I’m lucky to get to talk to ambitious people who are building new exciting products and services almost every day. What they share is a drive to break free from the corporate world and create a life they want. Most of them aren’t in it for the money alone. They want to make the world a better place, too – my kinda people.
What they also have in common is the treacherous entrepreneurial journey. Getting your very own business off the ground is hard. Nobody’s holding your hand. There’s no blueprint to follow. And it’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the noise out there telling you what to do.
This is the first article of a series that will explore the mistakes that I see entrepreneurs making. I’ll dive deep into why you might be falling into these traps and what to do instead.
Asking the uncomfortable questions
I was on a Zoom call with someone who asked me to develop a brand strategy for him in preparation for writing his website. He was starting his business from scratch, having left his corporate job behind just two weeks prior.
While he was describing the audience that he had in mind for his consulting service, it dawned on me. I had to ask one critical question. And it completely changed the direction of our conversation: “Have you worked with any clients yet?” His answer was, “Not really. I need to set up my website first …”
The chicken and egg problem of building a business
I totally understand where he was coming from. You’ve probably been told that you need a professional website to attract clients. You have to show that you’re in business. Would a prospect take you seriously otherwise?
It’s a chicken and egg problem, really. You can’t get a client without a website. But you also can’t create a convincing website without having had a client yet. Without speaking to prospects and trying to get their business, you’d have to make a ton of assumptions about who your ideal customers are and what they care about.
Before we get to the nuances of that, we first need to answer…
Why do entrepreneurs resort to building their website first?
There are three reasons at play here.
One, it’s easy. Picking out a color pallet and approving logo designs doesn’t take much effort. Compare that with trying to convince a prospect to give you 15 minutes of her time to talk through your business idea, and you know what you’d rather do.
Two, it feels safe. You don’t run the risk of getting rejected. As long as you don’t talk to any prospects who might question your great business idea, your entrepreneurial dream and ego are still intact.
Three, you think you’re making progress. You have to portray to your friends and family that you’re busy “building a business.” A website is something you can show off. Three 10-minute conversations with potential customers, not so much.
Following this route is dangerous because the longer it takes you to see actual results (aka $$$), the more discouraged you’ll get.
Here’s a better way
First, get real! Progress means serving customers, learning more about them, and then adjusting your offerings to serve them even better. Everything else is fake progress. So, before you agonize a whole afternoon over the right font for your brand, talk to your audience. And ask them what their favorite typeface is 🙂
Here’s the homework I gave the entrepreneur from above: Find one person who might be interested in your product or service and meet them in person or on Zoom.
You’re not going for a sales pitch here. Just have a conversation and ask some genuine, innocent questions.
I’m thinking of starting ….
- Have you ever paid for something like this?
- What’s your typical budget for these types of projects?
- How high of a priority is this to you?
- What factors are the most / least important to you when deciding who to hire?
- What has been your biggest frustration with other solutions in the past?
Potential customers aren’t the only people you can talk to. Find out who’s already succeeding in your space and get them on the phone. You can tap into their experience by asking questions like…
- What types of clients tend to be most receptive to this idea?
- What’s the best way to get in touch with prospects?
- What’s a reasonable rate to charge a customer?
- Here’s my plan. Would you do anything differently if you were me?
- I’m new to this. What would be the most effective way to learn this skill?
But Julia, those are my competitors. They wouldn’t want to talk to me!
Actually, they do (most of the time). When I started my copywriting career, more senior copywriters were more than happy to offer advice. They know that helping each other out only expands the opportunities for everyone. One copywriter doing a great job creates more work down the line for others.
When to start a website: Case Studies
There are many businesses that have proven that you don’t need a professional website with all the bells and whistles to get your first (or second or tenth) client. For example…
Alejandro Navia started a coaching practice in the midst of a pandemic and has a full list of clients lined up. Without having an official website for his business (at the moment that I’m writing this).
Robbie Crabtree is building a course on public speaking called Performative Speaking. The official website is simple and provides the need-to-know information at this point. So what convinced his first students to join the upcoming course? Not the website, but a personal connection.
Usually, you can launch a service-related business without a website and brand if you already have a relationship with potential customers. This gets trickier when it comes to product-based businesses and SaaS. For example…
Greg Frontiero needs a website to let customers order his Flow State Coffee. He built a product that solved a problem for him, knowing that there were others out there facing the same challenge. That made it way easier to find the right message. As Paul Graham wrote: “The best problems to solve are ones that affect you personally.”
Longwave obviously needs a website so people can use their reimagined social media platform. SaaS doesn’t exist without an online home. It doesn’t require a crazy design and 5+ pages, though, to attract customers. What’s important is communicating the main idea in the most compelling way.
There are plenty of low-cost, no-code options available to build a minimum viable solution. With Carrd you can create a simple, one-page site in minutes. And ESP like ConvertKit or Mailchimp allow you to set up landing pages that collect your prospect’s email addresses.
The bottom line
A website or well thought out brand strategy isn’t a condition for starting a business. And it’s not guaranteed either, that you’ll succeed with a great website. In many instances, you can and should test the waters without it. If you realize that your idea isn’t catching on, you won’t have wasted time and money building something that has to change. Start simple with a minimum viable solution, and take it from there.
