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Saulric's First Client

by Saulric
10 replies
Hello everyone, I have been "lurking" around here for a few months just soaking up as much information I can find. I'm a 20 year old college student that works part-time at one of the local car washes. I have been there for about two years now, and have a trusting relationship with my boss. He knows me as the "internet guy" because I have been selling stuff on eBay (mainly my old pokemon cards and videogames) since High School. Before you laugh at that, it has banked me a couple thousand dollars for a small time hobby.

Anyways, I have been shooting some ideas by my boss all summer about getting his business an online presence, as of now all he has is a Facebook page that hasn't been updated since February. The issue of "working on the clock" has been discussed, and it was agreed that he would pay me on the side for my work. I would just tell him "Hey *boss* I can do *service* for $X" (that's what he said to me). He also says that he gets multiple calls a week from people asking if he has a website, that they can help him, etc. but he said he wants to keep it within the company and with someone he trusts. So BINGO... I'm in.

So, if you haven't clicked your back button, here is where I am stuck. I don't know where to begin.

Here is my plan, all constructive criticism is welcome.

1) Get a simple 5 pages website online for him. Home page lists what makes us #1. Pricing page lists our wash and detail packages. A photo gallery page with some "before and after pictures", and a video taking a car through the wash. Directions and Contact Us page with all the contact info and a google map widget. Finally, the last page has a form for customers to fill out to schedule a detail appointment.

I have no experience in website creation whatsoever. However, I "messed around" with the interface on Weebly just to get my "vision" online. Has anyone had success with them? How hard would it be for a complete noobie like me to create a Wordpress site from scratch?

2) Using the "Best list of Directories"thread as a reference, claim as many of those for his business as possible (to fill in address, information, etc.)

3) Actively manage a FourSquare, Facebook, and Twitter marketing campaign.

How much should I charge for all of this? Keep in mind he is my boss, and he agreed I could use him for future testimonials.

Thanks,

Saulric
#1st #advice #client
  • Profile picture of the author RRG
    Originally Posted by Saulric View Post

    Hello everyone, I have been "lurking" around here for a few months just soaking up as much information I can find. I'm a 20 year old college student that works part-time at one of the local car washes. I have been there for about two years now, and have a trusting relationship with my boss. He knows me as the "internet guy" because I have been selling stuff on eBay (mainly my old pokemon cards and videogames) since High School. Before you laugh at that, it has banked me a couple thousand dollars for a small time hobby.

    Anyways, I have been shooting some ideas by my boss all summer about getting his business an online presence, as of now all he has is a Facebook page that hasn't been updated since February. The issue of "working on the clock" has been discussed, and it was agreed that he would pay me on the side for my work. I would just tell him "Hey *boss* I can do *service* for " (that's what he said to me). He also says that he gets multiple calls a week from people asking if he has a website, that they can help him, etc. but he said he wants to keep it within the company and with someone he trusts. So BINGO... I'm in.

    So, if you haven't clicked your back button, here is where I am stuck. I don't know where to begin.

    Here is my plan, all constructive criticism is welcome.

    1) Get a simple 5 pages website online for him. Home page lists what makes us #1. Pricing page lists our wash and detail packages. A photo gallery page with some "before and after pictures", and a video taking a car through the wash. Directions and Contact Us page with all the contact info and a google map widget. Finally, the last page has a form for customers to fill out to schedule a detail appointment.

    I have no experience in website creation whatsoever. However, I "messed around" with the interface on Weebly just to get my "vision" online. Has anyone had success with them? How hard would it be for a complete noobie like me to create a Wordpress site from scratch?

    2) Using the "Best list of Directories"thread as a reference, claim as many of those for his business as possible (to fill in address, information, etc.)

    3) Actively manage a FourSquare, Facebook, and Twitter marketing campaign.

    How much should I charge for all of this? Keep in mind he is my boss, and he agreed I could use him for future testimonials.

    Thanks,

    Saulric
    Make sure you place an opt-in form on each page of the website (pop-up or inline or both) to capture names and email addresses. Offer something of value (a freebie or big discount) in exchange for the name and email.

    At the carwash, promote the freebie or discount to get people to sign up for the email list.

    Then get an Aweber account ($20/month) and market to them early and often.

    Just one idea (that works).
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  • Profile picture of the author Warrior Ben
    Originally Posted by Saulric View Post

    Here is my plan, all constructive criticism is welcome.

    1) Get a simple 5 pages website online for him. Home page lists what makes us #1. Pricing page lists our wash and detail packages. A photo gallery page with some "before and after pictures", and a video taking a car through the wash. Directions and Contact Us page with all the contact info and a google map widget. Finally, the last page has a form for customers to fill out to schedule a detail appointment.

    I have no experience in website creation whatsoever. However, I "messed around" with the interface on Weebly just to get my "vision" online. Has anyone had success with them? How hard would it be for a complete noobie like me to create a Wordpress site from scratch?

    2) Using the "Best list of Directories"thread as a reference, claim as many of those for his business as possible (to fill in address, information, etc.)

    3) Actively manage a FourSquare, Facebook, and Twitter marketing campaign.

    How much should I charge for all of this? Keep in mind he is my boss, and he agreed I could use him for future testimonials.

    Thanks,

    Saulric
    Hi Saulric,

    1) Weebly is pretty simple to learn and use, but if I were in your shoes and you are going to learn anything-- learn WordPress. It takes about 3 clicks to set up on your hosting, there are plenty of pre-made designs, and if you can update a Facebook profile, you can update the website. It'll be much more professional looking and just as easy to use as Weebly. You can also find plenty of free information online on how to set up WordPress.

    2) Good thing to do. When you do put in all your information in all the directories, first type it into TextPad or something similar and then copy/paste into all the fields of the sites you sign up with. This will ensure complete consistency of names, addresses, phone numbers and will help put you at the top of Google Places.

    3) Also great ideas...

    As for how much you charge, you could do $1,500 to $3,000 for the WordPress website and then another $1,000 - $1,500 for setting up in all the directories and social media. As for monthly management, I'd go for somewhere between $200 - $500 a month, depending on your boss' budget.

    I hope this helps and best of luck!

    -Ben
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    • Profile picture of the author sdingram
      Hi Saulric,

      I agree with Ben that you should learn wordpress. There are a lot of videos on YouTube that will show you what to do. Wordpress is great because there are a lot of plugins that are free or cheap. One that I would say you need is called AllinOneSEO and the reason it's so important is because you will need to use certain keywords on the website that you build or no one will be able to find it on Google.

      Keywords are the words that your potential customers use to find the carwash. For example, if the carwash is in Seattle, WA you might use keywords like:
      car wash Seattle
      carwash Seattle
      washing cars in Seattle
      how to wash cars in Seattle
      best car wash in Seattle

      You get my point. You can also go to your competitors' website and click on File -> View Page Source and then you can see which keywords they're using. (If this doesn't work on your browser, try Looking under View or Tools (sometimes under Webmaster tools).

      I can't stress enough how important your keywords are. You must use them in your page titles, in your headlines and in the copy.

      Also, there is a woman named Sandi Krakowski who is very big on facebook and I think she still offers a free Wordpress course. See if you can sign up for that.

      In my opinion, you should only charge maybe $500 for the website since you are new at it... Your boss is giving you a great opportunity to learn a new skill. At the risk of sounding rude (and I don't mean it to be) your first website is usually not the best website the world has ever seen - I know because my first website was total crap!

      Have fun! You're going to learn so much and this forum is an excellent place for you to ask questions and get help. Let us know how everything goes.

      Cheers,
      sdingram
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      • Profile picture of the author Saulric
        RRG, Warrior Ben, Sdingram:

        Thank you for your help.
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  • Profile picture of the author Greg Stack
    Hey Saulric,
    It seems that you are on the right track.
    I would definitely bite the bullet and dive into WordPress. It won't take you long to get the hang of it, and you will be amazed at what it can do. There are thousands of WP themes available online that will quickly give your site both a professional look and functionality. I currently have a WSO which is not directly related to your situation, but the first section is a step-by-step guide to setting up a domain, hosting, and WordPress. You can have a copy. I'll PM the download link.

    A couple of other thoughts:
    Once you have the website up, you should set-up and optimize the business' Google Places listing. The first step in that process is "claiming" the listing. That step can take a few days due to Google's validation, which is now performed via mail, so do that early, so that when you are ready, the validation will be done. www.google.com/placesforbusiness

    You may want to set-up a QR code for smart phone users. Quick and simple, go here: QR-Code Generator

    This could be the start of a thriving business. Congrats.

    Greg
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    SuperStoreEmpire -Quickly create a network of automated stores or pages for your existing site(s) for you or your clients. No Inventory, Shipping, or Cost! Includes ClickBank Stores. WSO $7.97

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    • Profile picture of the author Saulric
      Greg Stack- I will definitely check it out! Downloading it now... any place I can leave you a review? Also I thought Google Places could use a phone to verify... did that change?

      John Durham- Thanks for the link, I'll give that a read also.
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      • Profile picture of the author Greg Stack
        Originally Posted by Saulric View Post

        ... Also I thought Google Places could use a phone to verify... did that change?
        Saulric,
        I haven't had any experiences for quite some time where the phone verification was offered as an option. I just double-checked GP Support and found that they still list all three options (third: SMS.)

        This is what Google stated on their forum:
        "I understand there have been some recent questions about verification methods. If a business is new to Google, certain verification methods may be unavailable depending on the information provided for the business.

        Whenever Google wants to maximize their trust level in a listing they will request post card verification.


        The phone verification option is only available now when Google has strong confidence about the listing data. Additional Google-Speak deleted."


        So, there should still be an occasion when the phone verification is offered as an option, but I work on the assumption that the post card is what will be offered. I stress to the client how important it is to make an extra effort to look for it in each day's mail. I ask what staff member typically receives the mail and follow-up with that individual, as well.


        I would guess, that on average, the cards make it within 5 days. One issue is knowing when to reverify, which will result in the issuance of another card. I have only done that once, and, of course, the first card arrived the following day (which was invalidated by the second card request..)


        I sent you a PM..
        Signature
        SuperStoreEmpire -Quickly create a network of automated stores or pages for your existing site(s) for you or your clients. No Inventory, Shipping, or Cost! Includes ClickBank Stores. WSO $7.97

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    • Profile picture of the author Saulric
      P.S. How can you "thank" someone's post?
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    Go here and do this: http://www.warriorforum.com/offline-...ney-today.html

    You will get your first client.
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  • Profile picture of the author Saulric
    Hey guys sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Without getting into details I was very sick, need surgery, and now I finally am recovered and *almost* back to normal!

    Anyways, back to business.

    Ran into a little hiccup with setting up the website. I discovered that the domain name companyname'scarwash(dot)com is ALREADY registered. So I went and talked to my boss about it. Luckily, my boss had it registered when he first opened as he had planned to build a website (apparently that fell through). Anyways, assuming it was registered under my boss' name and not his previous web developer's, what information would I need to "transfer" it to the host. I will be using host gator to host the site. And how do I ensure that it is registered under my boss' name and that we have control over it? I hope this makes sense in what I am asking... I'm still new to all of this.

    Thank you in advance for your help.
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