Architecting a New Life: From Corporate Engineer to Digital Nomad and Entrepreneur with Rhami Aboud
Jan 09, 2024Season 1Episode 211
Firing The Man
Have you ever stared out of your office window, wondering if the path you're on is truly yours to walk? Rami Abut, our inspiring guest, did just that and transformed his life from a dissatisfied corporate engineer to the founder of ArchWeb Design. He shares the trials and triumphs of leaving everything behind to pursue his passion in the world of digital nomadism and entrepreneurship. With ArchWeb Design, Rami now aids SaaS companies in enhancing their web presence and driving conversions, providing a beacon for others who yearn to kindle their own professional fires.
Embarking on a new path comes with its own set of challenges and uncertainties. Rami opens up about the practicalities and emotions of shifting to a digital nomad lifestyle. He talks about finding purpose, managing risk, and the importance of aligning with one's inner compass. His personal anecdotes serve as both a caution and encouragement for those considering a similar journey. Plus, Rami's insights into the intricacies of web design and user experience offer a glimpse into the meticulous craft that goes into creating a successful online platform.
As we wrap up our exchange, Rami delves into the factors that make websites for SaaS companies stand out, shedding light on Webflow's marketing advantages and his agency's tailored approach to high-converting designs. He extends an invitation to those eager to optimize their online presence to reach out and join the conversation. This chat with Rami is not just a story of personal growth; it's a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone standing at the crossroads of change, ready to take the leap into the life they dream of.
Have you ever stared out of your office window, wondering if the path you're on is truly yours to walk? Rami Abut, our inspiring guest, did just that and transformed his life from a dissatisfied corporate engineer to the founder of ArchWeb Design. He shares the trials and triumphs of leaving everything behind to pursue his passion in the world of digital nomadism and entrepreneurship. With ArchWeb Design, Rami now aids SaaS companies in enhancing their web presence and driving conversions, providing a beacon for others who yearn to kindle their own professional fires.
Embarking on a new path comes with its own set of challenges and uncertainties. Rami opens up about the practicalities and emotions of shifting to a digital nomad lifestyle. He talks about finding purpose, managing risk, and the importance of aligning with one's inner compass. His personal anecdotes serve as both a caution and encouragement for those considering a similar journey. Plus, Rami's insights into the intricacies of web design and user experience offer a glimpse into the meticulous craft that goes into creating a successful online platform.
As we wrap up our exchange, Rami delves into the factors that make websites for SaaS companies stand out, shedding light on Webflow's marketing advantages and his agency's tailored approach to high-converting designs. He extends an invitation to those eager to optimize their online presence to reach out and join the conversation. This chat with Rami is not just a story of personal growth; it's a treasure trove of wisdom for anyone standing at the crossroads of change, ready to take the leap into the life they dream of.
Welcome everyone to the Firing the man podcast, a show for anyone who wants to be their own boss. If you sit in a cubicle every day and know you are capable of more, then join us. This show will help you build a business and grow your passive income streams in just a few short hours per day. And now your host serial entrepreneurs David Shomer and Ken Wilson.
Speaker 2:
Welcome everyone to the Firing the man podcast. On today's episode, we have the opportunity to interview Rami Abut. Rami's background consists of working as a UX designer for 10 years before firing the man in pursuing the digital Null Mad Light. In 2020, Rami founded ArchWeb Design, a marketing agency for SaaS companies. Today, ArchWeb Design has worked with over 200 SaaS companies. We are very excited to have Rami as a guest on our podcast. Welcome to the show. Great. Thank you guys. So much for having me Absolutely so. To start off the podcast, can you please share with our listeners a little bit about your background in path to founding ArchWeb Design?
Speaker 3:
Yeah for sure. Yeah, it's kind of a long story, so I'll start from the beginning. So when I was younger, I took my first web design class at 13 years old, and that was kind of when I was introduced to that world. So I used to do coding, html, css. I learned Photoshop back then, and so that was my first foray into web design, into the world of web design, and I just, for some reason, just loved it and it became one of my biggest hobbies. Now, fast forward to my early 20s. So I actually went to school for electrical engineering and I hated every second of the four years that I studied. And then I worked as an engineer for several years and hated every second of that as well. I just didn't like, you know, the nine to five thing. I hated waking up early and going to a job that didn't necessarily motivate me or push my passions forward in any way. So I always wanted that. You know that time freedom, the freedom to work for myself and to create something of my own. It just seemed like a faraway dream and that, you know, was unattainable. Yeah, so this kept going for a while. I worked in the corporate world for close to 10 years. I started off as an engineer, but I thought the engineering was the issue, so I quit and I moved into a different career path which was web design and development, so got my degree in that, I started working there and again same issue happened. I just didn't like it. I hated working in the corporate world, hated having a boss and didn't have that that time freedom that I always wanted. I also want to travel. So I read, I read a book called the four hour work week by Tim Ferriss Not sure if you guys are familiar, yeah and yeah, it's classic one. So I remember reading that book. I was probably 24, 25. And that was like Whoa, like this sounds like a dream, like I want to do this, I want to be at Nomad and travel and, you know, work for myself. So that dream just kind of get festering in my mind and I just didn't have like the confidence or courage to be able to do it and and actually, you know, get there. And then, when I was 30 years old, I remember I was dating this girl and I was madly in love with her. I thought she was going to be the one and she broke up with me. I was like the big push that I needed to, you know, just start living my dreams and start doing what I wanted. And so, I remember, I made a decision. I was like, you know, screw it, I'm putting my job and I'm going to start traveling. So I did it and two weeks later I was gone. So I was living in Ottawa at the time, which is the capital of Canada. It was born and raised there. So I remember I gave in my two weeks notice, just booked a trip to Europe, and I had no clue what I was going to do, but I just knew that I had to do it. So I had no clue I was going to make money, what I was going to do for work, where I was going to even live or anything like that, but just booked a one-way trip to Europe. I knew I wanted to travel a bit. I had some savings. So I traveled, you know, did my thing. I went to Bali and went to Nicaragua. You know, after a few months of traveling I was like, all right, you know, it's time to, you know, settle down a little bit, start figuring this thing out. How am I going to make money? How I'm going to make this like a long-term, sustainable kind of lifestyle. So so I moved to San Diego and I was trying to figure out my purpose. So that was always in the back of my mind. I knew I was here to make a difference and I really wanted to help people, but I didn't know how. So now that I had quit my job, I had all this time and all this freedom. I started to kind of work to figure out what my purpose was and what I was going to do. In the meantime I was freelancing as a web developer and making websites just to kind of get by and make money. And so for about a year I was trying to figure out my purpose and I just didn't know how to figure out and I didn't know what to do. So I kind of put that on pause and I said you know what like? What am I good at? What do I enjoy? I like making websites. I'm really good at it. So I'm going to start a web design agency and that's where the agency was born. Okay, so that's where ArchWeb Design came from. Now it's. I know it's not my purpose and I'm meant to do something greater and I want to help people in a greater way, but I really enjoyed it. I'm really good at it and I know I can help people in that sense, so I figured I would start there. That's kind of where the agency was born and you know, now we're here.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, thanks for sharing that story. Let's dive into a little bit. And so there's some really cool and exciting pieces in there. I love travel, yeah. So so I'll unpack it a bit. So you went to college, got an engineering degree electrical engineering got a job, worked on there, worked in that space for a while, hated it, hated college, hated that. Then you pivoted into another space web design, went to college for that, worked in that for someone else, hated it, you know it's. And then you had a life event happen, which you know a lot of entrepreneurs, I think there's a traumatic event or some kind of a life event that that sparks a change of pivot. I mean yours was an unfortunate breakup. And then you kind of reevaluated stuff and said, hey, I'm going to go, you know, make a huge change, which that's you know best gutsy, and so let's go back to that point. And then, when you were like there, like what was going through your mind, and then you know, did you? How did you quit your job? Did you just go in and quit or did you like, put any thought into it? Let's start from there and then and then work up a little bit.
Speaker 3:
It was always ever since I read that book the four hour work week it was always like in the back of my mind, like I knew I wanted to start my own business and I knew I wanted to travel, but I just didn't have like the courage or I was too comfortable. Basically, you know, I had a well-paying job. I was, you know, in a city where all my family and friends were, so I was just comfortable and there was no real need to do it. But then when the breakup happened, it just kind of made me realize, like you know, I'm not happy with almost every aspect of my life. I didn't like the city I was living in. I was kind of like growing apart from my friends a little bit. You know what I mean. And, yeah, I think just my heart knew that it was time to do it. So, to be honest, the first few months after the breakup were pretty rough. Like I was, you know, I lost a lot of weight. I was, you know, in the classic depression phase and so I didn't actually have right away. It took probably two or three months. But then they just got to a point where I was like, you know, I've had enough, I'm done living a life that I'm unhappy with and I'm going to make changes and I'm going to you know, I'm going to, you know, be happy. So I remember once that just clicked in my mind I don't know how exactly it clicked, but it did at some point and I just made the decision and, you know, the next business day I handed in my two weeks and I kind of figured it out from there. There was also a bit of luck involved. I remember I looked online and I found this program that helped you become a digital nomad. So this was around back then. I don't think it's it's around anymore and it it was actually in Bali. That's, that's the reason that I went to Bali. So that program kind of gave me the confidence to make the jump and and you know, help me figure it out.
Speaker 4:
No, that's cool and that takes a lot of guts to like all sudden. One day, yeah, I'm gonna put my job, making huge change, and so I commend you for that. It's a thank you. It's a big decision to make and so, yeah, before I kick it to David, you said you went to Bali and Nicaragua. What were? What was like that? You do any like any crazy things or any really fun things or any cool experiences you want to share?
Speaker 3:
Yeah for sure. So Bali was did some surfing I don't know if you guys ever surfed, like what, serving the water. Yeah, I tried, I tried to serve. I got up a couple times, maybe for like three seconds, but it was fun. There's like this crazy monkey forest over there where there's just like crazy monkeys running around stealing your shit and it's, it's pretty cool. So, yeah, bali just has a cool vibe about it. You like rent a scooter, just you know, drive around the island. It's just very chill, very low key and I had a lot of fun there. Make a rock, well, I would say also a really cool place, very beautiful, nice beaches. But we didn't do anything too crazy. I was more so in kind of like a focused mindset and I was trying to figure, you know, my life out. I wasn't trying to, you know already, to order or do anything crazy like that, but just getting the chance to travel, to explore different, you know, countries. That was just really what I've been looking for.
Speaker 4:
It was really nice to start to experience that nice kind of like a hit in the reset button right yeah, big reset for sure.
Speaker 2:
So you talked a little bit about having your academic background and your experiences and Leaving that behind, and I think that's something that a lot of people there's friction there where they've invest, you know, they have student loans, they've spent a lot of time developing relationships and an education and certifications, and I know I personally went through this when I was thinking about firing the man was. It's something I really wrestled with my making a mistake by leaving all of this behind, and so can you talk about that. When you were deciding to make that pivot, what was some of the self thought going on as you were trying to make that decision?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, that's a great question. I still have some that talk all these years later. To be honest, like, sometimes I think, oh, like, should I go back? Should I, you know? Like, am I wasting this engineering degree or you know the other degrees that I have? But I think that's just your mind talking. Like, if you really listen to your heart, your heart knows what it wants. And I back then, when I made the decision to you know, make the jump to fire the man and and do my thing, that was my heart talking and I was Set up with my head. And your head is always telling you these things and it's, I think it's been a big Exercise for me, even in the past few years, to kind of get away from using my head and using my heart for Making intuitive decisions because, you know, can you know, you're an engineer and they've, you know, I'm sure you have this kind of logical mind as well, especially as an engineer. You're just taught to be very logical. You, you know, look at the numbers and you have to basically prove it or else it's not real. That's the head talking. Where else the heart is kind of the opposite of that. So it's it's hard to justify these decisions, like your head will say you know you went to school for four years, you spent all this money and you know you made all these connections so you should stick there. But you know, my heart was telling me that's not what I wanted, and it was telling me from the beginning. I just never listened to it. So it's really an exercise in trying to figure out how to listen to your heart versus your head, which is easier said than done, but that's that's the only way I can like attribute it to the second thing I want to follow up on is you're talking about purpose, and I think that's something that's really, really, really important, and there are certain professions that lend itself to.
Speaker 2:
For instance, both of my parents are in medicine. They go to work every day and are helping people. It's a very easy answer. My dad someone came in with a heart attack. I helped them live. That's a very they are making a difference and it's a very easy connection. I also struggle with that on what, how am I making a difference? And so, as you've worked on solving for that, what have been some ways that you've kind of helped? What are some things that you've done that have helped you find that purpose?
Speaker 3:
I think that's like an ongoing thing. So for the past year or so I've been actually working with a purpose coach and he's really helped me figure out that purpose. I've really been searching for that purpose for the past you know, five, six, seven years it's not my whole life really but really intentionally looking for that for the past year with a purpose coach. So he's helped me figure out. You know what I just said of trying to use my heart more versus my head. There's one exercise in particular that we did that has been the most, the biggest game changer for me, and it's an exercise where figure out your true values. So there's a concept of like true versus false values. Okay, so apparently people make about 80% of their decisions based on their false values and that will lead you astray most of the time. So like to give you an example some of my false values are things like significance, validation and control. Okay, and I was making a lot of my decisions towards those false values and no matter how much of your false value you get, no more, how much of validation you get, or no matter how much you know significance you get, you'll never feel fulfilled or satisfied. So basically, I look back and I was making a lot of my decisions based on those false values and when I realized this, it kind of clicked we figured out some of my true values. So my true values are things like love, joy, aliveness, peace. Those are just words. They all mean different things for different people. For me, I kind of defined what my values are and what I really care about, and now whenever I make a decision, I make it in alignment with these values of mine and things just feel more smooth and more Aligned. So that's like that's been a big game changer for me personally, like that.
Speaker 2:
I really like that and I think that's that's a very Methodical way to go about finding out, which I really really like in its sometimes can kind of be an abstract exercise In determining what your purpose is. So I really I really like that framework.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, for sure. And for logical guys like us, it's like a logical way of trying to use your heart, in a way one last question.
Speaker 2:
I'm gonna kick it over to Ken. You were talking about a horse that you took that helped you become a digital nomad. What were some things if you were to give advice to our listeners who are who are wanting to pursue a similar path? What were some things out of that horse? Or even, what were some things that you did that were very helpful in Accomplishing your objective of being a digital nomad?
Speaker 3:
the first thing, before even doing that, the first question I would ask myself is why am I doing this? And because it's not for everyone. Like I would never I wouldn't advise a hundred percent of the population To quit their job and become a digital nomad. Really dive into why you want to do it and, if it's, you know something for you. Because a lot of people just can't handle that level of risk or that level of uncertainty. So there's that aspect to it. And then some people like need that routine or need that Accountability and structure of having the nine to five in order to, you know, be successful or thrive. So really take time to figure out is this something I really want or is just something that sounds sexy and everyone else is doing it so, so I want to do it as well. So before even making that decision, I would step back and Understand why you're doing it or you want to do it. And then a few things. That really helped me is Just understanding business models, and so this is not necessarily a digital nomad advice, but just when you are figuring out, you know if you want to take the leap, let's say, you say, let's say it is a yes for you so understanding different business models and how they work and how it would lend itself to your type of business. I think that was something that I'd never really considered in terms of the travel, the travel portion of it. There's a lot of resources out there that help digital nomads that I discovered back then. There was a website I can't remember what it is, but basically it ranks every city in terms of the attractiveness to a digital nomad. It ranks it in terms of, you know, cost of living, safety, things like that. I remember when I chose to move to San Diego. I use that website. I'll have to Google it and I'll I can, you know, give you guys a link if, in case any of the Listeners here are interested. So it gave us a lot of like practical advice like that and for me, just the fact that I did it gave me the confidence that I could. So just jumping in, you know, having that little bit of a helping hand for like two weeks, just gave me the confidence, knowing that I could do it, and then I just went off on my own. So, to be honest, I don't remember that much from from the actual two weeks, other than just the feeling and confidence that it gave me.
Speaker 4:
So I definitely want to get into some web design, some UX a little bit. But I got one one or less follow-up question, kind of the firing demand piece, which I which I think is very powerful, or the list answer, or either Considering it or about to do that. You know the hearing it from someone who has been through it. It's very powerful and moving and so I want to touch on it. Sounds like you've done some some deeper work, more so than a lot of other guys. You've done some deeper work and finding your purpose, and so the question I have for you is is it is around happiness. So can you share with the audience of your happiness, maybe you in a level of like one to ten, from when you were in the electrical engineering space to when you were, you know, in the the web design space working for other people, to where you are now, and kind of how is your happiness Adjusted or changed or improved or declined through throughout those periods?
Speaker 3:
I'll bucket the corporate life into one. So I'd say in back then I know you're young, like the things I valued back then we're so much different than now I would say my happiness was probably in the four to five range. You know, like I'm very lucky. I've never been in a situation where you know I have to. I didn't have food or shelter or anything like that. So I've always been very lucky. But in terms of happiness, yeah, I would say four to five. In my corporate life, when I made the jump to become a digital nomad, definitely increased, got up to probably like a seven to eight at a certain point. Remember when I first moved to San Diego, like I was on a high and you know it was the first time I was actually living the nomad life and, you know, achieving that dream that I've had in my head for so long I was pretty happy. So I'd say, yeah, around an eight in the San Diego phase when I started the nomad journey. And then over the years, as I was doing it, I started realizing like okay, I've done, they have started a business, I've been traveling, I've traveled you know the world and seen a lot of cool stuff. But then the like the happiness started to dip, and I wasn't sure why, and I think it's because I was missing that purpose and fulfillment piece. So there's definitely a dip in the happiness back down to I don't let's say like a six. And that's when I realized that it's time for me to start looking into that purpose piece. And that's when I hired a purpose coach and have been really digging into that. Ever since I hired the purpose coach, it's been slowly getting back up, not to the level where I want to be. There's a lot of work to be done, a lot of internal work to be Done there, not just finding your purpose, but also, you know, there's traumas and issues that you have yourself that you want to work on to kind of unlock that piece. Because for me, my biggest issue Is just, you know, using my heart more and opening it up and trying to make decisions based on that. So that's, that's been a big piece that I've been working on.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, no, I appreciate sharing that. I know it's a it's a personal issue, but I think it's. You know it's important for people to hear that and to see someone that's been through this journey and how, how making these pivots and changes has impacted happiness up and down, and commend you for, like you know, following that and in pursuing your purpose and in making that more meaningful. I think that's. I think more people should do that, so I appreciate it. So let's get into some web design stuff. When you Take on a project or a client for a website, what are some of the top things that you need to know, analyze or figure out in order to make you know the best design? Are there, like you know. Should it be a flatter design, meaning less pages? Should it have? Should it be more content? What are you looking for there to get the best user experience? If you will?
Speaker 3:
the first thing that we look for is Does that company need a new website? So we look at it both in terms of designs and conversions. Okay, so in terms of design, you know, does it, is it consistent, does it look good? And that's kind of more subjective. There are rules for design, of course, but it's a bit more subjective. So that's one thing we look at. The second thing is converting. So that's data. That's not subjective at all, it's very objective. So how is the site converting? Is it hitting your goals? Okay, basically, some of the main metrics that we look at when we ask those questions is what is the Main conversion rate for your website? So, let's say you're an e-commerce brand, your main conversion is, you know, buy X product. So what is the conversion rate on that? Is it within the metric or is it within the range that we're looking for? If it is, then you know that's great. We can always improve it and make it better. But if it's, you know, most of the time what we see is it's not within that range, it's much lower. So in that case, that's when we say yes, for sure, we, we want to help you and this would be a home run for, you know both of us. Just to summarize again the design is the first thing and then the, the data is the second thing, and specifically the conversion rate.
Speaker 2:
And I warn you with this next question, my inter-accounting nerd is about to flare up with the website. There are a number of areas that you can invest right. You can invest in content. You can invest in paid ads. You can invest in the actual design of of your website. As an accountant, I'm always looking at return on investment with the clients that you've worked with. Which activities tend to have higher ROI? On the flip side, which types of activities tend to not have a high ROI? If we're pointed at increasing our conversion, at whatever that?
Speaker 3:
would be? There's no specific answer. It's kind of like a chicken-egg scenario, because let's say, you have a ton of traffic, you invest a lot in your paid ads and that traffic is going to a landing page or a website that doesn't convert very well, then you're leaking a lot of revenue, right? Or vice versa. So I mean, ideally you want both pieces of the puzzle to be in unison and working well In terms of the highest ROI. I would say if I had to choose one thing, it would be the copy, which might surprise you, so the copy of the writing on the page. That makes a huge difference. So your offer, your messaging, what you're saying, how you're saying it, that is, of course, a huge conversion factor. The thing with that is not only do you use that on your website, but you use that on your marketing collateral as well. So if your message sucks everywhere, then that's really going to hurt your conversions and that's going to you know that factors in everywhere in your marketing. I would say the most important thing to do with that is spend a lot of time doing market research, so really understanding your users and their pain points, their struggles and what they want. Now this sounds, I think very basic but by far the most important thing that we do when it affects everything that we do, from copy to web design, to the marketing, paid ads, seo, all that stuff. So really understand your users, what their pain points are and what they want, and that will make every other piece of the puzzle work so much better.
Speaker 4:
I got a couple more questions. One have you used a lot of AI yet the design process and what are you seeing at a high level of like software implementing AI for user experience? Can you speak to that a bit?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, for sure. So we've been using AI for over two years now. Maybe not in the form that you're saying here, ken, but basically one of the main tools we use is it's an AI heat mapping software. Okay, so basically what it does is it predicts within 92% accuracy what the heat map of a design will look like. So you can get a 92% accurate heat map of a design without sending any traffic to it. Okay, so this is super cool because it just helps you build designs that convert better without having to spend money and time on sending traffic to the website. So we've been using that tool for several years now for all of our websites and it works very well. It's super cool In terms of the designs themselves. We've been testing it internally. We haven't used it for any clients yet, so the answer is kind of TBD because we have frameworks that we use that we know are very highly converting. So those are kind of like the basis of our system and our web design packages. So we use those. I think what's really interesting for AI is using it right now for illustrations and product mockups, things like that. It can do really cool things. I don't think it's quite there yet for generating website architecture and layouts. I don't know. Maybe a year or two, five years down the road it might be, but there's always going to be those areas where you need to base on past experience and past frameworks that have been proven to convert basically Totally agree.
Speaker 4:
There's going to be a human touch for quite some time until the AI is very polished. Now can you share what that software tool is for the heat mapping? Yeah, for sure it's called Zyro. Yeah, that sounds cool. Last question, and then I'll kick it over to David, is so we're getting ready to do a website migration and build, so one of the things that I've been hearing from people in the space is kind of like the user experience obviously Someone was telling me, like on the homepage's landing page is crucial when you capture that first visitor there. Someone's telling me, asking them questions of why you're here and then directing them to where they need to go. Do you guys use that type of design and what do you think? What are your thoughts on that?
Speaker 3:
We yes and no, it kind of depends on the use case or, you know, the business itself. Wizzes, things like that, do work well typically to convert and to keep people's attention In terms of putting it right on the front on your homepage like the first thing. You see, like I know, a lot of businesses have toyed with chatbots, and we have as well. Chatbots have kind of declined in efficiency over the years as people have gotten more sick of them and used to them. Yeah, annoying, annoying. This Like do you have a specific example? Is it like a quiz that pops up right on site or is it kind of you know, the navigation kind of leading the user towards the directed path?
Speaker 4:
Yeah, kind of like a quiz, where you kind of show up on the homepage, you go there with an ad or whatever and maybe it's your first time visiting there and kind of having a quiz of, like, you know, are you looking to buy, are you looking to research, are you looking in? And just kind of directing them around? Do you guys, you guys recommend that? Have you used that?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, I wouldn't recommend putting that as a first thing people see when they get to your homepage, let's say, just through a Google search or something. If it's through an ad or something like that, that would be something that I would definitely want to test because, like I said, quizzes do have iConvergence typically, so it depends on the traffic source and where they're coming from. So if that's linked into your paid ads campaign, that's definitely a very efficient campaign that you could use because you know, after people you ask some questions, they're engaged and then at the end of the survey, let's say then you ask for their email, they're going to be very likely to put it in because they just spent all that time and effort in answering your questions. And if you made the quiz kind of fun and, you know, released their pain points and gave them like a taste of what it's going to look like, then it could be a very powerful tool to give those conversions.
Speaker 4:
So maybe, like for the ad, the traffic that's coming over from paid, maybe a separate landing page with the questionnaire but then the homepage not on that.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, yeah, typically we discourage things like pop-ups or things that don't help you understand the website. If you're just landing there for the first time, because you have to assume if it's just, you know, traffic from Google or something like that, then they want to learn more about your product before you are, you know, bombarding with pop-ups or things like that.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, before you hammer up with all the pop-ups. Yeah, so okay, yeah, fair enough, that doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2:
Awesome. So next question I want to cover is a lot of our listeners. If they are wanting to have a website, one of the first questions they need to ask themselves is what platform we're talking. A little bit before the show, you know you got Shopify, you got WordPress, you got Webflow. Go through those and talk about maybe some pros and cons of each one and which one may be a better fit, or what people are looking to do.
Speaker 3:
There's never like a correct answer, but there's platforms that are better suited for things. The first thing I would always say is, like, whichever one you know, if you're building it, if you're bootstrapped and you're building it internally, I would say, go with the one you know the best in general, because it'll be a lot easier and quicker for you. However, if you have the flexibility of choosing, then I would say, in terms of e-commerce, the choices are very clear. It's Shopify or WooCommerce. Those are the only two that I would ever consider. I would say Shopify is a bit easier to set up and get going with and it has very good inventory management. Woocommerce also has good inventory management. It's a little bit harder to set up and maintain, though. So those are the two that I would go with. If you're looking at e-commerce platform, webflow is to be transparent. Webflow is a tool that we use. We're an official Webflow partner. However, we chose Webflow for a reason. Webflow is very good if you're building a marketing website because of three factors. So number one the page speed and performance that you get on a Webflow build, if you build the website properly, is better than anything else on the market. So that's number one. This is good because obviously good for the user experience. Everyone wants a fast website, and then it's also a key SEO ranking factor and a conversion factor. The slower that your website loads, the lower your conversion rates are going to be. So yeah, like in a nutshell if it's a marketing website, I highly recommend Webflow. They don't use Webflow for e-commerce. It's not there yet. They do have an e-commerce feature, but it needs some tweaking. If you're in the e-commerce space, definitely do your research on WooCommerce versus Shopify.
Speaker 4:
Round me. Now is the time for the Arch Web Design Lug. Can you describe Arch Web Design kind of what you do there and who could be a good fit for a client?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, absolutely so. We're very focused. It's going to be a very straightforward pitch. We make beautiful, high converting websites for SaaS companies. That's what we do and we do it very well. There aren't a lot of other agencies out there that are that focused. I think that gives us a huge advantage Because, like you said, we built over 200 SaaS websites. Specifically, we've managed millions of dollars worth of AB testing campaigns, and all that data is what we use to make our websites and create the design frameworks, which are super high converting and also they look awesome and every website is completely unique to each client.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, if you're listening to the show and you got a SaaS company and you're ready for a redesign, give Remy a shout. Or if you're in e-commerce and you're thinking about pivoting into SaaS, like a lot of people do, maybe it's a good fit.
Speaker 3:
Do anything else we want to cover before we get into the fire round yeah sure, we also have an awesome new 38 page guide on how to increase your website conversion rates, so you could use this across a variety of industries completely free. It's packed with a ton of value and it's probably our best lead magnet yet. So, yeah, feel free to download that, and I think it'll be really helpful.
Speaker 2:
Awesome. And to all of our listeners who are driving keep your eyes on the road. We'll be close to link to that in the show notes. Let's get in the fire round, yeah ready for the fire round.
Speaker 4:
Yeah, yeah, let's go, all right.
Speaker 3:
What is your favorite book? My favorite book? I'm going to give you three real quick. So Proof of Heaven is my favorite personal book. It kind of describes how this very logical neurosurgeon had this crazy like near death experience and he saw heaven in a nutshell. So that was a really full read from me as a logical person as well. In terms of business, my two favorite business books are our number one called Built to Sell. So kind of explains how this company went from a service based agency and turned it into a productized offering in order to sell it and get a higher valuation. So I thought that was a really cool read. Another good book is called Never Split the Difference. So it's basically a book that teaches you sales and negotiation tactics. So anybody in sales or business really could benefit from that.
Speaker 4:
Awesome, great read. What are your hobbies?
Speaker 3:
My hobbies is I'm a big football guy, so I'm an LA Rams fan and I play. I currently play flight football. That's one of my favorites and then I like to lift weights, go to cafes. I do read also, and I have been getting back into video games, currently playing God of War. So those are some of them.
Speaker 4:
I sell in marketing for that one, that guy that looks really cool. Yeah, and it's pretty cool what they can do these days. Yeah, absolutely. What is one thing that you do not miss about working for the man? I have a list.
Speaker 3:
Number one is waking up early and not on my time. I'm not a morning person, so that's like the biggest thing.
Speaker 4:
All right. Last one what do you think sets apart successful entrepreneurs from those who give up, fail or never get started?
Speaker 3:
If I could boil it down to one thing. It would be just or two things. Let's say consistency and courage. So courage to make the leap and then, once you're there, just you have to be consistent. There's so many people that have started something. They have a great idea but they're not consistent enough to make it happen. Like you have to have that work ethic to be able to, day in and day out, work on it, be focused and you know, just get that done. It's not, it's, it's tough. Like entrepreneurship is not easy, it's not sexy all the time or most of the time, but you just have to be consistent. Show up every day and I believe that will help you succeed. Excellent advice.
Speaker 2:
Absolutely. I want to thank you for being a guest on the firing demand podcast. People are interested in getting in touch with you or working with Arch Web Design. What would be the best way?
Speaker 3:
Yeah, sure, so I'll give you a link to our our website down below. You can, you know, book a time to chat with me. It's directly with me, so I'll be there to chat. If you guys want to talk about your website and version tips, anything like that, so happy to do that. And if you just want to connect with me personally, you have my Instagram and the links below and, you know, shoot me a DM and we can have a combo.
Speaker 2:
Well sounds great. Well, thank you so much for being a guest, and we're looking forward to staying in touch.
Speaker 3:
Yeah, Dave Kent, thank you guys so much. It was a lot of fun. I really appreciate it.