Ray DelVecchio's Blog, page 6

Is Money a Roadblock or Easy Excuse?

One of the questions I ask people is why you’ve decided not to join the Business Plan Membership that teaches you how to grow your web design freelancing income step-by-step with local clients.

I don’t expect my training to be right for everyone. Some people are looking for a new job, and that’s OK. Others are learning WordPress with no desire to freelance. Your honest feedback helps me direct my future energy.

However, the most common reason comes down to cash:

“Would love to join, but can’t afford it.”

“Don’t have money.”

“Sorry, I’m broke.”

“My financial situation.”

“Currently unemployed.”

Money can be a problem, but in my experience, it is often a convenient excuse for slow progress. It’s a red flag that you don’t have the real ambition to work for yourself.

Why?

1) I guarantee you are spending on wasteful items that don’t move your life forward.

Fast food, Netflix, clothing, beer, sports betting, video games, tech gadgets, etc.

2) The easiest way to accelerate your success is to put skin in the game.

You won’t feel pressured if you’re working aimlessly and inconsistently. And pressure makes diamonds.

A few examples of how this has pushed me:

I bought upgraded hosting to create unlimited websites BEFORE I had one client
I purchased a premium WordPress theme to master it & look more professional
I spent thousands of dollars on Google & Facebook ads to learn the system

When you pull out your wallet, you set your priorities. That marks the beginning of your journey. If you are building a business and you’re not willing to spend $1, it’s going to remain a hobby that fades in a few weeks.

Credit card debt is a good thing if you use it correctly to earn more in the future!

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Fast = Success

The biggest misconception I had to overcome was that business success required a brilliant mind.

What you need is a good idea with speed of action.

Focusing your effort inward on learning advanced code/design turns into time-wasting if you cannot find people who need your service.

My successful local clients fall into two categories:

1) Provide a time-consuming service and charge much more than competitors

2) Provide an intellectually simple service (i.e., construction) at a faster pace than competitors

I believe the 2nd category has a higher financial ceiling. Doing simple work means a well-defined process that becomes easy to repeat.

The real eye-opener for me is that NO ONE has it all put together.

Every single client I’ve worked with has some glaring weakness:

Doesn’t manage people well

Works crazy hours

Looking for “easy button” with marketing

Doesn’t have an interest in learning new things

Afraid to take basic risks

Inflated self-confidence

The common thread is they know their customers, have a sales pitch for their #1 service, and understand the urgency of getting new leads.

You can be successful beyond what you currently believe if you are moderately competent.

The sad reality is 99% of the population won’t attempt to take control of their income. I hope that isn’t you.

To freelance either locally or online, you must do these fundamentals well to convert your skills into real money.

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12 Best Web Designer Resources: Setup, Graphics, Code & Marketing

Here’s a look at the 12 BEST resources that will take you from a novice to an expert with web design + freelancing.

SETUP

HostGator – Register your domain name and create your web hosting account (watch tutorial)

Divi by Elegant Themes – Drag-and-drop visual website builder to design a professional layout on WordPress (watch tutorial)

Google Analytics – Track performance on your websites like the source of traffic, top pages, and conversions

Google Search Console – Track performance of your website within Google’s search index

GRAPHICS

Pexels – Free stock photos

Iconfinder – Free and paid icons

CODE

W3 Schools – Great reference to learn & lookup CSS properties to customize your web design

StackOverflow – Forum to find CSS fixes for when my code doesn’t work

WordPress Developer Reference – Customize a WordPress theme with PHP code and built-in functions

MARKETING

Mailchimp – Email marketing software to stay in touch with leads and customers

Search Engine Land – Industry blog that keeps you up to date on the inner workings of Google

WordStream – Helpful blog with how to create winning online advertising campaigns

15 Tools to Start Your Web Design Business

Your information will not be shared or sold, period.

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Watch This Video – It’s Harsh and True

I’ve gone back-and-forth on sending this YouTube video to you for a few months now. If you read my recent post on the power of note-taking, it’s listed on the picture of my whiteboard.

The guy’s name is Dan Peña. He’s brash, confrontational, and not remotely close to politically correct.

In almost every way, I am the polar opposite of him.

However, he knows how to make money, and you cannot deny it. His estimated net worth is $450 million.

Now that I’m running a course membership, the context of this video has never been more clear.

WATCH HERE → Why You’re Poor by Dan Peña (it’s less than 3 minutes)

He goes from 0 to 100 REAL quick. This is why you need to listen to his advice…

Success Can Be Simple (Which Doesn’t Mean EASY)

The first step to success is getting out of your head. Create a simple process and follow it. The sad thing is, the people who are the most intelligent are chronic overthinkers. I know, because I feel like the guy who Dan is speaking to in this clip.

A few people who have canceled the membership gave me feedback that they expected MORE content. I find it interesting that the same people left within a few days, proving they didn’t absorb ANY of the material.

Why do you need more? Why do you think it has to be complicated? These simple steps work.

Paying is Prioritizing

Since creating a web design freelancing course membership, I’ve had hundreds of sign-ups. The people who paid the least are the ones who quit first. The people who have paid the most haven’t given up. My longest-tenured members have been plugging away for years, the same way that I did.

I commend that type of long-term commitment because it’s the only way to get where you want to go.

Your Results Correlate to Your Effort

The member who I’ve interacted with the most recently (what’s up Jeremy) is DOING THE WORK! He’s following the system, asking questions on the community forum, and most importantly reaching out to business owners locally.

He has blown me away with his determination, and this was his message to me:

“I have taken a ton of action. Right now, I have 5 potential clients thinking about it. I am hoping to lock them in. Thank you again for creating this course and giving me direction, support, and resources to make this web business come alive!”

I hate to break this to you, but sometimes we need the harsh truth…

The only thing stopping you from getting to the next level is yourself.

Business Plan Membership

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How to Build the Lifestyle You Want (and Why I Started this Blog)

Back in 7th grade, I remember my science teacher who taught our class the importance of taking notes and reviewing them nightly.

When test time came, the proof was in the results – I knew the answer to every question.

Once we leave school, most people stop proactive learning. Of course, as an employee, you further your knowledge within a specific job.

But do you write down your own ideas?

How often do you write down what you want to accomplish and review your progress?

This habit is the #1 thing that has given me the confidence to push myself forward.

When it’s on paper, you can no longer forget. You can’t push it aside. It’s a great form of accountability.

EXAMPLES

1) Here is the brainstorm that led to writing my book, Create Your Freedom.

2) My current whiteboard with ideas for emails (that you’ll get soon)!

3) A notepad on my desk where I jot down random thoughts, that often make their way into a blog or video.

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If you are not doing this, I’ll all but guarantee you haven’t made significant progress towards creating the lifestyle you want. That requires a lot of thought, planning, testing, and adapting.

The REAL motivation for why I do this comes down to one simple reason.

When I turned 30, you could say I had a “quarter-life crisis” because I wasn’t close to the potential I knew I could reach. BTW, I plan on living to at least 120 years old

Do You Work on Weekends and Holidays?

Mornings have become sacred for me.

The funny thing was five years ago I HATED getting up early. From age 16-30, it was not uncommon for me to go to bed at 4 AM.

The short story on how I flipped that was I decided to start a backyard garden which required early work, and when sunset came around, I turned off all lights to restore my natural circadian rhythm.

There is no doubt in my mind that the driving force of going to bed late was due to spending absurd amount of time at night on my computer – especially when I was “all-in” learning web design and freelancing.

One outcome of this obsession is that I began to dislike the concept of holidays and weekends.

Extended time off like this is only necessary if you have a job that you don’t enjoy!

This past Labor Day weekend is a perfect example – I’ve worked Saturday, Sunday and today.

Just the other day, I answered a question from one of my members on the Monthly Q&A with Ray regarding time management tips for running your own business.

I’m no expert on the subject, but that has been a primary focus in the past 12 months, so I have plenty of thoughts and ideas that I’ve put to the test.

The biggest takeaways:

You have to use a calendar to manage your “to-do” list
My preference is to work 7 days a week, but fewer hours per day
My most productive hours are before 10 AM
During the afternoon, I always get the urge to go outside

Full days off break your momentum & stall positive habit creation

Long workdays burn you out before you create long-term progress

I know you are ready to make the transition into working from home. Once you make that decision, you must have the courage to stick with it.

The best way is to dedicate an hour each day pushing that ball forward.

Business Plan Membership

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Clients Always Ask About This Dishonest Strategy

When your client begins to see results with their website, that’s when they start to take the initiative and come up with ideas. All of my successful clients are Googling themselves often to see how their website appears in the search results. I had a conversation the other day on this topic because one client noticed an advertisement on the Google map listings.

I have to share a few patterns that I see with people unfamiliar with how Google operates.

What they think: The rankings they see look the same for everyone else.

Why it’s wrong: Google’s ranking algorithm takes into consideration likely hundreds, if not thousands of data points. The most obvious for local business is user location. They can determine that based on the network connection. Someone searching from 3 towns over is going to see different results than you.

What they ask: Can I create multiple Google accounts and give myself 5-star reviews?

Why it’s wrong: You’d be shocked how often clients want to game the system. Here’s the deal. Sometimes it works in the short-term, and then it’s a ticking time bomb. Attempting to outsmart Google is, well, not smart. Especially if they are a primary source of new leads, which it is for many local service businesses. The risk is not worth the reward vs. doing it the right way to stay long-term.

What they ask: Can I create multiple fake locations to get several map listings?

Why it’s wrong: Again, it sometimes alarms me when a client asks about shady tactics like this. They’ll use an employee’s address, or try a P.O. Box. The other side to multiple locations is that it will double your management work. The reviews and photos don’t duplicate across multiple listings, so you need to generate momentum for each of them to see traffic in the first place.

That’s why it’s essential to build a good relationship with your client. When you educate them, you can gently turn them down and explain the downside to ideas that aren’t worth exploring.

It’s always good to turn this around and give them suggestions for legitimate ways to:

Improve the website
Generate real reviews
Get immediate traffic with Google ads




15 Tools to Start Your Web Design Business

Your information will not be shared or sold, period.

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The Content You Consume Affects Your Mood & Behavior

I joined Twitter many years ago, and I mostly use it to follow sports.

It’s easily my #1 time-wasting activity. As I’ve previously mentioned, it’s impossible to avoid the emotionally charged political banter on the platform.

Most people think it’s good to stay informed on current events. Most people actively subject themselves to the 24-hour news cycle, and it eats away their life.

Then I found an article with staggering stats. Only 22% of American adults use Twitter. Of those, 80% of tweets come from 10% of “power users.” I briefly talked about the “80/20 Rule” in the article below, and this is one more clear example of it!

RELATED: The “80/20 Rule” Will Make or Break Your Business

Here’s the funny thing. On the days when I have a full schedule and avoid Twitter, I feel noticeably better at the end of the day. I feel like I accomplished something. And I never feel like my life is worse because I missed a few headlines.

When I actively engage in a conversation on politics, it’s in the back of my head all day. It clouds clear thinking.

The irony is I barely care about political issues. It’s pure emotion taking over. Sure, maybe my head is in the sand. But the reality is that if you spend hundreds of hours keeping in the loop, your “output” is still one vote (unless you plan on becoming a politician).

Is that the best use of your time?

I have to remind myself daily:

The vast majority of people are content consumers, NOT content producers
The content you consume affects your rate of production
People waste stupid amounts of time reading news stories that don’t push their goals forward
When you stick within your professional subject area, you’re much better off

The contrast comes when I’m listening to podcasts or watching videos that push me to become a better person.

Changing yourself is HARD work. It’s a lot harder than shouting at someone else to change.

I’d challenge you to take an “inventory” on how you spend your time. If it doesn’t directly contribute to reaching a higher level of personal success, consider cutting back. If it makes you angry, eliminate it.

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A Message to Haters (Hopefully NOT You!)

A huge part of why people don’t attempt to freelance or build a business comes back to one thing…

FEAR.

What do you fear? I’ll tell you (because I feel it) – rejection, looking stupid, not being good enough, failing, getting called out as a fraud, etc.

Here’s the truth of what I’ve experienced as a YouTube creator with 500,000+ video views and a website with close to 60,000 visits.

Most people are genuinely grateful when you put yourself out there. If I had to guess, less than 2% of the feedback is negative.

Still, you can have 98/100 people praise you, and your mind will fixate on the two who have bad things to say. Isn’t being human fantastic?!

The consistent thread of online haters is they have NO CONCEPT of what it takes behind-the-scenes to make things work.

Let’s list some of the things I’ve done to get to this point:

Easily log 1,000+ hours building my platform before I had consistent income

Write and publish a book, with zero outside help

Create 98 blog posts

Create 75 FREE video tutorials

Create a step-by-step course sharing how I’ve made money freelancing

Create several email automation campaigns

Went into credit card debt & cut unnecessary expenses

Answer 95% of emails & comments (no longer sustainable)

My experience gives me the perspective that all hate is people projecting their self-thoughts. Haters are unhappy with their own life and see you taking action as they lurk to put you down.

Nowadays, with politics, there is an absurd mindset that all successful people achieve it through inheritance or evil methods.

Of course, there are examples of this, but they are the exception, not the rule.

You can build your life and business the way you want, according to your morals. It’s never been easier (which is not to say it’s EASY) with the internet, because you have access to every tool you could need, and you can find the right people to model.

That’s the core reason I ventured into an online business – to pass on what I’ve learned through local client work and reach a broader global audience.

So to my haters, who are unlikely to get this far anyway, I’ll leave you with this:

Stop thinking the world revolves around you. Don’t waste time being angry. Stop wishing things were different. Opportunities will not magically come your way. Stop playing the victim.

Figure out what you want, create that vision, and go after it relentlessly. Ignore the noise, don’t add to it.

15 Tools to Start Your Web Design Business

Your information will not be shared or sold, period.

The post A Message to Haters (Hopefully NOT You!) appeared first on Website Profit Course.

Web Design Bulletin: The Power of Code & Google, Customer-Focused Portfolio, a Weird Way I Found Leads

Cool Tool, Service or Resource

Google Apps Script – https://developers.google.com/apps-script/

Did you know that you can write code (Javascript) to automate between Google’s services?

I learned the basics of Google Apps Script a few years ago, and that knowledge has been dormant until recently when I had an idea for a project – a Time Tracker app that works between Google Sheets, Google Calendar, and Gmail.

The idea:

You fill your schedule on Google Calendar

Divide your tasks into three categories (i.e., freelancing, blogging, reading, etc.)

The totals automatically import to a Google Sheet weekly

You get a monthly email report

View the chart and objectively analyze progress towards your goals




Web Design Example

Full Sail Marketing – https://fullsailmarketing.com/

If you want a perfect example of a portfolio, look no further. Here’s the thing, I believe a portfolio is OVERRATED to start freelancing. Put something simple out there and directly seek out your first client(s).

Then once you gain experience, you realize what matters to clients. And it’s not your superior skills!

Take a look at the copywriting.

First, what’s missing? There is NO reference to WordPress, HTML, or any other tech. Clients don’t understand that language that reads like a resume.

Clients want results. So use results-oriented language, specific to their industry. Examples from the website above include:

Ready to grow your contracting business?

Invest in your #1 sales tool (aka a website)

You shouldn’t lose a job because of your website.

Your website is your contracting company’s marketing hub

Their strategy aligns with the advice I regularly give you about freelancing:

Pick a niche and specialize

Be personal and build trust

Get recurring revenue (they charge $100/mo maintenance fee)

What about their setup prices?

1-Page Site: $2,497
7-Page Site: $5,997
12-Page Site: $9,997

You probably are thinking, NO WAY someone would pay that, and you’re wrong.

I genuinely believe the most significant struggle people have to overcome to build a business is their thought process on money – both how to make it and how to spend it.

How to Find Clients

Are you ready for a crazy story?

I have a long-term plan to make money, which includes real estate. I don’t have enough cash to buy new properties anytime soon. But that doesn’t stop me from learning and browsing.

One weird thing I like to do is hear from subscribers like you around the world, then check out your city on Google Maps. It gives me a slice of life from hundreds or thousands of miles away.

If the town looks interesting, I’ll hop over to Zillow and see what the prices are across the U.S., compared to my local market in Southern New Jersey. Then I’ll sort by price to get a peek at the most expensive ones.

The other day I was looking at one such house and spotted something.

So now I’m thinking, I bet this “Who’s Who” magazine will tell me the homeowner’s occupation.

It’s published by an organization called The Blue Book Building & Construction Network.

My guess is this guy owns a construction business or is an executive at a commercial construction company.

On Blue Book’s website, you can search their directory for members. Boom, there is a curated lead list for YOU.

For example, here’s a link searching for San Diego, CA:

Roofing Contractors servicing San Diego and Imperial Counties – 151 Companies Found

There are an endless number of ways you can find good sources of potential clients.

Get creative, and you will get rewarded.

15 Tools to Start Your Web Design Business

Your information will not be shared or sold, period.

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