Need technical help getting your business off the ground? Here’s how one entrepreneur recovered from a frustrating website launch with the help of an online agency.
When the idea for The Patchery, an online “design-it-yourself” kids’ clothing store, came to Amber Gunn Thomas, she couldn’t shake it.
“I had been making clothes with hand-picked fabrics for my kids,” shared Amber. “Everyone kept saying ‘Amber, you have to sell these!’”
She knew the concept was unique. But when she and her husband, who is a software engineer, discussed it, they realized that it also would be technically complex to build a clean site consumers could use to choose from hundreds of patterns and designs to create custom clothing.
In order to succeed, they knew they would need to invest in experts who could bring Amber’s ideas to life. With the risks involved, the idea kept Amber up at night—but she was confident they could make it work. So in 2013, she left her corporate job in marketing and advertising and jumped right in.
“We did what most people would do,” Amber said. “We hired a reputable, local website agency and got started right away.”
Things went well at first, but the site development took much longer than planned. Amber was very understanding, as she knew the importance of getting the site right from the start. However, when it finally launched after 10 months of development, they realized that the site still needed many bug fixes and enhancements.
After the launch–and with the original project based budget exhausted–Amber realized that the hourly rate of the local agency was not in line with her start-up budget. “It felt like we were being billed $1,000 per month just to maintain the relationship, and no actual work was being done to fix and improve the site,” Amber said.
“We quickly saw that a traditional agency relationship was not going to work for us,” Amber said.
Patching the site
An entrepreneur they had met locally recommended Upwork. “It was scary at first,” Amber said. “Our local agency had access to absolutely everything. I couldn’t imagine giving someone on the other side of the world that we had not met personally our IP address and passwords.”
But Amber needed help and was optimistic that taking a different approach would be a better fit. To start, she posted a small job on Upwork for help fixing bugs and making some minor site enhancements. After interviewing a number of freelancers, Amber hired iKantam, an agency based in Belarus, because they not only offered expertise in the areas she needed, but demonstrated impressive communication skills throughout the interview process.
“It changed the course of our business,” Amber said. “Our account manager, Alex, and his team were nimble and fast, while still providing high-quality work.”
The initial small project grew into a complete site redesign which iKantam completed in three months—seven months quicker than the first agency. “Alex and his team brought a level of expertise that I had never received before,” Amber said.
“Our motto is ‘we are good listeners.’” Alex said. “We try to find the best situation for both sides and always deliver quality.”
Since launching, the site has been working seamlessly with just a few small QA issues per month. With the redesign complete, Amber plans to continue working with iKantam in the future, and is exploring other ways to leverage Upwork for support as her business grows.
Benefits of tapping into the global marketplace
There are many benefits to hiring an online agency that can bring your business ideas to life.
Top Expertise: Because iKantam’s team has expertise in more than 10 disciplines, they were able to give Amber all of the help she needed, without her having to spend time searching for additional technical resources.
Efficiency: Because of the time difference between the U.S., Amber’s main market, and Belarus, iKantam was able to work on the site while traffic was low.
Fill a Short-Term Talent Gap: When there isn’t the need or budget for a full-time employee to manage a website, engaging an online agency gives small businesses like Amber’s access to a team of experts who can ramp support up or down as needed.
Project Oversight: Because iKantam managed the project for her, Amber was able to step back and focus on other areas of the business while they developed the site.
Value: Because hiring an agency online was more cost effective than hiring a local agency, Amber estimates she received three times the value she did the first time around—which enabled her to reinvest those savings right back into her business.
Personal Connection: Working with iKantam gave Amber a unique chance to forge personal relationships with people from a different part of the world. “Although we often were only relying on Skype, email, and emojis to communicate, I had a glimpse into their lives. The only downside was that we couldn’t pop champagne together when the site launched!”
Wondering about the best way to fulfill your project’s needs? See how to know when your project needs a team.
The post The Patchery: How An Online Agency Transformed One Entrepreneur’s Business appeared first on Upwork Blog.
from Upwork Blog http://ift.tt/29mT7Sy
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