Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in web design but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Hayden Anderson, Owner of Jolly Web Consulting, located in Fort Collins, CO, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is Jolly Web Consulting! I create accessibility to mental health resources by building and improving websites for businesses that help people. Anywhere you would go for self-care or self-help from therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, spas, salons, and coaches. I help them have a beautiful, charismatic, and converting website and then donate 10% of my gross income margin to mental health charities like The Trevor Project, NIMH, and more.

Tell us about yourself

I suffered from depression and anxiety for over ten years. While I was depressed, I was trying to get better and seek help. I would go to find a therapist, try and get a massage, and do something for myself, and I would get to their websites, and it wouldn't work on my phone. I would have to call them and probably leave a voicemail and wait until they got back to me. I just wanted to make an appointment and give them business! WHY WAS THAT SO HARD?

In the meantime, I was getting my degree in Computer Science with an emphasis on Usability Design and learning how to design and build websites the right way. After ten years of building websites and learning how to go from suicidal to asymptomatic with my depression in 2019. I decided to create my own business in 2020 to help businesses with their awful template websites built by some marketer that isn't trained in the correct way to build a website.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

I have two accomplishments that I am proud of. As a person, I have managed to find a way to fully cope with my depression and get off of medications. As a business, I have donated thousands of dollars to different mental health charities and helped tons of businesses with their web presence and websites so they can grow and help more people.

What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?

Taking that initial leap to run your full business time was probably the hardest thing I did. I went from making mid-6 figures and benefits working as a front-end developer and designer to making.... whatever I could. And it was a lifestyle change for sure. A few months before I went full-time on my business, I moved to a state I didn't know anybody in and had never been to before. So I had to go to every business group, every meetup, and networking group I could and get my name and mission out there. I had to hire a business coach to teach me a lot of the basics and advanced parts that come with running your own business and where it's best to put my efforts. After a long time and a lot of hard work networking as an introvert, business started to pick up.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Put time and effort into networking and marketing. As a business owner, you are prospecting for new business WAY more than you are doing the actual services you provide.
  2. Stay consistent. Staying consistent in who you and your business are and why you do what you do will go a long way. People don't buy what you do; they buy why you do it.
  3. Make Boundaries For You. Burn-out is real and making sure you can find the balance of getting work done on time and taking the time for yourself is paramount.

Is there anything else you'd like to share?

Life is hard as a business owner or as an employee for someone else. But at least when you're a business owner, you're building something you know will be good.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.jollywebconsulting.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jollywebconsulting
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jollywebconsulting/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/jollywebconsult
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/jolly-web-consulting/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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