Today we’d like to introduce you to Cary Lenore Walski.
Hi Cary Lenore, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started out my career as an independent web developer working on large and sophisticated WordPress website projects. I love my clients, and I enjoyed writing code, but I found it frustrating how long it took to develop a custom site on the platform I was using at the time, WordPress. My clients also were challenged by the amount of upkeep a WordPress site needs to stay secure and up to date. This feeling of dissatisfaction percolated in my brain until one day I found inspiration from an unexpected source — South Park’s creator Trey Parker.
Each episode of South Park is produced in just six days, a tenth of the time that a normal episode of an animated series is produced. When asked why they do things this way, Trey likes to share that he and his co-creator Matt Stone don’t believe in spending 90% more resources and time on something only to achieve a result that might be 5% better. The juice is just not worth the squeeze.
That got me thinking, what if I could cut the unnecessarily complex and drawn-out parts of the web development process and leave only those aspects that my clients want, and that I find fulfilling? That’s when the one-day website was born. Yes, that’s right — I now make websites for people in just a day. And I love doing it. My clients love their websites too. Two things make a website in a day possible.
The first is having the right platform. I create these websites on Squarespace. I start from scratch with each new website I build and having software that is so easy to customize makes all the difference. The second is homework! Homework for my clients, that is. I provide all of my clients an online guided content bootcamp. All my clients complete this virtual bootcamp and through it they define their audiences, goals and ultimately to write their website content. It typically takes them about one to two months to complete the bootcamp, and it must be completed in advance of their design date.
Thanks to this method, and the ease of producing websites with Squarespace, I’m able to use my design and coding skills to create incredible results for my clients in less than a one-hundredth of the days and just a fraction of the cost that my old projects used to require. I don’t currently use AI as a part of my process, but I’m investigating how it might help me improve the final product I provide, like creating more custom graphics that clients can use elsewhere to promote their business, and better optimizing the copy that my clients provide for search engines.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
My work has been a smooth road in the sense that when you do good work, more work will come your way. When people have found a good thing — whether it’s a product or a service provider, they love to talk about it. Thanks to my clients being willing to share their positive experiences with me, my career has been driven by word-of-mouth business.
The challenges have been primarily in the area previously mentioned, feeling frustrated with the length of time and large costs in producing a website with most traditional website platforms, hence my creation of my one-day website approach.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In my work, I’m proud of the websites I create, but more than anything I’m proud of the relationships I have with my clients. I began my career working primarily with nonprofits, and I’m now working more and more with independent practitioners, small business owners, and artists. They are endlessly interesting people, doing important work and I am always humbled by the cool things they are up to.
I approach each collaboration I do not as a transaction, but the start of an ongoing relationship. When you work with me, you become a part of a support network that consists of all the other people I’ve worked and networked with in the past. I love playing matchmaker with people to help them connect with that other provider that’s going to help them do what they need to do — whether that’s raise funds for their nonprofit, sell their art, find new clients, or connect people and build community.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
Good luck follows where good work leads. Maintain high standards, have integrity about your work, and your name will get around. The success you’re looking for is on the other side of the positive experience you provide for someone today.
Pricing:
- My one-day websites start at $1,500.
- Two and three day websites are also available, and include more content and more sophisticated features like an online shop.
- Anyone who’d like to know how much it would cost to achieve their online vision is encouraged to reach out to me at cary@tinytigercreative.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://tinytigercreative.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carywalski/
- Other: https://share.google/Y6L00y2Cc5wOm2dV9
