Why I Do What I Do

Every business needs a why behind it. Why it was started, why it’s still here, and why it should exist 10 years from now. I wanted to share the why and more behind my business.

Exprance started out after I built a course to help people build their personal brand website, portfolio, and blog. I created this website (in a very different form) while I recorded it for the course and soon transitioned it into a site to promote the course.

During the year following the creation of the course I continued blogging here about personal branding. I eventually wanted to expand who I was helping and writing for, though. That’s what has led me to how I’ve used this blog since the beginning of 2016. I’ve also re-branded it into The Online Presence Blog.

Who I Started Out Trying To Help

I began my journey with Your Career by Nick Leffler wanting to help people in the same place I was in. I was a job seeker trying to stand out among a crowd of qualified candidates. College degrees today are as plentiful as high school diplomas were 50 years ago. This makes it harder than ever to stand out when applying for jobs.

One of the best ways for me to stand out in my job searches was my website. I had a blog but stopped writing in it after a while. It was a big mistake to stop writing. After having a job interview where the employer questioned my lack of blog activity, I knew it was important to be more active so I set out to overhaul my online brand (my personal brand).

Eventually I was able to fine tune my website and blog enough to make it an important piece of my job application. I also promoted it more on my résumé. Over time, my upkeep of my website and portfolio helped get me interviews and jobs.

I started out trying to help people in the same place I was, looking for a new job. That’s how I ended up building a course to help people build a personal brand website with a portfolio and blog. A portfolio and blog provides opportunity to stand out from other job seekers.

Even though I started out trying to help people in their career journey, I wanted to go beyond that. I’ve transitioned from helping people stand out (I still keep up my course though) to helping businesses stand out and grow.

Who I’m Helping Now

I haven’t shifted completely away from helping people in their job search. I still keep up my course to help those setting up a personal brand website but I’m now taking more seriously my consulting services for brand design.

My goal has shifted to helping businesses build their online brand and business. There are many different pieces to getting a business online. My entrepreneurial background and technology background makes my skills the perfect match to help businesses succeed online.

While I have kept my focus on small businesses, I haven’t limited myself in helping only small businesses.

Helping people succeed in their careers and with their business is the center piece of my career. Helping people succeed is at the center of why I started Exprance.

Why I Started Exprance

The transition of this website as a way to help people build their personal brand website into growing their business was a natural but slow transition. I started transitioning from a website I built during my course into Your Career by Nick Leffler. I blogged on personal branding and specific solutions to the technology behind it.

This website was a tool to help others grow their careers. It’s now a resource to help others grow their business with a consulting business attached for those wanting a more turn-key approach. Growing a business is hard so the idea is to make the online part easier.

Who I’m Trying To Help

Growing a business isn’t an easy task. There’s a lot to do and in the beginning you have to wear a lot of different hats because of a tight budget. Eventually a business grows beyond that stage and is ready for the next step, though. I want to help people ready to take the next step.

There comes a time when a business grows up beyond the business in a basement it started out in, that’s where I come in. I’m trying to help those who have outgrown those beginning stages and are ready to grow their business with a professional online brand that brings in new customers and grows the business.

Wanting to help people grow their business is one thing, but having goals and a path to those goals is quite another.

What My Goals Are

Because growing a business is so difficult and it’s not possible for one person to do it all, help is needed. Not everyone is a technological whiz nor are they a marketing expert. Creating a balance between technology and making it work for business is my goal.

Without meeting the business goal of growth and profit, technology and the Internet aren’t helpful. My goal with The Online Presence Blog and this website is to give people guidance in growing their business online by bringing the business more visibility and customers.

Transitioning from designing online brands to designing an experience that converts visitors into customers is the goal that drives me daily.

Having a website to have a website is a cost. Having a website that brings in paying customers is profitable. I want your website and online presence to be profitable, not a cost.

My goal is to create a comprehensive online brand that not only pay for itself, but earns you money. The goal is to move away from a website as a cost to a website as a profit.

The Future

I have laid out goals for my business and am moving towards them. It’s always a work in progress but the future is something that needs planning.

One recent goal I am beginning to fulfill is to make the technical how-to from this website and client websites more public. This has led me to creating another blog that shows and tells the How I Did It.

If you’d like to talk about your business goals and figure out how we can work together to meet them, I’d love to talk to you. Whether you’re just looking for some advice or want to have someone to talk to, contact me and we can talk.