On Saturday night I got back from a week in Tulum, Mexico. I'll be honest: I had hoped to sit down today and dish about all the fun things I did, the people I met, and the experiences I had, but I don't think I'm done decompressing yet. Or, compressing, as seems to be the case. I can't seem to find the words.
So, instead, I'm just going to share some of the gazillions of photos that I took. And hope, that in at least some small way, it conveys the level of bliss I felt, and maybe you'll understand why I'm having a hard time reconnecting with my reality.
(my travel companion La and I)
(view from our cozy cabana at sunrise)
(where we have to wash the sand off our feet before entering said cabana)
(shopping in downtown Tulum)
(a night of Mexican band and salsa dancing)
(a day trip to the ruins of Chichen Itza)
(a breathtaking cenote, a couple of us had too many cervezas to take part)
(the moody weather on our last day over our resort/compound)
(Mezcal, like a boss. Here from Casa Jaguar.)
And, in case you need to hear it too, I took a play from Kathleen and made my own Casa Jaguar playlist. (I've listened to Kathleen's almost daily for half a year in preparation of my own Tulum Chill Fest.) This little restaurant/bar in Tulum is my version of heaven, and true to rumor, they play the best music on the planet. So I Shazam-ed the shit out of it, and made a Spotify playlist that I'm sure I'll be obsessed with for at least the next year. Probably more.
- Acoutiques parallèles - Quark
- Teardrop - Massive Attack
- Islands - The xx
- People Help The People - Cherry Ghost
- Pogo by Digitalism
- Standing On The Shore - Empire Of The Sun
- Criminal - Fiona Apple
- Take Me Out - Franz Ferdinand
- Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz
- Heavy Cross - Gossip
- Over and Over - Hot Chip
- Resolve - Beth Gibbons, Rustic Man
- Drake - Beth Gibbons, Rustic Man
- Aquarium - Nosaj Thing
- Boy From School - Hot Chip
- Colouring Of Pigeons - The Knife
- Lotus Flower - Radiohead
- White Foxes - Susan Sundfør
You can listen to them all, in all their magnificent, chill fest glory, on this Spotify playlist.
And so, for now, you'll find me in my studio with all the lights out, slowly going about my business, and silently freaking out that I'm choosing to be here when I could be there. Cheers to you, Tulum.
I'm sitting in the studio this morning with the lights out, surrounded by heaters, trying to remain in my happy place. I returned from my week away in paradise (Tulum, Mexico yoga retreat) late on Saturday, and am dealing with reverse culture shock. Don't worry, I'll paddle through.
Despite my want to leave the studio and jump the next flight back to Mexico, I am really excited today to release a couple of 3 in 30 dates for this month.
so, what is 3 in 30 exactly?
3 in 30 is a FREE consultation program that gives creative entrepreneurs the chance to chat with me for thirty minutes about the development or improvement of the web strategy for their business.
During this consulation time, I will answer three questions of your choosing.
So, we'll have 30 minutes to discuss three of your most burning questions. Get it? 3 in 30.
Since these babies are free, I bet they'll be going fast, so get in on the fun while you can. Space will be limited. More info >>
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If you don't see dates above, it means this month's dates are already booked up. You can book a regular one-on-one session, or jump on it when I release next month's dates around the first.
Four years in and next week I'll be doing something that I've never done: I'm unplugging.
Tomorrow afternoon I will be removing Twitter and email accounts from my phone, and will soon be boarding a plane to Tulum, Mexico, where I'll be vegging out with my bestie La in hammocks with books and cocktails on the beach. In bathing suits and sun hats.
And I will not check my email, or tweet, or check Facebook.
I'll be honest. I might Instagram. Paradise may be too stunning to not share.
I was planning on setting up blog posts, newsletters, and was stressing a bit about getting everything done, but now our heater is out at the studio (and it's less than 20 degrees outside), so – universe – I'm taking the hint and letting it go. I'll stay home, empty my inbox, and do the laundry.
So, with my new website launched, projects wrapped up in a pretty bow, and the heater out at the studio, I'm signing off to take my first for-serious breather in years.
And I cannot wait to see what the clarity brings me. I'll see you in a week.
If you're interested in booking a project, and just can't wait for me to get back, get in touch with David at [email protected], who will be at the studio working as usual, and he'll get you going.
About a week and a half ago I hit the 4-year mark of being a legit, get-some-money freelancer. My mind is blown. If I were to tell myself 4 years ago that I'd be where I am now, I totally wouldn't have believed it. Actually, I probably would have quit, out of sheer fear.
But, today's not about scaredy-pants 23-year old me, today's about growing my biz baby. Oh, my dear sweet biz baby.
This past weekend I launched my shiny new Indie Shopography website. It's a site I've taken 5 months to design and develop. Almost the proper amount of gestation, right?
And, to round out it's awesomeness, it's complete with this super-awesome new brand video made by my pals over at Armosa Studios.
In so many ways I can't even find the words to write this post. I'm grateful, ecstatic, freaked out, and humbled by the success of my little biz, and so ready to see where it goes in the future.
Filming the above video was a gratifying experience, and for the first time, maybe ever, I really felt like I was speaking and showing the utter truth in my biz. Not that I've been lying before, but there's always been at least some level of fake-it-'til-you-make-it. If you're a creative, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about.
But, 4 years into it, I'm not faking it. Any of it. This is who I am, and this is what I do. And, even on the bad days (and there certainly are bad days), I like it. I can't imagine doing anything else.
And so, here's to another four years, hiring more employees, working with more superstar clients, helping creatives launch and grow their dream businesses, and to doing what I love. Cheers.
Looking for someone to help you grow your online business? That's what me and my little team at Indie Shopography specializes in. Get in touch >>
I've chatted a lot lately about homegirl and return clients. My project calendar has been full for the past 12 or so months with these kinds of projects, and a large part of my very favorite days in the studio are spent emailing with these clients (and not always about work stuff) or firing up Skype for a some girl chat (that definitely always has some business).
One such client for me are the ladies from Braid Creative. I started following Kathleen's blog years ago (I think I was drawn to her pre-dreaded hair), and followed her through her opening of her branding biz, Braid, with her sister Tara. Then we met at Alt, then we all hung out in Dallas, and then I mentioned in passing one day that they should turn their branding process into eCourses.
So that happened, and they hired me to get it going.
And then I was added as a part of their team as ESales Manager, where I work with them every month as tech support and hand-holder for their ECourses.
And then it was time for them to relaunch their website. So they got in touch.
Working with Braid is always my favorite. They're such rockstars when it comes to having their ducks in a row (organized design files, super finalized content, notes, directions, and full to-dos), that I get to just sit back and quietly do my job. Project bliss.
This particular project with Braid included moving their redesigned website presence to Adobe Business Catalyst. We had their ECourses on the system already, so we started by transferring blog content, and then started with the new design. The site was designed by Braid, so it was my job to implement it all.
And, as per usual with working with Braid, everything was so dynamic! It's always my favorite part. We pulled feeds for offerings into almost all of the pages, most of which change dynamically depending on the currently-open ECourse, and it's just way cool.
After implementation, there was a lot of testing to make sure that the previous eCourse functionality was not hindered by the new site additions (I mean, we'd spent over a year perfecting that user experience, we didn't want to back track), and then it was launched.
And so, just like that, I'm adding a new return client project to the mix. Check it out now >>
And, in case you're interested, my favorite Braid ECourse is currently open for registration - Personal Branding: Blending Who You Are With What You Do. sign up now >>
Looking for someone to be your designer and developer? Or, maybe you have a design, but just need a developer? I've got you covered.
Yesterday I sent out an Indie Tactics email with a bit of a confession: during 2013 I had less new clients than in either of the previous 2 years.
Trust me, that makes my stomach turn.
But, let me share another confession: it was my best financial year yet. It beat out 2012 by almost $30,000, and was $12,000 over my goal.
That makes my stomach flip the other [good] way.
In my post yesterday about the Cashmere Suitcase redesign, I mentioned the fact that I had dubbed 2013 "The Year of Return Clients." Because even though I didn't book as many new clients, my old clients blew my income out of the water.
Let me show you some income percentages:
IN 2012
New clients: 76%
Ongoing / return clients: 24%
IN 2013
New clients: 53%
Ongoing / return clients: 47%
Now, let me make this a little more whacky for you. Even though I took on fewer new clients in 2013 than in 2012, I still beat new client income, but only by $1000. So, what that means, is that the $30,000 that I got in 2013 over 2012's income all came from ongoing / return clients.
Let me repeat: my current client base upped my annual income by almost $30,000.
The point of this whole down-and-dirty show-and-tell is that sometimes selling yourself isn't about getting new business. Sometimes it's about selling yourself to re-engage old business.
Make People Want to Come Back
The bulk of my return-client income for 2013 came from old clients coming back to me for redesigns, consulting, and maintenance. These were transactions that came from my clients trusting/liking/needing me to help them out further with their business, either by needing a complete overhaul, or just some tweaks. Whatever it was, this income happened because I provide them with exactly what they want and need.
It has become more important to me than ever to really work hard for good client relationships (I mean, it's always important of course, but you know what I mean), and have clear follow-up systems in place to maximize my client relationships. Because, seriously, these guys are my homegirl clients.
And, funnily enough, I remember when I started freelancing thinking that I never wanted to do follow-up work with clients. Just the initial web design. Oh, the things you learn, right?
Add Value to Your Work with Complimentary (not free, but coinciding) Services
There is certainly something to be said in regards to having a simple service list. But, at least for my business, I can see how just offering only web design packages can be like eating a burger with your hands tied behind your back.
Once I began adding additional offerings, my monthly income skyrocketed, and – thankfully – leveled out. As creatives, we know more than most what hot-and-cold means. One month you're hot with projects and income, and the next all you can hear is crickets. But, by diversifying your offerings with services that compliment your core offering, you're giving yourself a platform for stable income.
Goodbye, dry months.
For me, the biggest gamechanger was in how I began selling my hosting services. When I began I was just offering hosting, with no lovin' from me. But then I started offering email support that came bundled with my clients' monthly website hosting fee. At first I thought no one would ever pay extra to have me "on call" for email support, but now it's the norm. I only have a small handful of clients that don't opt-in for this extra website security blanket. And this income is a guaranteed monthly paycheck, one fab client at a time.
Mid-year, I also launched my Client Services page that came with some brand new things, like an SEO Starter Package and the availability for having new Email Marketing Templates designed. And retainers, that allow my clients to for-real have me on-call every month to do whatever they fancy, not just email support. Again, I never imagined how well these services would go, but I soon had clients emailing me wanting to use these services to do bigger and better things with their site.
These offerings not only make my business more profitable, but it makes theirs more profitable too, and they see the [obvious] value in that. My clients are smart cookies.
Give Them Availability and Incentives
To give my clients the attention that they needed – and especially as my client base grew (you know, the ones who purchased that extra email support that I didn't think anyone would ever buy) – I had to get help. At which point I hired Corey. Hiring Corey – who we've finally, officially dubbed the Client Service Tech – has made sure that my clients get the support they need in as timely a fashion as we can muster. It's literally his job to take care of these clients. Period.
But, not only have I given these clients the availability of someone to help them as needed, I also try to treat my clients as my people. They're the first to hear about new offerings, they get killer redesign deals, and – my favorite – I do a Holiday Hour Spree every December where I offer up a set number of maintenance hours at a heavily discounted rate. So their business growth is taken care of for the next year.
Smart cookies, indeed.
growing and evolving
One of the most important things that I've learned in realizing how my income was divided between old and new clients is that fostering relationships with current clients is just as important as bringing in new ones. What this has meant for me is altering my offerings to cater to the needs of current clients just as much as those of new clients. This has meant adding services, putting systems in place to mindfully follow up, and evolving my own business model to not only focus on initial design products.
And with that I am also evolving how my thinking of what "success" means to me and my biz. Because, honestly, having a client come back to me is quite freakin' gratifying.
If you're a creative entrepreneur wanting to launch and/or grow your own online biz, but need someone to help you along the way, then check out my Indie Tactics Full Session consulting service. It's designed to help you grow the online business of your dreams.
