I designed TBF around other's mistakes
Hello there, Sarah here, owner and founder of The Busy Founder.
At TBF, we take pride in our honesty and simplicity.
While learning about web design, digital marketing, and how to run a freelance business, I was repeatedly told, “Get Better, Charge More.” And so, for a while, I did. My first few projects, sourced from UpWork, were so cheap they might as well have been free. But I gained valuable experience and the confidence to ask for more, and so I did.
As time went on, I realized that I didn’t really care for the more expensive projects. After a while, the new, blue (collared), rural, agricultural, and small-town-type projects stopped coming in, and I missed them. The guys who run those types of businesses are MY people, and I hated not being involved with their work.
So I went back to the drawing board, and I started asking my favorite previous clients why it took them so long to get a website and what I could do to help more businesses like theirs.
These are the responses I heard most often and what I later implemented into TBF’s business practices::
“I didn’t know how to run a website, let alone build one.” / “I talked to a different web guy before you, but I didn’t know what the hell he was saying, so I just let the idea go.“
Web designers should know the technical terms used to speak to fellow designers and developers. However, that’s overwhelming and unfair to someone who is requesting our help with something that’s brand new to them. It took quite some time for us to learn all these phrases. Let’s be mindful of what kind of language we use when speaking with our clients.
It’s also important to set the websites up to be very user-friendly. If the owner (or an employee) wants to run it independently, they absolutely can.
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“I really wanted a site, but it seemed like everyone else charged more than I could afford.“
Today, good websites are almost as necessary as electricity; they should be accessible to all businesses. This is what made me decide to make my prices affordable for everyone.
My rates are so low I don’t even think I can call them competitive. I even offer flexible payment plans for those who need them.
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“Business is good– I’m so busy I don’t have time to breathe. I didn’t think I needed it “.
This response blew my mind. Websites have two gigantic purposes, but most people only know about one of them. A good website should:
a) attract more people/customers/income, and
b) automate whenever possible to make businesses more efficient and the owner’s life much easier.
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“Well, I looked into finding someone to put a site together, but no one had prices listed, or they wanted to do a one-hour consultation. I just didn’t have that kind of time. I always want a ballpark estimate before I talk to anyone. It feels like they’re just making numbers up on the spot“.
When I learned about the business side of running a web design business, I was often advised to do a consultation call BEFORE giving anyone ANY estimate. It is common in this industry to figure out how much income a business generates in a year and then price your services accordingly. So yes, you are correct to assume that many are making prices up as they go.
Our prices are clearly listed because I don’t believe in doing business any other way.
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It all came down to this- all businesses need websites and a digital presence, but websites and digital strategies aren’t always accessible due to their complexity and costs.
At TBF, we want to see every business have a website they can take pride in.
So we keep it simple, we keep it honest, and we keep it affordable.
Meet the Team
Kayla McVey
Writer for The Busy Founder
Kayla is originally from Tennessee, but she’s also lived in Mississippi, Illinois, Iowa, and Texas.
She is happily married and is the mother of one beautiful baby girl.
Some of Kayla’s interests include astrology, aviation, agriculture, and self-sufficiency. Kayla has worked as a CDL A Driver and in agricultural aerial application.
When she’s not writing, she’s either serving her community as a law enforcement officer or behind the camera for her business, Western Eclectic Imagery.
Rachael Waymire
Writer for The Busy Founder
Rachael is a strong Puerto Rican woman who loves the fall season and hot chocolate.
Her favorite holiday is Thanksgiving. Rachael enjoys writing about fruits, environmentalism, tourism, and pet care.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, walks on the beach, and swimming with aquatic nature.
Angeleah Regis
Writer for The Busy Founder
Angeleah is originally from a ranching community in southeast Kansas, but relocated to a larger city for her fiancé’s firefighting career.
When she’s not writing, she’s chasing her oldest son, toddler twin boys, and doodles around the house and backyard.
Her passions are her faith in God, her family, animals, reading, writing, and yoga. She and her family lead an active lifetsyle, spending a lot of time visiting the local zoo and hiking trails around the city.
Brittany Hall
Writer for The Busy Founder
Brittany is a rural midwest girl recently transplanted to a small city.
She likes writing about gardening, tiny houses, pets, and cooking.
In her downtime, she writes short stories and poetry. When she’s not writing for business or pleasure, you can usually find her making jewelry, playing a PC game, or immersing herself in delightfully nerdy fantasy novels and sci-fi.
Brittany runs her own small business, Mushu’s Market, and also works as an automotive customer service trainer.
Sarah H. Jones
Writer, Web Designer, and Digital Strategist for The Busy Founder
Sarah lives 4,200 feet up in the Salish Mountains in northwestern Montana.
She and her husband are busy raising their two toddlers and small homestead.
When she isn’t working, Sarah and her family like to read, hike, kayak, fish, hunt, and trail ride together in the Kootenai National Forest that surrounds their cabin.