Finsweet

Strategy

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javascript
Finsweet
Finsweet
developer
Bigger and better projects means bigger and better functionality.

Clients were asking for tasks that required javascript. Up until this point I was only able to implement a javascript library to a site. If the docs were simple and clear, and I was lucky, I could implement a library. I tried to stay 100% native Webflow. Javascript was this thing that I tried to avoid and had trouble understanding. I really wanted to understand it, but it didnā€™t come natural to me.

I tried to connect with a few js devs and none clicked with me. I paid js devs to get scripts made, I paid js devs to check for my errors. $5 to tell me Iā€™m missing a comma. Nobody was the right fit. I wanted fast, live support for javacript work. Everyone I tried to work with was 24 hour+ turnaround. Sometimes more. It was a pain for me to find javascript work. Then I found ā€˜the guyā€™. He was everything and more. He was fast, smart, accurate, motivated and had intuition. He was able to understand what the problem was and use javascript to fix it. All of the previous people needed to be told exactly what to do. Thatā€™s hard to do when you donā€™t know javascript that well. This new guy didnā€™t need the step by step explanation. He understood what was going on. I still work with him actively now in year 5. I will always work with him as long as he lets me.

Our new javascript team member was an important move for Finsweet. I now had someone that I could go to any time to get reliable javascript work. Returned within 24 hours. Sometimes within minutes. I asked question after question after question. Every time he wrote a script, I asked him to explain how it works and why it works like that. After countless questions, I started to understand javascript. I started to understand how the logic works, how the thought process to solve a problem works, and how it works with Webflow. Today in year 5, my understanding of javascript is one of my most powerful skills - today I still donā€™t write it.

more>
{client}
satisfaction

I was learning so much and making our new websites more custom with javascript. We were meeting the needs of our clients through javascript. Sometimes leads ask for functionality that is not possible natively in Webflow. On a sales call, instead of saying, ā€œWe canā€™t do that because blah blah blahā€ā€¦ I could now say ā€œYes, we can do thatā€. I knew how javascript worked enough to know what was possible and what was not possible. Maybe I didnā€™t know how to do what the client was asking myself, but I had a javascript developer that did. I knew what was possible and what was not possible. The most important information I know about javascript is what itā€™s capable of. I know what it can do, I know what it canā€™t do. With that knowledge, you can say, ā€œYes, we can do thatā€ on the phone. That leads to more sales and more client satisfaction.

Adding a javascript developer to the team was a key move in Finsweet growth. Today we are heavily invested in javascript inside Webflow. We love implementing custom javascript on a clientā€™s website. Now we always say, ā€œYesā€. We can do anything that is technically inside Webflow. We have full control. We have come up with the most ridiculous, fantastic, confusing, simple, amazing solutions inside Webflow. If a client needs something to work a certain way, we will figure out how to do it. As long as it is technically possible, we will do it. This type of mentality started in the beginning of year 3. Learning how javascript works was key.

year

Up until this point, I was doing most of the work and building all of the websites. I was the only one that knew Webflow. Finsweet was making just enough money to support me. Thatā€™s it. No money for advertising, no money for growth, no money for saving. All I had was my time. In the second year, I made around the same as a full time minimum wage worker. At the start of the third year, I decided it was time to start making money. I needed to start growing Finsweet into a business. Add people to the team, take on more projects. This is a natural next step for any business that wants to grow. Every successful business goes through this - the founder has so much work that it canā€™t be done by one single person. Itā€™s time to delegate. Itā€™s time to improve quality.

improve
Time to

Imagine someone who can do it all? I sell, they project manage, they design, they develop. This sounds so ideal to me. If I was able to have someone working on a project I didnā€™t have time for, we could grow the portfolio even bigger and make more money. We would have 2x portfolio output and the business could start making some real money. This was a great concept and I was motivated to explore it.Adding to the team is not just about freeing up my time or making more money. Adding to the team is also about improving our quality. When I hire somebody, there is 1 requirement. They are better than me at the job they are doing. Not better than me at everything about their job. But better than me in at least 1 core thing. If Iā€™m better than you at everything, then youā€™re holding us back. We always need to get better, not worse. If I can do every part of your job better than you, then you canā€™t be on the team. Hiring people who are better than me allows me to step away further and further from processes I didnā€™t need to do.

Look! Up in the sky!
Itā€™s a developer!
Itā€™s a designer!
Itā€™s a Duncan!
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The first official hire was a project manager, designer, and developer.
He was going to take projects from step 0 to launch. How awesome.

I only needed to watch from afar and give guidance when needed. He was going to do everything. Guess who that first hire wasā€¦ the famous Duncan Hamra, Co-Founder of Memberstack. I saw a few sites Duncan built on the Webflow clonable page. I was impressed and I reached out. He was very early in his Webflow career and didnā€™t have client work experienceā€¦ but I saw great potential in Duncan. I saw his work, saw his ethic and was sold. I knew Duncan was going to be a superstar from day one talking to him. After his first project, I was double sure. He nailed it. And he nailed the next oneā€¦ and the next oneā€¦ and the next one. Duncan was churning out sites for Finsweet. The new portfolio items were awesome, the sites were unique and fun, and he did all of the projects by himself. I only helped when client guidance was needed or there was an advanced Webflow question. When Duncan first started with Finsweet he was good with Webflow. After 4 or so sites, he was a pro at Webflow. I needed a cloning machine for Duncan.

Duncan cloned 10 times would be automatic success for Finsweet.

Duncan left Finsweet peacefully to live the SaaS startup life. Good for him. Iā€™ll always support him.

Finsweet
Finsweet
takeaways
1
1
Donā€™t care about the money

Try 0% / 100% a few times. Focus on making the client exceptionally happy and you will likely never have a problem. Get the project that is going to significantly improve your portfolio or client list. Do anything to get that project.

2
2
Focus on the loop

Build nicer sites, improve your portfolio, get better leads. Loop. Learn and get experience. You can always improve. You need experience with clients. You need experience with tests and experimental builds. Keep designing, keep developing.

3
3
Work with people who are better than you

Hire or partner with people who are better than you at one core skill. Get someone who's better a designer than you, get someone who's a better developer than you.

4
4
Invest time and money into your own website

Itā€™s your most important advertisement for new business.

5
5
Grow your
Team
Team

If you want to continue growing, you need to grow your team. Start with a partnership. Start working with other people to better understand what type of people you need to work with.

6
6
Enjoy yourself!

If any of these things donā€™t make you happy and motivated, donā€™t do them.

Only do what you want to do.
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fin
fin
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