the 5 steps to web designer burnout -...

©2016 Nathalie Lussier Media Inc. ambitionally.com

5 STEPS TO STOP

WEB DESIGNER

BURNOUT AND EARN

MORE MONEY

BY NATALIE LUSSIER

http://ambitionally.com

When was the last time you took a truly unplugged vacation, without

anything that pulled you back into your business?

Developers and web designers can get burned out quickly. We feel

like we have to be on call for our clientÊs 24/7 ⁄ a mentality which

can seriously hurt the quality of our lives.

I know because IÊve been there.

Maybe youÊre working a lot and not making as much money as youÊd

like ⁄ or youÊre making some money but donÊt have any time to

yourself.

Well, IÊm here to tell you that itÊs normal ⁄ AND thereÊs something you

can do to change it.

These 5 steps IÊm about to share with you are the keys to avoiding a

mere „band-aid‰ solution. They can revitalize your

business, eliminating the need for the overtime work and

unpaid hours that can so quickly lead to burnout.

Your business ally,

Nathalie



CONTENTS

Intro: The Solopreneur Path

Step 1: Raise Your Rates

Step 2: Streamline Your System

Step 3: Hire Out & Focus On Your Zone Of Genius

Step 4: Earn Recurring Revenue From Products

Step 5: Put Your Marketing On Autopilot

A Note on Managing Client Expectations

The Freedom to Be You



Intro: The Solopreneur Path

This graph represents the path of the solopreneur.

You begin strong and start growing. At some point, you might score a

Big Client and get an amazing boost⁄.but because of the work

involved in that project, you donÊt have time to market yourself.

So when your Big Ideal Client project(s) has been completed, youÊre

left with nothing in the pipeline. Your income drops dramatically.

There might be a financial revival as you connect with more projects,

but by this time your business has grown in complexity. You might be

spending more on your own business, perhaps hiring some much-



needed help, which leaves you with significantly less take-home than

you had when you began your business.

Things are more complicated and less fun ⁄ Is this why you started

your own business?




1

RAISE YOUR RATES


The obvious first step towards a more profitable business is to raise

your rates⁄but how high should you go?

First, sit down and look at how much time you spent on your last few

projects. Calculate how much you made per hour on each project,

after paying project-related expenses (such as outsourcing). Are the

numbers consistent? Are they satisfactory?

When I did this with my business coach, I was shocked.

Before you decide how much youÊre going to raise your prices, I

would also recommend moving to a package

module, rather than charging by the hour.

A package-based pricing system will allow

you more flexibility to streamline your services

and not have to worry about losing money as

your efficiency increases.

Even though each of your clients will have

different needs, you can create base

templates at various price points to build

from.

Each of these templates can be customized

based on what clients are asking for.



Now, a lot of times we create packages based on what we think

people will pay for those services („I bet theyÊll pay $10K for

something like this‰), but you also need to make sure that each

package is profitable enough for you to actually run your business.

It also helps to let people know that your packages start at a certain

rate. HereÊs a line that weÊve all heard from day 1:

„I really want just a simple website.

Not too many bells and whistles.‰

But hereÊs the thing: you know better.

ThereÊs a lot that goes into making a „simple‰ website. ItÊs your job to

communicate this fact with your clients. Communicate the functionality

and results that your work will bring about. Give them a clear idea of

the bottom line that theyÊll receive at the end of the project.

Clear communication is key when it does come time to increase your

prices.




2

STREAMLINE YOUR

SYSTEM


Pay attention to the patterns in your work. Once you know exactly

how many hours it takes you to do X, Y and Z, you can systematically

start to plan out your projects.

Or, even better: write down how you do these things, to save you

time when you need to work on them in another project.

Although writing down the process will enable you to pass the task off

when you start growing your team, itÊs a good idea to write down

your processes even if youÊre the only person doing client work in your

business.

There are a few different tools to help you organize and document

your systems and procedures.

These will be an incredible aid to creating a process for your common

activities so that you donÊt have to be the only person with the

knowledge in your mind.

You might think that everything you do is straightforward ⁄ but in

every business, everyone does things a little bit differently.



Places to Start Your Organization/Streamlining:

A good place to begin your streamlining is with your basic business

processes. This organization should be easily accessible by your

team, but private to your company.

Here are a few tools that IÊd recommend looking into.

Wiki from Confluence - This is the system that we use in my

business. It costs about $20 a month

Wiki Sites by Google - A free wiki, powered by Google.

Clarify It - This app lets you take screenshots, then annotate,

highlight, or add little arrows and text to them, then export the

marked up screenshot to a Word document, a PDF, WordPress

directly.

Client Process Streamlining

You might feel like every client is going to be different so thereÊs no use

trying to systematize this part of your process ⁄ but there are definitely

things that need to happen the same way with each client.



If each one of your clients is truly 100% different right now, it might be

an indication that you need to fine-tune which kinds of clients you work

with.

Focusing on a super broad range of clients is a key cause of burnout

simply because you cannot simplify how you do things.

For example, if youÊre doing websites on Squarespace,

WordPress, Weebly and handwritten HTML code, maybe itÊs

time to pick one of those platforms and really get good at that

one thing. YouÊll hone in on a valuable area of expertise and

can start avoiding being spread too thin.

If youÊre looking for ideas on a good place to streamline your work

process, hereÊs a couple thoughts:

Project Timelines - When do things need to get done for your

website design? For example, if somebody becomes a client, you

might give them one week to submit their log-ins for their existing

hosting accounts. After that, they have another week to submit their

website copy ⁄ your timeline process can be clearly communicated

with your clients so each of you knows what to expect from the other.



Plugins - Do you have a set list of plugins that you install whenever

you go into a WordPress project? Or a theme? Document this list, and

maintain it as your base template.

Project Management Organization

For process streamlining, the Wiki is a great tool. But if there are

repeatable tasks within each project, IÊd recommend using some type

of project management tool.

Project management tools such as Asana or Basecamp will enable

you to create a uniform template that can be duplicated with each

client project that comes in the door. Each step, along with the

respective timelines, are all ready for you to assign to whomeverÊs

responsible for getting it done.

Currently I use Asana, and have also used Basecamp in the past and

really liked it.

How to Capture Your Processes

The main thing you want to capture is the knowledge: what it is you

do and why you do it that way. In your process documentation,

explain why it makes sense to do it your way.



http://asana.com

https://basecamp.com

At the next level you have your step-by-step checklist - the how. This

can be captured through screenshots, videos, or the basic bullet-point

list („Step 1: Log into WordPress. Step 2: Install X Plugin.‰)

The next level addresses who does what. Each task in the process

should be able to be assigned to you, someone on your team, or your

client. You need to really spell this out, because a lot of the time

people can get confused about whatÊs expected of them.

Finally, thereÊs the timing aspect. This is definitely a key area that can

get things backed up. Without a good timeline, you might see your

projects running over each other because one didnÊt stay on track.

The more that you can make it clear to clients that timing is important

(after all, it means their project will get done faster), it will be easier for

them to be onboard and prompt with their responsibilities.

The idea is that a good, systematized process gives you the freedom

to just turn off your phone and go to the beach, confident that you

donÊt need to be answering emails when youÊre away from the office.




3

HIRE OUT & FOCUS ON YOUR ZONE OF GENIUS


YouÊve started charging more and have streamlined your work

process⁄and now itÊs time to start thinking about whether you want a

big team or an agency or if you want to keep it small.

It might seem counterintuitive, but there are ways that hiring some help

will enable you to make more money ⁄ and stay sane.

But what do you want to hire out?

ItÊs actually easier to start out by hiring for the basic stuff, like cleaning

or admin work. For one, that tends to be cheaper to hire out than a

higher-ticket role like a VA or another developer.

But really, itÊs not so much about how much youÊre paying yourself vs.

someone else. Think about it more in terms of what itÊs worth to your

company and to your business as you grow.

Maybe youÊve hired for a simple admin position and are paying that

person $15 - 20 an hour. Well, your admin might answer an email

that results in a $10,000 customer. Suddenly, that employee becomes

an extremely high-value asset for your business.

I always like to really prioritize the things that can help me move up

this ladder, the things that will give me the ability to do projects that



are more on the higher range to grow my company. (Like hiring out

writing sales copy or building sales funnels so that I can focus on big-

picture company growth strategies.)

Find your bottleneck.

Before hiring anyone, be clear on what youÊre hiring them to do. This

part is totally dependent on where you feel like your business is

bottlenecked and unable to grow.

For example you might be great at developing, but the actual design

work really slows your process down⁄or maybe you have the whole

web design thing down but the legal stuff is stopping you.

Be Clear With Employee Expectations

When you have a specific role designated for your new hire, make

sure that it’s clearly communicated to them.

Mixed communications can lead to resentment, especially when

youÊve made a financial sacrifice to hire them.

To stay on the same page, I like to use a job scorecard. This

scorecard includes key job responsibilities, and the deliverables that

you need your employee to achieve on a weekly or monthly basis.



HereÊs a basic example scorecard for a Project Manager position:

This gives the essential key performance indicators, who that person

reports to, and a rating system to pinpoint areas of strength and

where thereÊs room for improvement. The scorecard also enables me

to have tangible standard to hold each employee up to.

(For more detailed examples, just Google „job scorecards‰. ItÊs an

idea created by Brad Smart, who created the Top Grading System for

hiring.)




4

EARN RECURRING REVENUE

FROM YOUR PRODUCTS


An additional revenue stream is opened up when you realize that your

clients trust you to recommend and use the right tools. This opens up a

whole new world of recurring revenue.

The great thing about this revenue opportunity is that it’s not tied to

hours billed.

To tap into this opportunity, I recommend having a more extensive

recurring revenue source than just a one-time launch.

By creating a long-term subscription-based product or course, you get

paid month-after-month. As the program begins to grow, youÊre

revenue stream will grow as well.

Creating your your own products or programs does take time ⁄ and

a new skill set. You have to develop new systems and marketing skills,

which does take time away from your current income-producing work.

Pinpoint Your Recurring Revenue Opportunity

When planning your recurring revenue opportunity, think about the

different tools or platforms that your clients might be able to benefit

from. Maybe this is an email marketing platform, if they donÊt have

one yet ⁄ or maybe itÊs software and other tools that they might use

on a monthly basis.



Maybe itÊs even a well-executed Website Tutorial Course that gives

them the tools they need to edit and revise the website you designed

for them.

Recurring revenue is a huge part of my business. In the process, weÊve

made sure to implement it in a variety of ways, from software to a

memberÊs-only coaching area.




5

PUT YOUR MARKETING

ON AUTOPILOT


If youÊre marketing yourself constantly, youÊre not investing in the stuff

that keeps your clients happy. But you if you stop marketing

completely, itÊs hard to maintain a healthy stream of projects.

ItÊs definitely important to maintain a healthy balance ⁄ and marketing

is about much more than sales flyers and paid ads. Here are a few

ways to automate your marketing:

Make a Waiting List

One way to keep things in the pipeline is by maintaining a

waiting list. Schedule your clients out a couple of months in

advance - and be sure to take a deposit from those clients, so

theyÊll still be there when youÊre ready.

Client Referrals

Having your existing clients refer and actively spread the word

for you is really, really big. For some incentive, you can set up

an affiliate program, or a set of discounts to reward any

referrals that are sent your way.

Be showcased in the right places.



Being seen in the right places can do the marketing for you so

that you donÊt have to constantly be pounding the pavement.

Join appropriate groups or websites that will tout your name.

Have a good portfolio

Putting your best foot forward and maintaining a great website

and portfolio is supremely important. In this area, I think a lot

of us are constantly working on other peopleÊs projects ⁄ and

donÊt take the time to create something that really reflects our

abilities and the quality of our work. Make it a priority!

To me, automated marketing is all about being able to stand out from

the other people. It means prioritizing your own business so that when

people do land on your website, they think, „Wow, I want to work

with this person.‰

So whatever you do, stand out.



None of the 5 steps actually works unless you have clear client

expectations, boundaries, and timelines.

People are not mind readers. They donÊt know how you prefer to

work, so you have to keep them informed.

ItÊs a good idea to have your processes written down and delivered to

the client in the form of a welcome package, for example, or an

automated welcome email.

Here are a couple of the main areas in which clients often need some

direction.



How do you prefer to communicate?

IÊve had clients who would drown me with over 10 different emails full

of questions and ideas. I had to put the kibosh on that because it was

a constant distraction and really pulled me away from my work.

So be really clear about your preferred way of communicating.

Maybe you have a meeting on the phone to hash things out, instead

of writing 10 emails a day.

Let Your People Know That There Are Other Clients

This fact is kind of mind-boggling for our clients sometimes. I know my

clients were like, „What? You mean IÊm not the only person youÊre

working with?‰

Setting up designated times to work on each client can help with this.

You might decide that youÊll only be available to any given client

during their respective time slot.

What To Do In Case Of Emergency

A lot of times, when youÊre hired as a web or tech person, your clients

just assume that you are their on-call tech support or tech emergency

person.



Give them directions to follow in case of an emergency. What

happens if their website goes down? What happens if they canÊt log

in? What are those kinds of contingency plans that you can put in

place?

The go-to person might not be you. It might be their hosting account

support or someone who does tech support for a living.

Create a Strong Contract

Include your communication and client expectations in your contract.

This will give you the foundation you need to enforce the expectations

you have with your clients.

Although very few people actually read through this document, you

could highlight and mark certain important sections that youÊll want

them to focus on.



IÊm sharing all of this because IÊve been there before. As my business

grew, I often felt like I wasnÊt doing the stuff I loved anymore.

But once you get through the systematizing, automating, and hiring,

then you can go back to doing more of what you love and what

youÊre really good at.

A Shortcut to Implement the 5 Steps

To learn more about the support and shortcuts available for implementing this 5-

step process, check out our AmbitionAlly Certified Partner Program⁄created for

professionals like you.


THE FREEDOM

TO BE YOU

http://ambitionally.com/ambitionally-certification/partners/


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