When I was growing up, I lived in a very rural area of Iowa. The nearest town had a population of less than 1,000 people and the nearest city was a 30 minute drive from our house in the country. As a result, technological innovation came slowly to our area, and my parents still have to endure the tyranny of a satellite internet connection today.
Despite the data limits, it’s at least better than the recently replaced dial-up internet connection we were forced to endure since the 1990s.
When I left for Mount Vernon, IA to attend Cornell College in 2005, I found myself at a school that not only had laid down solid technological framework, but also boasted faculty who were quick to adapt new tools for their classes. Think YouTube & Google, before either truly took off.
Mount Vernon is also sandwiched right between Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, the two biggest technology hubs in the state. These cities and the surrounding area are known as the Corridor, and big tech companies like GoDaddy, hibu, and Rockwell Collins are the big names that set the standard for this industry around here.
None of that was on my radar at the time, however. I was merely a big fan of using the Internet to learn new strategies for card games, playing video games, and chatting with people on forums to that point. I lacked any kind of understanding of how this wizardry came to be, but was well positioned to unravel these secrets as they were coming into exceptional demand.
Naturally, I pursued Business and English degrees instead of recognizing the opportunity in front of me.
While hindsight is 20/20, and these eventually led me to where I am as a website designer, I imagine you’re wondering what this has to do with today’s topic by now. In celebration of our 10th blog post, I wanted to take a moment to first say thank you to those who come by to read our articles. As part of that, I feel it is important to give back by showing you a little bit of what Midwest Websites brings to the community we call home.
Jump ahead to:
My business partner and I both come from families where small business was a way of life. My father and grandmother ran a video store in Eagle Grove, and Shane’s family ran a sawmill in Belle Plaine. I suppose it’s only natural we gravitated to running a small business ourselves – there’s nothing quite like carving out a niche with nothing but your own hands and determination.
Despite positioning ourselves to help businesses around the country, our experiences have ensured we’ll never forget the importance of a community. There’s something truly special about the partnerships formed between two local businesses that you just can’t convey through phone lines or email. Some of the things that make these relationships extraordinary are:
Some looking at this list will dismiss these points as obvious, unimportant, or pandering – especially when it comes to the hunt for a website designer. When there’s a seemingly endless array of companies, freelancers, and platforms to choose from, the last thing many want to do is add another piece of information to sift through.
People that have this mindset often prioritize cost, leading them to hire a freelance website designer. This is often a significant gamble, as freelancers are frequently based in countries that don’t speak English as a first language, flaky, scammers, or some combination of the above. If you get a finished product, it’s probably not going to be as polished as you’d like.
Others in this same demographic will go the route of hiring a smaller company, and a few among them will go the extra mile to hire a local website designer. We’ve spoken about the benefits of hiring smaller companies already, so we’re going to focus on the 5 benefits of hiring locally we listed today. If you live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, or any of the neighboring towns and cities in eastern Iowa, this post is for you.
Communication has dramatically evolved in the last 25 years. With the Information Age bringing us cell phones, email, and the Internet, you are now spoiled for options to solve most everyday problems.
No longer are you merely stuck to shopping between normal business hours – with giants like Amazon and eBay, you can buy what you need for a project at 3:00 AM on a Sunday morning.
Have family scattered across the globe? You can send them an electronic message within minutes that would have taken weeks to arrive in the form of a handwritten letter.
Thinking of catching up with a friend who lives across the country? Long distance charges don’t apply to most cell phone providers today.
While these innovations have gradually standardized instant gratification over the last 30 years, we’ve lost the personal touch and engagement that was common in years past along the way. Don’t believe me? Ask one of the older members of your family about the time they bought an important fixture or appliance for their home. They’ll be able to tell you about the store they went to, what they were looking for, the salesperson they spoke to, and other minor details about the trip to flesh out their experience.
Now I’ll tell a similar story. When I needed a new 5-bladed ceiling fan for my home, I bought it on Amazon. The end. What a ride, am I right?
Many of us spend a lot of time in front of a screen for work and/or leisure, and the experiences tend to blur together because of how similar they are to one another. Very rarely will something stand out, leaving us more detached as a society. When you pair this with the wall of anonymity provided by forums like Reddit, video game screen names, or social media platforms like Twitter, it’s easy to create your own insulated bubble from the outside world.
Email conversations, and to a lesser extent phone calls, also fall within these trappings. While these mediums are often essential for a website designer like me or other online businesses, it’s important to recognize they aren’t a substitute for direct human interaction.
Meeting with someone is very different by comparison. Without the screens that form the barriers of detachment and anonymity, each party is able to get a lot more out of the interaction. Body language supplements tone to help you understand how the person across the table feels about different elements of the conversation. Observant individuals can even learn a bit more about the people they speak with based on how they present themselves.
All of this and more comes together to form an experience that is greater than the sum of its parts. You’re able to assess important questions far more accurately as a result, such as…
Today, it is easy to learn a lot about a company before even reaching out them. With a little research on reviews left through Google, Yelp, and the Better Business Bureau, you’ll have preconceived opinions and expectations for those that stood out to you favorably or as cautionary tales. Once you narrow down your options, you’ll usually call a larger company that looks promising.
The person who answers greets you with a friendly tone and asks how they can help you. You lay out what you need and the concerns you have about your website design project. The salesperson addresses and allays each concern, speaks with authority throughout the conversation, and suggests you buy a slightly different package because its what you need within a few minutes.
If you’ve done your homework, you’ll usually be inclined to go along with their recommendations. They’re the expert from the company you picked, right?
Having worked in inbound phone sales and support positions for years as a website designer and expert, I speak from experience when I say charisma is the single most dangerous weapon a businessperson has during a phone call. While not every company or employee is out to make a quick buck at your expense, you have to be particularly vigilant during a phone call to ensure everything you’re being told makes sense.
Why? Because all you have to go off of is someone’s word and tone. With some industries (especially those involving website design, SEO, or e-commerce), that may be all you’re able to assess. Preparing a list of questions to ask is a must, and doing a little research on some of the answers before committing isn’t the worst idea either.
Working with a smaller company, especially in person, is a totally different experience. There are fewer people, so interactions are more consistent. You can ask someone questions about themselves or their company and they can answer them freely. You can observe how they answer them, and get an instinct for the type of person they are. Put simply, you gain more genuine insight and can make a more informed decision about whether to trust or hire them.
When was the last time a large industry name allowed you to meet your website designer? If you answered “never”, you’re hardly alone in that regard. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
At the end of the day, a person’s actions will always speak infinitely louder than any pretty string of words ever could. Everything from how someone presents themselves to how they deliver on their promises is laid bare when working them on a project. Seeing these things in person can make all the difference when it comes to your peace of mind and the finished result.
When presented a task you are going to perform for someone, which do you think is going to receive more of your care and attention – the one you do for a friend, or the one you do for a stranger?
In an ideal world, this wouldn’t matter. Everyone should get your best effort on every project. Reality has other ideas, however, and most of us will give someone we know an extra revision, an additional feature, or something unique to make it special if it is for someone important to us.
That doesn’t mean the work you do for someone else is going to be bad, mediocre, or passable – businesses of all sizes (though more so with small to medium sized ones these days) are often praised for consistently high quality – something you can count on us to continue delivering as well.
What this does mean is when you meet and hire a website designer like me, I can put a face and location to you and your company as well. Our developers can see your passion and what you are working toward, and draw on that to fuel our own when working on your website or helping you build your ranking on Google. In short, we reap a lot of the same benefits by meeting with you that you do from meeting with us!
There’s also an extra layer of accountability for a website designer (or any other professional) that meets with a client. If our work exceeds your expectations, we get the privilege of seeing your reaction during the unveiling. If we fall short or ignore details, there will probably be hell to pay during an unpleasant conversation. Nothing like a little extra incentive to keep us at the top of our game!
Experiencing a part of someone’s world is just a richer, deeper experience than you get over talking to someone online or on your cell phone. It is often the first step toward a better understanding of your needs and a key cornerstone for ensuring excellence in your finished project.
One of my favorite books is Rocket Boys, though many of you may be more familiar with its movie adaptation October Sky. The book follows NASA engineer Homer Hickam’s experience growing up as a coal miner’s son in West Virginia, and amidst his adventures learning the intricacies of rocket design, you also get a pretty good window into how politics operate in small towns.
Having grown up outside a small town myself, the book really hits the nail on the head. Everybody knows everybody else, gossip and news spread like wildfire, and there’s definitely a “if you scratch my back I’ll scratch yours” bartering system in place for important tasks or projects.
While there’s something unique about these tightly knit communities, the place you call home will often operate with some similarity. Neighborhoods, school districts, and college campuses have a tendency to look out for their own, and you might be surprised by some of the connections you’ll make if you take the time to explore them.
Put another way, we all know someone who could benefit from a professionally designed website. Odds are, we’ll know people who will find something they need from your business, organization, or area of expertise at some point in time. Hiring a local website designer gives you and us another opportunity to share what we do with a member of the community.
While businesses can’t strictly rely upon word of mouth anymore, it can still be a powerful marketing tool in its own right. We tend to trust the opinions of our friends and family over those of random strangers on the internet, and if you have a big family like I do, that can translate to a lot of good, free publicity. Positive word of mouth leads to more business, and more thriving businesses ensures lasting resources for the community.
The benefits of hiring a local website designer don’t strictly extend to our businesses though. Kids have school fundraisers, city organizations have events that need volunteers, and hobbies are always looking for new enthusiasts. It’s important not to lose sight of the fact that we are both part of the local community, and knowing people who are invested in that community can help each of these elements thrive.
You might find yourself in a position where you need to build and maintain a website. Perhaps we’ll find ourselves in a situation where we need an expert landscaper to make a property more welcoming for clients. Curveballs are thrown at us day in and day out, and when a particularly tricky one comes across the plate, having a coach who knows how to help you turn it into a home run can make all the difference.
This is why one of the secrets to success in business and life is networking. Knowing people you can look to for guidance or solutions will turn a frantic search into something as easy as a quick phone call. Less stress for you and an efficient solution that lets you direct your attention to more important things – sounds like a win-win to us.
Take the first step toward walking that road with our website designers by calling 319-229-5225 or emailing us today to schedule an appointment. If you live in the area and want to come meet with us in person, let us know! We’re more than happy to show you what we bring to the table and will work tirelessly to exceed your expectations!
Braden is one of the founders of Midwest Websites, and has been professionally writing and developing websites for over 7 years. His blog posts often take an experience from his life and showcase lessons from it to help you maximize online presence for your business.