Payoman's Offline Business Journal - How I Got, And How You Can, Get Started In Business

I figured I post so much in this forum that I should collate the details of my business for those who, like myself, enjoy reading about the trials and tribulations of like-minded entrepreneurs.

Before starting, this post is dedicated to all the David Millers, Iamnameless, John Durhams and Kaniganj's of the forum who have helped me get to where I am today and who continue to help all the newbies around here into the future.

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Executive Business Summary

To give some perspective :
When I started in December 2011, I didn't know the difference between web hosting and domain hosting, had never worked with a website in my life and only had a diploma of graphic design to my name in terms of education.

Since December 2011, I have achieved the following :

- Learned my way around Wordpress.
- Became a reseller of web hosting.
- Created about a dozen websites for practice.
- Read dozens of articles, ebooks and watched videos on SEO and finally wrapped my head around it.
- Ranked a website to number 2 in the organic search results in my town.
- Hired 2 team members from oDesk, which have contributed to 2 of my clients websites so far, enabling me to focus on getting more clients.
- Made hundreds of cold calls to local businesses trying to sell web design and SEO.

After about 3 months of work, I finally began getting clients.

As of today, 20/4/2012, I have 4 clients.

I will keep the above list updated as I gain new skills and have new adventures in my business, hopefully in an effort to encourage other people to see what can be done purely by determination and focus.

I want to dedicate a section of this post to HOW I did this, because a list of credentials without a 'HOW-TO' is pretty useless for alot of people. So here it is...

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HOW I WENT FROM NOT KNOWING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN WEB HOSTING AND A DOMAIN NAME, TO MULTIPLE CLIENTS AND DESIGNING WEB SITES FOR $$$ WITHIN 5 MONTHS

...there you go, my free WSO right here for anyone to see haha.

Follow this 'Get Your Head Around' list for the best tips on doing this kind of business that I can think of.

1. Get your head around web design. This means studying nice looking websites, examining templates and figuring out what makes them look nice. Read some books on modern graphic design. A hint : simplicity is the key. Don't clutter up the screen with fancy graphics.

2. Get your head around SEO. This means studying blogs, forums (this forum is an excellent starting point), WSO's, PDF's, free reports, podcasts, Youtube is GREAT. And I have to recommend it, the Challenge by Ed Dale. Great course for beginners and it's FREE.

3. Get your head around PEOPLE. This means becoming comfortable with strangers, with holding eye contact, with a warm tone and a bit of wit. Don't be a salesy, fake person. Be a warm, old friend. Connect with business owners, because you will be one yourself! I got good with people initially because I was in the dating niche, so I met hundreds of people regularly and have that experience behind me, but I CANNOT RECOMMEND IT ENOUGH : approach random strangers on the street, in stores, in parks and start conversations. In depth conversations about STUFF! Do this, and your confidence will SKYROCKET.

4. Get your head around COLD CALLING. Every one of my clients I got through cold calling. It's a long, laborious process but it IS rewarding. You need to remind yourself: you aren't just being rejected over and over. You are building CHARACTER and CONFIDENCE. Each time you get knocked down and get back up, you REALLY ARE becoming stronger. I still get butterflies on that first call, but it really becomes a habit and you just get better with time.

5. Get your head around Software. This means the Adobe suite for editing images, or Microsoft word for writing documents, or Serif Web Plus X5 for website development (I use this for custom websites, I would still recommend getting good with Wordpress as it is the industry standard at this point). You will need some good software to help you in your journey, so I recommend the following :

- Adobe Suite for image editing/web editing.
- Microsoft Office for documents.
- Serif Webplus X5 for websites.
- Basecamp for organising your business and thoughts.
- Skype for cold calling and for VA's

6. Get your head around SUPPORT systems. This is huge. I would NOT be here today if I hadn't been constantly reviewing this forum, talking with the big wigs I mentioned earlier, but also enrolled in a government program in my country (Australia) that aids small business owners financially for 12 months simply by completing a 6 week course and writing up a business plan. Try to find similar programs in your country/area, there has to be SOMETHING. Also, when starting out, offer to do websites for friends and family. I also did this, just to build my portfolio. Some clients will want examples of your work, but you can also get lucky like I did and some will just buy from you because they like you. Just get out there and TAKE ACTION!

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Finally, I just want to finish by saying I will update this thread as new things develop in my business, including how I overcame obstacles and drop in advice now and then. I might start a blog too, so I will keep you guys updated. Depends on the feedback I get.

Thanks again to all the people who have helped me along this journey!

Cheers,

payoman