The failures that got us to where we are
The failures that got us to where we are
How I started a Webflow agency with my wife, the mistakes we made and the learnings we took from them.
👋 Hi, Ondrej here. I’ve realized I haven’t properly introduced myself to you, so this issue is going to fix that. But instead of giving you a boring profile, I thought I’d share some failures and some positive leanings I’ve made along my Webflow journey.
If this is your first time reading Flowletter and you’re not subscribed, here’s what you missed in the past weeks:
My wife Viktoria and I used to have regular 9-to-5 jobs. But after we got married, we started dreaming of a future where we could be our own bosses and have more control over our time.
We were both tired of our current jobs, which involved endless meetings, office politics, and long hours working on things we didn’t find fulfilling.
I’ve been thinking about going solo for a while but never got the courage to do it.
It took my wife to finally convince me the time was right.
For many years, I’ve been fascinated by the indie hacking community, people building small SaaS products solo or in small teams, and making a living from them.
In fact, that’s how I got into Webflow in the first place, building side projects.
Unfortunately, none of them took off, in part because I didn’t have time between my full-time job and them.
That’s when my wife sat me down and we had the talk.
The–what’s your goal talk. I realized my goal was to do something where I could be in control of my time. To have more time for my family and friends and to travel. To build something that was ours.
For a while, I thought the way to do that was to have one of my side projects start making some money. But after talking to my wife I realized I could do that sooner. I could do it tomorrow in fact, if I started freelancing.
Of course, I’m still selling my time as a freelancer. But I can regulate how many clients I take on, and I can spend more time doing things I enjoy, traveling or working on side projects, like this newsletter, for instance.
So that brings me to fail number 1.
Fail 1: Not taking Webflow seriously sooner
As I mentioned, I had played around with Webflow in the past for some side projects. The thought of making a living as a Webflow developer crossed my mind, but I thought it would be a step back in my career. I started as a web developer, went on to launch a few startups, and eventually settled as a product manager.
I can now say that thinking of Webflow as a step back was just my ego holding me back.
Fortunately, Viktoria kept encouraging me to take another look at Webflow. She started learning HTML and CSS with the idea of using Webflow to build websites. When she brought me on to help with a project for a friend, I realized how much I enjoyed the process of building something from scratch and seeing it come to life.
That's when I started to see Webflow's potential as a business. There was a whole ecosystem of agencies, tool builders, and an active community. I realized my initial hesitation was just my own pride getting in the way.
The lesson is to not worry about what others think of you. Do things that bring you joy, and the rest will follow.
Fail 2: Trying to skip a few steps ahead
We decided to go all-in on Webflow. Eager to grow, we invested in Google Ads and other paid channels, thinking we could quickly generate a steady stream of leads and convert them into paying customers.
Turns out ads are expensive and a no-name agency is unlikely to convince strangers.
We learned another lesson - don’t try to skip steps in your growth. There are no hacks or shortcuts, just hard work and perseverance.
What got us our first clients was reaching out to our network.
I wrote to all my friends who ran a business or were part of one to let them know we could design and develop websites. I would post it on all my social media. I would talk about it any chance I got.
We got our first client as a referral from a friend, and things took off from there.
Fail 3: Making a customer happy at any cost
Not everything was smooth sailing, though. We made some mistakes early on, like taking on a web application project that was beyond the client's budget. We reasoned that if we could pull it off, it would be a great addition to our portfolio and would broaden our capabilities as a Webflow agency.
As you might have guessed, that wasn’t the case.
In an effort to please the client, we shot ourselves in the foot and ended up working nights and weekends to deliver. That’s not what we had in mind when we quit our 9-5.
We did learn a ton of new Webflow skills, but as a freelancer, your most valuable resource is your time, and we failed to get compensated for it.
Lesson learned: being honest and firm in the scoping and price negotiations of a project is key to a healthy client relationship.
What we did right
Picking a business model that suits us
One of the things we got right was our business model. I freelanced early in my career and made a beginner’s mistake with my payment conditions, asking for no money upfront.
I knew that this time, I wanted to de-risk our ability to get paid. We’ve seen others use a subscription-based model, and we decided to give it a try.
This model has a few advantages. We can start working almost instantly and don’t have to quote projects. We get paid upfront. Our clients are engaged and our projects move along fast.
To be clear, this approach does have disadvantages. Not all clients are comfortable with paying upfront. It’s not typical recurring revenue, and we still need to find new clients, as most clients only spend a few months with us. But we do have a few clients that have been with us for over a year.
This model suits us well. We like how easy it is to start a new project, and we enjoy working with our long-term customers. It might not be for everyone, but it fits us well.
Overdelivering
Another thing we really focused on getting right was delivering exceptional value for our clients. We treat every project, no matter the size, as an opportunity to go above and beyond.
Even for a relatively small $2,000 website build, we put in the same level of care and attention as we would for a $6,000 project. We listen closely to the client's needs, get to know their business inside and out, and brainstorm creative ways to make their website work harder for them.
It's all about empathy and putting ourselves in the client's shoes. We know their website is a crucial part of their business, so we approach each project with that level of importance.
Being active in the community
We're active participants on the Webflow Discourse forums, the Webflow subreddit, and various Webflow-focused Facebook groups. We don't just lurk and observe - we jump in, ask questions, and share our own insights and experiences.
This community engagement has been invaluable for our business.
We've connected with other freelancers and agency owners who are willing to share their tips, tricks, and lessons learned. It's amazing how generous the Webflow community is with their knowledge.
Keep an open mind
It's been a rollercoaster journey, but building our Webflow agency has been incredibly rewarding. We're now making a little over $10k per month, and most importantly, we're in control of our time.
If you're considering starting your own Webflow business, I'd say keep an open mind, learn from your mistakes, and stay true to your principles.
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–Ondrej
Hi Ondrej,
I really enjoyed and learned from this post. I am at the beginning of my freelance Webflow journey and hope to get to a point where I can quit my job and have the freedom that you have. Thank you for the insight!