$5000 Web Design Projects in 3 Months - Hope’s Story
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Ever wondered when’s the right time to up your web design prices?
Well this fab designer upped her prices to $5K after completing just a few websites!
It all began when Hope decided to start her own marketing consulting business.
After noticing a need for a websites among her clients, she decided to seize the opportunity and added web design to her list of services for 2024.
Seven months later, she’s here to tell us about how she booked a project for every month since then!
Today, we’re chatting about:
How Hope niched to serve her community.
Why Squarespace turned out to be the best fit for her clients after all.
How she uses templates to trim down her project turnaround time by 2 weeks!
Exactly how she raised her prices so early on & booked $5K projects after just 3 months!
Let’s get into it!
Hope, what made you decide to become a website designer?
Before starting web design, I was actually doing marketing consulting, which I started in March 2020. Back then I left my corporate job as a communications director because I wanted to prepare for what I call the “second half of life”.
I craved freedom and flexibility, so I thought, why not start my own business?
For some background, I'm actually a licensed clinical social worker, but at the beginning, I intentionally decided not to market to my social work profession because I needed a break.
It’s a heavy profession, and I was ready to work with people in other industries.
Having been in marketing for a long time, I had a natural audience of business professionals.
So I made one Facebook post on my personal page, tagged my business page, and suddenly, contacts were reaching out to me. It was wonderful.
But while working on their social media strategies, I realized something…
Every client who came to me either had no branding or needed a website update, and I was essentially giving away something valuable by not offering website services myself.
After a few years of this, I decided I needed to focus on offering websites. I had experience with WordPress from my previous job, but I found it too complex for my small business clients. I knew I needed to explore Squarespace, and that’s what I decided to focus on starting in 2024.
Tell me more about your decision to use Squarespace. Was it a good solution for your clients?
One thing I quickly realized is that my clients don't care what platform I use—they just want a website that works.
In my earlier jobs, when we needed a new website, we’d hire an agency without worrying about what platform they were using. We just trusted them to deliver.
I had heard the myth that Squarespace isn’t good for SEO, and that’s why I hesitated initially. But I educated myself and learned that any website can have bad SEO if not done properly.
On the flip side, with good SEO practices, your website can perform well, no matter the platform.
So, I spend a lot of time educating and coaching my clients on the importance of marketing their website and implementing good SEO strategies.
Tell me about offering your first web design project. How did you get your first client?
I needed to build my own website first, so I spent three weeks building it in Squarespace and launched it in December.
Check out Hope’s website here! 😍
I announced ahead of time that website design services were coming soon to prepare my audience. I set a goal to start in January 2024 and booked my first client that same month.
As I said, I initially resisted marketing to social workers back in 2020 even though they were my natural audience, because I wanted a break. But social workers kept reaching out to me, so in 2023, I decided to re-engage with my profession.
I started a Facebook group specifically for social workers in business and marketing, which helped me build an audience.
I spoke at the National Association of Social Workers state conference, where I formally introduced myself in this new role. That, along with the Facebook group, allowed me to rebrand myself, and once I announced that I was offering website design, the inquiries just started flowing in. Most of these clients were therapists who wanted to uplevel their websites.
Tell me about the process of learning to design websites. Do you think it's possible for the average person to learn how to build websites these days?
I wasn’t worried about being able to build a website on Squarespace specifically.
I knew it would be a learning curve, but I had transferable skills from working on WordPress, Wix, and other platforms. Every platform is different, but they all have similar features.
The Square Secrets Business course I took was incredibly helpful because it laid out the entire process, from building a website in two weeks to launching it. That quick turnaround is exactly what I love—helping people get things done efficiently.
Here’s a peek at two homepages from websites Hope designed these past months!👇
How exactly did those people find you and decide to book you for website projects?
Most of my clients were social workers I knew in real life. They already had websites but weren’t happy with them. When they found out I was offering website design, they wanted me to help them.
When I announced my services, I offered special pricing for the first three clients—75% off for the first one, 50% off for the next two. This helped me get started without offering free work, and since then, I’ve been charging full price, and I’ve even raised my rates.
Psst…Still trying to lock in your first clients? I’ve got something for you! 👇
What does a client typically spend with you these days?
I offer two main packages:
a custom design from scratch, which is $5,000, and a tailored design using premium templates, which starts at $2,500.
The custom design takes more time, hence the higher price. I help with content curation, and for the custom sites, I also provide additional pages and features.
Clients love the tailored design option because they can see a preview of what their website will look like before we start. This option is half the price of a custom design, and it’s still completely tailored to them.
You also have strong opinions on the niche vs. no niche debate. Can you share your experience?
When I first started, I didn’t niche down. I worked with anyone who came to me because I wanted to help everyone, and as a new business owner, I feared not getting enough referrals if I hyper-focused on a niche.
But when I decided to focus on website design, I naturally niched down to work with professionals. Once I did that, everything became clearer—my website, my social media, my messaging. It made it easier for people to choose me.
I started to re-engage with my social work community in 2023, and it just took off. I created a Facebook group, started speaking at events, and it gained traction.
Niching down really does work, and I encourage others to try it, even if you only dedicate a portion of your marketing to it at first.
You started with marketing services and then added website design. Can you describe your marketing offer and how it relates to the website projects?
Initially, I offered marketing consulting and strategy, but I’ve since streamlined it to focus on marketing coaching sessions. These sessions are on-demand, where clients can book time with me to work on specific aspects of their marketing.
Some clients come to me for marketing coaching first, which then leads to website design. Others start with a website project and then move on to marketing coaching. The two services complement each other well.
How do you market your services? What strategies have you chosen?
I focus mainly on my Facebook business page and the groups I’m in. Instagram is too much work for me, so I deleted my business page there.
My marketing also includes blogging and a monthly newsletter.
I always encourage my clients to have a website, online business listings, and an email marketing system. I also stress the importance of adding new content to their websites, such as blog posts, to keep things fresh and engaging.
I believe in organic growth—answering questions in Facebook groups, writing blog posts, and sending out newsletters based on what clients are asking.
When I get inquiries from people who find me through Google searches, I always ask them what keywords they used to find me because that helps me refine my SEO.
Psst…still figuring out the ideal marketing strategy for your business? I’ve got you covered! go take my free quiz to find out the what strategy fits your personality best!
Would you say enrolling in the Square Secrets Business™ course was worth it?
Absolutely. It’s well worth it, especially if you don’t want to spend years figuring everything out on your own.
At some point, you can’t do everything and learn everything on your own, and investing in a course is an investment in yourself.
The course gave me a whole business model in a box.
It covers everything from discovery calls to content guides to timelines and email follow-ups. You can take what you learn, personalize it, and make it your own.
The ongoing support through the student Facebook group and the monthly Q&A sessions has been invaluable. It’s like having business buddies, and it’s so important, especially when you’re working alone and need that community support.
I hope Hope's story gives you a bit of inspiration and confidence that you can do this too.
Now, Hope obviously knows her stuff about marketing, but do you have a marketing strategy yet?
If not, I’d love to invite you to something special:
In October 2024, I’ll host the Profitable and Productive Website Bootcamp live just once or twice a year, and it’s coming up very soon.
This three-day event is perfect for laying the foundations of your web design business and connecting with your new business friends.
Now, bootcamp is not quite open for enrollment just yet but be sure to put your name on the pre-sign-up list so you’ll be the first to know when enrollment begins!
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