Last updated on May 4th, 2023 at 07:03 pm.
What ‘s your opinion? When it comes to whether you should get a website or not. Truth is, there are some industries that can survive without a website.
Thought one
For example. Right now, just close your eyes and think of a restaurant or a café. One you went into because, you were thirsty or hungry. You didn’t have to google them to go in. It was there and you were in need and they could solve your need.
Thought Two
Now think of that time you wanted to go to another city. If not, just picture it in your head . You didn’t know anyone there. And AirBnb wasn’t around. Did you just go there and ask people where you can sleep?
Just you and the Magic Cream
Let’s forget about businesses for a second. Now it’s just you and your dreams. You have a job. Maybe you hate it. Maybe not. So you recently discovered this amazing mixture of natural stuff . Just stuff in your kitchen. And this stuff gets rid of all those black spots on your face. Gets rid of pimples even before they show up.
So there you are, at a job. A job maybe you hate, or not. And you are sure this stuff can sell. You are sure you can make more of it. And you can mix it up. Pack it up. And sell it to actual people. All by yourself.
The question...
So the question is, to get started, do you need a website? Probably not. Actually, most definitely not. But think of it this way, it all depends on what your short term and long term goals are.
So what you have to bear in mind is this. You currently have a job. A job that pays you (These bills won’t pay themselves). Keep that in mind because the next steps will depend on this variable. And the next step is deciding if you need a website or not.
Option one – I don’t care
With all the entrepreneurship hype right now, you may be tempted to quit your job the next day. You wouldn’t be the first. No one understands the power of conviction more than an entrepreneur with an itch.
The ‘I will do what it takes mentality’ . This mentality that leads to greatness. Greatness that comes after trials and tribulations. Well, if you have a job. Not just any job, but a job you passionately hate . A job you dread going to, every day. A job you make every excuse to sneak out of every chance you get. A job you only endure because you have bills.
If you quit. And go all in. No one will judge you. If you believe in the Magic Cream that much. And you feel good going all in. That’s a decision I support 205% .
But please, have a plan. Don’t be a motivated idiot (Words of Jim Rohn )
Back to your original thought, in this case, do you need a website. If you do this, and take this route, your chances of success are higher but there will be a steeper hill to climb because if you don’t reach a reasonable milestone. You will probably. Most definitely. I am very certain of this. You will go beg for your old job back.
Out of work, so I got time …
With you out of work. You have a lot of time. Note : you still have no website. You can either make a little bit of Magic Cream first. And then post a few things about it to your Facebook friends and your Instagram followers.
Even better, standing in front of a supermarket or a busy fixed location, telling people about it. That’s the real hustle. Or even better trying to sell it to the supermarket or shops around where you live. That’s another real hustle.
But please, have a plan …
Let’s not jump ahead of ourselves. You quit your job, let’s say last week. Were you a salesperson at that job? Are you comfortable approaching people you don’t know. Telling them about a product they have never heard of. And getting them to pay you?
I remember, clearly and adamantly writing this up there: But please, have a plan.
So before you quit your job, consider option 2 and 3 .
You may complain that I haven’t answered the question. Do you need a website or not. It’s all up to you. I mean, after making the decision. The decision to quit your job. How hard can it be to decide whether you need a website or not. Let this echo: But please, have a plan.
Option 2 : Keep that paycheck coming , I ain’t going nowhere
I see you’ve chosen to stay at that job. A job maybe you hate or love. Does that mean it’s the end of Magic Cream?
No .
What if…
Do you work on weekends?. Do you sleep at your job? What if you could do both? What if you spent your free time creating a plan for Magic Cream? What if you stayed in every night and every weekend? What if you said no to the people telling you to loosen up? What if you turned off your telly for some time? What if the only reason you went to YouTube was to learn how to build your own website and how to market it? What if you learned to say No? What if you decided that you only say yes to the friends that provide you that push you will always need?
The what ifs are endless.
In the end, it’s the What ifs that hurt the most (Scrubs, season Unknown, Episode unknown, by JD) . I could Google it. But why deny you the chance for research. I still love Scrubs .
I will do this part time
Now you have decided you still have a job. And you have to see what you can do with Magic Cream. You will do them both. You will try to get customers during your free time. You will learn whatever you need to learn, to get started. You still don’t have a website.
Everyone else is telling you that you need one. But you happen to be one of the stubborn ones . You have decided that you will use your favorite social media to make some noise about Magic Cream.
Since you have used Magic Cream. You probably have some old pictures of your face. Those pictures you never used to share. And you would be really mad if someone shared them on Facebook and tagged you in one. Pictures of the time when there were well distributed black marks all over your brown face.
Guess what. If Magic Cream has done to you what you claim it has. If Magic Cream was able to repaint over. Even just a bit, such that the difference is noticeable. Those pictures of your contoured face are gold!
Just think of the fitness world. A guy sheds off some weight. Come on, you know how the story goes. What platforms do you think, in this day and age they would use. I’m thinking photographs and videos.
So what platforms would you use? I would definitely make a lot of noise on Instagram, FB and YouTube. Just these three. Set something like this up. Share the images on Instagram, Instagram posts to Facebook, If you want to, Facebook automatically shares to twitter (Even Instagram shares to Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr and Facebook). Of course these are things you already know.
What about video
Where do videos fit in the whole picture? Of course in the beginning you’ll be trying to talk yourself down. Saying things like, I don’t have the equipment. I don’t want my friends to see my videos. They will mock me. I really hope my boss and work mates won’t see this. Enough with the psychological negative self-talk. Your journey is just beginning.
Moving on, what exactly is video. Video is just a slideshow of pictures that pass by really fast. They are just frames of images, one after the other.
You know what this means? If you don’t want to create real videos, you can just create slideshows. Let’s say you have two images of you. One with your old face and another with your new face. And you want to share your story ( after finally getting your psychological negative self-talk in order !)
So, you decide you want to share your story. Become the ambassador of Magic Cream. And you have two images. With two images, you can create a before and after. Just add a little bit of text and some free Music from the YouTube Music Library . That’s a tutorial for another day.
Then if you can get a few Teenagers to try out the product and upload their before and after pictures on your FB page (which by now you have created). Then with their permission upload these images to your own Instagram feed. Sounds very easy. But it will take time to make it happen. As long as you have the steps figured out you can make it happen.
Bear in mind that I’m a conceptual and theoretical person. That means I can see a problem and solve it in my head. A good plan without execution is just that, a plan.
At this point, you probably think you need a website. I don’t know. I’m not sure. Do you really need a website?
Option 3 : I will see what this site can do for me, I will do it in my free time
The what ifs above, apply here as well.
A site or a blog or both ?
Yep… a website
Sometimes you can be certain that you want an ecommerce website. An online shop where you will add Magic Cream, and wait for people to buy it. And you will ship it to them. If you took the steps from option 2 and mix them with this, you are likely to get some orders.
Don’t build your website and leave it to fate. If you do not market the website. If you do not let people know that Magic Cream can help them like it helped you. You will most certainly get no customers. You will give up . Marketing is the life of any online business.
Yeah…maybe a blog
What if you are one of those cautious people? And you want to take a more subtle approach. So you make a decision. A decision to just blog about stuff related to Magic Cream. Things like how to take care of your face. Natural products to use. Some things you did try. What was successful? What wasn’t ? And so on.
At this point you haven’t told them about your Magic Cream. Should you? I don’t know yet. You can mention it casually. Saying things like “There’s this product I’ve created and tried and I’m seeing results. I’m still refining it. Will let you know more.”
At this point you still have your job. That job you either hate or love. That gives you an edge. You can build momentum on your blog. Then, you can get a few people to try the product. Give them a SMALL portion of it. With directions of how to use it. Preferably a video of how to use it. If they see results, now they can order the larger amount.
You can have them order in advance. You are probably wondering how you would collect the payment. If your blog is built on WordPress, why not set up one of those PayPal buttons. Or any other payment methods. Actually the many options the better. There are plugins that can help you with this. Or you can just share your PayPal email address and they will send you the money. So what, if it is not automatic? These are trivial stuff. They may seem important but they are not the most important of things.
They both will be awesome
On your original ecommerce site. What if you added this blog that we’ve just talked about. Or on your blog, you added an ecommerce plugin. Now you have a blog and an online shop. Your blog is your marketing tool. Along with videos and images and how-to PDFs . This is the boring part. But necessary. After a while it becomes interesting though.
I wish I had a Magic Cream to try these steps. A Magic Cream that works.
Myself or Outsource
If you are certain you can afford to have someone else build a good website for you, then get someone else to do it.
If you prefer to learn to do it yourself . Either build the blog or a full ecommerce website .Then by all means go ahead and learn. Knowledge is never wasted.
Last year I read this article on entrepreneur.com and the only thing I got out of the whole article was this: what you lack in Capital, you make up for in sweat.
what you lack in Capital, you make up for in sweat.
Conclusion
I cannot decide for you. A path chosen by you is better than one chosen for you. Decide whether whatever you want to do needs a website. Or would you be able to bootstrap everything without one.
I just have to pose this to you : Do you really need a website?
What I could have written in this article instead of the above
Businesses that have a steady flow of income assume that whatever they are doing is good enough . And a website would not be that important. Well if you are in this school of belief, you would be wrong.
A website is a must for you. If you don’t have one, you should see to it that you are online today. Every business has a website. Your competitors have a website. Your business partners have a website. Why shouldn’t you?
Before your customers get to know you, they will ‘google’ you. If they do not find you, other businesses will be found. Them, who were smart enough to get online early will be found on the internet.
With the number of web designers increasing, you have a better chance of getting online afford-ably. Just insist on quality. A good website will not get you customers alone but you should get value for money. There are lots of factors to consider in the quality of the website. Lots of them are things I will not and cannot bore you with.
A website cannot be an optional marketing tool.
So boring!
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Let me know your thoughts below.
