Websites 4 Small Business
Business Type:
Business Type:Website Designer
Industry:
Information Technology
Your Name:
Ivana Katz
Your Position:
Business Owner
Website Address:
Where Are You Based:
Sydney, NSW, Australia
What problems do you solve / how do you help your clients?
I help entrepreneurs launch their business online by creating an engaging and high converting website. A professional website can open the doors to many new business opportunities and save you valuable time.
Once the website is launched, I help to support you through your online journey with website updates, upgrades and marketing.
Think of me as your business co-pilot. I make what seems complex and overwhelming, simple for you.
What products/services do you offer?
Website Design and Development
Getting your business online is exciting, but can also be overwhelming. We are here to support you whether you need a completely DONE-FOR-YOU WEBSITE or WEBSITE DESIGN COACHING so you can design your own WordPress website.
Stop wasting time procrastinating and trying to figure out how it all works. Instead, concentrate on what you do best and we will do what we’re good at – creating awesome websites!
Website Audits
Having a successful website involves much more than making it visually appealing. There are many components that go into creating a website that converts visitors into paying customers and we look at your website to determine:
- How visitor friendly it is
- How professional does it look
- What calls to action does it have
- Is there design consistency
- Credibility and trust icons
- Is there sufficient content
and so much more.
We provide you with a Website Audit report that will help to make simple changes to your website that can have a huge impact on how it performs.
Website Redesign
Ask yourself – does my website portray the professional and credible image I want my customers to see? Have I provided all the information that my customers may want or need to know?
If you answered NO to either of these, maybe it’s time for a website makeover … you could be losing thousands of dollars as your potential customers head to your competitor’s door.
Business Logo Design
A good logo is important for a successful business, especially if you are in a competitive industry. And let’s face it who isn’t these days. You are not only competing with local businesses but often with overseas ones as well.
Some of the reasons your business needs a professional logo include:
1. Make a great first impression
2. Attract new customers
3. Stand out from your competition
4. Portray a professional image
5. Let your customers know what your business is about
6. Help customers to remember you
Our team of skilled graphic designers will create your logo based on your company’s image and marketing strategy.
Why did you start your business and how long have you been running it?
I started my website design business 17 years ago. I suddenly found myself a single parent with a 2 year old son and I couldn’t bring myself to go back to the corporate world. I wanted to watch him grow and be there for him.
I have always been fascinated by technology and so I did a few website design courses – back then the internet was in infancy and it was relatively easy to learn.
After that I started advertising and got my first few clients.
What struggles do you think most businesses face in your industry and what would you say they need to do to overcome them?
Fear
I think so many of us have a fear of being found out or not to be good enough, or that the job we will do is not going to be perfect. But in reality we are the only ones who see us that way. If you were to ask any of your clients or friends you would be surprised how others perceive you.
Don’t be so hard on yourself – give things a go and if they don’t work out, it’s ok. You will have learnt plenty of valuable lessons along the way.
Overwhelm
Every day we are bombarded by so much information and our list of things gets longer by the minute, especially when you are first starting out in business.
I would recommend you get yourself a good project management app or software. Personally I use todoist.com. Whilst it doesn’t take away all the tasks you have to do, but it allows you to get organised, which is half the battle.
My other suggestion would be to tackle one project at a time, rather than trying to do everything at the same time. For example, create your website first, then worry about your social media profiles, search engine optimisation etc.
Trying to Do Everything Yourself
I think most entrepreneurs spread themselves too thin – they try to do everything by themselves with limited skills, time and money. And ultimately they burn out and their business closes down.
For this, I would suggest you focus on what you do best and outsource the rest. You will find that your business can get up and running much faster and be more successful if you have experts such as a copywriter, website developer, graphic designer, accountant working with you.
What has been your greatest accomplishment?
There have been several things I have been proud of having achieved:
- Raising my son as a single parent while running a business
- Beating breast cancer
- Pushing through my fear of public speaking and presenting at a conference when I was at my weakest and recovering from cancer treatments
What has been your biggest ‘fail’ so far?
I heard a quote several years ago, which said “Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.” I don’t look at anything I’ve done as a failure, but as a valuable life lesson.
One very valuable lesson came when I started my business. I added a contact form to my website, then spent over $6000 on advertising and received no enquiries.
3 weeks later I got a call from Bill asking when I was going to contact him regarding his website. Bill told me he filled out the contact form and was waiting to hear from me.
I did a little digging and I found out the form failed to send me notifications whenever someone filled it out. There were over 30 enquiries and I missed them all!
This was a very valuable lesson and a mistake I will never make again. I now test my forms every few weeks to ensure they are still working.
What do you love most about your business?
- When I learn something new
- When I solve a problem
- When I hear from clients about how much their new website has positively impacted their business
What do you find most challenging?
I find delegating challenging and at times keeping up with technology.
How do you promote your business?
I test and change all the time as business trends change, but some of the things I have done include:
- Writing articles to position myself as an expert in my field
- Attending networking events
- Speaking at conferences
- Being active on social media including LinkedIn and Facebook
- Email marketing
- Creating helpful videos
- Writing website design guides and giving them away
What business skills do you have?
- Website design
- Graphic design
- Photography
- Writing
- Bookkeeping
- Willingness to try new things
- Customer service
- Website marketing
- Search engine optimisation
- Social media marketing
What software did you/your designer use to create your website?
I use Wordpress for my website and also for all of my clients.
What do you like about your website and what’s not working for you?
I have recently done a website revamp so I’m happy with how it looks and the functionality that it has including:
- an integrated appointment booking calendar
- automated email collection and follow up
- a free downloadable section
- free website design and marketing tutorials
- new testimonials
- portfolio of projects I have worked on
- real website review videos
- infographics
I still have a lot of content I want to add, but I keep running out of time.
What are some of your favourite business tools and apps?
Canva for image editing and graphic design
vCita Appointment and Workshop Booking
GetResponse for email automation
Dropbox for backing up all my files, documents and images and for sharing them with others
Hubspot – marketing and sales hub
Shutterstock for sourcing photos and images
Income School for learning about search engine optimisation and marketing
What lessons have you learnt during your time as an entrepreneur?
One of the biggest lessons I have learnt is that I am far more productive when I focus on what I do best – designing websites.
Instead of trying to do everything myself, I have found experts who I trust that can support my clients when they need help with hosting, emails, social media, search engine optimisation and marketing.
Also, I used to promote my services to all small businesses, but I’ve learnt it’s much better to focus on a specific audience.
So whilst I can still create websites for all business types, my marketing is now focussed on designing websites for coaches, consultants and service providers.
What key tips for success in business would you like to share with others?
- Set up systems to help you run your business more efficiently – this includes appointment scheduling, email automation, live chat, etc.
- Find people that can help you with daily running of the business, these don’t need to be staff members, they can simply be people that you trust in business.
- Create a document with standard emails and documents so you are not wasting a lot of time looking for them.
- Most businesses chase new customers – I would recommend figuring out extra services or products you can sell to your existing customers.
- Learn, learn, learn new skils – there are plenty of videos on YouTube and business related books.
- Give as much value as you can in terms of free reports, checklists, videos, run webinars and mini training courses
- As far as website design tips go:
- Be aware that 99% of people won’t buy from you the first time they come across your website, so find a way to engage with them – this can be by offering something for free in return for their email address, encouraging them to follow you on social media or interacting with them via live chat
- Realise that people don’t care about you. I know that sounds harsh, but the reality is people only want to know what you can do for them and how you can resolve their problems. Therefore the website should be focussed on your customers, not you
- Your website needs to prove that you are credible and that they can trust you – this can be done through the use of testimonials, case studies, before and after photos, media exposure, high profile clients
- You need to include calls to action on your website to let people know what you want them to do.
What is the one thing that you want everyone to take away from this post?
Take every opportunity that comes your way. Just say YES and have confidence you will be able to figure things out. Every opportunity, no matter how small may lead to other things that right now you don’t even know are possible.
