Let’s start with an important statement:
A successful web design business doesn't thrive just by selling code and fancy designs. While these are important, what really makes them successful is their business-oriented mindset. This mindset distinguishes them from designers who struggle to succeed.
What does it mean to have a business-oriented mindset? We'll explore that shortly, but first, let's run through some additional context.
The Core of Business: Product or Service
In the business world, each company has a unique story, but they all revolve around offering two things: a product or service. Regardless of what the specifics are, every business is always built on providing one, the other, or both.
While it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the diversity of products and services each business offers, the liberating fact is that we don't need to know everything about every business. Instead, our focus only needs to be on the universal elements that apply across all industries.
Rather than getting caught up in the specifics of what a business sells, our primary role as web designers is to enhance its core sales system by strengthening its online presence.
What are some Constants in Business?
No matter the industry or the product, certain elements remain constant for every business:
1. Advertising or Marketing
Every business needs visibility to be successful. Marketing is the tool that creates awareness and makes sure potential customers are aware that the business exists. (Sounds Obvious right?)
2. Sales
Selling is the lifeblood of any business. Whether it's a product or a service, generating sales is essential for survival and growth. (Sounds even more obvious, I know)
3. Customer Support
Businesses must offer support to make sure their customers are getting the results they desired and to help them with any problems along the way.
4. Organization Systems or Structure
Having systems in place is what ties everything together. Businesses need well-designed systems to handle marketing, sales, and support functions, ensuring good reputations, satisfied customers, and sustained growth.
The Role of Systems in Business
Every business, no matter what it does, requires systems for marketing, sales, and support. These systems act as the backbone, making sure all parts of the business function smoothly together. We'll look more closely at each of these essentials and see how web designers can help shape and improve these crucial aspects of business.
What do Business Owners Want?
The common thread that ties entrepreneurs together is the shared desire for improvement. Regardless of industry or background, every business owner aspires to enhance their operations—selling more, working less, innovating, and scaling their ventures. This commonality extends to the challenges they face, creating a set of universal limits that every business owner grapples with, and that every web designer should keep in mind when they are trying to offer their services.
The Universal Limits of Business Owners
Business owners, whether at the pinnacle of success or navigating challenging terrain, encounter similar constraints. If you take the time to understand your clients limitations, you can often position your services as a solution.
1. Time and Energy
Time and energy are limited resources. Every business owner hopes for more hours in the day and unlimited energy to invest in their ventures.
2. Focus and Attention
Similar to time and energy, business owners have a limited amount of focus and attention. They typically concentrate on the most crucial aspects, such as keeping the lights on, paying employees, and selling enough to grow. While issues like a leaky faucet or a stained carpet may cross their mind, they aren't as important in the grand scheme of things.
3. Resources and Money
Another important limit to keep in mind is that business owners only have so much money to spend at any one time. They usually aim to invest their money in the one thing that will benefit them the most.
4. Priorities and Decisions
Decision-making is a skill honed over time, but the weight of choices can be overwhelming. Business owners want clarity in setting priorities and making decisions that propel their enterprises forward.
5. Risk and Stress
Every business owner needs to protect their hard work and make thoughtful choices to navigate uncertainties and risks that can lead to stress and failure for the business. Avoiding excessive risk and stress is crucial for them.
The Advantage of the Web Design Perspective
Understanding these shared aspirations and limitations provides web designers with a unique advantage. By recognizing that every business owner is fundamentally driven by a desire to improve in these key areas, we can tailor our web design strategies to address these universal concerns.
Leveraging Web Design for Business Enhancement
- Time-Efficient Solutions: You can develop websites and online platforms that streamline processes, saving business owners precious time and energy.
- Focused Design: You can create a website that achieves the results they need while also prioritizing what's most important to the business at that time.
- Resource Optimization: Implement cost-effective web design solutions. Give them what they need, leave out what they don't, and agree on a fair price that meets your requirements while resolving their problems.
- Priorities: It's straightforward – you're designing and developing a website that acts as their 24/7 marketing, sales, and support system. They’ll have more time to focus on their craft and services.
- Stress Reduction: You're creating a website for them that will soon generate more income, save them time, and propel them forward.
By looking at web design through this perspective, we turn it into a potent tool for helping businesses. Let’s talk more about the value of web design as a service.
The Value of Web Design
The real value in web design comes when you grasp what business owners really want and help them move from where they are now to where they want to be. As a web designer, you play a crucial role in making this happen, and the value you offer something that can truly change things for the better.
The Essence of Value in Web Design
1. Providing Real Value
The cornerstone of web design lies in the tangible, real-world value it brings to businesses. You're not an imposter or a mere service provider; you're a catalyst for positive change. By improving a business owner's online presence, you make their life easier, enrich their experiences, and contribute to the realization of their business goals and priorities.
Web design is a win-win for both you and the business owner.
2. The Path to Progress
Every business owner knows two important things: where they are now and where they want to go. The value of your web design services comes from helping them connect these two points, guiding them towards a future that goes beyond where they are today.
No matter where a business stands today, every entrepreneur shares a common goal: the pursuit of improvement. This ongoing quest for a 'better' future is at the core of the value web designers provide.
3. Overcoming Resistance
The journey from the present to the desired future is riddled with obstacles. Here's where your expertise as a web designer becomes indispensable. Marketing, sales, support, and systems—all integral components of a successful business—can act as either catalysts or hindrances. Your role is to ensure they propel the business forward rather than holding it back.
4. Thinking Like a Business Owner
To truly unlock the value of web design, it's important to adopt a business owner's mindset. By understanding their wants and needs, you can align your services with their goals.
If you think like a business owner, you will bring more value. Understanding what they want enables you to sell them what they want, and they will willingly invest in the value you provide.
5. Beyond Aesthetics
Successful web designers go beyond the surface details of code, fonts, and images. They concentrate on the website's functionality and impact. The real value of your services isn't in the superficial aspects but in how your website helps the business.
What Skills do You Need to Run a Successful Web Design Business?
It might be surprising that designing and developing websites is just a small part of the skills needed for a successful web design business. Some of the most valuable skills are actually on the business side of things.
Mindsets
- Business Mindset: Understand businesses' needs and goals to tailor your web design services accordingly.
- Personal Mindset/Habits: Stay productive and focused on your goals to positively impact your professional success.
Sales
- Prospect or Market: Build a strong online presence and actively promote yourself as a web designer.
- Sales Skills: Master the art of sales by effectively communicating the value of your services.
- Pricing: Learn to set fair prices that reflect the true worth of your services.
- Proposals: Create compelling proposals that highlight the benefits of your services.
- Negotiation: Sharpen negotiation skills to reach mutually beneficial agreements.
Technical Skills
- Problem-Solving Skills: Develop the ability to identify and solve issues creatively, distinguishing yourself as a successful web designer.
- Development and Design: Strengthen foundational technical skills to stay at the forefront of web design trends and technologies.
Miscellaneous Skills
- Copywriting and Information Architecture: Hone skills in content creation and organizing information.
- Communication: Focus on effective communication.
- Management: Develop team organizing and time management skills.
Key Takeaways / Final Thoughts
Every business, regardless of its nature, needs to market, sell, support, and have efficient systems for its product or service.
Business owners face limitations in time, attention, resources, money, energy, priorities, stress, and risk.
Business owners are forward-thinking, but the obstacles mentioned above hinder their progress. That's where your high-value web design comes in to save the day for both parties.
To run a successful web design business, you need a business mindset, prospecting and sales skills, problem-solving abilities, and a mix of technical and miscellaneous skills.
