My Complete Business Process – From Start to Finish
(Let’s talk about how we get things done around here!)
Getting Things Started
When you’re getting started on a new website project, or when you’re trying to write your product’s pages and blog posts for that website, quite often we find the whole process to be very exciting! There’s nothing wrong with getting excited about a project, because without excitement, your project wouldn’t be any fun to work on. Sooner or later you’d get tired of the project and before you know it, your motivation to complete the project will die, and you won’t have accomplished anything!
Excitement can be a tricky thing. Once you’re wrapped up in the excitement of the project, it becomes very easy to develop something we call the shiny object syndrome. The shiny object syndrome is, of course, an imaginary sickness. Internet marketers use this phrase to describe someone who chases every new, shiny thing they come across such as new WordPress themes, new fonts, new plugins, color scheme tweaks, and finally, the deadly ‘info learning courses (e-books)’. Please do NOT fall into this trap!
If the following questions are answered completely and honestly, they will direct you towards launching your new project in a timely fashion, with great design, with more clarity, and with a lot less frustration than chasing shiny objects will ever produce!
These are the very same questions I ask each of my clients.
Website Planning Questions:
- What is the primary focus of your website (business)?
- What is your target niche?
- Who are your target customers?
- What will you sell those customers?
- How will you retain those customers?
- What is your new business name? Will your business have a legal entity?
- What are the short term (3-5 years) and long term (5-10 years) business goals for your new site?
- Does this new company have any marketing plans? How will you promote your business’ products and/or services to potential clients?
- How do you plan to transition from your current J.O.B. to your new ‘online career’?
Content Planning Questions:
- What is your primary purpose for the content you’re about to write?
- What niche of customers are you trying to target with this content?
- What products or services will the content sell?
- How long of an article should this content piece be?
- Will the article be more effective if written as a sales page, blog post, or guest post?
- Will the content include customer testimonials?
- Have you performed any research on your competitors and their products in order to assist you in planning the best marketing approach?
- Have you considered any type of plan for retaining the customers you acquire through the article?
Note: You may not have answers to all these questions right away! This doesn’t necessarily mean everything about the process needs to stop, but it does mean you need to start thinking about these questions now. These questions will need to be answered in a timely manner because having these answers provides your project with the much needed clarity it requires in order to be completed efficiently.
Let’s Get Your Project Started… by helping me analyze your needs, guidelines, and requirements, you can assist me in getting your project up and running with the shortest time-to-market possible.
Office Hours
If you’re a past client, you probably know all too well how much of a tendency I have to work all hours of the day and night. However, as the days go flying past, and as my kids start getting older, I’ve realized life is NOT all work! I’ve established the following business hours as a guideline to help myself and my clients have a more structured relationship. Having structure in your business (E.g business hours) is a very important aspect of any business, and it’s one which shouldn’t be overlooked.
Hours of Operation:
Mon – Tue: 9am – 2pm
Wed: 9am – 12pm
Thu – Fri: 9am – 2pm
Sat: By appointment only
Sun: Closed
Note: The office hours I’ve listed above are actually, communication hours. Just because the time frame of these hours has passed, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’m not working. Quite simply, I need at least some time to get my paying client’s actual work done. If you really need to get through to me after these hours, you can always try emailing me, and perhaps I may have time to get back in touch with you.
Let’s Get Your Project Started… by helping me analyze your needs, guidelines, and requirements, you can assist me in getting your project up and running with the shortest time-to-market possible.
Communication Procedures – Staying in Touch
Communication with clients is probably the single most important aspect of any business, and it certainly is for me. I want each of my clients to know how and when I will contact them, and how and when they can contact me once they’ve hired me for their project. The following list is a combination of all the services I provide and serves as a basic communication guideline for my clients and I.
General Communication Guidelines:
- Normally, a prospective client will contact me requesting a project quote (via call or email).
- I will always respond to the prospective client via email with the quote attached to ensure details are not omitted or forgotten.
- Client phone calls to check a project’s status are usually discouraged due to loss of productivity answering phone calls. Emails are preferred, and can be responded to in specific blocks of time.
- During the course of a project, a client should expect to receive weekly status updates from me via email or text (I will utilize the preferred communication method you selected on your initial quote request form).
- Clients wishing to update details or requirements on their projects will need to email me in a timely manner to discuss these options and ideas.
- Clients wishing to speak with me regarding their project via phone, will need to request a time to do so by sending me an email so I can schedule a time on the calendar for the call.
- I will communicate all project details, information requests, status updates, and change order requests via email unless otherwise stated.
- A pre-payment of 50% of the total quote is due up-front on each project before any work can begin. Final payment request will be invoiced upon satisfactory completion and receipt by the client of all work listed in the project’s requirements document.