There’s nothing better than talking to a web designer who’s enjoying their work, loving their clients, making good money and who’s just all around thriving. 

And that’s why I’m pumped to share this recent convo I had with Kristin Adkins of Crash Design Co who’s found a suite niche by becoming the trusted “web designer for speakers”

Kristin was on the podcast (ep 143) when she had just gone full time and I thought it was a good time to catch up because now, 5 years later, she’s grown her business, nailed her niche and continues to love every minute of it. 

A lot of web designers get burned out, take too much on or have goals that lead to stress and growth pains but Kristin’s done it right by building a business around her lifestyle goals and mid-west pace.

This was a hard one to title because we get into everything from:

• Niching
• Scaling/hiring
• Building a referral network
• Raising rates
• Sticking with Elementor (and not having shiny object syndrome)
• The value of sending clients “website launch packs”

And so much more. But it’s all the things that have led to her having an amazing first 5 years so that’s what we get into in this one.

P.S. Wouldn’t it be cool to see her website launch pack examples and process? Kristin will be doing a special guest training inside Web Designer Pro™ this summer so jump on in to connect with her!

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/375

I'm doing a first for my business in 2025...sharing quarterly recaps and income reports!

In this first-ever quarterly income report, we'll get into how we achieved $115,655 in revenue with over $88,000 in profit while building Web Designer Pro to $346,459 in annual recurring revenue.

Highlights include:

• Moving course sales pages from joshhallco to webdesignerprocom, including transferring all course reviews using Senja
• Launching Web Designer HQ, a centralized directory for all SOP templates, email scripts, and resources
• Creating audio versions of three courses available as private podcast feeds for Pro members
• Introducing Brock, an AI agent for Web Designer Pro that helps members find resources and get coaching
• Planning course revamps for DNS and SEO courses plus developing a new model site
• Celebrating nearly selling out the first Web Designer Pro conference with 36 out of 40 tickets sold
• Breaking down revenue streams: $85,000 from Web Designer Pro memberships, $15,000 from sponsorships, $8,186 from affiliate income
• Maintaining a lean business model with just $27,600 in quarterly expenses, including team costs and taxes

I definitely challenge you to look at your own business numbers quarterly, even if you don't share them publicly. Take time to celebrate your wins and analyze what's working and what's not!

- Josh

The social media video and reel game is a hard one to play (and win) when it comes to landing clients. Every platform is beyond saturated, the competition is only growing and unless you’re getting quality leads fairly quick, it can be difficult to stick with.

But as Roberto Blake has recently been quoted in saying:

”While there may be saturation in a market, there’s not a saturation of “quality.”

This could not be more timely for you if you’re wanting to market your web design business with videos and reels. And there may be no better example of this than my guest in this chat, Blaze Smith

Blaze, who at a very young age, started getting clients immediately through Instagram and TikTok reels. Many of them with big brand CEO’s, founders and marketing directors.

We get into his process from planning, to recording, to the proven strategies and blueprints he follows for all his videos which have not only brought in quality leads, but have also built up his social media following to tens of thousands in a matter of months.

If you’re wondering how to stand out and get clients with reels, here ya go.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/374

Ok web designer – tell me if this sounds familiar…

You sign on a new client for a website project!

But then, they send you their atrocious logo…

Now what?

• Do you design the website based on their terrible logo/existing brand?
• Do you try to upsell an unexpected logo/brand package?
• Do you pause the website project and tell them to hire a new logo designer first?

This is a very common challenge for web designers but there is a solution!

Repeat guest and branding expert Jamie Starcevich has really dialed in a nifty solution for this situation which is, in short, to offer a “Light Branding Package.” In this chat, we get into all the details of how to offer it, what constraints to put on it, how much to charge for it and more!

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/373

Broc (named “Broccoli” by my daughter Annie) is our new Ai assistant in Web Designer Pro™ and it's available now as a part of your membership to Pro!

▶️ Watch the video walkthru of Broc here

It'll help you find lessons, resources, posts, threads, members, past calls, etc. It pulls from strictly from Web Designer Pro™ source material so everything you’re getting is straight from Pro.

And apart from using it to help you find resources, you can use it as your own “Josh Ai Coach” to ask it any questions about pricing, offers, scaling, etc!

Join at WebDesignerPro.com to get instant access to Broc!

Available on the Community and Coaching Tiers.

P.S. If you're on the Courses Tier, you can upgrade here

They say business is like a roller coaster…ups and downs and highs and lows…and “they” couldn’t be more right.

My guest in this chat, friend of the podcast, king of the Subscription Web Design model and founding member of Web Designer Pro Steve Schramm can also confirm.

Recently, he shared a thoughtful, transparent and inspirational post in Pro about how he rebounded from a tough situation when he had over 6k+ in MRR drop within one week.

At the same time, he also landed one of his biggest contracts to date…the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship truly are comical sometimes.

But most importantly, we get into exactly WHAT he did when he had the week of 6k down and HOW he began to rebound quickly.

Enjoy.

Enjoy this chat and enjoy the ride of being a web design entrepreneur baby!

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/372

My wife and I recently celebrated our 10 Year Anniversary 🎉

Here are 10 lessons I've learned in balancing marriage and entreprenership.

To get my upcoming newsletter entry diving into these in more detail, sign up for my weekly email here

Web designers often have similar dreams…

Build a sustainable, freedom-based, lifestyle business.

Build a healthy, awesome client base.

Grow Monthly Recurring Revenue month after month.

Do it all while enjoying the journey.

My guest in this podcast episode has achieved all of this and more which is why I’m excited to share my conversation with Web Designer Pro™ member Cami MacNamara who’s been a professional WordPress web designer since 2002 and has grown her maintenance plan to over 200 sites!

We dive into mainly how she sells her maintenance plan and the automations she has in place to continue to run it at that level still as a happy solopreneur. We also get into how she has built her client base, gets referrals and her views on WordPress and where it is in the market today versus when she started using it over two decades ago.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/371

If you’re nervous, anxious, jittery or just plain distraught before sales calls or meetings…you’re not alone. I honestly can’t believe this isn’t talked about more. After all – you pour your heart and soul into building awesome websites and refining your craft but in order to get paid for that hard work…you gotta sell!

Luckily, there are many things you can do to build confidence and calm before a sales meeting. And that’s what we’re diving into today.

I’m pumped to be joined by voiceover professional John Melley who – if you’ve listened to Pat Flynn’s “Smart Passive Income” podcast – you already know…he’s the guy who’s intro’d Pat and done his fun facts for years.

Needless to say, I’ve been listening to John in this form for years. Always wondering…”Is that his real voice?”

You’ll find that out in this wide-ranging convo about:

• Calming nerves before sales meetings
• How to speak and present clearly and confidently
• How to physically change your state if you’re nervous
• How to save your voice when you talk a lot
• Posture tips while working

And a whole lot more.

P.S. Be sure to check out his book The Voiceover Athlete (don’t worry, it’s for web designers too!)

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/370

Trusting your gut…it usually pays off, maybe not on the books, but personally.

But following your intuition is not always easy. Especially if sales are down, confidence is low, etc. You may have no idea where your intuition is leading you.

So to help with this topic, I’m here to share my recent convo with business coach and mentor Alyssa Williamson who has some SOLID advice and principles for leading your business through intuition and following what works for you.

As someone who faced burnout and learned the dangers of NOT following her intuition, Alyssa is a real-world example of how to live this first hand.

Head to the show notes to get all links and resources we mentioned along with a full transcription of this episode at joshhall.co/369