Why I Quit My Job and Started Idestini

Originally published on idestini.com on 22 April 2015. Republished as written, less a line offering to partner and a closing paragraph promising next week’s post, with a few typos corrected. Idestini no longer takes on work. If you want to talk about any of this, you can reach me on LinkedIn.

To be honest, I didn’t put a whole lot of concentrated thought into why I was quitting my job and starting my own business. I knew there was plenty of work. A lot of you need help and I had a desire to do it. A year later, I am even more convicted to get to know you and help.

The truth is, there are not enough web agencies focused on what is really important – making your business more successful. Too many websites are not properly oriented on the things that matter: closing sales, increasing loyalty, booking more appointments, attracting more leads, <insert your top priority here>. And a website is not a once and done endeavor. If you’re going to succeed, it needs to respond continually to the changing world.

Think about your website. Is it truly supporting your top priorities?

It’s hard work to select someone to build your website. Let’s say that you don’t already know a great developer. A quick look on Manta says there are 330 website design services near Little Rock. That’s a lot of “business” listings to sift through. Then you talk with a few and realize that some people are charging $500 and some upwards of $10,000 for what you are sure is simple.

At this point, some of you give up and decide to try another DIY website builder, like Squarespace, because you can make your own “beautiful” website. For a while, you feel good because it does look better, but in a few weeks, you’re left sitting and wondering why you don’t see more success. And you wish your website could do XYZ but you don’t know how to make it do that.

Those with a sizable budget – maybe you are lucky enough to choose a website developer or digital agency who have a good resume. Even award-winning and respected agencies are guilty of mistaken priorities and missing the mark. Guard yourself if all you hear your agency talking about is that your website or app has great design, that it has the latest, trending technology or widget. They just may be more concerned with how the product is built or what it looks like instead of what the product should do for your bottom line.

Another mistake – agencies get so caught up in the SEO strategy that they forget real people use the website. As a customer, you’ve seen these websites. They are the ones where you wonder – Why are they saying the exact same thing 10 times? They already said that. No, they cannot guarantee you’ll rank #1 for that search term. Honestly, there are good reasons you might not want to.

It is my business to help your business make the right efforts online. From here on, I will be developing content intended to help you, especially the small to mid-sized business owner, make better decisions online. I am going to give you what I know about website design, mobile website design, technical implementation, social media strategies, email marketing and more. I am going to help you identify poor design, subpar functionality and faulty strategy. We’ll look at real world examples, in hope that it helps you identify these errors in your assets. I will tell you how to correct these things as best I can.

I hope that you can implement many improvements on your own. There are many quick wins that you or your staff can implement without a professional.