Hey beginner business babe. You’ve been hearing online that you need a website, right?
The biz gurus are saying that it makes you look professional and they won’t work with someone who doesn’t have a dot com website?
Like, they’re saying you’re totally not serious about business if you don’t have a dot com website, right?
But you’re just getting started (like you probably have like 1 client right now) and don’t have the funds to spend on a website.
Also there are SO MANY OPTIONS!! Which one do you choose?
Can you afford to keep spending this money AND setting it up AND looking for clients?
Probably not if you’re just getting started 🫠
What you need is a minimum viable product - the lowest lift, lowest effort ‘website’ that you can get up and running in the shortest amount of time
Now, you’ll hear lots of folks say that you need an actual dot com website, but I disagree. It’s a lot of work and a lot of money for beginners who still haven’t niched or are still unsure about what they’re doing just yet
It’s much simpler and more manageable to do an MVP website until you figure out what you really need. Your MVP website isn’t your forever website - it’s just a temporary solution so that you don’t get stuck on shit that doesn’t really matter right now. Like building a whole ass website lol
so what do you need for this MVP website?
a Google Doc or Notion page
Literally that’s it
They’re both familiar to you (and your audience), they’re easy to update on the fly, and they can be shared publicly with a link
Also, they’re both easy to format and make pretty without sucking you into making it too pretty like a Canva site, or Linktree
essential info (essential being the key word here)
Who are you? Give us your name, your role, and a little bit about yourself
What do you do? This is where you tell us about your services and what they cost. Be specific!
How does someone contact you? Give us your booking link, intake form, email address, and link any relevant social media here
And these are the essentials! You don’t need a fancy about me page or blog just yet. Remember this isn’t your final website!
put the share link in your bio
Update the links in all your social media, and wherever else your links exist, like your email signature
If you’re using both Instagram and Threads, you’re gonna have to update your links on each separately - updating IG doesn’t automatically update Threads, and vice versa
this is stupid simple - and that’s why it works
You’re erasing the decision paralysis and overwhelm that comes from having A LOT of options, and not enough information/knowledge to parse through them all in a timely fashion
You’re also a beginner so, like, you just need anything that works for right now so that people can get to know you and hire you
It’s also a way to build trust with you. If I liked your vibe on Threads and wanna get to know more about your work and how to book you, I’d be totally stalled by just a booking link or no link at all!
With an MVP website, I can quietly check you out while you’re doing literally anything else. And that shows your audience that you’re thinking about and considerate of their time and yours. That’s points in your book 😉
things to remember about this MVP website
this isn’t your final form
At some point (hopefully), you’re gonna upgrade to something bigger, better, and more reflective of who you are as a professional. Like when you’re getting more consistent inquiries, you wanna add more features to your blog, and when you’re ready to invest in a dot com domain for the SEO
I talk more about picking website tools in this blog post [coming soon]
this isn’t a replacement for a dot com website
A dot com website is the ideal in the long run - Google recognizes you and you show up in searches. This doesn’t mean that your MVP website sucks; it’s just that it’s serving you for where you are now, while a dot com will serve you for where you’re going in the future
it doesn’t need to be fancy, it just needs to exist for now
People are looking to learn more about the people they wanna work with and you just need a space to give them that information. It’s not gonna be particularly beautiful or professional and that’s okay for now!
You’re learning and growing and that’s what matters right now. It’s so easy to get stuck and have little to no forward movement in your business at these earlier stages, and it’s not in your best interest
Having a website is definitely important, but it can totally be a minimum viable website
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