Rob Riggs, founder of Your Design Online: a business that helps non-profits and small businesses use big-brand tools to optimize their websites. Rob took his business from $5000 in revenue to over $1.2 million last year. Listen in as Rob and Nathan talk web optimization, driving growth through referrals, and how to get the most from your investments. Famous 5 Favorite Book? – anything by Marcus Buckingham What CEO do you follow? — Guy Kawasaki What is your favorite online tool? — SEOReview Do you get 8 hours of sleep?— No If you could let your 20 year old self know one thing, what would it be? —To stick with it. The harder you work, the luckier you get. Time Stamped Show Notes: 01:20 – Nathan’s introduction 01:45 – Welcoming Rob to the show 01:53 – Works on web development and optimisation 02:25 – “We work on the front end to maximise revenue, or the back end to streamline functionality” 03:25 – Typically work on a project-by-project basis, but have some retainer clients 03:44 – Starts in $6-8k range for a small project 04:05 – Monthly retainers range from $500 to five-figure sums 05:15 – Launched Your Design Online in 2004 05:55 – “I started hiring people better than myself to replace me” 06:00 – Total revenue in 2004 was $5k 06:22 – Total revenue in 2015 was $1.2 million 06:43 – Driving growth through referrals 08:23 – “My strategy is growing to support” 08:46 – Profit was around $400k in 2015 09:45 – Investing some money into commercial real estate for long-term returns 16:57 – Connect with Rob at Your Design Online 12:55 – Famous Five 3 Key Points: Your best marketing tool is referrals. Provide fantastic quality and you’ll find your business growing. The harder you work, the luckier you get. Keep going and think long-term, even when things are tough. Think seriously about where the best returns are going to be. Don’t be afraid to invest in areas other than your business. Resources Mentioned: Freshbooks - The site Nathan uses to manage his invoices and accounts. Host Gator – The site Nathan uses to buy his domain names and hosting for cheapest price possible. Leadpages – The drag and drop tool Nathan uses to quickly create his webinar landing pages which convert at 35%+ Audible – Nathan uses Audible when he's driving from Austin to San Antonio (1.5 hour drive) to listen to audio books. Show Notes provided by Mallard Creatives