Full Transcript
Lauren: So it's almost New Year's and I'm talking to a friend who owns a little boutique downtown. She's making her resolution list... gym, eat healthier, finally learn Spanish... and then she goes, I really need to fix my website this year. And I'm thinking... hasn't she been saying that every year?
Honor: Welcome to the 805 Web Minute with Lauren and Honor... We make interwebs and website stuff make sense... Let's get into it.
Honor: Oh yeah, I hear that all the time. Fix the website is right up there with go to the gym on the list of resolutions that never actually happen.
Lauren: Wait, how bad is it? Like, do most people actually keep their resolutions?
Honor: Okay, so... only 9 percent of Americans actually keep their resolutions through the whole year. And get this... 23 percent quit by the end of the first week.
Lauren: The first WEEK? That's like... buying running shoes on January 1st and returning them on January 8th.
Honor: Exactly. And the reason most resolutions fail is because they ask you to do MORE. More exercise, more discipline, more willpower. It's exhausting.
Lauren: Okay, so what does this have to do with websites?
Honor: Here's the thing... what if instead of adding more to your plate, your resolution was to do LESS? Like, what if you took something OFF your to-do list instead of adding to it?
Lauren: Oh! A subtraction resolution. I like that.
Honor: Right. And your website is the perfect candidate. The updates you keep meaning to make, the thing that broke last month, the blog you feel guilty about not writing... what if you just stopped dealing with all of that?
Lauren: But Honor, don't business owners kind of need their websites to work?
Honor: Absolutely. But here's the reality... 33 percent of small business owners work more than 50 hours a week. 70 percent work at least one weekend regularly. And most of their time... 68 percent... goes to putting out fires. Not growing their business.
Lauren: Wow. So they're just constantly firefighting.
Honor: Exactly. And website headaches are exactly the kind of fire that eats your time without moving the needle. Googling why your images won't upload at 10pm on a Wednesday? That's not growing your business.
Lauren: Oh god, I've been there. That's like... being a chef who spends all night fixing the oven instead of actually cooking.
Honor: Perfect. And here's why this resolution actually works... it doesn't require willpower. Once you hand off your website, there's nothing to remember, no habit to build.
Lauren: Wait, that's actually genius. You can't fall off the wagon if there's no wagon to fall off of.
Honor: Exactly! Most resolutions fail because you have to keep doing hard things. This one is about stopping a hard thing. Permanently.
Lauren: So instead of resolving to finally figure out your website... resolve to never have to figure out your website again.
Honor: That's it. Imagine this... you need new hours on your site, you send an email. Done by tomorrow. Something breaks, someone else fixes it. You just run your business.
Lauren: That sounds like a vacation. So the moral of the story is... make one resolution this year that actually sticks by resolving to do less. Take your website off your plate and give it to someone else.
Honor: Exactly. And while 23 percent of people are already abandoning their gym memberships by January 8th, you'll have actually accomplished something.
Lauren: I love that. So if you want to start the year website-stress-free... give YouGrow a call!
Honor: Yeah. 79 dollars a month... month-to-month... no setup fee for founding members. You email us, we make the changes. Hosting, security, backups... all handled. And you actually own everything. Local support right here in Arroyo Grande.
Lauren: Happy New Year, everyone. May your only resolution be the one you actually keep.
Honor: Alright, this has been 805 Web Minute. Thanks for listening.