1stwebdesigner

From Coding to Starting Business and Hiring a Team [Podcast]

Posted: 22 Jan 2015 05:44 AM PST

The Podcast Episode with Ouida Mac

Ouida Mac’s Success Story

You have a lot of projects going for you and more are waiting in queue. You even have a business. The frustrating thing, however, is that it is not moving into the direction you want and growing into the scale you desire.

It’s not that you lack the talent or the technology. In fact, you’ve continuously allow yourself to learn new systems and technologies but why is everything on a standstill?

This was the same frustration Ouida Mac faced not a long time ago. Like all average web designers, she was charging $15 – $20/hour for her services. Ouida doesn’t lack talent nor knowledge.

Describing herself as your typical nerd/geek, Ouida has written her own CMS and she is constantly learning new technologies to make her craft better. Even her resources and support are abundant.

That story was a long time ago. Ouida was able to transform herself from someone else’s contractor to becoming her own manager hiring other designers to do the work while she focuses on the more important aspect of her business. From $15 – $20 an hour, Ouida now charges $75/hour, an amazing 200% increase from what she used to charge.

What happened?

Mindset Change… When Ouida was asked what brought the 180-degree change in her life and her business, she would always stress mindset change when she entered the $10K Boot Camp. According to her, she had self-esteem issues where she acted like a Xerox machine doing what her clients require of her but not getting paid according to the efforts she exerts.

Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it. ~ Steve Maraboli

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All that changed when she realized that being a web designer is not just about coding, mastering new technologies, or solving the client’s problems. It is also about viewing web design as a business and not just a job – and therein lies the difference.

When you think of your profession as a job, you will feel no sense of ownership. After all, you are just another face in the workforce – someone who has to finish a task because it is an obligation.

On the other hand, when you view of your profession as a business, you begin to own it. You begin to develop a vision how to make it grow.You begin to innovate. Most of all you begin to look at the big picture and start to ask the right questions.

Asking the Right Questions

How much are you worth? Any successful person or business does not become successful because they are offering a great product or service. How many great products and services are out there? How many great products and services have established themselves as a brand to be reckoned with?

Only when you begin to understand your worth and your value will you be able to bring your business and your service to a bigger scale you want it to be. You are the only person who can tell you how much you’re worth, not the clients who use your services, not the consumers who buy your product. When you treat what you offer as something of great value, people will just follow suit.

As Po’s father in the movie, Kungfu Panda, had said, “There is no secret ingredient.” Po began to act to his full potential when he realized his value. This same strategy has been used by con artists throughout history.

People bought something of no value at a very valuable price because they’ve been told so. Furthermore, those con artists acted and spoke with much conviction how valuable their product is.

Great Expectations

You have an edge – You really are offering something valuable. The greatest challenge, however, is how to make your clients see your value. The Confucian principle of doing unto others what you want others to do unto you provides the clue.

Ouida Mac and the other $10K Boot Camp graduates might have reworded it differently but it resonated throughout her interview. This same mindset can also be seen and heard from $10K Boot Camp graduates.

The principle? It is not about you or your talent but about your clients. It is placing them at the forefront before you even start to think of design. It is thinking about their breakthrough first before you think of your own.

If you are able to bring a breakthrough to your client, they will know that you are worth the money. If you bring value to your customers, you can ask for more money. If your clients earn more money, they will have no difficulty paying the high value work you bring into the table.

That is why Ouida had no difficulty charging a 200% increase to her clients because they cannot replace the value she is bringing.

Accountability & Collaboration

Like all the rest of humanity, web designers should understand that success can’t be achieved single-handedly. Even those who call themselves self-made millionaires did not reach the place they are in without any form of support. Ouida has mentioned this in her interview. She said that the support and accountability she gets from her 10K mentors and fellow graduates are priceless.

At the end of the day we are accountable to ourselves - our success is a result of what we do. ~ Catherine Pulsifer

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In terms of accountability,she emphasized the importance of choosing the right counsel. You can have mentors but you can’t always have the right mentors. What do they look like?

They are the mentors who will keep pushing you to move forward. They are mentors who will keep pushing you to have new discoveries in every project you undertake.

Support-wise, the 10K Drive and the constant communication she has with fellow $10K alumni keeps her in touch with new trends and strategies. She further emphasized that web designers should never feel threatened to share their knowledge and experiences with fellow designers because there is always plenty of work for everybody.

On the other hand, sharing is what makes the community and the industry dynamic because of the new knowledge. Besides, no one has really become successful by hiding what he has discovered from others.

Conclusion

Knowing your value is the lesson Ouida Mac wants to impart. When you know your worth, it will be easier for you to place your client’s value first. When you know your worth, you will never feel threatened by others talents nor be gripped by fear that someone can steal your projects. Instead, you will be generous enough to share your knowledge and experiences to fellow designers and rejoice as they grow and expand as well.

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