Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in freelancing but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Taylor Page, owner of The Pages Media, located in Ashland, OH, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

My business is The Pages Media, a website design and development company that focuses on providing custom theme development for Shopify merchants. Customers range from Shopify merchants making anywhere from $10k/month to $150k+/month.

Tell us about yourself

I am what I call a second career dev. Meaning before all this, I was in a totally different career - social work. It was fulfilling and exhausting work. I worked in the field for a decade and got to the point where I wasn't interested in advancing further, as it would take me further away from my personal goals of spending more time with my family.

I had been learning web development on nights and weekends for years, freelancing on the side with just enough to make "diaper money" until I started specializing in Shopify - which came from my wife and me try to run our own dropshipping store unsuccessfully. I found I didn't resonate with the marketing and other aspects required, but I loved developing on Shopify and found I had a real knack for helping merchants reach their own goals by customizing themes instead of adding more apps.

My motivation continues to be helping people while getting to spend more time with my family than when I was in the social work field. I have more time and capability to be present with them, and I still get to help out the "little guy" in commerce.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Crossing over 6-figures in revenue to me was a huge accomplishment. I had never imagined my business could make that much money, and coming from being a social worker, it was a big increase in what became affordable for my family.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

Managing leads and overflow. I've been very fortunate to have been in a position where I don't have to do outreach and book out for a month or two at a time. I hate saying "no" to people who need my support, but I also only have so much bandwidth as a company of one. I'm continuing to work on partnerships for referrals or find other developers I can trust to assist with overflow when projects become too big for one person to handle, but it's difficult to find reliable support.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Do whatever you can to figure out how you can provide value in the spaces you're in. I don't do sales, and I genuinely try to help people when I can, and that resonates with a lot of folks. Provide value first, and then people want to work with you.
  2. Specialize as soon as you can, but don't be afraid to "fail" at trying other things that might not work out. I loved building websites with the JAMStack model before I started specializing in Shopify. I thought that was going to be my big break, but I found that I was able to provide a lot of value to folks on Shopify. After recognizing that and moving in that direction, my business has continued to grow.
  3. Finally, find some support for yourself wherever you can, whether that's a partner, a local entrepreneur group, or a social media group for business owners. You'd be surprised when you start looking at how many people are willing to help and how motivated they are to give out free advice.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.thepagesmedia.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepagesmedia
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trpage_dev/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/TRPage_dev
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tr-page/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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