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Looking for a sample business plan/model

by HenrikPoulsen
2 replies
Hey all.

I'm in the process of planning a little offline business (mostly webdesign and SEO)

I would like to know if any of you would like to share your business plan/model with me

What I am considering is this.

1. find a target group in my local area (For instance in my city there are around 20 bricklayers, 10 of which has horrendous websites)

2. create 1-2 nice looking layouts and convert these into WP-themes.

3. create mock-ups for the customer

4. have a call center friend make some calls and sell the customer on the idea.

5. customize and implement the website on the customers domain(perhaps a new domain better suited for his business)

This is all well and good, and should result in a number of sales, but here is where I'm stuck for now.

What I would like to know is what to charge for, and how to do it in a way that does not confuse the non-computer litterary bricklayer/butcher etc. He does not now nor does he care for SEO. so how do I sell him on the idea that a better website and a better domain will earn him more business?

Now here is what I plan on charging for

1. the website itself, including a custom header
2. if there is to be made some changes to the basic theme
3. hosting perhaps?
4. ?
5. ?

Looking forward to a nice discussion
Kind regards
Henrik Poulsen
#business #plan or model #sample
  • Profile picture of the author T.R. McCarroll
    Originally Posted by HenrikPoulsen View Post

    What I would like to know is what to charge for, and how to do it in a way that does not confuse the non-computer bricklayer/butcher etc. He does not now nor does he care for SEO. so how do I sell him on the idea that a better website and a better domain will earn him more business?
    My experience with this type of trade is the ability of his/her prospects to see their work via a picture gallery. See this saves them an extraordinary amount of time having to go from job to job to look at the quality of their work because this is what their clients want ...good workmanship ... I would also encourage the contractor to get written, audio and video testimonials for the website as well.

    This trade is especially proud of the type of work they do ...so put the best picture of their stuff front and center. You might offer as a opt-in download "5 Tips For A Better Brick Works Project As Told By A Pro"

    T.R.
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    • Profile picture of the author Iggmeister
      Hi Henrik, I'm thinking of doing a similar thing. I might just work locally or go national (UK), I don't really want to go international for various reasons but primarily because of support hours.
      So I too am working on a business model. Here are my thoughts:

      1. Keep it simple. Wordpress is excellent for this and adaptable themes like Atahualpa are very flexible.
      2. Don't constrain the offer to a limited number of pages or graphics. That's very nineties thinking.
      3. Fixed costs. Customer know what he's getting and for how much.
      4. Residual income. This is the key to how I think it will work. Charge only a small fee for the website, say £50-£100 and possibly even free. Charge for the hosting and support. £10 per month for hosting and full on-going support -any changes they want to make to content and even layout (ie. change the theme).
      5. Manage expectations. On previous attempts at offering to build websites for friends in business ALL of them expected ME to take the photographs and write the content. The expectation of people who know nothing about websites is that this stuff magically appears. Make it clear that THEY will provide the text and the pictures and you will do all the hard work.
      6. SEO. Many people assume that you can magically rank them in first place on google because you can build a website. So again, manage expectations and perhaps offer off-page SEO services further down the line for an extra fee. Either way, make it clear that exactly what they are getting and what they are not.

      Firstly, I plan to make some dummy sites by way of a shop window. I think this is an essential tool in allowing people to make their mind up when they see the quality of the work.

      As far as domains are concerned, if I am to work locally, I might have a local portal and give them a subdomain off that but that may turn into hideos monster. Preferably I will encourage them to purchase a domain name and give them advice on that.

      Anyway, that's just me thinking out loud...

      Hope it helps.
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