Small Business Risks

The Hidden Costs of DIY Web Design

You may not expect a professional web designer to say this, but DIY web design does have its place. However, when building business websites, the hidden costs of DIY web design are far higher than most people think.

As a small business owner, it can be tempting to ignore these costs. They will still affect you, though — and can easily cost you more than engaging a professional web designer. So consider them carefully before falling for the hype about DIY web design systems.

When to Consider DIY Web Design

If you don’t aim to make money from your website, any money spent on it is pure cost. So then it’s wise to minimise that cost, and doing so has little impact.… Read the rest “The Hidden Costs of DIY Web Design”

Why Cheap Web Designers Often Disappear

Everyone loves cheap web design — until they learn that it takes far more than low prices and fancy graphics to build a business website that works. That can be a hard lesson about cheap web design risks, but it often gets worse. Because cheap web designers often disappear.

This can be a touchy subject though, so let’s be clear: most experienced web designers I know are talented people who only want to help. That said, experienced web designers are rarely cheap web designers.

Still, I have just spoken to yet another distressed small business owner. His cheap web designer had left him in the lurch with a broken website and no access to fix it.

Other business owners had told him this was “typical” of “flaky” designers.… Read the rest “Why Cheap Web Designers Often Disappear”

Small Business Web Design – Common Mistakes

Effective small business web design is now critical to almost every small business. In fact, until you have your own business website, most potential customers won’t see you as a credible business at all.

Why is that? What makes a business website so special?

Small Business Web Design Matters

Your website is a key marketing vehicle for your business. It isn’t just a shop window. It’s an international travelling sales team, with the ability to sell 24/7/365 to customers in their own homes in the moments when they are most interested in buying.

Think about what it would cost to achieve that coverage with a team of salespeople. That’s the value a website provides.… Read the rest “Small Business Web Design – Common Mistakes”

Is Your Small Business a Zombie?

Zombie businesses are out there, and whilst they aren’t exactly coming to eat your brains, it takes brains to avoid sharing their fate. Your small business may even already be a zombie business — or slowly becoming one, without you even knowing it!

If that doesn’t sound healthy, that’s because it isn’t.

What Is a Zombie Business?

A zombie company is a business entity that barely manages to stay operational. It may earn just enough to keep running or may rely heavily on lenders to stay afloat, but isn’t earning enough to pay for its own growth, or to reduce its debts. That often puts it just one unlucky event away from collapse — making it a high-risk proposition for investors.… Read the rest “Is Your Small Business a Zombie?”

How to Avoid the Cheap Web Design Trap

Small business owners often think cheap web design will be enough to promote their business online. That’s understandable, but there’s a catch.

Underinvesting in your website will cost you far more in the long run. It can even cost your entire business.

Over the past 25 years, I’ve helped many small firms recover from this mistake. So I’d rather help you avoid it.

Still, that does not mean every website needs a five- or six-figure budget. After all, my budget web design and affordable web design packages cost far less than that. What it does mean is that simply seeking the cheapest web design you can find is likely to cripple your business.… Read the rest “How to Avoid the Cheap Web Design Trap”

How Procrastination Kills Projects

I was going to write about how procrastination kills projects seven months ago. That article wasn’t going to be so personal.

Then life got in the way. As it always will, if you let it. So what happened?

Out of the blue, my partner of over 25 years got a diagnosis so terrifying that we had an emergency wedding. “Emergency” as in, we woke up that morning not knowing we’d be married by teatime.

Eternal thanks to the Newport Registry Office, the Royal Gwent Hospital, and the Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff for facilitating that. Even more so to the medics for making her condition more manageable for now.

Yeah, writing a blog post pales into insignificance in the face of that, doesn’t it?… Read the rest “How Procrastination Kills Projects”