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I am 19 and run a business. I was never taught how to do that. Please share tips.

by Bo Mill
6 replies
I'd really appreciate some (any kind of) advice. I run http://www.bogmil.com . The business has been doing good - I've been making some $20,000 a year. It's not a lot, but, I just started, and I'm a full time student so...

Anyway, I have several ideas in mind:

- Is it worth it getting a 1-800 number? I don't have a lot of clients, yet these are ridiculously cheap.
- Should I add a "get a free quote" to my website?

My main concern is how to get clients. I only have a few that have spent quite a bit of money with me. But I need to get more if I am to survive/raise revenue. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Thank you all.
#business #run #share #taught #tips
  • Profile picture of the author 1960Texan
    Hi Bo,

    A couple of suggestions:

    1. Your special offer needs to be under the section that tells the public what you are. I didn't know that you were a web consulting business until I scrolled down.
    2. You need to prominently display your photo on the first page of the site. People like to see who they're doing business with, and you are a clean-cut, wholesome looking guy. Take advantage of that.
    And this next one is the most important:
    3. Always under-promise and over-deliver with your customers, then ask them for a referral. You'll be miles ahead of your competitors if you own this one step.

    Good luck!

    Will
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    • Profile picture of the author CliveG
      Originally Posted by 1960Texan View Post

      And this next one is the most important:
      3. Always under-promise and over-deliver with your customers, then ask them for a referral.
      This is possibly the best advice you will ever receive.

      I will only add: do not under price your services. Under pricing works when you are starting out but you only have so many hours in the day and once you have used them all you need to be profitable. The next stage is to employ people or outsource but you cannot do that unless you have a profitable business.

      I'm going to add one more thing as well: make sure that you only do work that you are going to get paid for - go so far as to get some cash up front.

      And one more: if you outsource anything or recommend another service make sure that they are 100% reliable - your reputation depends on it and once you have lost that it is VERY difficult to get it back.

      Hope this helps,

      Clive
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  • Profile picture of the author Bo Mill
    My gratitude for that sir!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Byrde
    I completely agree with Will. The first thing on my mind when I got to your site was: what is it about? But the first words I read were "Are you not entirely convinced? No worries!".

    If you move the free offer, ot will shrink the Blue area at the top which, I think, should also make your site more visually appealing too.

    Tom
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  • Profile picture of the author MouseandMice
    Congratulations man!

    If you ever need any help with anything, shoot me a PM. I got started right here on the Warrior Forum at the age of 14, so I have been where you are.

    Some quick tips:

    The site is clean, but you REALLY need to have it more user friendly. The first thing I read was "Take advantage of our free offer!" and "Are you not entirely convinced?" What do you offer, what are you trying to convince me of?

    Swap the 1,2,3 with the stuff above it. That's a start.

    The second step is to actually give them an idea of what you do ON the home page and offer them a trial. Almost like a squeeze page.

    All the stuff under it should be on a seperate page. Maybe an "about us" page or something.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Nazi
    Banned
    Why use "Take Advantage of our Free Offer" as your head? That's not going to do anything. We need to know what the site/business is all about first. You'd be better off having
    "The One Stop Shop for Websites" or something like that. Nobody has the time to scroll down to see what you're about. You have just seconds to hook them.
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