming much slower than expected because 1/2 my customers i never meet. that is the big flaw in my idea.

HT, consider a program of going to the new home owner, introducing yourself as the person responsible for the plumbing in their new home guarantee. As their guarantee is getting close to the end, send them a letter advising them to get in touch with you about any of their plumbing concerns.

Thereafter, continue to mail/email them with information (about every 3-4 months) on how they can take care of their plumbing-based equipment, e.g., water heater, commodes, faucets, etc. With each mailing, send them a business card, or other promotional material.

Now, they not only know who you are, they have come to trust you BECAUSE you have focused on their welfare rather than your own.

They will not only use you for any of their plumbing needs, they will become your best salesmen to their friends and family.

For this to work the best, it must be a systematized process in your daily business performed as a necessity week in week out religiously. Sure, it can be automated with a sort of autoresponder mailing (PM me for more info.), but it must be a part of your business.

Paul

Dan F
02-11-2009, 09:08 AM
Haven't started the business yet, but I'm working on that. I only have a few customers and what I did was advertise on local mags and giving out my business cards to a local pet shop (even though I'm into computer repairs). But in my opinion I find it more satisfying to be able to actually keep your clients and use these clients to advertise yourself. Some of the newest clients told me that they got to know about me from other clients, which I call them loyal clients :)

Paul Elliott
02-11-2009, 10:58 AM
But in my opinion I find it more satisfying to be able to actually keep your clients and use these clients to advertise yourself. Some of the newest clients told me that they got to know about me from other clients, which I call them loyal clients :)

Dan, you can use and adapt some of the Word-of-Mouth 7 in my free e-course below to stimulate that process and make it more productive for you.

Turn each customer into a very good salesperson for you.

Paul

Dan F
02-11-2009, 11:32 AM
Great, thanks Paul.

huggytree
02-12-2009, 10:54 AM
Paul Elliot,

most builders dont want me to know their homeowners...they are the builders customers not mine. Any work they want done has to go through them....many dont want you to even talk to the customers...

they want their piece of the action basically.....i have a few who dont mind me talking with the homeowner, but if i get more work they want a 10% cut

its a double edge sword...nice to let someone else find me the work, but it wrecks the referrals and is making my business grow very slowly.

Paul Elliott
02-12-2009, 08:55 PM
most builders dont want me to know their homeowners...they are the builders customers not mine. Any work they want done has to go through them....many dont want you to even talk to the customers...

I assume their guarantee lasts 12 months after the owner accepts the finished job. What's the harm of contacting them after that and extending their plumbing warranty for another 12 months? Would the builders not like that offer on your part?

If they feel it shows them up, there is that all-powerful word ... NEXT! Simply move on to other builders.


they want their piece of the action basically.....i have a few who dont mind me talking with the homeowner, but if i get more work they want a 10% cut

That's fine. Gear your marketing to builders with that attitude.


its a double edge sword...nice to let someone else find me the work, but it wrecks the referrals and is making my business grow very slowly.

I doubt your market area in Waukesha/Milwaukee is so small that you can't find builders with a less monopolistic attitude. Those who try to put fences around something end up losing. Ask IBM.

You can certainly start sending the homeowner regular mailings after the builders' guarantees are expired. Tell the homeowners how to care for the plumbing elements in their homes making them more efficient and lasting longer.

Paul

Steve B
02-13-2009, 07:11 AM
I'll bet he's lucky to find builders with any current projects ... period. At least if their housing market is anything like ours. I ran into one yesterday who said he hasn't done anything in 6 months and may have to find a ..... j o b. Yikes!