Fishing Guide
We’ve just updated our website! (And we want to teach you how to fish… keep reading)
Here’s what version 1 of our website looked like:
While this design will always remain one of my favorites, there’s no way we can go back.
When we were just starting out we would do any website we could get.
We’ll do any website!
– Me (a few years ago)
Big or small!
Whenever I remember that, I can hear the team audibly cringing. 😂
But why?
Well, let’s talk about what happens when you go fishing…
When you go fishing
- You spend way too much money buying rods, gear, and bait
- You buy a boat too
- On a day you’re free, you go out fishing
- You find the “spot”
- Attach a lure
- Cast
- …
- …
- …
- BOOM 💥 A fish strikes!
- You reel!
- The fish is giving you a run for your money!
- Then it breaks the water’s surface and…
It’s just a common sunfish, dangit!
(You wanted the big bass)
…
You might be wondering what this has to do with the new website.
Thanks for waiting – and reading this far.
This is the important bit here:
If you want to catch the right fish, you need the right lure.
Or
If you want the right customer, you need the right website
Plato, 300 BC
The Greek philosopher Plato also once said:
“Better a little which is well done, than a great deal imperfectly.”
Choose the right lure
There’s probably a time you wished you had a crystal ball, me too.
Honestly, if you had one, would you do what it says anyways?
Either way, neither of us have one.
Choosing the right lure (customer) is not easy. There’s no way to see what exactly your customer will look like, especially when you’re just starting out.
But you can work towards it little by little.
Here are three things you can do to find them:
1. Go live life
Haven’t found the thing that rocks your socks off? It doesn’t matter if you hate what you do now. Just go try a bunch of things and see what you love.
Finding something you love makes the whole process of working with people easy and enjoyable.
It won’t feel like a job.
You sell it because you would buy it yourself.
You’re passionate about it.
2. Talk to friends n fam
Here’s a secret: you’ll never get anywhere in life without other people.
I don’t care if you live in a house in the middle of the forest with 12 acres, use an axe to chop wood for your winter fires, and the nearest living thing that’s not a bear is 100 miles away.
You didn’t birth yourself (thanks mom)
Our whole livelihood is based on the fact that we help each other out in distant but connected ways.
If you don’t provide value for someone, that’s highway express to not having a good time.
Talk to friends, family, and strangers. By doing that you expand your worldview and along the way you might even learn something.
You may find a problem that people are facing that you can solve.
3. Do complex mathematical analysis
In order to find your target customer, you need to gather a ton of data. Do extensive market research to find out the thoughts, feelings, and emotions of the whole world on a scale of 1 to 100. Sum that up and call it X.
Then casually plug that into here and solve for Y:
I’m joking, obviously.
But sometimes there’s actually some stuff we need to do with numbers.
When determining your customer, you have to look at a few factors.
- Do I like working with these people
- Do I know this subject well
- Can I help these people
- Can I afford to eat
I don’t want to get political but, have you ever wondered why world hunger hasn’t been solved?
The point is, look at all the factors and what’s important to you, and if it’s financially viable.
The answer will shine through.
In summary, here’s how you find the right customer
- Find a passion
- Find a problem
- Make a profitable solution
Don’t run out of gas
Okay you’ve found a passion, problem, and solution. But here’s the thing… it can’t just be a one-time solution. If businesses were solving problems that had the perfect solution here’s what we’d have in life:
- Light bulbs that never go out
- Sicknesses that get cured permanently
- Cell phone batteries that last forever
It’s called planned obsolescence.
But that’s not what we’re doing here. Instead of solving a problem once, we solve a problem that can help someone more and more every time we do it.
If you want to keep fishing, you need to keep filling your boat with gas. (No kayaks allowed)
Cast 10,000 times
Ok, we’ve chosen a lure and we made sure we can keep fishing without sinking.
But we haven’t caught the fish we want.
Honestly, it was a miracle we even caught Timmy.
By casting as much as you can here’s what will happen,
Some casts will:
- Get stuck in a tree
- Get no bites
- Get a hook in your hand
- Get a fish you don’t want
- Get a fish you want
And no doubt, after 10 thousand times, you’ll become an expert at catching the fish you want.
In business, this is the same as practicing your solution over and over to where you become the best by sheer repetition.
Catch lots of fish
So that’s pretty easy, and then you’ll just catch lots of fish.
Thanks for reading.
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Did you want to know about the new Code Parachute website?
Wow – thanks for asking!
We designed this site to be a good example of the quality we can give to our customers. We determined after learning how to fish we can help people with service businesses grow with Website Design and SEO.
And we’re enjoying every bit of it.