Do you really need a website?
And what is the bare, absolute minimum you need to deliver services in an online business?
I was chatting with a friend the other day and I know that she does not want to be on Facebook and she does not want to be on Instagram. I also know that she is basically a little bush fairy who does not want to spend much time on her computer or be very involved with technology.
So when she told me that she was going to make a website I kind of freaked out.
Even though I am someone who makes websites and you might think that I would encourage her to get a website, it’s not always the case that you need a website.
My friend is running a business with a business partner called TST (Talking Stick Technology). It’s a new and beautiful offering that they are delivering to couples to help assist with communication and relationship issues. They are making money in their business but it’s very early days for them and they have been serving their clients face to face. Moving online would already be a big step for them let alone having to build a website.
Personally I did not have a website until I had made $10,000 in my business. I was able to serve clients and receive payment without having any kind of website.
I recommend the paid version of Acuity/Calendly if you are planning to have no website.
The beauty of the paid plan of Acuity/Calendly is that you can create appointments, you can also create workshops and you can get paid.
To harness this feature of Acuity//Calendly you will need a business PayPal account or a Stripe account so that you can receive payments.
Acuity//Calendly is relatively easy to set up. You can create a page that features all of your services if you want.
You can also create automated emails that get sent out once someone books a session or workshop spot with you which will save you loads of time once they’re set up.
Even better than Acuity/Calendly is Enlightenly! You can create appointments in here. Plus when you are ready for courses or other paid work, you can do it all here – integrated and super affordable.
I also recommended paying for zoom. if you use the paid version of zoom you can have meetings with over 40 people that last over 45 minutes. This enables my friend to meet with her business partner online and deliver their services to groups of couples or couples.
The nice thing about Zoom and Acuity is that once you have set these up you can create your Zoom meetings and then you can use the Acuity automatic email system to send the Zoom link to your customers so that you don’t have to do that manually.
You may choose Facebook or you may choose LinkedIn but I do recommend one social media platform if you’re not going to have a website.
Mainly because you just need one online place to send people that’s pretty easy for you to remember and share.
The Acuity URL for booking appointments are not particularly memorable and it’s easier if people can search for you on an online social media space.
The reason I suggested Instagram to my friend is because I know that she already finds it the easiest of all the social media platforms to participate in.
I recommend the same thing for you; if you find LinkedIn easiest or Facebook easiest then you can create a minimal social media presence there.
Then the question arises: “how often do you have to post and what should you post on social media”.
Currently I’m recommending that there is a bare absolute minimum of 1 post per week on any social media platform. This will enable someone to see that you are currently engaged in your business. If they go on your social media platform and they see no posts for the last 4 years they may wonder if you are actually currently delivering services.
I would say as a blanket rule once you’ve made $10,000 in your business is a good time to start thinking about a website.
BUT if you have some extra cash flow in your business you might decide to allocate that for other things before a website.
If you have a cash flow surplus, here are some other great uses for a cash flow surplus:
Paying for a particular software for the year for instant security or zoom you could pay for a whole year.
Alternatively you might want to work with a graphic designer to organise some branding for your business like a logo and fonts and colours.
Having great photos for your business is a particularly good asset and I would say you could invest in photography before you even invest in a website.
The reason I’m recommending all of these other things before a website is because when people come to me for a website build and they don’t have great images and they don’t have their branding sorted, it just makes it that little bit harder to make it look really gorgeous. The most gorgeous sites I’ve been able to build have been the ones where people come to me and they’ve got great images and they’re clear on their fonts and colours.
