Once upon a time Nancy McCord held a position in the colorful world of interior design. Nowadays she taps into the same type of skill sets, as the owner of a web design firm. What we found valuable about her journey from corporate life to becoming an entrepreneur in May of 2001, was the process she went through to determine how to transfer her years of corporate experience, knowledge, skills and passion to a new profession. Her sales enjoyed a 50 percent increase in 2007 from 2006 sales by expanding her services, staying true to her concept and adding independent contractors to her operation.
McCord Web Services offers its clients creativity and marketing which include web design, e-newsletter design, content creation and subscriber management to name a few. Of course, a big motivating factor in her life was the fact that she’d taken a two-year break to have and raise her… triplets.
Tell us about those first few years as a “corporate employee turned entrepreneur”. What did you learn from those early years that helped you move forward?
McCord: Planning yet staying nimble is important.
I tried not to create any corporate overhead before I could afford it. I strived to stay profitable by bootstrapping the resources that I had. When I had money, I carefully invested in the training and products that I really needed (not wanted) to be able to be more productive.
We have selected the services we offer slowly over time as our clients’ needs became apparent. We started only as a web design firm. Then clients asked if we could do newsletters or how about updating their website? Then it was what about updating their friend’s website when we did not do the design–and so on.
In fact, we will be rolling out a new service next month on release writing and circulation.
Typically a new service plan starts first with a client or two or three asking if we can do it. Sometimes the service seems like a good match, but before we roll anything out to clients, we test it on ourselves first. How easy or hard is it to perform? How much time does it take? We check with our staff and encourage their feedback on pricing and requirements. Only then do we introduce a new service.
Copywriting for articles and magazines is a relatively new service for us and sprang out of our clients’ blog writing needs. So from my perspective, it is important to listen to clients and then evaluate what is a good match for you. Not all services clients have asked for have turned into services that our business provides. We want to offer the best value and top-notch service level when we choose to provide something, not make a quick buck just to satisfy a customer once.
I have also found that if I cannot step in and do a service–in case a contractor cannot follow through–that I should not offer the service. I must understand what it takes for my contractors to provide a service in order to offer the service. This helps my contractors to be loyal to me and accept my guidance, as I am experienced and have walked in their shoes, but also keeps me from disappointing a customer. If there is an illness or accident, I can step in and still make a client deadline.
This is one reason why I do not provide programming services, as I do not have strong programming skills even though several of my contractors do. I feel that I must always be focused on exceeding a client’s expectations and, in doing so, have aggressively grown my business.
Approximately how much money did you have to invest before your business became profitable?
McCord: My first year I broke even, and every year after that I’ve made a profit. I have low overhead, as I work out of my own home office and have not taken on undue expenses until I had the money to pay for them.
What resources were most helpful to you when you were starting your business?
McCord: I used our local community college and went to free business startup seminars and asked lots of questions. I went to the state tax office and asked lots of questions.
What is the single most important piece of advice you would give to a current corporate employee who wants to become a “weekend entrepreneur” first, then grow a business?
McCord: Don’t start with a corporate mentality. Startups cannot typically afford high-powered consultants, the best software or glamorous offices. Spend what you can afford and plan for the future. Work to own your local market and then spread your sights. I harvested word of mouth traffic initially and then moved into the national sphere and then globally. Start with baby steps and build a strong foundation that builds customer loyalty and good repeat business and referrals.
I already had a college degree and a strong entrepreneurial background as well as management background. I had been in interior design and furniture sales management as well as [being] a licensed interior designer.
I thought that a web design career would allow me to work at home to be near my kids, use my strong color and design skills, and leverage opportunity from my strong selling background.
I knew that I needed web design and web graphics training, yet not a degree. I went to the local community college and took not-for-credit night classes to get a certificate in web design. I worked hard for nine months and created a portfolio while in class so I could hit the ground running and get special help from instructors when I needed it.
I was also able to buy some of my most expensive software while in school as a student using the college’s student discount (Photoshop at a 50 percent discount).
I was thirsty for knowledge and really worked hard at developing my skills outside of class. I practiced, practiced, practiced.
I created my own website for my business as my last project so I could hit the ground running. My first customers were neighbors and family members. My first employees were family members as well, as I could trust them to help me and to work cheaply in a desire to help me succeed.
Do you have a book or information product?
McCord: I have a free informational download section on my website where you can pick up our top white papers on a variety of topics.
Our newest whitepaper is “The Tangible Benefits of Blogging.” This in-depth analysis reviews statistical results of web traffic, site stickiness and organic search placement of websites that use blogging as a way to build content and authority on their selected topic. You will walk away from reading it knowing that blogging is the new medium for your marketing arsenal for your own business.
http://www.mccordweb.com
McCord: Our most popular white paper that has been downloaded [more than] 800 times is “Google & Yahoo Advertising Comparison White Paper.“
This in-depth analysis compares Google AdWords to Yahoo Sponsored Search and, in easy-to-understand terms, helps you to decide which program is best suited for your needs. We compare results for users of both products for click traffic, expense and the number of impressions. You will walk away from reading this white paper having a clearer understanding of what each offers, the pros and cons of each, and a better idea of which vehicle will be best for your needs.
http://www.mccordweb.com
Our kudos to
Our question to you, dear readers–what skills, knowledge, experience and passions can you leverage to create the lifestyle of your dreams?
This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 2nd, 2008 at 8:58 am and is filed under Online Business, Starting a Business, Work at Home Mom, Growing a Business, Women in Business, Mindset, Boot It Up. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.3 Responses to “From Interior Designer to Web Designer…and Beyond”
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April 6th, 2008 at 4:11 pm
[…] successful business over the past seven years while simultaneously raising her triplets!! Read From Interior Designer to Web Designer and Beyond and be sure to check out Nancy’s popular white papers including The Tangible Benefits of […]
April 7th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Passion, Purpose and Patience are important elements of growing a successful small business @ home. Thanks for a great post on example of all three.
April 9th, 2008 at 11:18 am
From Interior Designer to Web Designer…and Beyon…
Bookmarked your post over at Blog Bookmarker.com!