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Running an online business does require a lot of self-discipline and motivation. There’s no clock in time, no one monitoring your every move or keeping track of your tardies and absentees. Those of us who run online businesses operate within a completely different paradigm than the conventional hourly model. Our income is not based on how many hours we work each day, but how productive we are with every minute and every hour of our time when we are working.

On any day, I could hop a flight to a whole other country and resume working once I get there, just as I would resume working here in my home. On a smaller scale, I could also take days off if I wished and go do something fun! (Living on the Olympic Peninsula, with the Hoh Rainforest and Olympic Mountains and Wilderness Coast just a short drive away, there’s never a shortage of fun things I could go do!). BUT, this is where that internal drive comes in- the ability to manage oneself and stay on track with current tasks while also contributing little by little to long-term success. The first couple of years —and especially that very first year!— of running an online business are very time-consuming and require a lot of effort and a lot of mental energy and fortitude.

Not everyone has it in them.

That said, I do think online and remote work is the way of the future. Extensive research is now showing that companies not only save a lot of money by not having in-house employees, but that people also perform better when they work remotely.

It’s also a lot more environmentally friendly. Just think about the hoards of traffic on the morning commute. In cities, the highways can look like a conveyor belt of fossil fueled engines rolling across the asphalt like a giant snake.

The reasons are plentiful, but my primary reason for wanting to work online, and my drive for making that happen, was that I yearned for more freedom in my life.

Life is short and so, so precious and I want to make the most of the time that is given to me. Running an online business makes this possible by giving me control over my own schedule. I work when I’m feeling productive. I stick to task when working, and manage to be very efficient with my time. When I start to feel burnt out or sluggish or distracted, I go do something else to refuel the mental coffers and then return to the work later on.

Another big reason I wanted to work online was so my work ethic would actually have an effect on my income. I’ve worked a variety of jobs in my life, and there were times when my work ethic surpassed that of other co-workers, yet at the end of the day we were paid the same. There was no incentive other than my own personal integrity. Running my own business online has finally allowed that built-in work ethic to be rewarded.

I’m now reaching a point on my life path where I’m feeling very drawn to helping other people transition to an online business lifestyle, if that’s what they long for. Not everyone does, of course, and society wouldn’t be able to function if everyone did (at least not with technology where it currently is), so I’m only speaking to the people who do have this yearning. For this reason, I took some time in 2020 to create a brand new course: HOW TO START A SQUARESPACE DESIGN BUSINESS.

The opportunities for creating a full-time income online are as vast as your creativity, but right now I want to speak to those of you who might be interested in becoming a Squarespace Web Designer.

There are several courses out there and probably hundreds of blog posts of others telling you how to do this very thing, but my opinion has its own unique approach, so I’d like to share it.

One can take many paths to arrive at the same destination, so here I offer you just one path, though there are many others that work just as well I’m sure.

Becoming A Squarespace Designer

Phase 1 - Learning + research

Ah, that wonderful beginning stage of research and learning, when those seeds of doubt are still spread thick throughout the mind and you wonder, “Will I ever pull this off?!”

Yes, you will. Yes, you can.

It will be a process, so buckle up!

I recommend beginning by perusing other Squarespace Designer’s websites. Take note of the services they offer, how they price them, look for insights into their process with clients. Don’t get bogged down by having this software or that- I started my business with simple solutions that I still use today, and they work just fine. Contracts? DocuSign. Invoices? Zelle or Paypal. Gathering & organizing client content? Google Drive.

Browse other SS designer’s portfolios, read their blog posts, learn about their pricing and what is included in each package to get an idea of the market.

Additionally, go to YouTube and search for “squarespace tutorials” and start going through them one by one to learn as much as you can. You’re essentially creating your own Squarespace Business school right now, and what a wonderful time we live in that we can learn valuable skills for free! There are also complete Squarespace courses on websites like Udemy for as little as $11. (Be sure to log all business-related expenses for future tax write-offs).

And then, if you haven’t already, start creating Squarespace websites! This is the very best way to learn. You can begin with your own site! Then, offer a friend or acquaintance a free website in exchange for permission to include it in your portfolio.

This learning and research phase can last weeks or months, depending on the time you invest and how quickly you catch on. That said, most of my learning happened in actual client projects when I had to meet certain deliverables which required a lot of troubleshooting and research to find solutions. For the first year, I was essentially paid to learn. But you do need at least a couple of websites under your belt before you’ll be able to get those initial clients.

phase 2 - put yourself out there + start developing a real portfolio

Now with a lot more knowledge under your belt, it’s time to start offering your services professionally.

A lot of people complain about Upwork and other freelancing platforms, but Upwork really helped me in that first year and I still occasionally take on projects on Upwork if it’s the right fit.

My approach was two-fold.

In the first year, I started by creating my own website and using Upwork. I got pretty much zero traffic from my website in the first year.

Then, magically, in the beginning of my second year, I started getting a lot of traffic via the contact form on my website! I had also been teaching myself Squarespace SEO in that first year (because clients were requesting it!) and it was finally paying off.

Nowadays, 98% of projects come through my website from Google.

So, here is what I suggest you do to start putting yourself out there and getting jobs:

• Create your website once you have at least a couple of portfolio items (think about your niche or specialty as a Squarespace Designer; what do/will you bring to the table that is even slightly different than other designers?)

• Create a profile on Upwork (or the freelancing platform of your choice) and start submitting thoughtful proposals

• Print business cards and tack them onto popular bulletin boards around your town

• Email, call, or drop in to local businesses with outdated websites and offer them a great deal

For more insight, head over to this article How To Start A Squarespace Design Business.

For a thorough explanation on every single aspect of running your own Squarespace design business, from how to get clients, to communication etiquette, to contracts and invoicing, project workflow, offboarding, taxes, business registration, and SO much more, I offer this wonderful course:

Learn Squarespace SEO to add value for clients & increase revenue as a designer

Being a Squarespace Designer is one thing, but being able to get Squarespace websites to rank on Google Page 1 will no doubt skyrocket your business.

I’ve studied for years to learn how to do this; far beyond all of the repeated banter you read over and over again out there: use headings! get backlinks! etc. etc.

From the time we launch, many of my clients see their site on Google Page 1 within 2-3 months. This is unheard of without a solid SEO strategy and adds tremendous value to my services.

So if you want to be build a Squarespace web design business, I would definitely recommend investing in my Squarespace SEO Expert Course. You can write it off as a business expense when tax time rolls around, so it’s a win-win.

Remember that the first year will likely be a lot of hustle and doubt, low paying work, and imposter syndrome. You’ll have to brush all that off and keep trudging through and reminding yourself that this is just the nature of growing your own business, it certainly doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a snowball effect!

Most Squarespace Designers start seeing a huge boost in momentum that first year, which I think is in large part due to SEO (blogging on your website, building more websites that contain backlinks to your own site, etc.).

Personally, my income more than doubled in my second year! And I have no reason to think it won’t continue on that trajectory, especially as I learn more and am able to bring more value to a larger number of people.

I hope this has been helpful for you! If you still have specific questions, leave those in the comments below. I’m happy to help in any way I can.

Cheers to more freedom and fulfillment in life!

x
Tiffany

welcome!

Hey there! I’m Tiffany ~ a Squarespace Web Designer & SEO Expert. I design beautiful & professional websites that rank well on Google, and I teach one of the most top-ranked Squarespace SEO courses here!

Feel free to email me at: tiffany@tiffany-davidson.com

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