The Unofficial Squarespace Entrerpeneur Podcast - SQSP Themes: Recent Episodes
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Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode of the Unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast, I’m joined by Paige Brunton, a seasoned web designer and course creator. Paige shares her journey from starting as a freelance web designer to building her thriving online course business, Square Secrets. With over seven years of experience, Paige talks about scaling her business, the challenges of running courses, and the keys to success in the web design space. We discuss the power of niching down, how determination can set you apart, and actionable insights for those looking to launch their own courses or grow a web design business.
Click here to sign up for Profitable & Productive Web Design Bootcamp
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode, Omari dives deep into Human Design with guest Alex Mufson, exploring how understanding your personality type, strategy, and authority can transform the way you approach business and life. Omari, a Generator, discusses how aligning with his inner authority has shaped his entrepreneurial journey, while Alex explains the essential role of strategy and authority in making aligned decisions. They explore the dynamic interplay between Generators and Projectors in collaborative environments and the importance of recognizing your unique design for long-term success. Whether you're familiar with Human Design or new to the concept, this conversation offers valuable insights on building a business that's both fulfilling and aligned with your core energy.
Get your chart here: https://revhumandesign.com/human-design-chart
Learn more here: https://revhumandesign.com/
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode of the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast, host Omari Harebin discusses the recent news of Squarespace's $7 billion private equity acquisition. As a solopreneur whose business is closely tied to the Squarespace ecosystem, Omari shares his perspective on what this transition could mean for entrepreneurs and the potential for growth and innovation within the platform.
Show Notes: 00:00 - Introduction and overview of the episode
01:15 - Squarespace's journey: from going public to being acquired privately
02:30 - Benefits of Squarespace's public era: transparency and collaboration
03:45 - Potential advantages of Squarespace going private
04:30 - The growing importance of online ventures and e-commerce
06:00 - Comparing Squarespace to competitors and the significance of app ecosystems
07:15 - Opportunities for growth within Squarespace's ecosystem
08:00 - The potential of a more open technical model (APIs, extensions, developer platform) 09:30 - Mirroring Squarespace's growth as a solopreneur
10:45 - Broadening the perspective: Squarespace as a tool for storytelling, business, community, and relationships
11:30 - Wrap-up and preview of upcoming episodes in the new season
TranscriptWelcome back to the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast. My name is Omari Haribin. This show is all about building a business on Squarespace, especially businesses that serve Squarespace users.
This week, big news: Squarespace is being acquired in a private $7 billion private equity deal. I wanted to talk about it briefly from the perspective of a solopreneur within the Squarespace ecosystem and what this could mean for us.
Two years ago, when Squarespace announced they were going public in a direct listing, I was excited to be able to invest in the company and own shares. Going public brought more transparency in terms of what Squarespace was working on and their roadmap. The Circle community and leadership have done a great job cultivating the Circle perspective.
Now with Squarespace going private again, I think there will be some good benefits. While there won't be public financial disclosures, I anticipate a lot of growth in areas we may not have seen until now. Commerce has been a significant part of the product's growth over the past 4-5 years and I don't see that slowing down.
In the future, having an online venture will become the norm rather than the outlier it was 10-20 years ago. Selling online seems simple on the surface but gets complex with all the nuances and ways to sell. That's why there are so many companies in this space.
One of Squarespace's larger competitors attributed their growth to their app ecosystem, which allowed them to prioritize core functionality while the ecosystem filled gaps and long-tail use cases. I've always seen that as an opportunity for Squarespace's ecosystem too.
If Squarespace adapts a more open model on the tech side, such as with APIs, extensions, and the developer platform, I think the ecosystems that have been brewing for the past decade can really blossom and drive a lot of growth. There's potential with becoming more open on the technical side.
As someone whose business has mirrored Squarespace's growth, I know these macro conversations are important. While we can saturate Squarespace's addressable market, what if we also bring people into a world where Squarespace is just one of the tools, not the constraint. For me, Squarespace has always been a tool for storytelling, business, community and relationships.
Stay tuned for our next episode coming soon as we enter a new season with several shows lined up. See you in the next show!
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Dive into the world of web accessibility with Andrea Sherry, Squarespace design expert and founder of One Nine Designs.
In this enlightening conversation, you'll learn:
- The importance of designing for all users, including those with disabilities
- Tips and tricks for ensuring your Squarespace website is accessible
- Andrea's journey to achieving her Certified Professional in Web Accessibility (CPWA) designation
- How a personal commitment to accessibility led to creating valuable resources for designers
- The common pitfalls many websites face and how to audit your site for compliance
Andrea also shares practical information and tools to help you get started on making your own sites more inclusive, such as:
- The "Access for All" essential course, designed to demystify the process and provide straightforward, actionable steps (https://www.oneninedesign.net/course). Save $50 off the course with promo code OMARI24.
- A Chrome Extension for automated testing – axe DevTools with a helpful tutorial narrated by Andrea herself (https://youtu.be/LBE7wKa6q4M) and additional resources at Deque University (https://dequeuniversity.com/).
Whether you're a Squarespace user, web designer, or business owner, this episode empowers you with the knowledge to build more accessible websites and broaden your reach. Tune in now and start bridging the accessibility gap, one click at a time.
For more read: Best Squarespace Accessibility Plugins
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Listen in as Omari sits down with "SQSP Queen" Katy Carlisle to discuss:
- How a random moment of inspiration led Katy to embrace Squarespace fully and coin her own royal moniker.
- The story behind Community Box - how Katy and her husband built a much-needed directory tool from scratch and finally found traction through a surprise source.
- Katy's passion for empowering nervous clients and making websites approachable, stemming from early days of imposter syndrome.
- Why limitations breed creativity in the Squarespace community, allowing helper tools to thrive alongside official features.
- Katy’s vision to better showcase Community Box users and their nonprofit/charitable projects to the world.
Show Links
SQSPQueen.com
Community Box
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts - Learn how Chelsea went from selling resume templates on Etsy to becoming thriving a Squarespace template designer
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Discover why Chelsea's first template shop crashed and burned in 2018 and how she learned from failure
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Pick up Chelsea's hard-won tips for smart template design targeting niche audiences
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Listen in on a thought-provoking discussion between Chelsea and Omari on market saturation in the template space
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Glimpse the shifting priorities in Chelsea's business after having her first baby
Show Links
- 23and9 Creative: Chelsea's Squarespace template shop
- The Template Factory: Chelsea's course on selling templates
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Try Folyo Free Here * Rob Williams shares how his need for a lead-generation service as a freelancer morphed into the creation of Folyo, a lead gen service for agency owners. * Find out how Folyo started as a $39-a-month newsletter format, supplying freelancers with hand-picked, quality leads, evolving over time to cater to agencies with larger project scopes. * Understand why Rob believes being proactive in finding leads is critical and the benefits of targeting 'warm' leads over 'cold' leads or random contacts. * Learn why Rob pushes new freelancers towards learning lead-generation skills before subscribing to any lead list services, emphasizing the strategic aspects of sales. * Discover how Rob's endless clients course provides a blueprint for freelancers seeking sustainable lead sourcing, from creating RSS feeds to drafting compelling proposal templates. * Rob discusses the critical shift from focusing on personal qualifications in an email to centering on the client's needs and problems for better engagement and response rates. * Gain insight into how parenthood shifted Rob's work balance, streamlining his business to be lean and efficient, and the profound impact of fatherhood on his professional life. * Rob reveals why giving value first in his email marketing has been a cornerstone principle for Folyo, fostering trust and long-term customer relationships.
Try Folyo Here
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts - Discover how Kelsey Gilbert-Kreling evolved from fashion design to co-founding a pioneering Squarespace design agency, and how motherhood reshaped her role in the business.
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Learn about the conception and collaborative creation of "Sign Up to Launch," the first book about Squarespace 7.1 and Fluid Engine, and its companion course "Better Than Launched."
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Kelsey reveals how "Week of the Website" transitioned from a simple service to a robust agency offering, and how they refined their processes to manage client expectations effectively.
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Hear Kelsey's candid story on navigating the turbulent waters of entrepreneurship while becoming a new mother and the transformative effects it had on her business.
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Gain insights into the maturing Squarespace community, the importance of collaboration, and how connecting with others can amplify individual success.
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We discuss the mental shifts required for success, the balance between conviction and openness, and insights on promoting one’s work confidently.
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Dive into the realities of entrepreneurship, the Squarespace platform, and the power of resilience and community.
Contact KelseyLearn more about Kelsey here: bykelseygk.com
Book: bykelseygk.com/book
Course: course.betterthanlaunched.com
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode Omari Harebin sits down with Christy Price, a Squarespace web designer, expert and authorized trainer, to discuss the concept of passive income and what it looks like for her. They delve into the importance of building multiple income streams and how to navigate the world of affiliate marketing. Christy shares her personal experience with affiliate income and how it has become a safety net during unexpected life events. They also touch on the value of collaboration within the Squarespace community and the power of problem-solving and sharing knowledge. Join Omari and Christy as they explore the world of “timeless income” and provide valuable insights for designers and developers looking to build their businesses on Squarespace.
Visit ChristyPrice.com to learn more
Get on the SQSP GURU email list here: SQSP.guru
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode Omari and Will dive into the topic of AI and its impact on web designers. They discuss their personal experiences with AI tools like chat GPT and mid-journey, and how these tools can be used as starting points for designers to add their own expertise and creativity. They also explore the role of conflict in client relationships and the importance of honesty and transparency in business. Tune in for an insightful and thought-provoking conversation on the future of web design and the power of human connection in a rapidly changing technological landscape.
Learn more at Will-Myers.com
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode, Sam shares the biggest shift in perspective that has led to success in his Squarespace business.
- Discover Sam's path from repeatedly failing to meet his goals to fundamentally altering his habits and identity to align with his business ambitions.
- Learn about the Six Figure Design Club's beta to launch journey and the impressive results reported by its students, which demonstrate the course's life-altering potential.
- Uncover Sam's unique method of course creation that involved compensating potential clients for their feedback to ensure his content matched real-world needs.
- Explore the significance of direct client communication in business growth, as discussed by Sam and Omari, and how these relationships can lead to boundless opportunities.
- Sam debunks common misconceptions about the Squarespace design market, revealing an endless demand ripe for seizing by designers.
- Podcast listeners are treated to an attractive offer to sample the Six Figure Design Club's initial module for free, coupled with a bonus personal coaching session from Omari.
Links and Resources:
Use OMARI10 to save 10% on Six Figure Design SixFigureDesign.club
and email me omari[at]sqspthemes.com for your free coaching session.
Get on the SQSP GURU email list here: SQSP.guru
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Join us as we dive into the world of SEO and e-commerce with expert coach Edward Baker. We discuss the fundamentals of SEO, the impact of AI and generative search, and the importance of entity-based optimization. Edward shares insights on leveraging the power of platforms like Squarespace for e-commerce success and dispels common misconceptions about selling online. We also explore the future of SEO and personal branding, as well as practical advice for entrepreneurs looking to thrive in the digital landscape.
Bonus Content Links and Resources:
edwardabaker.com
redcarpetrunner.com
Squarespace SEO masterclass by Edward Baker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOTapC94Su0
Google Natural Language Processing (NLP) API: https://cloud.google.com/natural-language#
Google Vision API: https://console.cloud.google.com/vision/dashboard
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode of the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast, Omari Harebin interviews Muhammad, the founder of Squarespace Starter, a platform designed to help beginners navigate the world of Squarespace. They discuss Muhammad's journey from starting as a web designer to building a team and creating a platform that fills a gap in the Squarespace community. Listen in to learn about the inspiration behind Squarespace Starter, the challenges of managing a growing business, and the importance of building a strong team.
Show Notes:
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Introduction to Muhammad and Squarespace Starter [00:00]
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Muhammad's journey with web design and Squarespace [01:20]
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The inspiration behind Squarespace Starter [02:30]
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Managing the different aspects of the platform [04:00]
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The vision for Squarespace Starter as a user-based platform [05:30]
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Comparing the Squarespace and WordPress communities [07:00]
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Muhammad's entrepreneurial journey and building a team [08:30]
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The importance of research and connecting with like-minded people [10:30]
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Upcoming courses and tutorials on Squarespace Starter [11:45]
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Advice for listeners looking to fill a gap in the market [13:00]
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Building a team and finding the right people [14:30]
Links and Resources:
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Squarespace Starter: https://www.sqspstarter.com/
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WP Beginner: https://www.wpbeginner.com/
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SendOwl: https://www.sendowl.com/
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ThriveCart: https://thrivecart.com/
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode of the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast, we sit down with Travis Vance, a former Squarespace employee turned independent web designer. Travis shares his journey from working in various roles at Squarespace to starting his own web design business, Coyote Moon Creative. We discuss the importance of building strong customer relationships, the value of partnerships, and the lessons learned from working at Squarespace that have helped shape his approach to his own business.
Show Notes:
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Introduction to Travis Vance and his background at Squarespace (00:00)
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How Travis got started with Squarespace and his various roles within the company (02:15)
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Transitioning to starting his own web design business, Coyote Moon Creative (07:30)
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Misconceptions about Squarespace Circle and the importance of community (11:00)
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Building customer success teams and the value of going above and beyond for clients (15:30)
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The importance of partnerships and acquisitions in growing a business (21:00)
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Comparing life as a Squarespace employee to running his own business (26:00)
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The importance of long-term client relationships and evolving business models (31:00)
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Final thoughts and the value of empathy in business (36:00)
Connect with Travis Vance and Coyote Moon Creative:
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Website: https://www.coyotemooncreative.com/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-vance-7792243a/
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode of the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast, we sit down with Dave Hawkins, a Squarespace certified expert, authorized trainer, and Circle member from the UK. With over 300 sites built and 10,000 Squarespace hours under his belt, Dave shares his journey from a side hustle to a full-time web design business. We discuss the importance of helping others, seeking help, prioritizing time, having fun, and dreaming big in the world of Squarespace web design.
Show Notes:
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Introduction to Dave Hawkins and his journey with Squarespace web design (00:00)
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How Dave got started with Squarespace and built his first website (02:30)
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Transitioning from a side hustle to a full-time business (05:20)
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The entrepreneurial culture in the UK and the impact of the pandemic (08:10)
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Challenges faced when transitioning to a full-time business (10:30)
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The importance of being responsive and managing leads (13:40)
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Organic growth and word-of-mouth marketing (17:00)
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Working with a team of freelancers and managing projects (19:30)
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The five key lessons from Dave's journey: help others, seek help, prioritize time, have fun, and dream big (22:00)
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Final thoughts and advice for aspiring Squarespace entrepreneurs (25:20)
Connect with Dave Hawkins:
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Website: https://madebydave.org/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davejhawkins/
If you enjoyed this episode, please consider leaving a review and subscribing to the podcast for more insights and stories from Squarespace entrepreneurs.
Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode, Wayne Pelletier of Resonant Pixel, unpacks his solo business model as an example of what's possible when you lean into your own resonant vibe.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Join us as we unravel the mental model of engineering serendipity online, equipping ourselves with the tools and mindset to build a meaningful presence on the internet. Whether you're a content creator, an entrepreneur, or someone looking to enhance your online presence, this episode offers practical guidance and inspiration to navigate the digital landscape with intention and purpose.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Yesterday, I sat down with UK Squarespace web designer, Sam Crawford to talk about his course Six Figure Squarespace, demystifying the path, while dropping a little esoteric wisdom in the mix.
https://www.sixfiguresquare.space
https://bycrawford.com
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Learn more about Circle: https://www.squarespace.com/circle
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode, we discuss Cav's most recent project, "Black Cottonwood," why it's not available on streaming platforms, his experience with Squarespace as an e-commerce platform, and the value of music as a "digital product" in 2023.
Cavwins.com
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Since 2014, David has been helping clients get more traffic on their Squarespace website search engine optimization. He's a Squarespace Authorized Trainer, and his agency is consistently rated on the top 10 for Squarespace experts.
launchhappy.co
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Meet Henry Purchase, 5+ years of SEO and Content marketing experience across SaaS, fitness, ecom and defence.
https://www.roughwatermedia.com/
https://www.roughwatermedia.com/squarespace-seo-plugin - SEO Plugin
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs9faCvwvBX-K4j66h52Jkg - YouTube channel
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts MEET YOUR COO provides operations strategy, workflow automation, systems design, and team-building support, to solopreneurs who offer products and services benefiting communities of color.
https://www.meetyourcoo.com/
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Meet Chris Singleton, the Director of London-based Style Factory. Chris has advised many businesses and not-for-profit organisations on how to grow their operations via a strong online presence. Now,
he shares his experience and expertise through his articles on the Style Factory website. Chris is also the author of “Super Simple SEO”, a guide to search engine optimization for beginners. https://www.stylefactoryproductions.com/
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Meet Krishna Solanki, founder and creative director at Krishna Solanki Designs (KSD), based in Cambridge. KSD is an award-winning brand and Squarespace website design agency renowned for their experience, creativity, well-defined processes and confident approach.
https://www.krishnasolankidesigns.com/
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts In this episode, we discuss why conversations are the gateway to better content.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Meet Squarespace Expert, Authorized Trainer, and founder of Nerdville, and learn how she turns adhd into a superpower
https://www.jenmaher.expert
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Endless Clients
Squarespace Marketplace
Squarespace Freelance jobs on Upwork
Agency Leads Pro
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Earlier today I had Melissa Rae, a former therapist turned web designer, on the podcast. We talked about empathy in design, Standout Squarespace, monetizing free templates, and navigating the liminal space as a solopreneur.
MelissaRae.Studio
Standout Squarespace Course
Free Squarespace Trial
Squarespace Templates for Therapists
More Squarespace Templates
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Today we’re discussing the implications of Squarespace’s latest release, Fluid Engine. Check out the demo below to see how it works.
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Try Spark and add 100+ customizations to your Squarespace site: https://www.sparkplugin.com/
In this episode, Rasmus and I discuss his early entrepreneurial grind, failure as a path to success, getting out of his comfort zone, and what led him to found the Spark Plugin. Enjoy!
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts We're now in the era where Squarespace businesses are being sold and acquired.
Here's my story of building a selling a Squarespace extension. How I validated the idea, how much it cost to build, and why I sold it.
https://omariharebin.com/journal/building-my-first-saas-product
https://omariharebin.com/upwork
https://microacquire.com/
Where to buy and sell internet businesses: https://youtu.be/u3Ce9LjasgI
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts Caught up with SquareKicker founder’s, Nick and Hannah Ippolito to learn how they've grown their business and the insights they've gained along the way.
Timestamps
1:54 Intro to Squarekicker and how it came about
3:52 How Nick got into Squarespace web design
7:40 Hannah's journey into web design from fashion
10:48 What it was like birthing a business in 2020
14:12 How long it took to go from the SquareKicker's beta to live
19:35 How they figured out pricing a Saas product
24:20 What it's like working as a husband and wife team
27:30 What I'm most excited about in the Squarespace ecosystem
29:11 One word that sums up my entrepreneurial journey
31:00 What's on the Squarekicker roadmap going forward
Try Squarekicker free for 14 days
Listen on Spotify | Listen on Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts I sat down with Will to learn more about how he got into creating tutorials and plugins and we ended up talking about the game of business, the one essential CSS skill you should know, and somewhere along the way, I got to talking about David and Goliath haha.
Learn more about Will’s Squarespace offerings at Will-Myers.com
Learn how Ben Manley of Knapsack Creative spun off StorySite, a StoryBrand-ready website template shop.
Listen on Spotify
Listen on Apple Music
Transcript by Rev.com
Omari:
All right. So I'm here with Ben of knapsack creative. And this is actually our very first conversation. So you're gonna, you know, jump in with us and, and get to know a lot about knapsack creative. I want to talk to you Ben, a lot about story site. That's really what got my attention. Because I've been, I've been a fan of the StoryBrand framework and approach for some time and I've always had like a dream that there should be some, some Squarespace template that is specifically crafted to, to kind of capture what story brand does. And so when I found a story site, I was like, oh wow, this is, this is it, it's done it. And so it's always like really fun and exciting for me when I get to talk with the people who have like, created things that I've I've once jumped about or thought about. So very excited to have you on Ben. If you don't mind just sharing a little bit about, you know, who you are and what you do.
Ben: (01:10)
Sure. Yeah. I mean, thanks for having me and I just, before I even answer that, I just want to say thanks for all the tools you put out there. I mean, just as a quick example, Lightbox, anything is amazing and we use our team uses that a lot, so yeah. I really appreciate all the stuff you were putting out there. Cool. Thanks. Yeah. And yeah, I guess a little bit about me and knapsack. So yeah I guess, you know, I've been a designer pretty much. My whole life kind of started even as a kid just doing design for different companies or organizations around town. I just loved it so much. And eventually that grew into me, you know doing design for other people and other agencies and stuff like that. Even at, you know, a large university kind of having a team and stuff like that, but eventually I kind of felt like this push that I really wanted to be able to choose my own tools and wanted to kind of have more control over the process and make things super efficient.
Ben: (02:06)
And so, you know, kind of working in my university job alongside doing my freelance work when I had young kids, it got to the point where, you know, for me, I try to keep my, my I guess my work hours to a minimum, if I can. So I was working about 60 hours a week then, you know, 20 hours and freelance 40 hours at work. And I was like, you know, I, I kind of have to choose one or the other. And I was making the same income with both at that point it's I was like, well kind of makes sense to work the 20 hours and make the same as the 40 hours. So I kind of did like a three month test, you know, to kind of see if I could switch over to that and kind of did that test and then passed. And so I went with it.
Omari: (02:50)
Wow. So it sounds like you've been, you've been making websites for a while, man, like from the sounds like maybe the nineties, how far did we go back? Yeah.
Ben: (02:58)
That's a good question. So I guess technically, yeah, because let's see, I was born in 86, probably around when I was nine. So 95, I think I learned my first age HTML, which is, think about my dad had this black and white laptop that he brought home from his engineering job and I just got to play around with it. He brought some book home, you know, HTML for dummies or something like that. So yeah, it's, it's been fun and yeah, just connecting with Squarespace eventually discovering that was super helpful. We were fortunate to be one of the first like probably like gosh, like three or four people in that original specialist list back when it was just a bullet list on a webpage, but yeah.
Omari: (03:41)
Cool. Yeah. All right. That makes sense. Because I'm like, I've, I've seen, I've seen knapsack creative. It's like somewhere in my subconscious somewhere, but you know, it does, it does go back to that that specialist directory, the OJ one. So yeah fill me in, on, on like story site and how that came to be. And, and the whole concept behind that. Sure.
Ben: (04:05)
Yeah. So just in relation to knapsack, so you can understand that for P-level window, a knapsack, has we basically, we have a team of five of us now and we're solely, you know, building websites on Squarespace. That's our, that's our main business. And so I kind of, you know, we're building the Squarespace sites and we have a great process we really enjoy doing and our clients enjoy it, but I was kind of noticing some weaknesses because we focus mostly on design. So we keep seeing, you know, people bring us their content or their texts, and we do some little tweaks to it here and there to make it a little better, but I'm still like, man, the weakest point of the sites we're building really is the content and that's super important. And you know, it's just as important as the design.
Ben: (04:48)
So I was like, we need to fix this. And I had heard from a friend about a story ran at one point. So I started looking into it, decided to get certified in the framework, there's their whole guide certification program. And basically for anybody who doesn't know, it's like a, a marketing framework that's, you know, pretty cool in that it's systemized. I love systems. I love, you know, stuff like that. So kind of reading, building a StoryBrand the book got into it, and then I ended up getting certified. And so it's kind of one of those things where you kind of see a a problem in the market and you just know you're in the right place to solve it. You know, you see like to retrain problem, basically people are building websites over and over following what StoryBrand is a very I guess, somewhat formulaic approach to how you play out a homepage, for example based on recommendations from you know, Donald Miller's, the founder StoryBrand so, but people will follow it very closely, even though you don't really have to follow that closely, but most people do.
Ben: (05:46)
So there's this pattern kept seeing over and over of people doing the same layout, but everybody's building these from scratch. So it just kinda made sense to, like you were saying, like, why hasn't somebody built a template for it yet? So we thought, all right, let's, let's go ahead and do it. So when I was actually at the first certification, I went ahead and started building the first template, I think, during the actual either during the actual workshop or maybe it was that night when it got back to the hotel, I was staying at school. So yeah, just started doing it then. And it's been it, the goal is to kind of solve that problem for people that don't have the money to, you know, invest in a full custom site and like, why not have a template they can start with and I can get into, I don't know how much you want to talk about it, but we basically kind of like wrestled with, do we do DIY versus done for, yeah.
Omari: (06:36)
There's a lot of people listening who are trying to figure this out for themselves. So it's good to talk about it.
Ben: (06:43)
Cool. Yeah. So we, you know, I think DIY is, is a great thing to offer to people. And I really liked that idea, but one of my concerns, there's a couple of things. One is if we were to sell DIY templates, you'd definitely sell at a lower price point, but the cool thing is, you know, you're, you're a lot closer to having that passive income. I think with the exception being like in my, and I don't have a lot of experience with this as selling products online more, I've been more like productized services. So I'm wondering, okay, if I sell these templates, how much support am I going to have to do for these? You know, and how much is that going to eat into profit margins? Also, what's the end result going to be for my clients? Are they going to actually get a great website?
Ben: (07:26)
If they buy a template, do it themselves. So originally we were like, okay, let's sell our template for like 499, something like that. And then people can do it themselves. Well, we basically did that like one time. And then I was like, well, we have them put their stuff in themselves. And then we do a session to kind of clean it up for them afterwards basically is what we were including. Then I realized, if you just add one extra hour of work then, and they gave us the stuff up front, we do it for them. They have to learn hardly anything. It's one more hour of our time. That adds huge value to them. Cause it goes from a DIY product into a done for you product. Yeah. So we basically tripled the cost, made it 1500 instead of 4 99 and then added one hour extra of work on our end to kind of fill it out because, you know, since it's formulaic, we can ask the right questions up front.
Ben: (08:12)
So we created like a a kind of fill out form in Google drawings, that's follows the exact format of our templates. So that basically we could just fill in, Hey, here's my actual text. Here's what I'm thinking photo wise. Then they give it to us and we build it in Squarespace. And I mean, it's not that hard to build Squarespace, but you know, as you know, there's still a barrier to entry for certain types of clients. And so it just makes it even that much easier for them. So then they can pay 1500 to get the full site built instead of 500 for just a template they have to still put in, you know, 20 hours of work themselves or something. And what's the turnaround time. Good question. So right now we're actually, so it's then selling pretty well. So we, right now it's like eight weeks.
Ben: (09:00)
So there's two, there's two reasons for that one is because, you know, through knapsack, you know, it's basically sort of say it's the same team as knapsack, right? So we just have two different brands. And so if we're busy with our, so with knapsack, we're doing these, you know, one basically we do these one day builds where we build site and one day it scales up. Some, some sites are two day builder, three day build, but most of the time it's like a one day build and we can do two of those a week. So Tuesdays and Thursdays are our build days. So it was kinda like, okay, if we have those full and like Mondays and Wednesdays are our meeting days. So we can't really squeeze in a whole lot. We can do like one template a week with our current design capacity, right.
Ben: (09:44)
So we just hired another designer. And she's getting trained. She's almost finished being trained now. And so then that'll kind of open up the capacity to be like, okay, we can do more than one a week of these templates. And then that will be, you know, closer to like the goal is to have it around two weeks. That's where we had it for awhile. So I would like it to be like, Hey, you buy it two weeks. It's done in, you know, basically all the client needs to do is give us their copy and then show up on a video call for an hour and their sights belt.
Omari: (10:12)
That's cool, man. Like I, the thing I love about this is there's so many different, you know, angles and approaches. And it sounds like in, in solving one problem, you know, you always create another one better problem for yourself. That's true. But yeah, demand problems are great problems to always have.
Ben: (10:32)
Yeah. I feel, yeah. I'm not complaining very great. Very grateful for that for sure.
Omari: (10:38)
Because then I feel like you can then always break off. So inherent you describe the, the behind the scenes part about how you guys have your internal kind of a doc that you plug everything in. When I hear that, I think about that as another product for that's the actual DIY product that they would get off the shelf and learn how to use themself for creating possibly, you know, more websites. But yeah, it's a great, it's a great it's a great model. And especially because I think most people think about the templates originally just as the do it yourself kind of thing. And I think solving that additional problem of, okay, what do I put in here? Like, well, what kind of copy do I need? And it's the biggest, that's been my biggest kind of I don't know what to call it.
Omari: (11:35)
Like yeah. The hidden problem behind all websites when you start off on Squarespace because I think the people who, who come to Squarespace are usually more creative and visually inclined and, you know, we're typically more attracted by something that just looks good first. And you know, we'll think about all of the, we won't even think about the persuasive elements unless you kind of call them out. And I think that's what, that's what the benefit of StoryBrand is. And for anyone who's not familiar with it it's basically like a narrative. I look at it like a narrative framework for selling anything. And it, it approaches it from the perspective of the customer or the client versus typically we think about, you know, we have to put our brand upfront. It's, it's more so about putting them upfront and helping them along in their story to solve a particular problem where you offer a specific solution and help to guide them through you know, whatever their ultimate goal is. And it allows you to do that really. Like, I use that framework for small pieces of content for like, you know, three minute pieces of content. I'm like, all right, what's the problem here? What's the solution, you know, what's the villain you know, go through the whole thing and then I'm like, all right, perfect. This is very easy. Yeah,
Ben: (13:11)
Yeah, yeah. It gives you such a good starting point to create something that's useful because it helps you identify what the customer's problems are. Yeah. Like you said, the solutions and some of the key principles that you mentioned are super useful, like presenting yourself as, as the guide, you know, and them as the hero of the story is how their language, how they kind of put it. And everybody wakes up that morning. They're thinking, you know, they're the hero in their own story. They don't think of you as like, oh, I need some way to save me. They're thinking of, Hey, I'm going to, I'm going to make this happen. I just need somebody to help me get there. And if you present yourself as like a humble, like service-oriented guy, that's like, Hey, you know, I understand your problem. You identify it. You, you say what their problems are on your website, so they can resonate with that. And then you show them what the solution is. And then you give them like a step-by-step process to get it done, because, you know, people don't want to walk into a fog, you know, they want to know like, oh, here are the three stepping stones I need to walk across and then we're going to get to where I want to be.
Omari: (14:09)
Yep. And once you see it, you start to like, see it all around you. You're you're here. Market envision is now clear especially when it's done well. Alright, cool. So I want to go touch a little bit more on I guess what now, you know, you've been doing this for some time, obviously. You solve some, some good problems and you've done it, I think in a, in a pretty elegant and graceful way. What's, what's the future like for knapsack creative and Ben Manley?
Ben: (14:46)
I can say so many things. I have lots of, lots of dreams. But I mean, one thing I'm really passionate about is systemization and creating good processes because I think it gives creative people, a good framework to work within, and kind of lets you be more creative if you have guidelines. So so one thing I'm passionate about as you probably noticed from, our schedule is that I love creating these, you know, basically timeboxing almost everything we do in our business. So Mondays and Wednesdays are days where we have meetings with the clients. So maybe I'll have four to six meetings with different, you know, potential clients who might work with like on a Monday and then Wednesday, same Tuesdays and Thursdays are completely blocked off for focus work where each designer is working on one website project and finishing that day.
Ben: (15:34)
So it's like this very organized way of thinking. So you just kind of plug and play these different modules into your schedule. So I love that because it decreases stress. It lets people focus. So one other piece of that is that we, on Fridays, we actually take Fridays completely when we're basically close on Fridays to the public. So what we do is we have this whole system called the Friday habit system that we've created. And that's something I'm passionate about. I, I started a podcast about it and stuff, but the whole principle is taking one day per week to work on your business instead of in your business all the time. And it involves, I won't get into all of it, but it involves things like capturing any ideas or issues that come up that week and then going ahead and reviewing them as a team every Friday.
Ben: (16:19)
So that morning we talked through every good and bad thing that happened that week that we made a note of and figure out how do we keep doing the good things? How do we fix the bad things by tweaking our processes and things like that. And then we take action on those that afternoon. So we go ahead and spend that day fixing stuff. And it helps us because, you know, throughout the week you're so busy working on client work, it's kind of hard to focus on that kind of stuff. So, so that's one of the things I'm passionate about is just helping other businesses kind of systemize you know, actually focusing on themselves kind of like self care for their business. So the podcast is one thing, another quick thing. And just as that with knapsack, my dream is to kind of create a a team of people that when I come up with a new idea or a new brand or a new service that I think would be good for the world that I can just say, Hey guys, here's my idea.
Ben: (17:11)
Let's make it happen. And then I can spin up a new brand. So I want to create lots of small creative companies not necessarily one big agency but I want it to be like a lab where I can, I can say an idea. I have good people on the team and we can execute it. And it's a lot like a local restaurant company here. There's a guy, Steve Perry. And instead of his company, instead of like franchising, one of his restaurants and turning it into like a pizza hut or something, he instead does lots of small concepts in our town and in local surrounding areas. But he has the team in place already from one or two restaurants to pull a couple of people from that and start a new one. So I want to be able to have these ideas and say, okay, let's pull this designer from this team, this team, from this team, and we're going to start this new idea. Let's run it for six months. See if it's successful, if not, shut it down, no problem. If it is successful, then we'll build that team. And then I have a little bit more diverse of a you know, income source with different brands. And once one succeeds, we can jump onto that ship and ride it.
Omari: (18:12)
Dude. I love that, man. I love the systems approach. I was never able to crack it or I haven't cracked it yet. I'm still cracking it. I've, I've regressed back to my six or seven-year-old self and I'm just starting from scratch with my six-year-old. So, fortunately, you know, I kind of have the time to do so.
Take a look at these StoryBrand Templates from Story Site
Transcript via Rev.com
Welcome back to the Squarespace entrepreneur podcast. My name is Omari Harebin, and today we're talking about how to leverage freelance marketplaces and job boards like Craigslist, Upwork, and even Facebook groups to build a client-generating system for your freelance business. Now, last week I shared how I got started or how I stumbled into selling Squarespace plugins, but none of that would have been possible without what I'm going to share today. Now, if you want to jump ahead, I did a workshop on this topic a couple of months ago, and you can find the replay in the show notes. But I'm going to go through the whole process for you right here and then if you want to go deeper, you can just check that out.
Productize and Automate: Client Generating FrameworkNow there's a lot of freelance marketplaces out there, and most of them get a bad rap among the professional freelance community for a few reasons. One, freelancing is tough as it is so no one's really enthused to be giving a big chunk of their earnings away to a platform like Upwork. You also don't have any control over the kinds of clients these platforms attract. And so you tend to hear a lot of nightmare stories, which can be really off-putting. And when you look at the numbers, a lot of freelancers probably don't make too much money on these platforms anyway and have a lot of trouble getting clients. But in spite of that, there are still freelancers who use these marketplaces and use them successfully. So I think it's always important that when you hear negative stories, to dig a little bit deeper because typically I find there's an opportunity or at least something to learn. And if you do find any benefit or anything good tucked in there, you'll be the one to get it.
Now I say that because when I made the decision to explore Upwork and Craigslist, I too had been under this illusion and cloud that says, you know, just stay away from these places. A part of me felt like, you know, I must've been too good, right. I was getting clients off of referrals. and so, you know, it always fed my ego a little bit when someone would show up out of nowhere and say that someone, you know, recommended them, but eventually, my local clientele dried up and all those referrals dried up. And so I said, all right, let me go online. And I started on Craigslist and what I did was I set up alerts all around the country for Squarespace-related jobs or gigs. And then from that point on every day or every other day, or whenever a Squarespace-related, Craigslist post came up, I would get a notification in my inbox.
And so I still get those notifications to this day, which is, you know, is a nice reminder. And then I went to Upwork. And again, what's important about this story is that I didn't become dependent on these sources, but I use these specifically for a reason, which I'm about to share now with Upwork. I took a similar path and I used RSS feeds to create email alerts to myself. So that every day I would have a list of the most recent, Squarespace, irrelevant, posts on Upwork for me to apply. Now this solved a few problems that freelancers typically face, which is you go out there and you look for jobs and then you get one and then you start working on the project and the project is over, and then you go back to looking for jobs again. And so in between that time, you miss out on a lot of potential opportunities.
That could be a good fit because there's no system in place to capture them. So, this allowed me to wake up every day and check my inbox and be able to respond regularly to prospective clients quickly as well. Now, the real hidden benefit here was that it gave me insight into what kinds of problems people were trying to solve, relative to Squarespace, specific problems. So prior to this, I was marketing myself as a one-man creative shop doing a whole bunch of different services. But once I saw that these problems were very specific and a lot of them were reoccurring, I realized that I could create a specific service to address these problems. And, it would allow me to build trust and credibility a lot quicker with prospective clients because now I wasn't just a freelancer saying, Hey, I could do that.
I was a freelancer saying, Hey, I have a service already created specifically for that. And so it became a much stronger and compelling reason to hire me. and it also meant that I didn't have to stay on these platforms for too long. When I checked my Upwork account the other day, I think I only made a thousand dollars on the platform before I just moved off of it completely. but the insights that I gained were really important because it allowed me to then build something off of, you know, proven data and allow me to get some early testimonials and all of that. So again, if you want to go deeper on this and actually see, over my shoulder, how I did this, I have a workshop. It's not too long. It's about an hour long. and you can check that out in the show notes. And if you have any questions, I'll be happy to answer them. I love talking about this stuff, which is why I'm not talking about it.
I'm typically interviewing guests but today I pull back the covers on how I got started selling Squarespace plugins.
It's a messy story but I hope it serves you.
Comments, and feedback welcome
For more:
- Productize and Automate Workshops
- Passive 1k Members-Only Subscription
A very rough Transcript via Rev.com
Welcome back to another episode of the Squarespace entrepreneur podcast. My name is Omari Harebin. I'm the founder of sq SP themes. And this show is for entrepreneurs who have either built a business on the Squarespace platform or you've built products or services for the users of this platform. So each week or each episode, I typically speak with someone about their story and their journey, as a Squarespace entrepreneur. but this week after eight or nine episodes, I'm going to share my story a little bit. And today we're going to talk about, how I got started selling Squarespace plugins. Now it's been four years since we launched our first plugin and by we I'm talking about me and, the developer Dimitri, and we've also recently crossed half a million dollars in revenue from this particular product line, which is kind of mind blowing to me as well.
This wasn't something that I set out to do. In fact, I started, as QSB themes in 2015 with the intention of selling Squarespace templates. up until that point, I had been freelancing for about a year and a half doing a bit of videography photography, social media content. and I do a website occasionally for a client. If they're in a crunch and really needed something, Squarespace was like the best solution for that. I remember I had a client once who had spent like thousands, almost $20,000 on a, on a WordPress website and the day before launch, they still weren't able to get certain kind of features or functionality that they wanted without, you know, pouring a whole bunch of more money into it. And so I volunteered, I said, Hey, you know, I can probably, take what you guys have and recreate it in Squarespace, you know, in time for your launch.
And so I whipped it up overnight and, I would do that occasionally. It was, it was always fun. call it a whipping up a Squarespace website because you didn't have to worry about too much technical stuff. It was really, you know, you start with a template and you customize that thing and make it fit your liking. And my style was my personal style was always really minimal. and it really served that well, but, because I was also doing photography and videography, it was perfect for portfolios and for big images and that kind of thing. So I had built up a login for the platform and, I was in their specialist directory. So I would occasionally get projects, related to Squarespace. some of which I couldn't fulfill because I didn't have the technical skills. but I did that for about a year and a half and, towards the end, I, I, I wasn't really getting anywhere.
I hadn't really, I wasn't really building a business per se. I was more so going from opportunity to opportunity client, to client, mostly just trying to survive, and, and looking back, trying to recreate the comfort of a job. That's what I, that's what I was trying to do when I looked back. And I w w you know, I wasn't able to do that because I really didn't want the comfort of a job anymore. And so, I, I remember getting really down at a certain point. my wife had gone back to work. I was at home with our one-year-old son, and I'd wake up in the morning, S some semi depressed. I'm actually very depressed, because I was broke and I felt like I had basically failed as, as a man and as a father and a husband and so forth, because I had, you know, gone and taken this leap of faith of, of leaving my career's engineered to be this creative who, who was failing.
I remember talking with a friend and he was like, you know, what, what are some of your accomplishments? And I was like, well, I don't have any, like, I've, I've, I got these degrees, you know, I've, I've held these, these roles. but they're not things that I'm necessarily proud of because, I was kinda just going with the program all the way up until that point. And I didn't feel like I had anything that I could really like, put a stake in the ground and say, Hey, you know, I did this. So, but that was also a positive because it meant that I could start from scratch. And I, because I was doing this freelance and I was really immersed in this whole digital marketing world, because I wanted to know how these people were making this money online, these, these six figures and all of this stuff.
And so I was signing up for all of the email lists, watching all the webinars, any, and every kind of thing out there on making money online, legitimately, cause there's a thin line. I consed it. And so one of the things that I knew was like, all right, well, I'm going to need to find a niche. And I had trouble doing that before, because I didn't want to box myself. And I didn't want to be known as, someone who just did one thing. I wanted to be valued for my wide range of creative abilities. so I was very reluctant to niche down and, and I remember I spoke with someone, who's like a freelance expert teacher, coach, and a mentor in they're like, you know, I, I was looking at finding a niche is like some type of long-term commitment, which I think it is.
But, they were like, you know, you can, you can be pal polyamorous with your niche, right. You don't have to just have one, you can start with one and kind of build out. So, so that, that kinda made me feel like, okay, I kind of get that. I could start with a niche and build that up and then move on to another niche that made sense to me. So I decided that, Squarespace was going to beat it because I had the positive, experiences. Well, they weren't all positive, but I mean, I had a positive experience, which is creating these websites. probably because I had been doing it since like the eighth grade, obviously not Squarespace, but, since I was a kid I'd always been making some type of website and some type of platform, I just never, never took it as something that I could actually make a living doing.
So I never even attempted or tried or, or put too much into that until I had reached this ground zero. So from ground zero, I'm like are, I've got this niche Squarespace, I need a product. And so the product idea that I had was to sell Squarespace templates, hence the name of the domain, ask USB themes. And, I didn't get too far with that initially because I didn't have the design skills that I imagined in my head were needed for templates. And I also didn't have, too much money to hire or to, to, spend on it. But, in the process of trying to figure that out and trying to create templates, I had to learn, some CSS and JavaScript. Cause I, I decided I was going to learn the developer side of the Squarespace platform and, in doing so I picked up enough skills where I could offer just that as a service.
So the service became Squarespace tweaks, and it was just, customizing people's websites, according to whatever little tweaks they needed. And I made it a, a product tie service where, you know, you can pick the number of tweaks that you wanted. Let's say you had five tweaks, you can get the five tweak bundle. And, and it was great. It was efficient. I was able to quickly build up, build up a business with this particular service. Now, remember, I set out to sell, sell templates, but I also created this site to be, to serve as a sandbox so that I could experiment and test different marketing strategies, different SEO strategies, everything that I had been learning the year before as a freelancer, working with different clients. I wanted to be able to take complete ownership and, and just have something that I could play with and know that are, you know, good, bad, whatever, like this is on me.
Right. There's but so much, experiments you could run with a client, right? So I needed the sandbox. And so I had this sandbox and, and really quickly I pivoted to selling the service. And, the service was, was, somewhat successful because it allowed me to, allowed, allowed my work, my wife to stop working, again, allowed us to, to move out of where we were living. And I started to feel like, okay, I've, I've, I'm starting to accomplish or reach these, you know, these online business goals that I had. But when I didn't know, I realized at the time when it was still very, very time intensive and I would spend hours researching and trying to figure out these little custom tweaks that, I was decent enough, but I wasn't, I wasn't like the best. I wasn't really like an expert master wasn't really like my thing thing was just a thing that I was good at enough to make some money with.
and the thing that I really still wanted to cultivate was these market and skillsets, particularly with content and SEO and paid traffic. So, I would still consult on the side and I had this client who, had a product, a physical product that, and they had a Squarespace website. So, I took it on in as kind of like, I, I was doing it, doing it, playing all the roles against doing a little video, a little, product photography. but really I was, trying to grow this thing and put these skills to work. And, it was a successful project in the span of about, maybe six to eight months. We're able to take that product from a handful of cells to, well over like a hundred thousand and cells. and I felt like, all right, I've got this, this, this tweak service that I'm doing, is it starting to wear on me?
however, I've been able to prove out this digital marketing skillset, this kind of holistic all in one, you know, take you from zero to a hundred type of thing. Let me do this for myself, right. Let me take this skill set and let me apply it to myself. The problem is I was burnt out at this point with the tweaks, because like I said, I was, I was doing more than I should have been done and, the way that I was pricing at the time, it just didn't make sense. then it makes sense. So I quit that. I was like, let me just hang up this and let me take these, these skills that I've, I feel like I've polished and let me apply them to, let me try to sell a product of my own. I still didn't have one yet, but I figured I could start with some affiliate offers and just double down on the content marketing with these affiliate offers and, eventually launched my own product.
And I had a baby on the way at this time, my second. And, so it wasn't necessarily the smartest or wisest of decisions. however, I, I felt like I needed to do this, so, it didn't work out. I probably made a hundred bucks as an affiliate, that fall over the span of like three months. and I try to, I try to launch a product, a product, a info product on creating info products that bombed completely. And, I didn't even, I didn't have anything at that point. I was kind of done, what I had built and created a until then, the website had expired. I couldn't afford to turn it back on. you know, my baby was, maybe four weeks away from being born. I was kind of on my last leg in the sense of like, I didn't have anything to, to fall back on, try to go back and get an engineering job, try to, get some public assistance, that didn't work out.
, and I ended up selling my story. I ended up pre-selling or yeah, put in, put in my story on pre-sale and selling that for 10 bucks, directly via PayPal, to friends and family and, made enough money that month. And, my daughter was born and, it was skip, skip some of that. And, a couple months later I'm like, all right, I tried, I tried doing this dropship and thing. I'm like, all right, maybe, you know, again, all I needed, I felt like all I needed was a product. And, I could, I could just take it. but the drop shipping thing didn't work out, ended up being an issue with like, like scam customers. Like people would scam the website, it was bad. and so I said, all right, let me, let me go back to the last thing that worked, the last thing that, that I was successful with, and that was the tweaks.
So I decided to give the tweaks one more chance, or I don't know if it was one more chance, but it was a chance. but this time around, I knew that I couldn't do it myself. And so I went in, I went on Upwork and I hired a developer to help me out with a project that basically I had to clean up some code that I had written the year before, and he helped me clean it up. And, then he helped me with a few more projects and I was like, this is it. he was efficient. he was, he cared a lot about the details and, he didn't give up. He was very persistent as well. and he's also very Frank and just, you know, easy guy to communicate with. So, I started noticing some trends with the tweak requests that we were getting.
And so I asked him, I said, Hey, what do you think about packaging, some of these, as plugins. And I told him, I say, listen, I'm really a marketer. And, you know, I can handle the marketing. if we, if we package these things and he was like, yeah, sure, let's do it. And so we've been working together like this ever since. and it's been a blessing for me. A thing has been a blessing for him as well. and so now, selling digital products has become my bread and butter, but largely indirectly as an affiliate, selling Squarespace templates as well. So we've kind of come full circle where, taking this other path has led me back around to achieve in my initial goals. but if I were starting all over today from scratch, I'd probably again go really deep with a niche service, a deep meaning, allow some deep enough to get to know like what the reoccurring problems are, and then figure out how to create some type of do it yourself version of that solution.
Templates are, do it yourself. design solution, plugins are, do it yourself. development solution, courses are, to it yourself, perhaps consultant or coaching, and so on. So, you know, figuring out what those reoccurring problems are within a particular space that haven't been met yet, where there's still a gap where there's still a hunger for a solution, and doubling down on those solutions and making them available where they're most needed. So that said, if you'd like to learn more from this particular experience of selling digital products on Squarespace, going from zero to a hundred, then definitely check out this my latest mini course, which is called productize and automate too, which captures the playbooks that I developed, over the years of, of running this digital product based business. I'm talking about, from coming up with product ideas, to get into your first 10 cells, to building out content and SEO systems, to ensure that, some sustainability to even building out in the affiliate program and what's entailed in that, a lot more, you can check it out, Pomare heroine.com and if you go to learn or courses or whatever it says there, they'll take you to the course where you can, you can sign up.
I also have a few more coming down the road, but I think I'll talk about those in some future episodes. but, if you're listening to this in real time, so it's currently July, 2021, you can check out productize and automate one, which captures how I was able to, create a service, a productized service in the first place and create a business off of that. that's all I got for today's episode. I'm looking forward to seeing next time, thanks as always for tuning in. It's been real
Learn how Kate went from burnt out to sold-out with Squarespace templates.
Check out her course Scale with Templates.
Omari:
Welcome back to the unofficial Squarespace entrepreneur podcast. My name is Omari Harben. I'm your host, founder of S Q S P themes.com. And today we're going to be talking about one of my favorite topics, which is making and selling Squarespace templates. today's guest is Kate Scott. Who's recently launched a course called scale with templates and, , it's all about everything you need to know in order to make that transition from selling your services to clients, to turn in your skills into an asset and selling it as a product. So without any further ado, I'm going to allow, , Kate to introduce herself and give us a little background into how she got here.
Kate:
Yeah, so I started, in 2018 I started a marketing business and that was sort of my first, formal business structure. I'd been a blogger for many years before that. And so I started this marketing business and my very first client asked me to build her a website. And I had just built my website on Squarespace mostly because I have shiny object syndrome and I wanted to try something other than WordPress and I fell in love with it. And so I built her website and in the process of doing that, I realized that marketing in general, wasn't really what I was passionate about. I was passionate about web design and website strategy and all of that. So I ended up, closing up shop very quickly. After that I took a few months off to, kind of educate myself more about Squarespace, learn more of the coding behind Squarespace. I took on Meg summer fields, course to kind of Polish my skills. And then I relaunched in 2019 as a Squarespace designer. And it's, it's all been uphill from there.
Omari:
Wow, awesome. So that's interesting. I feel like I've taken the opposite path of being a marketer, trying my hand at design and development just to get by and then just reverting back to my market and, you know, savvy is my go-to. so what were you doing before that, just out of curiosity before you started your own agency
Kate:
Or blogging? Yeah, I was a book blogger for a number of years and that became quite popular. And so, I just sort of figured that after a certain amount of time, I needed to transition into something that was a little bit more lucrative because it's very hard to make a living, , in that particular space.
Omari:
Okay. So I can see how the skills come together, because you are quite a writer or blogger as well. so all right, so you're, you're now decided, okay, I'm going to design, I like this. how do you go and get your first clients? Like, what's that like for you?
Kate:
So actually my first client was a referral from the manager of my local business bank. that's, that's actually how I got started. In fact, my first two clients were referrals from him. and from there, you know, I really started early on because of my experience with blogging. I started early working on my SEO, constantly blogging, constantly putting content out there and very quickly that started to be the primary way of getting clients. And it built up slowly. I mean, it doesn't happen overnight, but that's how most people found me. And I had a few contacts from my blogging days as well. So
Omari:
Yeah, there's definitely compounding effect too, to blog in an SEO, starts off slow, but when it picks up it's up. Yeah. So I was reading your, your sales page for scale with templates. And you mentioned, kind of that transition point of, you know, if I want to, if I want to grow my business beyond my own time, energy, labor effort, you know, I have to do something else. What, what was the catalyst there? What made you say, okay, this is an opportunity for me to grow and, and kind of expand my horizons.
Kate:
Yeah. Well, I have a chronic illness and I was burned. I was really burned out and it doesn't, it didn't take very much to get me to that point because I also find client work stressful. Anyway, I think that having deadlines, if you're a person that doesn't really like deadlines, if you're a person that doesn't really like hopping on sales calls all the time, it's very, very stressful. And so not compounded with my illness, made me realize that I need to completely restructure my business here. I need to have an out so that when I have a bad month, I can still be earning an income without killing myself in the process. Right.
Omari:
Wow. Okay. that makes a lot of sense. , and was it, was there a reason why you went with, , templates as opposed to like, you know, starting off with a course, you know, what was like your decision making process between, all right, should I start with templates or like, what am I going to make to kind of fill this potential income gap?
Kate:
Yeah, well, you know, when I choked Meg summer fields course, way back when I started my business, I had built this website for a fake client and I realized that that would make the perfect prototype for a template. And so I thought I've already done half the work. I should just keep going with that. and I felt like, you know, starting with a product would be easier than starting with a course because you really have to build up, I think your reputation within a community in order to successfully sell a course. And I was still fairly new in business. I'd only been in business for about eight, eight or nine months when I released my, and when I started building my first template. And so I just thought, you know, it's going to be easier to start with a digital product, so I'll just, you know, go there and see what happens next. Yeah. Yeah.
Omari:
cool. so now that you are, you know, you've got, you got templates oversell, I'm an affiliate of your templates. what's, what's kind of like, you know, you've got this, , scale with templates what's next on the horizon. Like, how do you see your business from here?
Kate:
That's a great question because I've been asking myself that, recently, cause there's so many different directions that I want to go, and I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling pulled by all of the different things that you're passionate about. So, you know, I may, I have an idea for another course that I may, work on this fall. may release some 7.1 templates. I may explore a new platform. I just don't know yet which direction I'm going to end up going in. But right now I'm in the, , sitting down and trying to find clarity stage. Now that I've completed this, this part of my business. Yeah.
Omari:
I know that feeling. I think one of the best parts is you can actually start to like, you know, plan longer term in terms of like the kinds of things that you want to take on without the immediate, you know, how am I going to take care of next month kind of stresses. So huge benefit there. let's see. Is there anything else that, that, you know, for listeners who are curious about your course and, might be on the fence? , they might be saying, well, I don't know if this is going to be worth it for me. I want to do this, but I'm not sure. Like, what would you say, what's your take on that?
Kate:
You know, one of the things that I really learned in the process of building up my template shop is that I think a lot of people think that selling templates is just building a template, figuring out how to deliver it and then releasing it into the world. But there is so much involved in the customer service part of things from the tutorials that you provide with your template to make sure that people can actually customize it to, you know, your post-purchase email sequence was just something that most people don't really think a lot about, to the kind of customer service you provide, the parameters that you set around. That there's a lot that's involved in that. And we spend a lot of time in the course focusing on that, because I think that if you want to get great testimonials, if you want to have a lot of referrals, you have to really get that customer service piece in place and have it be really strong.
Omari:
Yeah, that's a great selling point. And I could definitely attest to that. I was sharing with a friend today who was asking me, you know, he was saying, Hey, what does it take to, you know, he was asking me if he could hire a designer to create the templates and so on. And I said, yeah, that, you know, the upfront, there's some upfront cost and time and whatever, but well, you have to be aware of is that on the backend, , support is the biggest thing. and so knowing how to go into that upfront with those parameters, like you mentioned, right? So you don't get overburdened, knowing that backend flow of like, okay, someone has purchased the plugin, they might need a little bit of extra help, or they might need to know that there's, they're not kind of like going to be stranded if something goes wrong.
Kate:
There's so many of those considerations that like, even now with, , Squarespace themes, I'm still processing instill kind of like developing that structure because it's not something that I was aware of going into it, going into it. It's just like, I want to sell something and then you start selling something. And as the more stuff you sell, the more the support goes up. And it's like, all right. My real, my real business is a support business. And, you know, that's actually where I, , I gain all of the market and insights from. Cause I feel like once you, once you have a product that sells and people are buying it, then the communication that you have with your existing customers that sets the tone for who's going to come next, that gives you insights for what they liked, what they didn't like, what you can make better. so I feel like, yeah, that, that, , support mindset is really key to success out here. well Kate, thank you for your time. Thank you for sharing with us. If you haven't already checked it out, Kate scott.co, right. , that's the website and you can find the course on there. I'll obviously share a link to it and, yeah. Thanks again, Kate. Thank you. [inaudible].
You have a great product idea but need some help taking it to the next level? You’re working on a crowdfunding campaign but aren’t sure how to reach your goal? Your business is getting off the ground and you need some guidance from someone that’s been in your shoes?
Meet Roberto Hoyos, product maker, crowdfunding hacker and the CEO of Throwboy - a designer throw pillow company. He helps people unlock their creative potential and make their ideas into real, tangible, successful products. Whether it’s a Kickstarter campaign or sketching out a web application, he can’t help but get excited to make something new for people.
Course: Hacking Kickstarter
Consulting: Shotgun CEO
I caught up with Kerstin back in March and we had a candid conversation about her journey to date and what the then looming pandemic could means for us as Squarespace entrepreneurs.
“Teaching the world how to build things on the web by building things on the web.” -Jason
If you've been around the Squarespace ecosystem for a while you've probably run into Jason's content somewhere or another. In this episode we talk shop and get into what happened with Squarefront and what he's been up to since.
I caught up with Jared a few months ago to talk about his business Website By Tonight, how he arrived at his productized business model and how you can apply the principles of poker to life and business.
Timestamps
2:05 How he arrived at the productized business model
5:33 Rookie web design mistakes
8:21 Best business books
11:47 Purpose Cards - what they and what’s behind them.
21:54 Brainstorming "Card" ideas
23:23 On scratching your own itch
24:34 Poker to business
30:33 Rewiring your brain for entrepreneurship
31:20 How to maximize your chances of getting lucky
Are you interested in living the nomad life while still being able to earn money to fund your travels? Paige Brunton is a Squarespace entrepreneur and runs a multiple 6 figure online business on the road. Find out more about Paige in this podcast.
Interested in living the nomad life while still being able to earn money to fund your travels?Paige Brunton is a Squarespace entrepreneur and runs a multiple 6 figure online business on the road. Find out more about Paige in this podcast.
Paige’s Freebies <- If you want to build a site that sells, find clients or start earning passive income then check this out...
Paige’s Courses (Square Secrets) <- Premium Squarespace courses
In this episode of The Unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur Podcast:
03:00 - Skipping the normal 9 to 5 job
04:00 - How did Paige use blogging to get her clients?
07:00 - Having a completely online business
09:00 - How do you create and find your ideal client?
13:00 - Who were Paige's inspirations when she was starting out in her online business?
Visit Paige's website at - https://paigebrunton.com/
Meet Becca, the gal behind the curtain at InsideTheSquare.co
After a decade of online marketing under her belt, and four years of BSchool mastered, she knows what it takes for you to get started online and believes the only thing missing from the internet is you. Your unique gift that you have to share with the world!
Becca’s CSS tutorials and training help you hit the ground running and make your dream a reality on the world wide web!
Listen on Apple or Spotify
Cody’s a self taught website designer from the Orange County, California area and the founder of Moov Labs and Ghost Plugins – both of which involve themselves in website design by doing two completely different things.
Check out GhostPlugins
Listen on Apple or Spotify
Promise Tangeman-Wurzell is the CEO and Creative Director of the Web Design Company, GoLive.Promise has a passion and drive for helping entrepreneurs quickly launch their website, so they can start living their dream. With over 10 years of design and strategy experience, Promise and her team have created thousands of brands and websites for clients such as, Girlboss, We Wore What, Sadie Robertson, A Beautiful Mess, Create & Cultivate, Jasmine Star, Marianna Hewitt, TLC’s Randy Fenoli, Kendra Scott, WorkParty, Margo & Me, ABC’s The Bachelor contestants Michelle Money and Tenley Molzahn and many others.
Learn the biggest mistakes new business owners make online and how to grow from a solo designer to a full design agency.
Check out GoLive Here
Listen on Spotify or Apple
Transcript via Rev.com
Omari:
Yo, what's up. My name is Omari Harebin and you are listening to the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur podcast. I'm your host, founder of sqspthemes.com and today we're going to talk with Promise Tangeman CEO and creative director of the design agency go live HQ. We're going to get a little bit into her story, how she got started and grew her design agency into what it is today. And also we're going to talk a little bit about how she got into selling website templates. So without any further ado, I'm going to pass it over to Promise who's going to introduce herself and we'll get started.
Promise:
Perfect. Yeah, I originally started back in 2010. Actually 2007 I graduated from design school and it's funny story, I actually fell in love with customizing Myspace profiles. This really dates me, but yeah, I made a cool background image for my Myspace page and my profile picture mash, I had some music. That was my first eyeopening experience creating my own unique corner of the web that represented my personality. And what I wanted my personal brand to be. And then I had just had a bunch of friends that wanted me to customize their, Myspace profiles as well. And that's where I really fell in love with web design. And then because I had a design background, I really dove into understanding personal brand and building brands for already established companies, helping entrepreneurs launch what they love.
Promise:
And my first business was called Promise Tangeman Creative. So it was my own personal name and then the demand just grew from there. And I fell in love with helping other people launched their websites, people that weren't necessarily designers but that were entrepreneurs and really wanting to launch what they love into the world, because sometimes when your website is live, your business actually feels real because it's your own corner of the web. It's your digital front door in a lot of ways. So that's kind of how I got started. And then as the demand started to grow, I was trying to figure out different ways to scale my business and help more people launch what they loved through their web design. So I started creating website templates. Yeah.
Omari:
So yeah. So catch me up with the website templates. I know you guys work on a couple of different platforms. But how did that start and how has that grown?
Promise:
Yeah, so the website templates just started as wanting to create a resource for people to do on their own at a lower budget costs. Because at the time I was only doing custom designs for people, that cost thousands of dollars and my schedule was full. And back in the day, this was 2010, so as a female in that web design space, there was a lot of creative entrepreneurs that were females that were launching their businesses. And the feedback that I got was, I feel like my schedule is filling up because people and other women were like, you just get my style, you get what I'm going for and what I'm trying to do online. And that's why they wanted to hire me. And so I was like maxed out. My calendar was maxed out with projects and so I was trying to figure out how can I scale and help more people for not as high of a cost.
Promise:
And so that's where I started dabbling in the template concept and I first launched with a web design platform called Show It and did that for years. And really liked the platforms that were easy to use for people, which I've tried to stay away from WordPress just because it's really not easy for my ideal client, which just wants to drag and drop things and customize things with buttons and stay away from code. So yeah, so Squarespace was an interesting challenge just given how the platform is created and put together. And so we were like, how do we work this? How do we do templates on Squarespace?
Omari:
Wow. Interesting. So it sounds like you started off with a really good problem of just being overbooked and needed to somehow scale yourself or scale your design aesthetic and that's what brought you into the template space. Tell me a little bit about your team. How have you been able to grow that over the years?
Promise:
Yeah, that was an interesting dynamic when I first started because, I mean I guess everyone would like to say they have a unique style, but I felt like people were coming to me, at least the feedback I was getting is that I had a style that they were looking for. So at first it was hard for me to have other designers designing for me because people were looking for my unique style aesthetic is how they would put it. So I did somewhere, I started art directing and kind of trying to micromanage. So my designers and I'm like this really isn't working. So that's really where I rebranded into to Go Live. And I fell in love with the concept of just launching quickly because I feel like so many entrepreneurs and small businesses wait for the moons to align and your website could take months and months or even a year to come to fruition just because you want it to be perfect and you feel like you have to have all your ducks in a row.
Promise:
But I knew, as a creative entrepreneur, that I needed my website up ASAP because it was my most strategic marketing tool for my business. So that's where we put together a live workshop for people where we would, people came from all over and we'd have them at different event venues or we even would kind of outfit my house to accommodate this live in person workshop. But we would help small businesses. They'd come from all over and we helped them build and launch their website in two days. So that was a kind of a rush, rush, go, go, go type of event. And we called the workshop, Go Live. And that's where I was like, oh I love this concept of helping people launch their website quickly and get it out into the world so they can get on with their business and really change their life because they're creating freedom and they're taking their side hustle full time for a lot of people.
Promise:
So that rebranding really helped me be able to bring on more designers and I wanted to move away from it being about me and my design aesthetic and being more about the team and what we're creating together as a team. So I feel like the rebrand really helped. And then I kind of just took my hands off of trying to micromanage my designers design aesthetic and I handpicked the designers that I feel have a similar look to what the brand is going for. And then I just trust them completely with their design style and aesthetic and their intuition.
Omari:
Right, yeah. You can let go when it's already in the line with kind of where you're oriented.
Promise:
Yeah.
Omari:
So you've got a little over a decade here of working with entrepreneurs online, specifically getting them started. What are some of the mistakes that you see that pop up over and over again? I mean you mentioned kind of the procrastination thing that happens when we're just kind of, if humming and hawing. What else do you see?
Promise:
Yeah, I see a few things. I also see people trying to do everything and trying to launch a business that, I mean really, this concept that I'm going to explain is counter intuitive. But a lot of people think, oh, the more I offer and the more people I can offer it to, the more business I'm going to get. When in this online space, you actually need to niche down and really focus on one thing and become really good at that one thing. And then you become known for that one thing. And so that would be like my biggest advice for entrepreneurs that are just starting out is, kind of try to stay away from the temptation to be everything to everyone and really try to focus on that one client and that one product or service that you're going to get really good at. Because your name will spread faster in a smaller group of people than it will in a big sea of what everyone else is doing.
Promise:
So I feel like that helps you stand out. And then, yeah, and I was going to say then the other thing was I feel like so often I see people's websites and it might just be because they're really in their head when they're creating their website. But I feel so many times people forget to just plainly state what they do or what they offer. I find myself looking on the website and trying to actually figure out, what does this person actually do, I can't tell. So just having a one sentence statement that helps people identify what it is exactly that you offer and then what makes you different is really important on your website. I would say those two main things. Yeah.
Omari:
Yeah, no, those are great because I mean I've gone through that myself and niching down is one of those things, it's like a commitment thing. You're like, oh my God, if I just choose this one lane, I'm alienating all these other possible potential people who probably wouldn't care anyway. So I'm glad you mentioned that. And then also, you mentioned kind of how we speak through our websites.
Promise:
Yeah.
Omari:
And I find the same thing too. When you're presenting yourself online or when you're presenting yourself kind of as a business and you're coming from maybe let's say the corporate world, you still kind of think that you have to speak like not human or like some type of entity that that isn't actually you. And it makes so much difference when you stumble on a site where it's like, ah, yes, this is for me or maybe it's not for me, but at least I know who it's for and I can kind of send someone there, if it makes sense.
Promise:
Exactly.
Omari:
Cool. So let's wrap it up. So you've talked a little bit about the story behind Go Live HQ, growing your team, some of the mistakes that entrepreneurs make. Any parting words that you can leave for our audience? Specifically people who maybe they're serving clients now and they want to enter into the digital product space and maybe create their own templates. What is some advice that you can give there?
Promise:
Yeah, I would say one big piece of advice that I got early on in my business in terms of scaling, I am all about having a service based business and really servicing your clients well. I think that's a great way to get started, a great way to maintain. One of my mentors had said, when you make your business about serving other people, you will always have plenty of work. And I totally believe that and I've seen that to be true in my own business. But the one piece of advice I have gotten in terms of scaling my business and creating sustainability has been to figure out what my byproducts are of my service based business. So for example, when we were creating custom, when I was creating custom websites for people, I might do two or three iterations of what their website could look like and then I would take some of those scrapped versions and create those into website templates.
Promise:
And so you're really utilizing something that you've already created and making it scalable. So I'm creating a product out of it. So it doesn't have to be web design for the listeners that are better listening to this, but just thinking what is a byproduct that you create on a regular basis, in your business, that you could package up. Maybe it's information, maybe it's knowledge, maybe it's a course of some sort or maybe it's just like scrap things that you use. Say like if you're, this is taking it out of the digital space, but if you cut down trees for a living, what can you do with the saw dust that you create from cutting down the trees, or something similar like that. But I think just thinking through, how can I use what I'm already creating to create sustainability and just some consistency in the business that really helps with freelancing and when you have a service based business to have some of the extra income coming in.
Omari:
Awesome. I love that piece of advice so much because it's something that I don't hear. I don't really hear it too often.
Promise:
Yeah.
Omari:
But it's something that I've learned firsthand as well, is that there's so much value in your processes and the things that you do for yourself within your business that are valuable to people who are even in the same field as work as you, your peers. It's a really good way to turn people who possibly would be your competition into customers and clients too, because you just serving all around.
Promise:
Yeah.
Omari:
I really love that Promise. Thank you for sharing. Thank you for coming on the show. It's been great talking with you.
Promise:
Sweet, yeah. Thanks for having me.
Ward Sandler is the co-founder of MemberSpace, a software product that lets you easily add memberships to any website. He and his co-founder (Ryan) launched MemberSpace in 2015 and have bootstrapped it into a profitable SaaS (software-as-a-service) business.
He's an expert on building membership businesses, creating online courses and software entrepreneurship.
I sat down with Ward to talk about the makings of Memberspace, how it's grown and what new entrepreneurs can learn from running a subscription-based business.
Bonus How to build a membership marketing plan
Listen on Spotify or Apple
Rough Transcript via Rev.com
Omari:
This is Ras Omari and you are listening to flourish, the unofficial Squarespace Entrepreneur podcast hosted by yours, truly founder of sqspthemes.com the number one source for entrepreneurs building a business on Squarespace. So if that sounds like you, then you are in the right place. Today we're going to be talking with ward Sandler of 320NY founder of memberspace a membership plugin for Squarespace. And I've been following ward for a few years, so I'm, I'm familiar with memberspace since its inception and I thought it would be great to have him come and share some of that story with you and some advice on how you too can go about creating a sustainable membership business on Squarespace with memberspace. So without any further delay we're going to jump right into it.
Ward:
Ward Sandler. So the business I run is technically called 320NY? But we've, we go by memberspace these days as the people probably have heard of. And yet how, how we how we kinda got to where we're at. I guess the quick rundown is we start as a Squarespace consulting company. We've been doing that for for a minute. It's probably been since like 2013, 2014, so a while ago we've worked on close to 400 Squarespace sites. And, and yeah, we, but we at this point where a team of eight full time people, but we start off as just a two or three people. Yeah, the way it worked though is we were building Squarespace sites for folks, did a bunch of those. And over time we kept hearing the same kind of complaint from people about knocking wood to have any kind of membership functionality in square.
Ward:
And I was just like, okay, well we are software developers. We actually know how to build things besides just Squarespace sites. So we do a little research and we did, we went on like the the square, you know, like the Squarespace, a Q and a forum answers the answers for them. So you probably know you can, you can actually sort that by views or votes. So we went there, I just went to the general Q and a sorted by number of votes and like the number three thing with like 100,000 was adding membership functionality to Squarespace or like, Oh yeah, there's a, there's definitely some interest here. And then I read through every single comment, which was just to kind of make sure I got a feel of like what people were complaining about, you know, what, what solutions existed, what they didn't like, et cetera. And yet it just kind of came up with the MVP for memberspace and, and growing since then.
Omari:
So talk to me a little bit about the transition from being kind of like a, a small Squarespace design development agency to the business model that you have now, which is, you know, it's basically what sell, right? It's a subscription Based service. Was there, you know, was there something that made you want to shift towards that business model or was it like, what was the thing that kind of sparked or prompted this, this memberspace move?
Ward:
Yes. I mean, we kind of things in a weird order. We at the very first thing we did when we were a company like we formed and I think it was like 2010 the very first thing we did was custom software development. So you know, good amount of money and we have built custom software applications for people usually on Ruby on rails. So that's kind of where we learned, learned our chops about design and development, client interaction, that kind of stuff. Problem with that was it, it's kinda like a roller coaster when it comes to cashflow. Like you get a big project, awesome things are, things are all good.
Ward:
Then you know, project comes to an end and it's like, okay, got to go hunting again. Yet you'll find the next big client if you can get them. There's no money coming in during revenue. There's nothing. So it's a real sink or swim and that's, that's real stressful as I'm sure you know like when you're running a business, I'm sure a lot of folks out there who do kind of consultant work, you don't have that next project or next few projects lined up. It can get real stressful. Real scary. Real quick. And so we were like, all right, there's gotta be a better way to do this. This is crazy. We have skills. People are willing to pay us money. I don't want to deal with this emotional roller coaster every month. So we were like, all right, well we get a lot. We were getting leads from people who just, a lot of them just wanted like simple, basic kind of websites.
Ward:
We were like, nah, sorry, we can't help you. We just do big software development projects. You don't have five $5,000 $10,000 plus budget. We can't even talk to you. And one day I looked at my partner and I was like, Hey man, we've like turned down hundreds of leads. When I started thinking about it and I was like, we turned on hundreds of leads. Those are all people that we could have made really like for us, since we know we know how to build software, so like using threes. So it was like, wow, we could have built like super simple websites and just cranked out a bunch of those gone and paid if we could even get them on a support plan. And then it all started clicking like, you know what, let's stop saying no and let's figure out how we can serve people who, who, who we're getting all these help requests from.
Ward:
We started transitioning just building Squarespace sites for a small fee and then we, and then we also pretty immediately had a recurring support model to where, you know, monthly have access to us for support, tweaks and updates, that kind of thing. That was 99 a month. And yeah, we basically started in that recurring revenue, which is the dream, right? For everybody. And then we were like, all right, well this is going well. What's next? You know, building, you know, right. Building sites or people doing sports. It's good, but it still requires a lot of time. Right? You got a lot of hand holding by the emails on a back and forth phone calls. So we're like, all right, next best thing would be software, right? Cause you can scale that real quick. You can, you a lot of people using it, there's still work, obviously still dealing with people still dealing with issues, but you can, you can help a lot more people with the same amount of time, more money for the same amount of hours footage. And so we're like, all right, that's, and that's, that's what I told you about before about how he started researching about [inaudible] and what was, what would be useful. And that's kind of how that transition happened.
Omari:
That's cool man. Because I think when, when we first met, I think I was really interested in your ongoing maintenance kind of offering that you had. And so to see the transition to a full-on product like memberspace is pretty cool. So tell me like, what's with, with memberspace? Like there's obviously other solutions. There's the big elephant of, is my content going to be secure? What's, what's been like the biggest hurdle or the biggest challenge with creating a third party? Software integration for Squarespace users?
Ward:
Yeah, I mean it's just that it's a third party, right? We are not, we're not connected to the Squarespace server, so I don't know. I don't know how technical the audience is. I don't want to get too crazy in the weeds, but we're not connected to the server. So therefore we can't we can't control 100% what pages people have access to. Now that's not a problem for a lot of folks. But for people who it is, we have another feature called content links, which allows you to upload content securely to member output that content either as a link or as an embed or stay site. And that is truly secure. There's no security vulnerabilities to it.
Omari:
Right. All right, cool. So like, cause I've been watching since you started it. And, and I've, I've tried it out myself even though I, I don't, I haven't had the need in the past. And the one thing that stands out to me from members of my community is, you know, you guys have really good service. But also I always get the emails for the updates, which seem to be frequent and it's always like a new feature, new feature, new feature. And even when you go to the landing page now it's like, wow, this thing is pretty robust. What advice would, would you have for someone who has started a membership business or who has transitioned into a subscription based model, business model?
Ward:
I mean, general advice, keep it simple. You know, most people overcomplicate it when they launched things. And you know, whether it's software, whether it's a membership business you know, real simple, you know, one or two you know, products or price points and just and just get going. Like I actually wrote a whole article about this. I'll give it to you, she can put it in the show notes that I've had. I kind of find your initial niche audience and how to price initially when it comes to a membership business. Because a lot of people use the offer way too many options, way too much text and explanation. And it just confuses people. And this is someone. So the key is start as simple as you can with as few variables as you can. Get some people to give you their credit card and pay, cause you got to get past that hurdle first.
Ward:
Otherwise you're just, you're just playing just pretending to play business. You don't have to just running a business. I do too. So if you get a few people to pay you, if you can't get a few people to pay, you need to change something in the business model. So that's another reason why you shouldn't be spending too much time trying to get everything perfect because you gotta just get it out there and get feedback because your feedback is when you asked me for a credit card back, your mom, your dad, your friends give you, that's all BS. It doesn't mean anything, right? When we feedback that matters is when you asked me for a credit card and then they say yes or they say no. If they say no, you can ask one and then you'll get real honest feedback. And then once for people that say yes, you'll hear what they want, you don't have or what they like down on that or fix the holes, but all this happens after you're charging. So the less variables possible start there, then you can always add on new things. You can always make things more complicated and you can do that based on feedback on people paying you, not just random thoughts in your head or, or friends or family who just want to see you do well but don't, aren't actually your customers.
Omari:
Yeah. no that's really good man. I mean I've learned that myself from my experience. And I think that is probably one of the biggest mistakes entrepreneurs make starting out is especially if you're technically oriented, you know, you want to just like make something yourself that you think is really good. And then if you do build up the courage to communicate it or like put it out there, then you have to like face the hurdle of like, how am I actually going to sell this thing? And I think what you've done is you've baked that into the product where it starts. It's a solution from the jump. It's not like you know, people actually wanted this thing and big numbers and I think you guys have filled that gap pretty well. What's, what's next man? I mean, what, what happens if Squarespace says, yeah, we're gonna you know, add on the type of features and, and, and, and functions that that make memberspace no longer needed. Is that, is that something you think about?
Ward:
I mean, we, we've thought about it and I, I, my, my answer is probably counterintuitive. You know, we actually welcome it. I actually hope Squarespace does it. Here's the reason why. Number one, like you just said, right? If you look, go to our memberspace.com homepage and look at our feature list there, there, there is no way in hell that Squarespace is going to launch something with all of those features. We've, I mean, you know, I don't, I can't tell you that 100% but just based on the way they develop every other feature on their platform. For example, e-commerce, they didn't launch a commerce and it had every feature. Shopify has, it still does it. It's not even close. We've launched a rough MVP version that has the core features which likely launch a membership thing. If they even launch it. We don't know what's going to happen, but let's say they do on something.
Ward:
My guess is it would be purely just, okay, you can restrict access to certain pages. It would probably be tied to the eCommerce functionality, can add a product or add a membership. Maybe it would have recurring payments. They don't have that yet and maybe they would have that and maybe they want it and that might be about it. So it would serve, it would do the core stuff. If that's what someone needs, that's perfect. They're not a good customer for us because the whole memberspace is for someone who, as a real business, cause we have a lot of functionality built in a lot of features that allow you to do things that you wouldn't be able to do with that core offering, which described it Squarespace. So what I'm thinking, what happened is people would come to Squarespace, you're like, Hey, any memberships, Squarespace would be like, cool, we have that. And then they'd be like, Oh actually I need X, Y and Z to, Oh we actually don't have that, but checkout memberspace. So they would actually become a funnel for us, more people in, cause they'd be advertising, we do memberships now and so we actually create a funnel for us. I think that's, that's my theory.
Omari:
I like the thought process, man. It makes a lot of sense to me. I get it completely, especially when you break it down like that. So I noticed also you've got some case studies and you just mentioned like, you know, this is for people with a real business. It's, it's, it's an, it's an add on that is beneficial. Of your customers, like are there any particular cases that really stand out in terms of like highlight in you know, what's possible with members face?
Ward:
Yeah, I mean, yeah, our case studies are a good mix of successful customers and like really successful customers. There's one in particular ladies of real estate. You know, you can just go into there if you look at our case study and you need some back of the envelope math that you can see that they're generating. You know, well into the seven figures of revenue through our plan that that right there stands as a Testament to we scale a lot of money with thousands of customers without a hitch. They've had no issues why they're willing to be a case study for us and let people know about all that. Yeah. But yeah, they're, they're a good Testament to like th this stuff could scale. You've been having real business on Squarespace where you charge people recurring revenue from membership. It's not like, Oh, this little side dinky project it can here is this now to get to that level just cause you have memberspaces. I mean you're on half clean, decent, successful business. That's why we kind of our, our, our focus is on people who have an audience, have an actual audience. You're looking for a way to monetize that. If you're, if you have no audience, nobody knows who you are and you just kind of starting off with like with a business number space may or may not be the best day, just cause you know, we're not, we're not the cheapest option. Absolutely not. And we're not. And there are things you can do to Hack together to maybe create the initial MVP of a membership without using memberspace. Once you're ready to have like a professional tool to, to run a professional business, that's what number stays going.
Omari:
Yeah, I can, I can definitely affirm that because when I first tried it out, I had none of those things, which is why it wasn't a good fit for me at the time. But I definitely see how this particular model is, is beneficial. A ward man. Thank you for jumping on and you know, sharing your experience with us. I think this is going to be a good episode to kick it off with.