Yellow Pages ad circa 2006

When I first decided “hey! why don’t I service clients directly?” about 8 years ago I really didn’t plan things out much. I knew I was no longer enjoying contracting (working onsite at agencies) and the thought of going permanent didn’t exactly fill me with joy.

So, there was a morning, and I can remember it now, when I was sat at my new IKEA desk in our old house in Newport. My laptop was switched on. I’d bought a mouse mat (which was aligned squarely on the desk). Pencils? Check. Paper? Check. Cuppa of coffee? Check.

Ok, I’ve got all that.

…but what do I do next?

Ground Zero

I’d not really planned ahead for that day. In fairness, I knew pretty little about the giant, unknown, Here Be Monsters” area of working for yourself so perhaps that was to be expected.

What did I start doing on that morning?

1. Set up an ad in the Yellow Pages
2. Decided to go only to some local, chamber of commerce events (for another post!)

Another belter from 2006

The Yellow Pages Brick Road

The Yellow Pages (+ online) ad was obviously the lamest idea in the world but it seemed to me a ‘this is what businesses do” kinda thing. So I did it. Did it bring in any work? Of course not. Of the people responding, the scenario went something like this:

Them: I’d like a website

Me; Ok, can you tell me more?

Them: Nothing complex, just about 5 pages with a logo

Me: {panicking as I still had no idea what this meant} Errr…can we meet so I can find out more?

{fast forward to meeting when I get even more hopeless information because as I asked dull questions}

After the meeting (I wouldn’t talk money during it) I would put a proposal together. I would think something along these lines:

“Ok, I was billing £250 a day when I was contracting, this job looks around 3+ days (but what do they mean by a page?!) so perhaps I’ll say 5 days. Ok, let’s say £1,000 (+VAT) then. There. Easy”

…and I would eventually get a response back something along the lines that they were only looking to spend £100.

Now, we can laugh at clients like this all I want, but the joke is not on them. It’s on us.

What did I expect to happen with a Yellow Pages ad?

What sort of client did I think would shop there?

What sort of budget did I think that person would be likely to have?

In short, I had no marketing sophistication about my approach.

It took me a long time to get wise to that; it was up to me to set my stall out correctly. It wasn’t up to potential clients to try and decode my offering. And it was also up to me to filter potential clients, to not waste time with tyre kickers, to qualify leads so that, before you invest time in meetings etc, you know this project has the potential to go somewhere.

The End

This isn’t meant to be an attack on the Yellow Pages and I hope you don’t see it that way. If you make a living out of that approach then I’m guessing you have an offering which really suits that market. The point I am making here is that you have to think through who you are going to market to; simple answering ‘everyone!” is not good enough.

Plug time: I only wish that The Business of Web Design conference, happening in Cardiff this July, had been around back then. We’ve got a great line up and it’l be a cracking day for you to spending working ON your web business (instead of IN it).

How did you find start off your business? I bet you were more switched on than I was

Joel

p.s.

I’ve set up a Tumblr of Bad Website Design ads - feel free to submit yours ;)