It’s astounding how far High Effect Design and Marketing has come considering its humble beginnings. Back in 2000, Robert Anderson was building websites for autobody and repair shops, just after the dotcom boom. An independent salesperson for the IRA automotive group, Robert would visit body and repair shops all around the North shore of Massachusetts to promote Ira repair parts.
Around this time, a handful of Robert’s clients were paying Superpages to the tune of $400 per month for, as he puts it, “crappy little HTML websites”. And the thought came to him: he could definitely do better. And so, without any experience in website design, or HTML for that matter, he purchased a $20 CD from Staples that was titled Web Easy.
Robert proceeded to learn the basics of web development: how to populate a template, FTP, and hosting websites, among other things. He then began to build websites for free for his clients. He figured it was a good way to get his clients more business, which would translate into them buying more car parts from him. He simply charged $20/month for hosting. You can even see the very first website he built with this software from Staples, which is still LIVE!
Don Winslow Auto Body – Robert’s first client site
That was the start. Now, as he says, “I’m building real custom WordPress websites that not only amaze my clients but also drive lots of traffic and business to them. I have now expanded to pretty much every vertical and niche market outside of the automotive industry.”
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How High Effect Found Its Niche
While High Effect doesn’t focus on any industry in particular, Robert thinks of small businesses as his niche. “I shy away from larger companies because I feel that I relate better and work better with smaller businesses and startups. Businesses such as landscaping companies, tree service companies, and everything in between.” This includes High Effect’s website for the Smuttynose Brewing Company.
High Effect’s Biggest Achievement and its Challenges
To Robert, his agency’s greatest achievement so far has been its recent hire of Wojciech Polański, a top notch Polish developer, who left BeTheme to work with me and build the business. “Now with his help and talent, there is nothing that we can’t build or create.”
Not many challenges have occurred over the years. Robert attributes this to the slow and steady way he opted to grow his business. “I rely 100% on referrals from happy clients. That is how I operate my business. I don’t overcharge and typically charge about half the cost of all my competitors in the area. I sometimes joke that I have no competitors! My business is different, affordable and effective. That’s where High Effect Web Design and Marketing comes from – it’s short for Highly Effective.”
That said, of course, High Effect has had its share of difficult projects. Robert recounts, “I would have to say that one of the most recent projects we completed was the most difficult. My clients are fluid dynamic engineers and they invented an air filter for public places for battling COVID-19. The challenge was visually presenting their product to the masses so they could easily understand how and why their product works…and works well.”
“We were provided ‘scientifically written’ white papers with graphs and tables and data – in short, everything the average person would not be able to comprehend. Remember, these guys were fluid dynamic engineers, meaning uber-smart dudes! I don’t want to say that I had to ‘dumb it down’ for the masses, but that is really what we had to do. And in the end, we were able to create an effective site for the client.”
The High Effect Recipe for Success
“My recipe is good old-fashioned customer service: answering the phone after 6 pm, not overcharging. There’s also YouTube; I am 100% self-taught and Youtube was the platform for me to educate myself.
Also, Cloudways’ customer service and quick script fixes really helped me out since I don’t know a stitch of coding! I use Cloudways as my main hosting platform, and this plus the other software applications I use really contribute to the success of the agency. There are Skype, Zoom and Google Meet for virtual meetings and training. Photoshop is a given for all the graphic design work I do. And there’s SEO Profiler for all of my SEO work.”
How Cloudways Helps High Effect Succeed
Robert doesn’t hide his enthusiasm for his hosting platform of choice. “Cloudways rocks! There’s insanely fast deployment of WordPress websites, and the Cloudways migrator is just awesome for moving sites off of my old outdated Hostgator server, Also check out the Hostgator alternatives. I can’t say enough about the customer support as well. I’m on a first-name basis with a bunch of those guys. They are awesome and help me out instantly without me needing to wait!”
High Effect’s Tips for Success
“Join a local BNI chapter, create a Cloudways account, and work a nice residual income into your business plan. Don Winslow Autobody has been with me for over 20 years and pays $20 / month. He is just one of the hundreds!
The other tip is to never lose touch with your old clients. I have trouble doing that but it’s important to stay on top of mind at least 3 times a year.”
Arsalan Sajid
Arsalan, a Digital Marketer by profession, works as a Startups and Digital Agencies Community Manager at Cloudways. He loves all things entrepreneurial and wakes up every day with the desire to enable the dreams of aspiring entrepreneurs through his work!
