Here’s Why You Need a Website When Starting a Business or Non-profit
There are plenty of other reasons why having a beautiful, functional site is important but here is the absolute MOST important reason (especially if you are just starting out). Because a website gives you credibility. This is especially important if you are just starting out and have not yet established trust within your niche network.
Ever heard the phrase “fake it ‘til you make it?” Do that.
Of course, I am not encouraging that you LIE about your experience or capability. But one of the hardest parts about starting a business is breaking away from that limited belief that you aren’t qualified enough, polished enough, or experienced enough to do what you do AND charge people for it. A beautiful website will not only give you a huge boost of confidence but it will give you a sense of legitimacy so that you can tell your inner critic to F-Off whenever she decides to come around. And she will come around, I promise.
But a good site also proves your capability to your desired audience and gives people an opportunity to hear your story so they can decide if they want to connect with you.
We Looked Bigger Than We Were, A Case Study
Take this case study for example. Last year I helped co-found a non-profit which helps womxn and girls learn life-changing skills and gain confidence. Because we were building a community and brand from scratch, we had absolutely NO trust in the space. But luckily I have some years of designing websites under my belt and built us a beautiful, functional site. Within a few weeks, we were able to score some pretty important sponsors (over 9000 organic menstrual products, 4000 biodegradable wet wipes, co-working space for our team, and event space for our community-building events.) It also got us some pretty important partnerships with already established non-profits. At that point, we weren’t even legally registered as a non-profit (in Germany it can take up to six months to get the legal status). But because the website LOOKED professional and our vision and mission were clear, we looked bigger and more important than we were, which gave people a reason to want to get to know us further.
A website can make or break a client deal because it’s the FIRST impression a potential client makes of you. This is why I love the Squarespace platform…
Squarespace templates are clean, modern, and mobile-friendly and the platform is easy to use even if you’ve got minimal technical skills (and if you don’t there are plenty of tutorials and Squarespace web-designers out there who can help you.) And most importantly - their pricing is affordable. I’m a huge fan of anything that allows me to be ballin’ on a budget, especially when I am first starting a business. Just because you are bootstrappin’, doesn’t mean you have to have a janky site. With Squarespace, you can make your own beautiful, professional-looking site for a fraction of the cost of going to a developer.