I’m back with another business anniversary recap post! I love doing these, both so you get to see what growth and evolving in an online business really looks like year to year, and because it’s legit part of my year-end tasks to reflect on the past year, make decisions and changes for the new year. And so writing this post really helps me do that and forces me to take the time to do so.

Soooo the new year is coming around the corner hot and you’ve been struck by the feeling that you should probably do some planning for the year to come . . . buttttt, you don’t really know where to start, eh?

I’m going to share how I reflect on my past year and plan for the coming one in this post today, so feel free to take some tips and plan the next year of your business alongside me!

As a Squarespace web designer I spend my life in the back end of Squarespace sites. All that time and experience adds up, and I'm able to hack Squarespace to do just about anything I want, using the built-in Squarespace blocks, templates and Style Editor.

There's a few things however that I'm extra picky about and use CSS to force Squarespace to do what I want it to. Today I'm going to share the common CSS tweaks that I use on just about every one of my own and my clients sites these days. 

I’m sure if you run a business too you feel the pressure to be on all the social platforms, especially the current Queen of social media - Instagram!

We all seem to have this guilt and feeling like we ‘have’ to be on Instagram, especially for our businesses. But let’s be real, a lot of people are starting to get over the social media hype, live more in their ‘real life’ and less in the often very fake world of social.

Let’s face it. Starting an online business is HARD.

There are so many things to think about—picking your niche, designing your website, figuring out all things legal + taxes, choosing a CRM, finding your brand vibe, getting clients, nailing down finances—the list goes on and on!

It’s no wonder many online businesses fail before they even really get started…it’s an overwhelming process.

I get it. I’ve been there.

I’m sure as a fellow business owner you know what I’m talking about when I say it feels like there’s a pressure about what we ‘should’ be doing to get clients in our business.

It seems like everyone out there has the latest and greatest marketing strategy which you must do in order to get clients.

But I have good news! A lot of these things we’re hearing are just lies and I will tell you honestly that I know you can run a fully booked studio without listening to the noise.

Let’s not sugar-coat it, we all struggle with the comparison game at some (or many) points when running our businesses.

#BusinessEnvy can be a real thing.

Ugh, we all know the struggle.

An inquiry from a potential web design client lands in your inbox, you get back to them and then . . .

*Crickets*

This question is one I know so many new designers struggle with; when do you know the time is right to raise your prices?

I’m going to give you both some insight from my own business and others designers I’ve chatted with to help answer this question today.

I answered a question for one of my course students today and I thought I'd be doing y'all a disservice if I didn't share the answer with you too.

She knew I had paid for and taken Copywriting for Creatives, the course from Ashlyn Carter that helps creative entrepreneurs write conversion copy for their website! 

Let me guess, there’s a twinkle in your eye and right now you’re dreaming of working for yourself?

Or maybe you’ve already taken the leap to full-time girlboss and you’re here to confirm ‘yep that’s true’.

We’re continuing on with my ConvertKit info today as I walk you through the process of sending your fab new subscribers an opt-in gift!

(Missed the last ConvertKit posts? I show you why I chose ConvertKit for my email marketing in this post, and a complete ConvertKit for beginners guide in this post.)

Pre-S: The ConvertKit links in this post are all affiliate links. If you make a purchase through these links, I’ll earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Myself and my margarita fund thank you kindly!

You’re new to ConvertKit - YAY! Fab choice, friend.

If you know me, you know I could give a proper sermon-length speech on the importance of your email list.

In some way, shape or form my email list is responsible for the vast majority of the income my business brings in and I’ve been shown the importance of an email list again and again and again over the course of running my business.

Today I’m going to give you a little challenge friend. A challenge that if you take it up, I think you’re going to be very grateful you did!

I’m talking about your business model!

Today is my day to be like Oprah y’all - YAY!

Why? Because it’s freebie giveaway time!

“You get a freebie, you get a freebie, you get a freebie!”

So you need a website like yesterday, eh?

Squarespace is a fantastic choice because the learning curve isn't nearly as steep as with other website building platforms. 

As a website designer who spends half of her life in the Squarespace editor, I’ve stocked up a list of tricks & best practices that enables me to breeze through websites in a flash. 

Want to know my old strategy for paying myself?

Pay business expenses, save 30% for taxes and then pay myself whatever was left.

What resulted was very inconsistent income in my personal life.

When I started this Squarespace website design business I was a full-time student, so I wasn’t swimming in the dolla dolla bills by any means.

Looking back there were some very wise investment decisions I made and a few silly ones.

So, you're toying with the idea of designing sites for clients but you don't have any clients yet, maybe don't have a portfolio either and honestly are struggling a little internally with even having the confidence to claim you're a 'web designer'?

I just finished up one longggg drive back from Iowa where I was attending the Camp Climb conference!

Something super unique about this conference is that the attendees are split up into their stage of business.

So you're considering creating content to help grow your business? You my friend are one smart cookie! Sharing valuable content on your topic of expertise is one of the absolute best marketing tools available.

This blog is the reason I'm known for my Squarespace website design expertise.

Back in the day 'which Squarespace template was best' was really based on what your site was for, and what functionality you wanted in your site.

Today however, within the Squarespace website designer community there's a pretty solid consensus on the best Squarespace template.

What changed? This new template came out fitted with almost every single feature you could ever want, and it's the most flexible of them all too, earning it the title of the best Squarespace template out there.

Drag-on projects are one of the very worst things that can happen to your web design project, both as the designer and as the client. No one is a happy camper when a project that should have taken 1 month takes 3 (or more!) Want to know how I keep clients on track and never missing a single deadline in my web design process?

The other day I sent out my regular weekly email to subscribers (if you're not a subscriber - become a subscriber here!) with a recent blog post and I asked y'all to tell me of any other posts you'd like to see.

I asked you to load me up with your questions and you did, so thank you kindly! You made my life way easier by deciding on my blog post ideas for me as I admit I was I was plum out of  ideas myself. 😂🙈

Oh the sidebar, forever a topic of discussion when creating your website! 

Do you need one?
Do you not?
Are they even helpful to your site?

Let me guess, you're trying to . . . 

change the color of just a certain section or page of your Squarespace site?

And when you do it's changing the entire background color of the full site? Oh and you'd prefer to not code, you say? Not to worry, I have a solution for you in today's post!

The template that is best for making this happen is any template in the Brine family.

If you're looking to find all the best articles written on Squarespace, I'm happy to report you need look no further.

I've rounded up 50 of the best posts discussing Squarespace, taking you all the way from choosing Squarespace, to how-to's on creating your website, to setting up a blog or e-commerce shop.

These articles come from some of the most knowledgable Squarespace bloggers - they know their stuff!

On every internal and client Squarespace website project I work on, I ensure these ends are all tied up before we go to launch the website to the world. It takes just a few clicks around the Squarespace settings area to help your website function optimally.

So, when you go to launch your new stunning website to the world, be sure to take an extra couple mins to run through this checklist first!

After having run through this checklist a zillion times, I'm able to knock it out in under 10 mins, so it really is easy, and will make quite a difference to your website visitors experience.

Email after email has landed in my inbox asking me what I think about Mariah Coz's Accelerator program, so I think it's high time I gave y'all a review of my thoughts in blog post format!

I'm going to get into exactly where I was at when I joined, what the program entails, my results and then answer the million dollar question - is it worth the money?!

Now that I've been running my online business for some time, word has gotten out to those who know me and the questions about starting a business have started rolling in.

So you're up to your eyeballs in work, your calendar is packed and you know if you continue on like this for much longer, you're gonna hit burnout and loose your passion for your business?

I had it in my mind for a few months that I wanted to change my sites domain name but was nervous about what it would mean for my SEO and all the traffic that was going to my website from Google.

Let’s be real, SEO can be a scary thing for the small business owners and creative entrepreneurs of the world.

You know it’s important, but you literally don’t have a clue of where to start and are having nightmares of code and technical programs.

If you're looking to get help with your Squarespace site you might have noticed a few badges on designers sites stating they're either a Squarespace Circle member, a Squarespace Authorized Trainer or both.

If you're sitting there scratching your head wondering what the heck either of these are and what exactly they mean, I'm here to clarify that for you today!

Last year it's safe to say I had went pretty hard in the work department and slacked on the whole 'living' thing.

My boyfriend was also going through one of the hardest years of his job training, so our time spent together was mostly just sitting at our desks in our office.

Wanna know what the most searched thing in my blogs search bar is? SEO.

I know y'all want me to talk about Squarespace SEO on this blog and I've honestly tried bringing myself to do so on manyyyy occasions, but I admit, writing about SEO bores me to tears, so I just never write the posts. 😂

So you've just finished up with your 5th WordPress technical meltdown and headache this month and are so over crying into your keyboard when trying to create the vision you have in your mind on a site?

Hey, hey new Squarespacer!

Or let's be real, current WordPress user who is totes fed up with the WordPress headaches and is currently researching Squarespace because you hear whisperings that it's wayyyy easier to use.

So you're looking to add an option for site visitors to schedule a booking consultation call with you?! 

Fabulous idea. I can tell you from experience that offering these calls with make a big time difference to how many clients you're able to land. So first, job well done on even taking the time to set this up.

If you're reading this post, then you know the importance of building your email list, and because of that I am SO proud of you!

You friend aren't getting all glossy-eyed over a follower count but are instead ready to put time and energy into a less-glamorous, but significantly more rewarding and vital piece of your business - your email list!

So you may have heard of the hack out there about how to create a section of rotating testimonials with the Squarespace summary block. If you're unfamiliar, I teach you how to do it in this post.

Less than impressed with the number of booking inquiries you're getting? Your website should be your best marketing employee, working for you 24/7, but if it's not pulling it's weight these days and bringing in the clients you want, here's a few things we can fix to get you to where you want to be  - booked out!

Which block do I use most in all of my site designs?

Whichever block you're thinking of, I can almost guarantee that it's not the one. 

The most useful block in Squarespace? The spacer block.

I know I love to see the behind the scenes of how other online business owners organize all the things in their business, so today I'm going to share a little bit of how I do things.

Specifically, I'm going to show you into my Asana.

'How do you get clients?' It's the #1 question new Squarespace web designers ask me.

Now that I've launched a course too, I expect I'll start getting 'how do you get students to buy your course?' questions coming my way soon as well.

Y'all, today I'm going to share something I think you really need to hear.

I know it can be tough living in the 'real world' while working in a 9-5 but harbouring dreams of something completely different.

Working online while traveling the world, it’s a dream for many and good ol’ Instagram does a wonderful job of plastering our feeds with people who have managed to make the dream come to life.

(Or is that just my feed? I dunno.)

I'm back with another edition of monthly recaps, the posts where I take you behind the scenes of the business, and show you what I've been scheming up, as well as the successes and the failures (*ahem - lessons learned*).

“Well, I’m a student and only do this part time, so it’s just fun money for me, I enjoy doing the work, so my prices are lower than normal.” (That was me.)

Or “I’m a stay at home Mom, and expected to not make anything while at home with my kids, so anything is more than I expected.”

So you're looking to start an online business eh? Perfect! I have allll the online business tips and I love sharing them.

I know it can be overwhelming because there are SO many options for all the online systems that you could be using in your business and it's honestly really tough to know even where to start.

So you're on Squarespace and therefore the obvious choice seems to go with MailChimp for your email marketing platform because Squarespace and MailChimp have an integration right?

Picking a domain name you love is like getting married! If you decide to divorce it, things get ugly.

Having just changed mine, and in the process eliminated half of my site traffic which came from Google (though it should be a temporary dip in traffic) I want to help you avoid switching in the future.

I'm back with another edition of monthly recaps, the posts where I take you behind the scenes of the business, and show you what I've been scheming up, as well as the successes and the failures (*ahem - lessons learned*).

If there’s one thing in this world that really gets my goat, it’s this.

People who have noooo idea smack talking Squarespace and it’s SEO capabilities.

… And businesses that make the only way to send them information via a fax. It’s 2018 y’all. Not one single millennial has a clue how to send a fax because it’s ancient technology that everyone should have abandoned ship on 20 years ago. Get with the times. 😡 (Sorry, needed to vent.)

I went back to my academic roots today (ugh) and rounded up allllll the sources to really knock a point home with you.

In case I haven't already convinced you ... 

Your website really. freaking. matters!

Eeeeeek! Today I have a post for you that I hope will be a mini wake up call and be a catalyst for lots of action-taking in your business.

Here goes! 

Ready for some real talk?

Have a feeling things sounding a little different around here? You are quite correct!

I've changed my business over from my 'The Paige Studio' business name to my own name, Paige Brunton, and I couldn't be more excited about the switch!

Here's how this all came about and of course, the ever important why behind it all.

When I tell people I’m a web designer, a typical follow up question is ‘how did you get into that? Did you study it in college?’

While I do have two degrees, neither one was in anything remotely related to website design. 😂 Life’s a funny thing, isn’t it?

So you want to build a website for your business but you're not really sure you know ... where to even start! Slight dilemma...

Well today is your lucky day gal, because I've launched well over 40 sites now, and in that time I've compiled a step-by-step list of what should happen when in order to launch with minimal headache.

There are SO many websites out there that are just a ‘pretty face,’ but they don’t do much in terms of marketing a business to those dreamy clients. That’s not what we want for your website however, so let’s talk alllll about how to make sure your site is appealing to those ideal clients!

I'm back with another edition of monthly recaps, the posts where I take you behind the scenes of the studio, and show you what I've been scheming up, as well as the successes and the failures (*ahem - lessons learned*).

Let me just say holy guacamole y'all, January has been a freaking month! I can't wait to share what I've been up to! I've been hopping time zones and countries like crazy and trying to fit work in wherever I can. I admit, it hasn't been my most productive month ever, but it's been a ride to say the least.

Everyone has made their list of the zillion things they want to do and accomplish in 2018 by now. I have also set goals and decided on some major projects I plan to take on.

But there's also a few things I've made a very conscious decision to just skip all together. Some of these may surprise you as normally they're major parts of other online businesses.

If you’re new to Squarespace and you’re trying to navigate the new platform, understanding the terms and language used can be massively helpful. So for all of your new Squarespace users, here’s a list of common Squarespace terms, explained in plain english that you can actually understand.

Index pages are one of the best parts of Squarespace, but they're not something most new Squarespacers (new word, like it?) make much use of. I'd love to show you today exactly what index pages are, how to create one, and tips on using them.

Here's all the important stuff you need to know about Squarespace index pages.

There's a handful of common questions I get from fellow and aspiring web designers.

How does your 2 week process work? What happens if a client is late getting you payment or content? Then what? How does that work with the 2 week process?

Wahoo, webinar time! 

Congrats on taking the leap into webinar land gal! It's no secret that webinars do take a good bit of planning and tech setup (which I'll help you with in this post), but they pay off as they're an opportunity for amazing engagement with your audience!

For all my fellow digital nomads, I'm writing this post for you, because my gosh I wish it existed when I was trying to figure things out!

Figuring out the finances of your business can be tough enough when you're new to the whole business thing, let alone adding multiple countries and currencies into the mix, it's a nightmare. So if you're dealing with this, let me just say that gal you have my sympathy, I know it's not easy.

So you're on the fence, toying with the idea of joining up to the Asana HQ course from Megan Minns?

Well perfect! I'm a paying past student and I'm going to share exactly what the course is like on the inside, as well as what my business looked like before and after taking the course, and I'll answer a few basic questions for y'all.

I'm back with another edition of monthly recaps, the posts where I take you behind the scenes of the studio, and show you what I've been scheming up, as well as the successes and the failures (*ahem - lessons learned*).

It feels kinda odd to write another one of these as I just finished up my business recap of the entire year, so I feel like I'e done a lot of reflecting and recapping lately, but I don't want to skip a month, and some really interesting things did happen in December, so let's get into it!