After living in Europe over a year, I arrived back to Los Angeles with a suitcase, backpack, aging laptop, mobile phone whose battery wouldn't hold a charge for longer than an hour and a little over one-hundred and fifty dollars in my wallet. I was broke! After a week of sleeping on my father's couch in a state of situational depression, a good friend treated me to breakfast one morning. While waiting for the waitress to bring us our omelets, I used the restaurant's Wifi HotSpot to view their website. It seemed to be an informative site, but textually too difficult to read from a mobile phone. Having dabbled in web design through the years, I knew there was a better way to develop a website. That's when it hit me; Maybe I can do some web design for quick cash! I pretty much had everything I needed; a laptop and access to free wifi at any Starbucks. What I didn't have was a web hosting platform. So my search began.
With my laptop and a small cup of Starbucks coffee, I started searching for web hosting companies. It became apparent Wordpress hosting providers wouldn't be an option. I didn't have the time, skills or money to make use of the platform. Then I discovered Squarespace. They had a new approach to web design that I had never seen before. It was an all-in-one web hosting company who happened to be offering a two-week free trial. Perfect! I knew that would give me plenty of time to experiment with web design while learning their platform. A couple of twelve-hour days of cramming as much knowledge into my brain as I could, it was a no-brainer. I found the platform.
How do I find clients? With nothing to show, how do I convince a potential customer that I'm not only capable of designing their website, but I would also require 50% up front for my services? I had an idea on how to locate potential customers but needed to find solutions to these questions. Sitting at my favorite Starbucks location, I began searching for local businesses that had either no website or one that appeared to be outdated. It wasn't long before I found the internet site of a local butcher shop within walking distance of my location. 'Seize the moment' kept running through my mind as I gathered my belongings for a 10-minute walk to the store. The closer I got, the more I began to realize how unprepared I was. What was I going to say to them? How was I going approach them with my sales pitch? What was going to be my sales pitch?! Within yards of the butcher shop, I decided it was a bad idea. Knowing I could build a better website is one thing. Not having proof of skills is another. The best sales pitch in the world wouldn't be enough to win their business. Feeling a little defeated, I pulled out my mobile to have another look at their website. I was pleasantly surprised to see how awful their website looked on mobile. With so many people using mobile devices to access the internet, I knew this had to be part of my sales pitch. Then it hit me! What would be the best example of a great looking and functional website whether on a desktop computer and mobile phone? The improved butcher shop website! Eureka! With only 10-days left in the trial period, it was time for me to start building a website. It took me 3-days to retrieve all of the content from the butcher shop's current site, and to create a better one. I was ready to make my pitch and not a moment too soon. My cashflow had nearly ran out!
The following day, I nervously found myself inside the butcher shop asking for the manager or owner. The man behind the counter said the owner would be back in a few hours. So in a few hours, I returned and saw another man behind the counter. I asked again for the owner assuming the man I approached was him. "I am the owner, how may I help you," he asked. With a smile, I proceeded to tell him that I had a look at the shop's website, thought it was good but could use a few improvements, and if I could show him an example of my work. In his poker face, he asked that I sit over at one of the tables and he would be with me in a moment. As I waited, I removed the laptop from my backpack, placed it on the table, connected to their in-house wifi, opening the web browser to shop's current website, and another tab to the site I created. I did the same with my mobile phone, then slipped it back into my pocket. The owner sits down in front of me, and I begin my pitch. I start by pointing out my likes and concerns about his current website. I noted that customers use mobile devices now more than ever and his website needs to be mobile-friendly. Seizing the moment, I was ready the surprise him with the new website. "I want to show you an example of my work," I said as I click on the second tab. "Welcome to your new website!" His poker-face turned into a smile he tried to control, unsuccessfully. He was surprised to see it was his butcher shop's new website. Removing the phone from my pocket, I handed it to him and said, "Your website looks great on mobile as well!"
I walked out of the butcher shop that day with a check for 50% percent of the payment and received the remaining 50% as the new site went LIVE a week later.
I hope my story inspires you to think outside of the box.
- YIZIO
Welcome to Steemit!
We have all been waiting for you, we are glad you could make it.
I have given you a upvote to help you out!
Hope you love Steemit as much as we do.
Give these a read:
Chat with us:
If this post was helpful, please leave an upvote. It helps me to keep helping new users.
I'm sunnybooster, a booster for accounts not posts. Send me 0.5 STEEM or SBD to get a week of upvotes! If you don't yet know what this is its fine.
I am a bot and this was automated. I exist to help out new members and attempt to get them hooked
Inspiring, thank you
My pleasure!
Congratulations @yizio! You have received a personal award!
Click on the badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
Congratulations @yizio! You received a personal award!
Click here to view your Board of Honor
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Congratulations @yizio! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!